Hope Primary School

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

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Ms Samantha Fisher Headteacher Hope Primary School Edale Road Hope Hope Valley Derbyshire S33 6ZF

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Short inspection of Hope Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 9 January 2018, 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 March 2014.

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There is no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of

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

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There is no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of

You, along with the committed governing body, have implemented effective systems in order to monitor and evaluate key areas of the school. Consequently, you have an accurate view of the school’s strengths and areas for development. Your plans for improving the school are concise. They contain precise actions, timescales and monitoring opportunities that enable the governing body to hold you stringently to account.

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There is no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of

The experienced and well-trained governing body frequently checks the work of the school. For example, recently, a governor attended a staff meeting where teachers were evaluating the quality of mathematics in pupils’ books. The findings were reported back to governors at their next meeting.

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There is no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of

The school has a harmonious atmosphere where polite and enthusiastic pupils work hard. Pupils told me that any rare incidents of bullying and poor behaviour are dealt with swiftly and fairly. Relationships between adults and pupils are strong. You and the staff know pupils and their families extremely well. The vast majority of parents who responded to the Ofsted questionnaire, Parent View, stated that their children were happy, safe and making good progress. One parent told me, ‘There is a real family feel’ to the school. Another reported, ‘My children have started here recently and have come on in leaps and bounds!’

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There is no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of

In 2017, pupils’ progress at the end of key stage 2 was broadly in line with the national average in reading and writing. Pupils’ progress in mathematics was below the national average. However, school assessment information and work seen in pupils’ books suggest that current pupils are now making faster progress in mathematics. Pupils leaving the school in 2017 made better progress in reading, writing and mathematics than their 2016 counterparts.

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There is no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of

In 2017, the majority of pupils leaving key stage 1 achieved the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics.

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There is no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of

You hold pupil progress meetings with teachers to discuss individual pupils and the progress they are making. These meetings ensure that pupils are given the support they need swiftly, if they are falling behind. Current assessment information provided by you suggests that the vast majority of pupils are making good progress in reading, writing and mathematics.

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There is no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of

At the previous inspection, the inspector asked that you ensure that pupils were stretched in their work, sustained their concentration and were fully engaged in learning. During our tour of the classrooms, we saw children in the early years engrossed in matching numbers to 20 with their physical representation. In the Year 2/3 class, pupils were challenged to draw rectangles accurately, measure the internal diagonal line and then calculate the perimeter. These pupils told me they enjoy the frequent opportunity to choose their own level of challenge and test themselves.

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There is no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of

You were also asked to create a better balance between your teaching and leadership and management time. Consequently, you have delegated some responsibilities to other staff members and governors. This has enabled you to devote more time to improving the school. You have therefore suitably addressed the areas for improvement identified in the previous report.

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There is no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of

There is a strong safeguarding culture within the school. All staff have recently been trained in child protection, around female genital mutilation, whistleblowing, the dangers of radicalisation and extremism and e-safety. All staff have received first aid training and an appropriate number of staff have a paediatric first aid qualification. There is an effective system for staff to report any welfare concerns they have regarding pupils. The ‘pastoral book’ ensures that all staff are made aware of any issues that a pupil may be currently experiencing.

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There is no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of

Rare incidents of poor behaviour and bullying are thoroughly recorded and appropriately followed up. The school is currently working towards the local authority STOP (several times on purpose) anti-bullying award. This includes the promotion of anti-homophobic language and gender prejudice.

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There is no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of

You ensure that appropriate checks are made on adults before they are allowed to work or volunteer at the school.

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There is no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of

Effective systems, recently introduced, have significantly improved levels of attendance and persistent absence. These levels are now in line with national averages.

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Inspection findings

 You have rightly identified that pupils in key stage 2 make slower progress in mathematics than they do in reading and writing. Consequently, your school improvement plan has a focus on improving this area. You have purchased a mathematics scheme that has helped teachers to plan more effectively in the mixed-age classes. The local authority has brokered the support of a specialist mathematics teacher. This has enabled teachers at Hope Primary to moderate pupils’ mathematics work to ensure that their attainment and progress judgements are accurate. You have successfully re-written long-term planning grids. Consequently, all mathematical topics are now covered through the year.  Teachers are consistently using the school’s new marking and feedback policy. As a result, during registration time, pupils are given the opportunity to correct work from the previous day or respond to a new challenge set by the teacher.

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Inspection findings

 Teaching assistants have recently been deployed to support more pupils in mathematics. ‘Pre-teach’ sessions enable pupils to explore a particular concept with an adult before the lesson starts. This helps to reduce any misconceptions they may have. Pupils are enthusiastic about mathematics. They told me they especially enjoy the more frequent opportunities to solve mathematical problems.  The curriculum is broad and balanced. You have recently revamped topics to ensure that they are not repeated in the mixed-age classes. You provide pupils with many opportunities to learn outside the classroom and in different ways. For example, older pupils have recently been raft building and a visit by a basketball player enthused pupils to develop their knowledge and understanding of commitment, bullying and celebrating differences.  Pupils relish the varied extra-curricular clubs on offer. These include tag rugby,

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Inspection findings

computing, film, choir and the chance to learn a musical instrument. They also enjoy the outdoor and adventurous residential visit to Lea Green. However, we agreed that pupils’ knowledge of faiths and cultures different to their own is an area for development. Pupils are not as well prepared for life in modern Britain as they should be.  Transition into the early years is strong. Children visit the school frequently before starting and links with the local pre-school are positive. Relationships between adults and children are also positive. There are good links with outside agencies, including the school nurse and the speech and language team. Consequently, children receive any extra support promptly.  In 2017, the number of children leaving the early years foundation stage with a good level of development was above the national average. Parents are able to contribute to their child’s ongoing assessment. Parents are as positive about the

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Inspection findings

early years as they are about the rest of the school. The early years outdoor area is not as well resourced or developed as it could be and does not match closely enough to the foundation stage curriculum.  The school’s website does not currently meet statutory requirements. As a result, parents do not have as up-to-date information about the school as they should. For example, a number of policies are out of date and information regarding the physical education and sports funding is missing.  Support from the local authority has been effective. The school improvement adviser has worked with you successfully in a variety of ways. These include developing assessment procedures, pupil voice and supporting you with writing school improvement plans.

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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

 the school’s website meets statutory requirements  pupils have a secure understanding of faiths and cultures different to their own and are therefore prepared for life in modern Britain  the outdoor area in the early years is fully developed to match the foundation stage curriculum.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Derbyshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

During the inspection, I held meetings with you in your roles as headteacher and mathematics coordinator. I also met with the early years leader, four members of the governing body, including the chair, and a group of six pupils. I scrutinised a range of documents, including those relating to pupil progress, the school’s improvement planning, self-evaluation and documents relating to training and safeguarding. I visited all classrooms to see the learning that was taking place. I spoke with pupils and looked at work in their books. I spoke with a number of parents as they brought their children to school in the morning and I took account of the views of parents through responses to the Ofsted online survey, Parent View. There were two responses to Ofsted’s staff survey and no responses to Ofsted’s pupil survey.

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