Hatherden Church of England Primary School

Hatherden Church of England Primary School Hatherden, Andover, Hampshire SP11 0HT

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Inadequate

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Safeguarding is not effective. Leaders do not fulfil their statutory responsibilities. Governors do not routinely check the effectiveness of the systems in place.  Procedures for recording concerns are not used effectively. When concerns are raised, leaders do not always take effective action to keep pupils safe. This means pupils do not reliably receive the help that they may need in a timely manner.  Despite receiving training, some leaders do not have sufficient understanding of safeguarding.  Leaders’ development planning is not sharply focused. Lines of accountability for planned actions are not clear. Leaders’ analysis of pupils’ learning is imprecise. Governors’ oversight has been lacking over time.  The quality of teaching, learning and assessment is too variable to secure consistently good outcomes for all pupils.  Improvements in writing and mathematics have been slow. Too few pupils reach the

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

expected standards at the end of key stage 2. Boys, and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), do less well than their peers throughout the school.  Pupils do not receive reliable feedback on their work, so they are often unsure how to improve it.  Leaders’ use of pupil premium funding is not sufficiently focused on strengthening disadvantaged pupils’ academic achievement.  Curriculum leadership is not well developed. As a result, pupils do not develop their understanding in a range of subjects.  Parents and carers are positive about the school. The vast majority of parents and carers are clear that their children are happy. However, some feel that turbulence in leadership has had an impact on their children’s learning. The school has the following strengths

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Pupil premium is used well to support the social and emotional development of disadvantaged pupils.  The behaviour of pupils is good. They are very caring and supportive of one another. Bullying and unkind behaviour are very rare.  Children in Reception are given a good start to their education. They make strong progress and are well prepared for Year 1.

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Full report

In accordance with section 44(2) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires significant improvement, because it is performing significantly less well than it might in all the circumstances reasonably be expected to perform.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Urgently review and sharpen safeguarding arrangements to ensure that: – leaders and staff fully understand safeguarding requirements and ensure that statutory processes are in place – record keeping is systematic, detailed and methodical – governors keep rigorous oversight of the school’s safeguarding policies and procedures and their implementation.  Improve the quality of leadership and management, including governance, by: – strengthening school improvement planning and the rigour of leaders’ self- evaluation – ensuring that the curriculum in a wide range of subjects is well led and well developed, enabling pupils to build upon their prior knowledge and skills – improving leaders’ analysis of how well pupils are learning – ensuring that pupil premium plans focus on providing effective support so that disadvantaged pupils make better academic progress  Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment, by:

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

– establishing a consistent approach to the teaching of mathematics and writing so that pupils, especially boys and those with SEND, make progress in line with that of other pupils with similar starting points – providing pupils with high-quality feedback on how they can improve their work, in line with the school’s assessment policy – enhancing teachers’ subject knowledge.  Improve pupils’ progress in writing and mathematics, as well as in a range of subjects in the wider curriculum so that: – pupils’ subject-specific knowledge, skills and understanding across a range of subjects are strengthened – a greater proportion of pupils reach the expected standards in writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6, including boys and pupils with SEND. An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

An external review of the school’s use of pupil premium funding should be undertaken in order to assess how well this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

 Since the previous inspection, there has been significant turbulence in leadership at all levels. Since Easter, part-time interim leadership arrangements have been put in place. Despite their best efforts, current leaders do not yet have an accurate understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the school.  Leaders and governors have not ensured that safeguarding arrangements are effective. They have not ensured that concerns are recorded in a systematic way, reliably followed up, or referred on to the appropriate agencies when needed.  Leaders and governors have welcomed support from the local authority since the last inspection. Support received for the teaching of English and mathematics has started to have a positive impact on pupils’ progress in these subjects. Scrutiny of pupils’ work confirms this.  Owing to turbulence within the teaching staff, there is little capacity within middle leadership. New leaders have stepped in to oversee the development of some subject

