Hazelbury Primary School

Hazelbury Infant School Inspection report

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101995 Unique Reference Number Enfield Local Authority 323564 Inspection number 9–10 June 2009 Inspection dates Barry Jones Reporting inspector

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. The registered childcare, managed by the governing body, was inspected under section 49 of the Childcare Act 2006.

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Infant Type of school Community School category 3–7 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 492 School (total) 27 Government funded early education provision for children aged 3 to the end of the EYFS 27 Childcare provision for children aged 0 to 3 years The governing body Appropriate authority Ms Karen Mautner Chair Miss Victoria White Headteacher 5 July 2006 Date of previous school inspection 6 January 2006 Date of previous funded early education inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous childcare inspection Haselbury Road School address London N9 9TT 020 8807 5677 Telephone number 020 8803 7444 Fax number

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3–7 Age group 9–10 June 2009 Inspection dates 323564 Inspection number .

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. 2 of 11 Inspection Report: Hazelbury Infant School, 9–10 June 2009

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by three additional inspectors.

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Description of the school

Hazelbury is larger than the average nursery and infant school. The proportions of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds and who speak English as an additional language are higher than in the great majority of schools. There are 51 different minority ethnic groups represented in the school, of which Turkish speakers form the largest group. The proportions of pupils eligible for free school meals and who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities are each more than double the national average. The largest groups are of pupils who have speech, language and communication difficulties and who have moderate learning difficulties. Many more pupils join or leave the school at unusual times than is normally found. The school has a wide range of awards. It had an acting headteacher for one term. The new headteacher took up post in January 2009. There is provision within the school for the Early Years Foundation Stage through Nursery and

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Description of the school

Reception classes, which cater for 60 children. In addition, there is a Children's Centre which is managed by the school and which caters for 54 children aged between 4 months and 5 years.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 11 Inspection Report: Hazelbury Infant School, 9–10 June 2009

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Grade: 2

As soon as one walks through the door, Hazelbury strikes one as a happy school which is very welcoming to visitors. It is a good school that has improved markedly since its previous inspection. Standards and pupils' achievement have risen year on year. The school has also built on the good standards of care, which are now outstanding. The fully inclusive ethos underpins the school's outstanding promotion of community cohesion. Its links with the local community are exemplary. The school is very proactive and constructive contacts are made with new families even before a child starts. The talented multilingual staff ensure that pupils with no English are welcomed and helped to settle quickly by offering support in their home language. The school goes the extra mile to try to integrate families into the school community. Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the school's work. As one parent wrote, 'This school

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Grade: 2

is the hub of our local community.' Children join the Nursery or Reception with skills that are well below those expected for their age. Many of the pupils who join during Key Stage 1 also have low attainment or come with little English. Pupils achieve well and, by the end of Year 2, their standards are broadly average in reading and writing. In 2008, results in mathematics lagged a little behind because fewer pupils attained the highest level. The school has responded positively and allocated extra resources to accelerate progress for these pupils. It is too early to judge the effectiveness of this initiative fully but initial monitoring shows promise. The extent of high mobility is apparent in that 10 of the 17 pupils targeted in September 2008 have already moved away from the school. Since these are amongst the most able pupils, it means that overall standards in the 2009 assessments are likely to be lower than if they had stayed.

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Grade: 2

The quality of teaching is satisfactory overall and improving. Teachers manage their classes well and make effective use of a range of resources. In some lessons, however, teachers' lesson introductions are too long, there is insufficient pace and pupils do not contribute as fully they might. The quality of learning is enhanced considerably by effective use of an excellent system for tracking pupils' attainment, linked to very effective intervention strategies. The school has invested heavily in well-qualified support staff and this is paying dividends. They contribute very well to booster classes, specifically targeted support and individual programmes. Pupils' progress is accelerated and is good. This includes those pupils who have English as an additional language. Their support is extremely well organised and, once they have mastered English, they make the same progress as their classmates. Pupils with learning difficulties also receive very

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Grade: 2

good support and achieve well. This is a happy, harmonious community in which there is a wide diversity of cultures, beliefs and backgrounds. This is true of both pupils and staff. The school celebrates this rich diversity, which is viewed as a valuable resource for promoting pupils' understanding of wider issues. Their awareness is strengthened by forging international links, which has been recognised by the International Award. Pupils feel very safe and enjoy school. They benefit from an excellent range of extra-curricular activities. They contribute considerably themselves by the concern they show for one another and the way they welcome and look after newcomers. The curriculum is strong in numeracy, literacy, and personal and social education and this is reflected in the progress that pupils make socially and academically. The school monitors the curriculum rigorously. It recognises that there are some inconsistencies between the way teachers plan to

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Grade: 2

make effective links between different subjects of the curriculum. For example, in some classes 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Hazelbury Infant School, 9–10 June 2009 opportunities are missed to use information and communication technology (ICT) to develop pupils' skills in other subjects. The new headteacher has quickly raised expectations further. She is the driving force for taking the school to new heights. In a short time, she has implemented more rigorous procedures which have resulted in improvements in pupils' attendance, quality of teaching and teamwork by teachers. Leadership and management are good. Together with the school's track record, this demonstrates good capacity to improve.

