Hartsbourne Primary School

Hartsbourne Primary School Hartsbourne Road, Bushey, Hertfordshire WD23 1SJ

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The headteacher, together with other leaders and governors, has successfully overcome the weaknesses identified at the last inspection. Consequently, there have been many improvements. Pupils’ behaviour is now good, and parents have a positive view of the work of the school as a result.  The leadership of teaching and learning has been successful in producing outcomes that are good at all levels.  Most subject leaders monitor the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievements effectively. Procedures for assessing pupils’ progress in English and mathematics are highly effective.  The quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good. Consequently, pupils make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics.  Over time, attainment at the end of key stage 1 and key stage 2 has been above national figures.  Disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make equally good progress.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Governors provide good support and challenge to leaders, using the schools’ improvement plan to hold leaders to account for their actions in raising standards.  The policies and procedures to keep pupils safe are effective and well managed. Pupils enjoy coming to school; they say that they feel safe and know how to keep safe.  Pupils behave well and are enthusiastic learners. They want to succeed. They respect each other’s faiths and have a good understanding of British values.  Effective leadership of the early years ensures that children get off to a good start in their new school.  Pupils’ attendance is consistently higher than the national average and the school has had no need to exclude any pupils.  Opportunities to challenge the most able pupils, so that their learning is deepened, are sometimes missed in writing and mathematics.  The tracking of progress of pupils in all subjects other than reading, writing and

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

mathematics is not as well developed.  The presentation of pupils’ written work is not of a high enough standard to ensure that they make good progress with their handwriting. Leaders do not ensure that teachers apply fully the school’s policy for marking and feedback.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Apply the good practice that already exists in tracking pupils’ progress in reading, writing and mathematics to the other subjects across the curriculum.  Ensure that all pupils are given the time to respond to the advice teachers give them, in accordance with the school’s marking policy.  Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment by ensuring that: – there is greater stretch and challenge in lessons, in particular for the most able pupils, to enable them to make greater progress – pupils are clear on how to improve the quality of their written work and present it well.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 The headteacher, together with other leaders and governors, has worked tirelessly on the areas for improvement that were identified at the time of the previous inspection. Consequently, behaviour, the role of subject leaders and communication with parents have all improved and are now good.  Leaders and governors have an accurate view of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement. This is underpinned by routine, rigorous checks on the quality of teaching and learning, and productive discussions between leaders and teachers about pupils’ progress. Teachers’ advancement is firmly based on their performance. Leaders set them appropriate and achievable targets. A wide range of training opportunities are offered to support teachers. Any underperformance is swiftly tackled. The school clearly has capacity to improve further.  School improvement has been very well supported by the local authority, particularly in

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

the development of governance and middle leadership. Teaching in English, in particular, has improved markedly as a result of this strong and systematic leadership which is now being shared across other areas of the curriculum. The school is establishing good links with other schools for teachers to improve the accuracy of their assessment. Teachers value the sharing of effective practice, which has formed an important part of their professional development and training.  Middle leaders are ambitious for the school. They routinely monitor the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement in their subjects, and provide useful training and support for teachers and teaching assistants. They have established highly effective systems for assessing and tracking pupils’ progress in reading, writing and mathematics. These are now being developed to support the leaders of other subjects to more accurately assess pupils’ progress and identify any areas for improvement.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 Pupils benefit from a curriculum which is broad and appropriately balanced. They develop skills across a range of subjects. For example, in history they learn how to sequence events in date order as well as to interpret historical sources. The curriculum is enriched by adults with specialisms in the subjects they are teaching, for example having fluency in a modern foreign language. Leaders ensure that teachers plan interesting work, enhanced by a wide range of exciting and regular trips, which makes pupils’ learning come alive.  Pupils are kind and respectful towards one another, developing strong spiritual, social, and cultural understanding, and upholding moral values. Pupils show high levels of respect for each other and have a deep understanding of equality.  School leaders use the government’s additional funding to support the development of skills in physical education and sport to good effect. Teachers’ confidence in the

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

teaching of physical education is growing as a result of regular professional development from specialist sports coaches. In addition, pupils are enjoying a range of after-school clubs, which are proving very popular.  Activities which celebrate the diversity of faiths make a very positive contribution to the pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. They are able to talk sensitively about current affairs as well as local and international issues which affect them. Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain, and are well briefed about current issues related to avoiding radicalisation and extremism.  At the time of the previous inspection, some parents expressed concerns about the quality of communication and some aspects of the work of the school. These concerns have been successfully overcome. All of the parents spoken to by inspectors were very supportive of the school and the improvements that they have seen. This view is

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

echoed by most of the responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, and the school’s own recent survey of parents. A view, typical of that of many parents, that ‘teachers are welcoming, warm and friendly’ was found to be fully justified during the course of the inspection.