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

areas. However, they are unclear about their roles and the impact of any changes they have made on pupils’ learning across the school.  Leaders’ school improvement planning is detailed. However, it is not sharply focused and does not establish clear lines of accountability, including governance oversight. Plans lack the urgency needed to bring about the necessary rapid improvements in teaching and learning.  Leaders do not monitor the progress of groups of pupils closely enough. They are unclear about the progress some pupils make. Consequently, weak progress, particularly for pupils with SEND and for boys in key stage 2, is not addressed.  The school’s use of pupil premium funding is planned. Leaders have started to evaluate what has worked and what has not. However, their evaluation fails to focus on pupils’ academic outcomes. Planning for this small but important group of pupils lacks clarity and precision.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

 The physical education (PE) and sport premium is used effectively to develop the knowledge and skills of staff. Governors have oversight of this and the impact of spending is reviewed and analysed. Governors are aware of the importance of ensuring that this spending leads to sustainable changes to the quality of PE teaching over time.  Leaders have the clear intention of delivering a curriculum in which pupils access learning in different subjects through a range of first-hand experiences, for example, visits within the local area. However, these aims have not yet been fully realised across the school. Pupils are often unclear about the subject-specific knowledge and skills they are learning.  The provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is effective. Pupils have opportunities to represent the school in musical, theatrical and sporting events. A planned programme of visits and visitors enriches and stimulates pupils’

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

thinking and develops their wider interests and talents. For example, each year, all key stage 2 pupils visit a local theatre to watch a play, and pupils interact with the local community in the recently formed ‘Fellowship Café’.  Parents spoken to during the inspection and those who responded to the Ofsted online survey were mostly positive about the school. All but a few said they would recommend the school to others. Parents are impressed with the care offered to pupils by class teachers, and with the ‘open-door policy’ established by current leaders. Nevertheless, there are some who feel that the school has not been well led and managed over time. These parents expressed concern about the impact of the turbulence in leadership on the school’s provision.

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Governance of the school

 Governors do not check the effectiveness of the school’s safeguarding systems well enough. A recommended safeguarding review by the local authority has not yet been carried out.  Over time, governors have been overly operational and not strategic enough. Governors have not evaluated fully the impact that improvement plans have had on pupils’ outcomes. They have failed to hold leaders to account sufficiently. For an extended period, they have been over reliant on the information provided by leaders and have not checked its validity for themselves. Following support received from the local authority, they now have a better understanding of their strategic role.  Governors have a good understanding of the wider community the school serves. They have worked extremely hard to maintain the school’s positive standing within it.  During turbulent times, the governing body has successfully managed the school’s

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.  Current leaders have taken urgent steps to improve procedures. However, new systems are not working well enough. Record keeping is not sharp enough. For example, designated safeguarding leads do not keep thorough chronologies of the concerns raised or record the next steps clearly enough. Consequently, they are unable to identify pupils reliably who are potentially at risk of harm, and timely referrals to other agencies are not assured.  Staff have taken part in recent training on a range of safeguarding issues, including child sexual exploitation, the ‘Prevent’ duty and female genital mutilation. Staff are alert to the signs and symptoms of abuse and know how to refer concerns. Nevertheless, staff’s understanding of safeguarding is not consistently secure, for example around the ‘Prevent’ duty.  Leaders ensure that all staff and adults in school are vetted and checked for their

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Safeguarding

suitability to work with pupils.  Pupils are encouraged to identify risks and manage their own safety. Pupils are alert to potential safety issues around the school’s site and add their concerns to a safeguarding notice board for all to see. Pupils learn about how to cross the road and ride their bikes safely when out and about in the local community. They learn about how to stay safe when using technology online.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

 Teaching, learning and assessment are inconsistent in their effectiveness. Support from the local authority has started to improve the quality of teaching in English and mathematics. However, too much variance in quality remains, including across subjects. School improvement plans to improve teaching and learning have not yet been fully enacted.  Teachers’ subject knowledge is not strong enough to stretch pupils in their learning and enable reliable probing of pupils’ understanding. This results in some pupils not fully understanding the topic they are learning. At times, the learning that teachers plan is too easy or too hard for pupils. Consequently, pupils are not always successful in applying their knowledge in writing and mathematics and may lose interest, failing to complete tasks set by the teacher.  Teachers’ feedback to pupils about their work is not consistently helpful or relevant. Pupils are often unclear about what they need to do to improve their work.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