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Grade: 2

Staff in the Nursery and the Children's Centre quickly establish strong relationships with children and their parents and carers. Between them, they have a wide range of languages other than English. This helps to build links with, and to gain the confidence of, families who speak little English. For instance, in a Nursery class, the teacher was able to switch to speaking Turkish to enable all children to participate fully in the work. All staff are regularly updated on child protection training or trained during their induction. This contributes to an extremely safe environment, in which the children prosper and develop their social and personal skills. Many children start with very low communication skills. The school, rightly, places a high priority on improving pupils' basic reading, writing, speaking and listening skills. It is largely successful, even though these skills are still below those expected for their age when they enter Year 1.

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Grade: 2

There is a good balance between adult-directed activities and those that children choose for themselves. Generally, children are helped to make good progress by well-qualified and trained staff. For instance, in the Children's Centre, all staff have appropriate childcare qualifications. Nevertheless, occasionally, staff supervise children engaged in activities without using opportunities to intervene and engage children in discussion in order to develop their language skills further. The Nursery and Reception classes and the Children's Centre are managed well. The leaders are always seeking to improve further. The school is planning to improve teachers' use of the outside play area for Reception by building on existing good practice.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Ensure that the quality of teaching is consistently good.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Ensure that the teachers plan to make meaningful links between different subjects, including the use of ICT.

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Grade: 2

Standards in end-of-year assessments have risen in each of the last three years and are now close to the national average. This is good achievement, given pupils' low starting points. Despite teaching being only satisfactory, the high quality of academic guidance means pupils make good progress. The proportions of pupils attaining the higher levels in reading and writing are average. The school is taking robust actions to bring standards in mathematics up to the same level. The school meticulously monitors the progress of different groups. It uses this information very effectively to remedy any dips in performance so that all groups do equally well. It also monitors the progress of pupils who join the school after the beginning of Year 1. The attainment of these pupils is not as high as that of pupils who have been in the school for three or four years. Nevertheless, the school's monitoring shows that they make good progress,

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Grade: 2

given the reduced time they are in the school. The school sets and meets challenging targets. 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Hazelbury Infant School, 9–10 June 2009

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Grade: 2

Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding is good. Pupils say they enjoy school and, as one said, 'There are a lot of fun things that we can do', and another, 'The teachers are very helpful.' They say they feel very safe and the school invests considerable resources to provide a secure and safe environment to maintain this. Pupils have a good understanding of healthy-living issues, although this sometimes conflicts with pressures outside the school. Adults are very good role models and pupils respond with good behaviour. They have very positive attitudes to school. Pupils say they are listened to and they contribute considerably to making the school the thriving community that it is. They are prepared well for moving on to junior school.

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Grade: 3

Teachers have established good relationships, which means that pupils come to school ready to learn. There is an atmosphere conducive to effective learning in classrooms. Teachers make learning objectives clear so that pupils know what they are expected to learn. Teachers make good use of interactive whiteboards and other technology to add interest to lessons. However, they do not plan sufficient opportunities for pupils themselves to enhance their skills and understanding through using computers. Teachers make good use of 'talk partners', when pupils discuss and clarify their ideas. In a few lessons, they miss opportunities to help pupils to link sounds with letters. Pupils enjoy their work but sometimes they are kept sitting on the carpet too long without active participation and learning slows. Effective support is provided by teaching assistants and, in the best lessons, their contribution is carefully planned by the

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Grade: 3

teacher making good use of assessment data. Marking is good and gives constructive feedback to pupils on how they might improve further. However, sometimes this is not followed up by the teacher and so the improvement is not made.

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Grade: 2

Strengths of the curriculum include provision for numeracy, literacy, music, and personal, social and health education. The curriculum is adapted well to meet the needs of those with learning difficulties or who are new to learning English. Recent initiatives mean that provision for gifted and talented pupils has been enhanced. There are also some outstanding aspects, such as the impressive attention paid to cultural and global issues. Consequently, pupils identify with, and acquire understanding of, how people live around the world. The school participates in the Comenius project which provides links with many other countries. The school raises pupils' awareness of others less fortunate than themselves by taking part in initiatives such as 'Send a cow to Africa' and by sponsoring two children in South America, to whom pupils send letters and for whom they also raise money. The school clearly justifies its full International Award.

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Grade: 2

For an infant school, the range of extra-curricular activities is excellent and they are well attended. The school also has the Artsmark award. The school carried out a thorough review of the curriculum and this has led to greater consistency in planning in English, mathematics and science. There remain some inconsistencies between classes in the way meaningful links 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Hazelbury Infant School, 9–10 June 2009 are made between subjects, including the effective use of ICT. This is the next stage of the journey for the school.

