Hatherden Church of England Primary School

Hatherden C of E Primary School Hatherden, Andover, Hampshire SP11 0HT

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Overall effectiveness Good

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Inadequate

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This is a good school

 The governing body has worked effectively with school leaders to reshape the culture at the school. Consequently, the school’s new values of love, courage and fellowship permeate through all experiences for pupils.  The interim executive headteacher is an excellent communicator. This has ensured that all stakeholders have bought into her strong vision for the school. Staff are very clear what they need to do to improve provision.  New systems for monitoring and evaluating the work of the school, introduced by the interim executive headteacher, have been very effective. Leaders at all levels have an accurate view of the quality of provision. Plans to address weaknesses are very well targeted, so improvement continues.  Leaders have worked successfully together to bring about rapid improvements to safeguarding policy and process. These now meet statutory requirements.  Leaders’ actions have ensured that all pupils are

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This is a good school

now making more rapid progress. Equality of opportunity is promoted well.  Pupils feel safe. They rightly recognise that adults now act decisively on concerns that they raise. Staff manage behaviour effectively. Pupils’ behaviour is good.  The quality of teaching is good. Teachers ensure that learning is challenging and interesting to pupils. Most-able pupils recognise that more is expected of them.  Children in the early years engage well with the opportunities they are given to learn through play. Teachers use assessments effectively to plan the next steps for children’s learning.  Pupils make good progress and most reach standards which are above average. This is particularly the case in reading.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Subject leaders are not fully involved in helping to improve the quality of teaching and learning.  The school does not always inform parents well enough about the progress their children are making.  Some pupils rely too heavily on the support they are given by adults, for example in knowing how to assess risk for themselves.  Some pupils do not make as much progress in mathematics and writing as they do in reading.

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Full report

In accordance with section 13 (4) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that the school no longer requires special measures.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Establish the role of subject leaders so that they play a full part in improving teaching and learning in their areas of responsibility.  Ensure that parents are fully informed about the progress their children are making.  Increase pupils’ understanding of how to stay safe by helping all pupils learn to assess risks for themselves.  Improve the progress pupils make in mathematics and writing so that they are in line with the progress made in reading.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 Leaders have successfully turned around the effectiveness of the school. This is because the interim executive headteacher has galvanised the staff, who now relentlessly focus on the welfare and education of pupils. As a result, all inadequacies identified in the previous inspection have been tackled effectively.  The interim executive headteacher, ably supported by the deputy headteacher and the recently appointed inclusion manager, carry out a range of well-planned activities to check pupils’ progress and the quality of teaching. This means leaders now have an accurate view of how well pupils are learning and where there are strengths and areas for development in teaching. Consequently, plans for improvement have been very effective and have resulted in rapid and sustainable improvement.  As a result of leaders’ effective monitoring, teaching is consistently good in all three key stages and

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

improving further. Equality of opportunity underpins the work of the school. This is clearly evident in the high priority leaders give to meeting the needs of all groups of pupils. Staff do not tolerate discrimination of any kind. This is demonstrated well in leaders’ decisive and effective actions to increase pupils’ progress.  Leaders have made sensible and much-needed changes to the curriculum, and have analysed their impact. Pupils report that they find learning more challenging and interesting as a result. Better use is now being made of the skills and experiences that are available at the school, for example in the teaching of a modern foreign language. Staff use imaginative projects to deepen pupils’ understanding of democracy and other fundamental British values. For example, pupils in Years 5 and 6 used critical thinking to explore President Obama’s campaign trail and the use of propaganda. Leaders have also

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

introduced new initiatives to help pupils understand and respect those from different faiths. As a result, pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain.  Arrangements for managing the performance of staff are effective. New arrangements put in place by the headteacher have ensured that all staff have clear targets for improvement. For example, the inclusion manager has taken on responsibility for managing the performance of teaching assistants. Staff are clear about how they will be held to account. Three new teachers joined the school in September. These appointments have helped improve the overall quality of provision at the school.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted very well. Governors have worked closely with school leaders to develop new values on which to build the curriculum that is on offer. Consequently, the school has a more inclusive ethos and pupils show more respect for each other and a