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Governance of the school

 Governors bring a wide range of professional experience to their role. Governors have an accurate view of the school’s strengths and weaknesses, both in provision and in outcomes. They routinely come into school to find out for themselves the quality of teaching and the outcomes for pupils.  Governors use the school’s plans for improvement to hold leaders to account robustly, challenging them on matters such as standards and finance. They receive regular training, including on safeguarding, and ensure that all new governors receive appropriate training as part of their induction.  Governors check to ensure that the pupil premium funding is used appropriately to reduce any difference in achievement between disadvantaged pupils and others in the school and nationally.  The governors are aware that some sections of the school website need updating, particularly those relating to the curriculum, and are taking appropriate action to

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  The headteacher and governors have created a strong culture whereby safeguarding is embedded into all areas of the curriculum. All staff are very much aware of safeguarding procedures and their responsibilities to pupils in their care. They see their central priority as keeping children safe. Pupils say that they both feel safe at school and know how to stay safe.  Training for staff is undertaken at least yearly, with many attending additional courses. Recruitment processes are safe and effective. The governor who has responsibility for safeguarding undertakes termly checks to ensure that all staff have been appropriately vetted. During the past year, the local authority carried out an audit and found all safeguarding procedures to be fully compliant.  The school works closely with a range of external agencies to make sure that safeguarding is effective.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 Teaching is good and teachers have high expectations of pupils. A strength of the school is the positive relationship between pupils and staff. Classrooms are very well organised for learning.  Teachers plan interesting and engaging activities and, as a result, pupils enjoy learning and make good progress. Pupils in Year 4, for instance, were able to use very sophisticated language when explaining to an inspector the different strategies employed by authors. Pupils showed that they fully understood how writers compare and contrast the range of techniques available to them when writing poetry.  Teachers have adopted a robust system for assessing pupils’ progress in reading, writing and mathematics. Teachers regularly moderate pupils’ work to ensure that their judgements on pupils’ progress are accurate.  Pupils mainly show good attitudes to learning, but in a small number of cases they can lose concentration when the activity is not sufficiently demanding for them.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 Reading is taught well throughout the school. The school actively promotes a love of reading. For example, Year 5 pupils spoke enthusiastically to inspectors about the various books by Roald Dahl that they had read.  The teaching of phonics for younger pupils is effective. Teachers and teaching assistants are proficient at identifying any pupils who may need extra support and helping them to make better progress.  Occasionally, teachers do not give pupils enough opportunities to improve their work or to reflect on how they could do better. When teachers do make time for this, the needs of pupils are met and they make good progress in their learning.  Teaching assistants provide good support, especially for pupils who speak English as an additional language or who have specific needs. They are very good at supporting pupils to become independent learners. Teachers do not consistently provide appropriately challenging work for the most able, including the most able disadvantaged.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

For example, these pupils say that, in mathematics, they sometimes find the tasks too easy and do not get enough opportunities to apply their knowledge to solve problems, and consequently they do not fully make the progress of which they are capable.  Teachers do not consistently set high enough expectations for the quality of handwriting and presentation of work. This tends to undermine the otherwise good progress that pupils make in their work.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  Pupils are rightly proud of their school. They enjoy coming to school and feel safe there, saying that staff care for them well. The vast majority of parents who completed the online survey agree that their children are safe, happy and well cared for at school.  Attendance is consistently above the national average and pupils arrive at school on time.  Pupils have a good understanding of online safety, saying that they benefit from regular learning activities about the risks that mobile phones and the internet can present. They also know how to stay safe when outside the school.  Adults use their knowledge of pupils to very good effect in supporting the most vulnerable in the school. The headteacher has established a very caring culture for these pupils, and all staff fully subscribe to it.  Pupils work exceptionally well with each other, discussing their learning or sharing their

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Personal development and welfare

ideas to improve their written work or solve problems.  Pupils say that bullying in school is extremely rare, and where it occurs is dealt with effectively. The school’s analysis of incidents, and responses to Parent View, support this view. Pupils have total confidence in adults to deal with any issues that arise either in class or in the playground. There are very few incidents recorded of the use of derogatory language. Where this does occur, it is dealt with promptly and efficiently.  The school’s breakfast club provides pupils with a warm, friendly, safe and secure start to their school day.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils are courteous, friendly and polite, both in and around the school. The vast majority of parents who completed the online questionnaire, and staff, agree that behaviour has improved since the last inspection.  Pupils’ conduct throughout the day is good. At breaks and lunchtimes, they enjoy playing together, and Year 6 pupils, who act as ‘play leaders’, make sure that no one is left out. Pupils need little adult intervention to manage their behaviour and ensure that their safety and their social skills are well developed.  The school is rigorous in its recording of all incidents and concerns, and the school’s leaders are constantly striving to seek ways to support individual pupils.