 Improvements in the teaching of phonics are helping key stage 1 pupils to make better progress. However, English teaching overall is not focused sufficiently on improving the accuracy of pupils’ writing. Too many pupils continue to make basic errors in spelling and simple sentence construction. This means progress is slow for some pupils.  Pupils are exposed to a range of helpful mathematical resources and images to help develop their knowledge and understanding. Pupils are given some opportunities to rehearse, practise and solve mathematical problems successfully. However, at times, learning moves on too quickly, without the teacher checking that pupils are ready. This means that, at times, gaps develop in pupils’ mathematical knowledge.  In subjects other than English and mathematics, pupils enjoy the opportunities teachers provide to connect their learning in different subjects. For example, pupils

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

learn about Ancient Greek gods within the history curriculum and also produce papier- mâché masks of Greek gods as part of the art curriculum. However, teachers do not consistently link new learning with pupils’ prior knowledge of subjects, to support good progress.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is inadequate.  Pupils’ welfare is not secure because the arrangements for safeguarding are ineffective, and vulnerable pupils are potentially unsafe.  The school’s values of love, courage and fellowship are embedded well. Pupils understand what these mean and enjoy being recognised as having demonstrated these values through the school’s awards and certificates. Older pupils know that they are role models for the younger pupils and are guided in this by the school’s ethos.  Pupils feel privileged to take on responsibilities when elected to specific leadership roles such as those of head boy, head girl and being part of junior leadership. As a result, pupils understand the importance of leadership and the processes of democracy and decision making.  Pupils understand equality. When asked about making friends with pupils who have

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Personal development and welfare

different characteristics to themselves, they immediately said they would. One pupil commented, ‘We always treat others as we would like to be treated.’  Pupils learn about the importance of positive relationships. For example, in a relationship education lesson, older pupils learned about what it is important to consider when deciding to have a baby. They were able to discuss and give reasons for their opinions, maturely and with confidence.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  Pupils behave delightfully towards others. They are polite and courteous with each other and adults. Older pupils are proud to be role models for the younger pupils and are fully aware of how their behaviour can influence that of others. As a result, name- calling, unkindness and bullying are extremely rare.  Where learning has been carefully planned and challenges pupils’ thinking, pupils work well with each other and share their ideas and resources. They help each other out when they get stuck. However, where lessons are less engaging, pupils show less interest in their learning.  Overall attendance is similar to the national average. Leaders have worked to improve the procedures that support pupils to attend school on a regular basis. They have put in place appropriate actions to work with parents to secure improvement, ensuring that pupils with low attendance attend school regularly.

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

 Historically, too few pupils have reached the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check. Early indications for current Year 1 pupils show that a higher proportion of pupils than the previous national average is reaching the expected standard this year. This is as a result of leaders’ clear focus on the teaching of phonics.  For the past three years, attainment at the end of key stage 1 has been below the national averages for writing and mathematics, with boys achieving consistently less well than girls. However, the school’s information indicates that, this year, pupils at the end of key stage 1 are better placed in reading, writing and mathematics as a result of leaders’ stronger focus on the quality of teaching.  Last year, pupils at the end of key stage 2 made progress that was in line with their peers nationally. Nevertheless, fewer pupils reached the expected and higher standards

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

in writing than in reading and mathematics, with boys achieving less well than girls.  For current Year 6 pupils, leaders’ early performance information suggests that smaller proportions have reached the expected standards in reading, writing and mathematics than in previous years. Leaders’ information indicates that these outcomes are likely to be below national averages.  Pupils’ workbooks show clear evidence of improving current progress, particularly in English and mathematics. Nevertheless, pupils’ progress in writing and mathematics remains stronger in key stage 1 than in key stage 2 and, overall, pupils’ workbooks show that pupils with SEND typically make weaker progress than their peers.  Pupils read on a regular basis, both at home and in school, reflecting pupils’ interest in reading and ongoing support at home. Nevertheless, at times, the books adults in the school select for younger pupils to read are not matched well to pupils’ reading ability.