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Grade: 1

Pastoral care is outstanding both within the main school and in the Children's Centre. This is recognised by the award of the Inclusion Quality Mark. The best interests of the child lie at the heart of everything the school does. Staff are passionate that no child should slip through the net. For example, if a child has a medical condition, all staff involved with the child receive training to best meet his or her needs. There are exemplary induction procedures for late joiners, even when it is known that the child's stay is likely to be very temporary. In the Children's Centre, key workers for the youngest children visit families prior to the child starting, establish positive relationships and glean information that is subsequently used to ease the child's transition into the centre. There is very effective targeted support for pupils with learning difficulties and for those who speak little English. The school has forged very strong links with

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Grade: 1

a wide range of agencies to ensure that the needs of vulnerable children are met at an early stage. Strategies to promote good behaviour are very good. For instance, the school has identified a 'nurture' group of pupils with emotional, social and behavioural needs. The families of these pupils are involved and this builds a constructive partnership. The school liaises closely with other agencies to provide additional support where it is deemed necessary, for example courses in parenting skills. The new headteacher has instigated a 'zero tolerance' approach to unauthorised absence and this has led to significant improvements in attendance since January. The intervention strategies are underpinned by excellent tracking of pupils' progress. This a major factor in good achievement.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management have been effective in raising standards and achievement and maintaining high levels of care. The new headteacher has raised the bar even further so that the school is not complacent and seeks to continue to improve. The school knows its strengths and weaknesses well and uses data decisively to ensure that pupils of all backgrounds and abilities make good progress. The school has experienced difficulties in recruiting and retaining staff for reasons beyond its control. The situation is stabilising but, nevertheless, about one third of class teachers are relative newcomers. Strong support systems for teachers, together with a comprehensive professional development programme, have helped to carry the school through these turbulent periods. There is a strong leadership team. Monitoring by the local authority has identified that there is scope for streamlining the senior leadership team. The

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Grade: 2

new headteacher has responded promptly and has already formulated plans and structures that meet this brief. This also has the potential to enable key senior staff to play a more prominent role in direct teaching or supporting colleagues in classes. This initiative has the potential to raise the quality of teaching further. The school is outward-looking. Locally, the governors provide effective oversight for the Children's Centre and recent appointments have strengthened the day-to-day running of the centre. Globally, the school seizes every opportunity to extend its international links. It has forged many links, including with Turkey, Finland and Germany. Teachers have made visits to several other countries and shared their experiences with the school community on their return. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Hazelbury Infant School, 9–10 June 2009 .

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Grade: 2

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: Hazelbury Infant School, 9–10 June 2009

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Inspection judgements

School Overall Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

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needs of learners?

Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well being? 2 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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EYFS?

2 How well do children in the EYFS achieve? How good are the overall personal development and well-being of the children in the EYFS? 2 How effectively are children in the EYFS helped to learn and develop? 2 How effectively is the welfare of children in the EYFS promoted? 2 How effectively is provision in the EYFS led and managed?

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Achievement and standards

2 How well do learners achieve? 3 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 2 How well learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make progress

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Achievement and standards

1 Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average to below average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low. 9 of 11 Inspection Report: Hazelbury Infant School, 9–10 June 2009

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learners?

2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 The extent to which learners enjoy their education 3 The attendance of learners 2 The behaviour of learners 1 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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learners' needs?

How well do the curriculum and other activities meet the range of needs and interests of learners? 1 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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and supporting all learners?

How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education 2 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 2 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination eliminated 1 How well does the school contribute to community cohesion? How effectively and efficiently resources, including staff, are deployed to achieve value for money The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities Yes Do procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements? No Does this school require special measures? No Does this school require a notice to improve? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: Hazelbury Infant School, 9–10 June 2009

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

23 June 2009 Dear Pupils Inspection of Hazelbury Infant School,London,N9 9TT Thank you for the welcome and help you gave to us when we visited your school. You told us how much you enjoy coming to school and that you feel very safe there. Your parents and carers were equally enthusiastic about the work of the school. We agree that the school has improved a lot since its previous inspection. It is now good. These are the things that we liked most about your school.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You all get on with one another very well.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ The school makes great efforts to work with its partners and to make sure you know about the lives of others, both here and abroad. ■ You do well in your work.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Staff in the main school and in the Children's Centre take extremely good care of you.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ The school provides some interesting and fun things for you to do.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ The school is led well by the headteacher and her team.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

The school is keen to do even better for you. There are two things we have asked it to do in order to help you. We are asking the school to continue to improve teaching. We also want to see more links between subjects, including more opportunities for you to use computers. You can help by keeping up your attendance, which is much improved this year. You do not want to miss out on all the good things that are happening at school. Remember to ask when you do not understand, as the teachers will be very pleased to help you. We wish you continued success in the future. It was a privilege for us to visit your school. Yours faithfully Barry Jones Lead Inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Hazelbury Infant School, 9–10 June 2009

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