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

strong sense of community runs through the school. Pupils of all ages make a positive contribution to collective worship. In an assembly seen by the inspector, pupils learned to value people’s differences and the value of different people’s skills. Pupils added to the reverence of the worship through their considered responses, reflection, prayers and singing.  Leaders have been relentless in developing strong and practical arrangements to safeguard pupils. These are now very effective. Leaders work very well with other agencies and with parents to improve outcomes for pupils. All statutory requirements are met.  Subject leadership remains underdeveloped at the school. Subject leaders are clear about what they need to do and how they intend to go about doing it. They have made some difference to provision, by introducing more investigative mathematics into the curriculum, for example. However, they have not

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

been in post for long enough to have taken on a full role in supporting senior leaders to improve teaching and learning.  Communication with parents has improved. Parents speak positively about the more open approach of staff. Regular newsletters and public events allow for a good flow of information to and from the school. However, parents have rightly identified that they do not always get enough information about the progress their children are making.  Leaders use the pupil premium grant effectively. The number of pupils eligible for the funding is generally very small in each year group. Nevertheless, leaders have improved the progress these pupils are making across the school. Disadvantaged pupils in the previous Year 6, for example, made rapid progress in all subjects, particularly after the arrival of the interim executive headteacher in January. As a result, the gap between their attainment and that of others was successfully narrowed before they left the school.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 The use of the primary sports fund is very effective. Leaders have used the money to improve the quality of physical education teaching at the school. This has been done through the use of a sports coach who has planned and modelled sessions to increase activity in lessons. Some money has also been used for teachers to receive more training in gymnastics teaching. Leaders monitor the impact of the funding well.  The local authority has been instrumental in supporting school leaders to make rapid improvements. They helped secure the services of the interim executive headteacher. Regular, clear feedback given to the school by advisers has been used well by leaders to help shape further improvements, including beyond those identified in the previous inspection report.  The governance of the school Governors carry out their roles effectively. They support the interim executive headteacher well in setting a strategic direction for the school. They hold leaders to account effectively by asking

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

searching questions about the school’s performance, for example, when reviewing safeguarding processes and practice at the school. They rightly check what they have been told by leaders by carrying out formal and informal visits to the school. This means they are well aware of where there are strengths and weaknesses in the quality of teaching. Governors make a strong contribution to the management of performance of staff at the school. They challenge appropriately the link between staff performance and pay, and ensure that only good performance is rewarded. Governors manage the finances at the school effectively. They have a good understanding of how the pupil premium grant is spent and how well the gap in attainment is being narrowed for disadvantaged pupils. They hold leaders to account for the use of the sports premium grant well.  The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 The quality of teaching is good. Pupils achieve well because teachers plan lessons that interest and challenge them. Relationships are consistently positive between staff and pupils. This means pupils feel safe to take risks and learn new skills.  Teachers make good use of what they know about pupils to plan work that helps them to take the next step in their learning. Careful questioning in lessons helps deepen pupils’ thinking and clarifies their understanding as lessons progress. Some teachers refine their explanations and reshape tasks very effectively to help pupils understand what they have been challenged to do. For example, in a Year 5 and 6 mathematics lesson, pupils were challenged to investigate the properties of 2D shapes and their angles. Both the teacher and teaching assistant guided the pupils to tackle the task through effective questioning and explanation, so all made good progress.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 The teaching of reading is good. Pupils use their reading skills across the curriculum and in a number of different contexts. This means pupils often make rapid gains in their reading skills. The interim executive headteacher has improved how phonics (the link between letters and their sounds) is taught at the school. As a result, pupils of all abilities are now applying what they know when reading unfamiliar words. Pupils are making much better progress in their phonics as a result.  The teaching of writing has improved. Staff have introduced new initiatives to help pupils develop their enthusiasm for writing. The delivery of the curriculum as a whole has effectively supported this. As a result, pupils of all abilities enjoy writing for a variety of purposes. They are making much better progress in their writing.  Mathematics teaching has improved and is now more effective. Teachers ensure that pupils experience

