Hayward's Primary School

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 4234 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Mrs Emma Summerfield Headteacher Hayward’s Primary School East Street Crediton Devon EX17 3AX

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Short inspection of Hayward’s Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 7 December 2016 with Claire Fortey, Ofsted Inspector, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in June 2012.

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Short inspection of Hayward’s Primary School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the previous inspection.

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Short inspection of Hayward’s Primary School

There have been significant changes since the previous inspection, not least your appointment as headteacher in 2014 and the restructuring of the leadership team more recently. The number of pupils has increased in that time and the school is oversubscribed. When the current building work is completed, the school will offer 420 places.

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Short inspection of Hayward’s Primary School

Governors have allocated funding to meet the changing needs of pupils. The employment of specialist teachers for sport and music has improved the quality of teaching and the interest and motivation of pupils in these areas. You have carefully planned for teaching staff to have more time to work with specific groups of pupils or individual pupils to look at strategies to help them when they struggle. Pupils comment that they really value these ‘conferences’ and inspectors could see the positive impact that they are having.

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Short inspection of Hayward’s Primary School

At the previous inspection, leaders were asked to develop the senior leadership team to allow it sufficient time to carry out its roles and responsibilities. The addition of two colleagues to the team and very clear job descriptions has achieved this.

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Short inspection of Hayward’s Primary School

You were also asked to raise standards. Between 2013 and 2015, there was rapid improvement in the progress pupils made in the early years, key stage 1 and key stage 2. You, and your staff, were disappointed by the results in summer 2016. Pupils who, previously, had made expected progress did not fare well in the new assessments in key stages 1 and 2. Progress in the early years remained strong. As a result, the provisional results do not show the same good progress as in the past. Work seen by inspectors, however, shows that pupils are achieving better.

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Short inspection of Hayward’s Primary School

Your staff, particularly those with responsibilities for safeguarding, have good knowledge of pupils and their families. This means that staff are sensitive to, and protective of, children who may have particular challenges. This contributes to the strong culture of safeguarding at Hayward’s.

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Short inspection of Hayward’s Primary School

The record-keeping of specific cases is good. However, the arrangements for recording staff training are not strong. Similarly, the checks on staff and volunteers before they start to work at the school have been carried out but are not well organised. This hinders staff and governors in checking that all the requirements are fully met.

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Inspection findings

 Pupils’ needs are well met by your carefully designed curriculum. Inspectors saw numerous examples of pupils deepening their understanding and applying their knowledge and skills, such as the great care used in the choice of vocabulary when writing poetry. Teachers are accurate in their assessment. Consequently, you and your senior leaders are able to identify common gaps and make necessary changes to ensure that there are gains in pupils’ knowledge and understanding.  Pupils value the ‘magic potions’ which teachers use to show pupils their targets. In English, pupils know precisely what they need to do to improve as a result. You recognise that the rapid improvement seen in early years and key stage 1 needs to be fully realised in all subjects across key stage 2.  Disadvantaged pupils are making good progress from low starting points, especially in their reading and mathematics. This is not as strong in their writing.

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Inspection findings

Your staff are quick to accurately identify the barriers that pupils face and plan strategies to overcome them. From this, you have drawn a clear rationale for the use of the pupil premium funding which is carefully monitored. Governors have a good awareness of the importance of spending this funding prudently to ensure that it is appropriately targeted. The employment of a specialist teaching assistant to develop pupils’ speech and communication is helping pupils to express themselves more clearly and build their self-confidence. Governors’ use of funds to employ a specialist teacher for sport and physical education has not only improved pupils’ sporting abilities and self-esteem but also allowed teaching staff additional time to run ‘conferences’. In these sessions, your staff work with individuals or small groups of pupils to review specific pieces of work to make sure their understanding is secure and that they are clear about the next steps.

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Inspection findings

You, rightly, prioritise disadvantaged pupils to receive this additional support.  Boys read well. Teachers across the early years and key stage 1 use a common, systematic approach to the teaching of phonics which helps pupils sound out unfamiliar words. Teachers use carefully chosen books, including non-fiction books, to motivate boys in their reading but also to stimulate their writing. As a result, there are now no marked differences between boys and girls. The boys particularly value the incentives that are available.  Behaviour is good. At break and lunchtimes, pupils show respect for one another and play well together. Pupils and their parents say that bullying is rare and that staff are swift to tackle any instances that occur. In most classes, pupils concentrate well on the task set. However, there are some cases where a small number of boys struggle to maintain their focus. The new behaviour monitoring

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Inspection findings

system that was introduced last term is being used well by staff but further refinement is needed to allow leaders to analyse any patterns or trends. Your teachers and teaching assistants are assiduous in recording any poor behaviour and act quickly. High expectations by teaching staff, carefully planned work and strong support for pupils’ personal development have dramatically reduced the number of exclusions.  Your staff know their pupils very well. They use the training they have had well and so are able to identify pupils who may be at risk of harm. The significant investment you have made in supporting families is paying dividends. One parent, typical of many who left comments on Parent View, said, ‘A wonderful school with dedicated staff throughout, who care deeply about the welfare and outcomes of all pupils. My children have thrived since being at this school and I would recommend it wholeheartedly.’

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Inspection findings

 Pupils are taught well to recognise the risks that they may face in society. You have not shied away from sensitive topics and have made good use of specialist organisations to give pupils hard-hitting messages. Pupils value this. They feel and are well prepared to stay safe.  Staff who have specific safeguarding responsibilities act swiftly when they have concerns. They track cases closely and make timely calls for support from other agencies, such as social care. However, this is not always forthcoming. Your staff take their responsibilities very seriously and will go the extra mile to ensure that children are protected. Other aspects of administration, such as the records kept to show staff training, are not always completed. Similarly, while appropriate checks are made before staff and volunteers start work, the paperwork is not organised in a fashion that lets you or your governors easily satisfy yourselves

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Inspection findings

that all requirements have been fully met. You recognise that tighter systems are needed to remedy this situation.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

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Next steps for the school

 disadvantaged pupils make accelerated progress, particularly in writing  the systems for recording the training staff have in safeguarding and the checks carried out when appointing staff and volunteers are strengthened. I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Devon. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

During the inspection, inspectors observed learning in classrooms and were accompanied by you in most cases. We looked at a large number of pupils’ books. One inspector heard pupils of differing abilities read. We met with two groups of pupils from different years to talk about their experiences of school. Meetings were held with senior leaders, the designated leader for safeguarding and three governors. I scrutinised a wide range of documentation, including the school’s own self-evaluation and development plan, safeguarding and child protection records and the school’s assessment information. Inspectors took into account the views of 67 parents who responded to Parent View and those who spoke with an inspector at the start of the school day. We also considered the responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaires by 69 pupils and 24 members of staff.

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Information about the inspection

 the design of the curriculum and how it supports pupils’ achievement  determining the difference between the progress made by disadvantaged pupils and other pupils nationally  the achievement of boys, especially in reading  pupils’ behaviour and their safety.

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