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Outcomes for pupils Good

 From their respective starting points, all pupils make good progress. This was evidenced in the pupils’ work from last year as well as the school’s assessment information, and this means that pupils are also well prepared for their next stage of learning.  At the end of key stage 1, pupils’ standards in reading, writing and mathematics are at least in line with those expected for their age. Over time, there has been an increasing number of pupils who are exceeding these standards.  In 2015, the proportions of key stage 2 pupils attaining expected or above expected levels of progress exceeded the national averages in reading, writing and mathematics. Work in current pupils’ books throughout key stage 2 along with unvalidated 2016 assessment information for Years 2 and 6 show that pupils are continuing to achieve well and are well prepared for the next stage of their education.  Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make good progress. This

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Outcomes for pupils Good

is because their individual needs are accurately assessed and they are provided with good, targeted, individual support in class by teachers and well-trained teaching assistants.  Pupils who speak English as an additional language make at least the same progress as their peers in reading, writing and mathematics.  Pupils enjoy being able to be imaginative and interesting in their writing as they progress through the school. They write and apply their skills across many different subjects, although at times the quality of their presentation and handwriting is not good enough.  The school is very effective at using the additional money it receives from the government to support disadvantaged pupils. As a result, these pupils make good progress and there is no difference between their progress and that of other pupils nationally.  The results of the phonics checks in Years 1 and 2 identified an increasing number of

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Outcomes for pupils Good

pupils who met and exceeded the expected results for their age.  The pupils who read to inspectors did so with fluency and expression, making good use of phonics skills to work out how to read unfamiliar words. Pupils told inspectors that they enjoyed reading.  Most-able pupils make good progress. However, there are times when these pupils are capable of making even better progress but do not do so when the work set is not challenging enough.

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Early years provision Good

 Leadership of the early years is good, and as a result of effective induction systems children settle into their new school very quickly. They develop good social skills with other children and adults, and learn to cooperate with each other in a calm and happy environment.  Parents value the ‘calm, nurturing and inspiring environment’, with one reporting that ‘my child always goes in and comes out happy’.  The school makes good use of additional funding to support the small number of disadvantaged pupils by providing a breakfast club to ensure that these pupils have a well-ordered and secure start to their day.  There is a good balance of activities, some that are adult-led and others chosen by the children, both inside and outside of the classroom. Teaching assistants use questioning very effectively to develop the children’s understanding during small-group and individual support sessions.  Progress in lessons for children who are either new to English or who have special

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Early years provision Good

educational needs and/or disabilities is good. They are well supported so that they make good progress from their starting points.  Children are making good progress in learning phonics. Teachers and teaching assistants structure lessons well to enable children to practise their speaking, reading and writing skills. Teachers and teaching assistants check children’s newly developing skills accurately. They have robust procedures in place for monitoring individual children and groups. This ensures that they are able to track the progress that all children are making in their different areas of learning.

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School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Email address admin@hartsbourne.herts.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 9–10 October 2014

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Information about this school

 The school does not meet requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.  This is smaller than the average-sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils supported through pupil premium funding is much lower than average.  The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds and of those who speak English as an additional language is well below average. Most pupils are from a White British background.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum requirements for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors visited 12 lessons or part-lessons across all classes to assess teaching and learning, and also made some short visits to classrooms. The headteacher accompanied inspectors to some of the lessons they visited.  Inspectors listened to a range of pupils read and reviewed work in pupils’ books.  Pupils’ behaviour in lessons and during break and lunchtime was observed.  Inspectors talked informally to pupils in lessons and around the school and held formal meetings with pupils from across key stage 2.  Inspectors held discussions with the headteacher, senior leaders, subject leaders and class teachers. In addition to this, inspectors met with members of the local governing body and a representative of the local authority, and had a telephone conversation with the chair of governors.  Inspectors scrutinised a range of documentation, including leaders’ evaluations of the school’s performance, school improvement planning and documents monitoring the

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Information about this inspection

effectiveness of teaching and learning. They also looked at minutes of the local governing body meetings, the school’s own policies, and documentation relating to safeguarding and attendance.  Inspectors took into account the views of parents during the inspection, as well as 86 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View), and took account of responses to the most recent parental survey carried out by the school.  Inspectors took into account the views expressed by staff throughout the inspection.

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Inspection team

Andy Phillips, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Paula Masters Ofsted 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

In the report, 'disadvantaged pupils' refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. www.gov.uk/pupil-premium-information-for-schools-and- alternative-provision-settings .

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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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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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.gov.uk/ofsted

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