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

mathematical concepts in a range of ways to help them with their understanding. In particular, the use of mathematical resources is well developed. Some lessons still do not allow pupils to make strong enough links with real-life problems. When this is the case, pupils are not always clear about how to tackle what they have been asked to do.  Teachers now challenge most-able pupils consistently across the school. This is because of the raised expectations of what these pupils should achieve that has been instilled by leaders. Most-able pupils respond well to the challenge they are given even when, at times, they struggle to understand what they have been asked to do. More often, they make very good progress because they are encouraged to solve problems independently and have developed good attitudes to their learning.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good. This is because leaders have successfully changed the ethos and culture at the school so that all staff see it as a priority.  Leaders have taken effective action to improve the policies and practices used at the school to safeguard pupils. All staff are now fully aware of their responsibilities. New staff are inducted well.  Staff have completed the appropriate training to ensure that safeguarding arrangements are robust. There are good partnerships between the school and other agencies.  Pupils demonstrate that they have an improving understanding of how to keep themselves safe. Although they are clear what this means when using the internet, leaders have rightly identified the need to do more to develop pupils’ understanding of how to assess risk for themselves.  Pupils report that bullying at the school is exceptionally rare and this is reflected in the school’s logs.

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Personal development and welfare

Pupils feel safe. Parents have no concerns about the safety of their children at the school.  Pupils’ attendance is above average. The school has effectively reduced persistent absence. Leaders work proactively with families to help them improve the attendance of their children.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. In nearly all lessons, pupils show positive attitudes to their learning and try their best.  Behaviour logs kept by leaders demonstrate that incidents of poor behaviour are rare. On the unusual occasions when there have been difficulties, the leaders’ actions have been appropriate and effective. There have been no permanent exclusions at the school. Where fixed-term exclusions have been used, they have been appropriate and proportionate. Effective work with other agencies means that these are very rare.  Pupils say that almost all behaviour is good. They acknowledge that a very small number of pupils find it difficult to maintain the current high expectations at the school. However, they say that all staff help these pupils to understand the consequences of their behaviour and this leads to them making better choices.  Parents also believe the school effectively keeps their children safe. They recognise and appreciate the

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Behaviour

improved culture at the school. For example, they believe staff are more open and communicate more effectively. Improvements to the culture at the school were demonstrated well by the manner in which pupils played and mixed with each other during playtimes, lunchtimes and around the school.  School leaders have introduced a number of ways to develop how pupils contribute to their own community. For example, play leaders in Year 6 receive training and are expected to help lead activities at playtimes. They enjoy these responsibilities and take them seriously. Older pupils look out for younger pupils and act as role models.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 Pupils in all three key stages make good progress from their different starting points in reading, writing and mathematics. They also make good progress in a number of other subjects, including science, history, geography and physical education.  In 2015, the proportion of children who achieved a good level of development when they left Reception fell below the national average. This was because leaders have ensured that assessment information is more accurate than was historically the case. Current school data show that the proportion looks likely to be much higher in 2016. This is because leaders have successfully improved the quality of provision in the early years. Assessment information in children’s current learning journals shows they are now making at least good progress from their starting points.  Pupils did not do well in their Year 1 phonics screening check in 2015 and results were below the national

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Outcomes for pupils are good

average. However, current school data demonstrate that a much higher proportion look likely to achieve the expected level in 2016. This is because the interim executive headteacher has taken effective action to improve the teaching of phonics at the school.  Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 in 2015 was above average in reading, writing and mathematics. The proportion of pupils achieving the higher level 3 was broadly average in all three subjects.  Teachers regularly give pupils opportunities to apply what they have learnt in English and mathematics in other subjects. For example, pupils have good opportunities to write in science and history.  Different groups in the school make good and sometimes better progress. For example, girls and boys make similar progress. However, disadvantaged pupils and those who are disabled or have special educational needs make much better progress and so are narrowing the gap with their peers.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 Most-able pupils make good progress. They are regularly challenged and respond well to the high expectations of staff.