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

In these cases, pupils faced with unfamiliar words do not necessarily have the appropriate strategies to work them out unaided, so their reading falters.  Pupils enjoy the valuable opportunities provided for them to explore subjects such as art, design and technology, and history. Nevertheless, pupils’ subject knowledge in these areas is not consistently well developed.

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Early years provision Inadequate

 Statutory welfare requirements in early years have been met. However, school leaders’ oversight of safeguarding is not effective, affecting all of the school’s pupils including children in early years.  Children enter the school with levels of development above those typically seen nationally. By the time they leave Reception, a large proportion of the children have reached a good level of development. This represents good progress from their starting points.  Adults in early years have a good understanding of the early years curriculum and the children in their class. Learning activities are tailored to meet the needs of the children. Adults know which areas need to be focused on and plan carefully for this. At times, children could be given further opportunities to develop their use of language, for example, during role play.  In Reception, children are busy and focused. They work well together, sharing ideas

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Early years provision Inadequate

and equipment. The inside classroom is inviting, bright and stimulating. Children navigate their way around it with confidence and find what they need, for example, apparatus to help them with their number work. The outside learning environment is not as well organised or resourced as the classroom. There are currently limited opportunities to develop children’s coordination and gross motor skills.  The teaching of phonics is effective. Children use the environment well to rehearse their knowledge, for example, in role play, ‘being a teacher’ and writing words with the sounds they are learning.  Children enjoy writing about their first-hand experiences. This was illustrated when several chose to write about their recent sports day. Children are successful writers. Most can write in simple sentences because the teacher has modelled clearly how to form letters and segment and blend sounds to write words.

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Early years provision Inadequate

 Children’s reading books are carefully matched to the sounds they are learning. Adults read to children on a regular basis, and they enjoy listening to a range of much-loved stories and poetry. Children develop a strong love of reading and are beginning to read well for themselves.  Leaders and other staff in early years use an online tool effectively to help plan the provision for children, and match activities appropriately to children’s learning needs. The early years leader welcomes parents and encourages them to share what their children learn at home, using this online tool. Parents engage well and are very positive about the impact of the guidance and support in early years. One parent reported: ‘I feel very grateful to have had such fabulous Reception teachers. Whenever I have needed any advice or have any additional questions, there is a very open-door policy that welcomes this.’ h d l h l h ’ ’

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School details

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

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Email address adminoffice@hatherden.hants.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 22 – 23 September 2015

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Information about this school

 The previous headteacher and chair of governors resigned in November 2018. Since then, an interim leadership structure has been put in place. A substantive headteacher has been appointed for September.  Since the previous inspection, the school has received support from the local authority.  This school is much smaller than the average-sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils eligible for pupil premium is much lower than the national average.  The vast majority of pupils are of White British background. The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds is very small.  The proportion of pupils with SEND is lower than the national average.  As a Church of England school, the school received its last section 48 inspection in November 2016.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed learning in all classrooms. Some observations were carried out with the interim headteacher and assistant headteacher.  In addition to discussions with parents, 32 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, were considered, including 28 free-text comments.  The inspector considered 11 responses to Ofsted’s staff survey.  A range of the school’s documentation was scrutinised, including: the school’s information on how well pupils are learning, pupils’ attendance records; leaders’ self- evaluation of the school’s effectiveness; records of local authority monitoring visits; and minutes of governing body meetings.  The inspector scrutinised the school’s website to evaluate the quality of information for parents and to check that the school meets statutory publishing requirements.  The inspector spoke to pupils to gather their views about the school, and heard pupils

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Information about this inspection

read.  The inspector met with senior and middle leaders, staff and governors, including the chair of the governing body, and local authority officers.

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Inspection team

Clare Haines, lead inspector 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

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 .

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Inspection team

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, 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.gov.uk/ofsted

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