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Early years provision is good

 Provision in the early years has improved significantly and is effective. Children benefit from a range of exciting and stimulating learning opportunities that engender their interest and commitment to learning. There is a good balance between adult-led activities and opportunities for children to learn through play. As a result, children make very good progress in all areas of the early years curriculum.  Teaching in the early years is strong. Adults make the most of the opportunities they have when working with children to deepen their thinking through questioning and modelling. For example, in one session, children were encouraged to problem solve and apply their mathematical knowledge by working out how to rescue their dolls from a pretend fire in the dolls’ house. Children used non-standard measures to work out what was needed and how the dolls could be saved.  The majority of children come into Reception with skills similar to those you would expect for their age.

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Early years provision is good

Some come in with much higher skills than is typical. Through strong links with feeder pre-schools and good use of home visits, staff in Reception now ensure that the environment caters well for the needs and interests of the children. As a result, children hit the ground running and make good progress.  In 2015, a lower proportion than the national average left Reception working at a good level of development. This was because of historical weaknesses in practice and the greater rigour in assessment introduced by school leaders. Evidence in current learning journals already demonstrates children are making more rapid progress. Predictions for this cohort rightly suggest that a much higher proportion than the national average are on track to leave Reception with a good level of development in 2016.  There are very effective links between staff and parents. Parents appreciate the enthusiasm that their

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Early years provision is good

children are now showing in their learning and school experience.  The leadership and management of the early years are good. Leaders have tackled the historic weaknesses in provision. As a result, teaching and learning in the early years are now good. Assessment, analysis and action are at the heart of the improvements seen. Staff have excellent relationships with the children and know them very well. This means the environment is very effective in promoting learning.

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School details

Unique reference number 116359 Local authority Hampshire County Council Inspection number 10004069 This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act.

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Voluntary controlled Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 109 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mrs Jane Stewart Interim executive headteacher Mrs Tina Thomas Telephone number 01264 735260 Website www.hatherdenschool.co.uk Email address adminoffice@hatherden.hants.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 2–3 October 2014

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Information about this school

 Hatherden Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary is smaller than average, with four mixed-age classes for Reception and Year 1, Years 1 and 2, Years 3 and 4 and Years 5 and 6.  The proportion of pupils for whom the school receives the pupil premium, which is additional funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and children who are looked after by the local authority, is well below average.  The majority of pupils are White British. The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds is much lower than the national average and no pupil speaks English as an additional language.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is below average.  The school meets the current floor standards, which set the government’s minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics.  The interim executive headteacher joined the school in January 2015. An inclusion manager was

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Information about this school

appointed in May 2015 and works at the school for one day a week. Three teachers left at the end of the previous academic year and were replaced by three new teachers in September. The governing body reconstituted on 1 September 2015.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed nine lessons across a range of subjects, as well as an assembly. Eight lessons were observed jointly with the headteacher. The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour around the school, at playtime, lunchtime and at the beginning of the school day. He analysed pupils’ work and talked with pupils.  Meetings were held with senior leaders, subject leaders, three members of the governing body and two representatives from the local authority.  The inspector looked closely at school documentation, including minutes of governing body meetings, the school’s analysis of how well it is doing, the school improvement plan and data and tracking information about pupils’ achievement. Inspectors also reviewed the school’s behaviour logs.  The inspector took account of 39 responses from parents to the online questionnaire, Parent View and results of a survey completed by school leaders.

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Inspection team

Matthew Barnes, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector guidance 'Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection.

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Inspection team

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk, or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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Inspection team

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Inspection team

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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