Hazlehurst Community Primary School

HAZLEHURST PRIMARY SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 3 – 4 December 2001

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HAZLEHURST PRIMARY SCHOOL

Short inspection carried out under section 10 of the School Inspections Act 1996 This report may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that all extracts quoted are reproduced verbatim without adaptation and on condition that the source and date thereof are stated.

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HAZLEHURST PRIMARY SCHOOL

Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the School Inspections Act 1996, the school must provide a copy of this report and/or its summary 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. HAZLEHURST PRIMARY SCHOOL: - 3 - December 2001

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Geoffrey Street Ramsbottom Bury Lancs

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: The Governing Body

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Name of chair of governors: Mr P Bracewell

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: May 1997 HAZLEHURST PRIMARY SCHOOL: - 4 - December 2001

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Team members

16413 Mrs D Bell Registered inspector 31713 Mr S Roberts Lay inspector 21066 Mr G B Bowen Team inspector

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Team members

Nord Anglia School inspection Services Strathblane House Ashfield Road Cheadle Stockport SK8 1BB

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Team members

Any concerns or complaints about the inspection or the report should be raised with the inspection contractor. Complaints that are not satisfactorily resolved by the contractor should be raised with OFSTED by writing to:

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Team members

The Complaints Manager Inspection Quality Division

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Team members

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE HAZLEHURST PRIMARY SCHOOL: - 5 - December 2001

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 6

Information about the school How good the school is What the school does well What could be improved How the school has improved since its last inspection Standards Pupils’ attitudes and values Teaching and learning Other aspects of the school How well the school is led and managed Parents’ and carers’ views of the school

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS 19

HAZLEHURST PRIMARY SCHOOL: - 6 - December 2001

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Hazlehurst is a medium size primary school situated on the outskirts of Ramsbottom. It has 174 pupils aged four to 11 on its roll, 103 boys and 71 girls. The Year 5 class has a very significant imbalance in terms of gender, with 20 boys and only eight girls. There are seven classes in the school, all catering for a single age group. The number on roll has fallen since the last inspection, due to the decline in birth rate in the area from which the school draws most of its pupils, and which is slightly above average in terms of social and economic circumstances. There are four pupils from ethnic minority backgrounds, of Chinese or African origin, all of whom are fluent in English. There are no pupils for whom English is an additional language. The initial assessments carried out when the children start school show that the majority are at the levels expected for their age. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

school meals (4.02%) is below the national average as is the proportion of pupils on the register for special educational needs (9.8%). However, the proportion of pupils with statements of special educational needs (1.2%) broadly matches that found in most schools. The range of special educational needs covers both learning and behavioural difficulties. The number of pupils leaving and joining the school matches that found in most primary schools. An exception was last year’s Year 6 class. Here, one quarter of the pupils who took the tests in Year 6 had not been with the school from Year 2. The school has set as its main priority, maintaining or improving the performance of pupils in Year 2 and Year 6 in the National Curriculum tests for English, mathematics and science.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

This is an effective school. Good leadership, effective management and successful teaching in all age groups ensure that the vast majority of pupils take an interest in their work, achieve well and reach at least above average standards in the National Curriculum tests by the time they leave the school. The pupils enjoy coming to school and they work hard when they are there, responding well to the high expectations their teachers have of their work rate and behaviour. The school ensures that all pupils have the opportunity to participate equally in all activities offered, both in and outside of the normal school day. All staff are committed to improving standards and the school clearly demonstrates that it is capable of doing so. It provides good value for money.

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What the school does well

• Pupils’ attainment is above average in English, mathematics and science, and good standards have been maintained in music. • The headteacher’s determined and very clear vision for the school is effectively focused on raising standards further. • The quality of teaching is good in all age groups. The efficient, whole school approach to planning and the evaluation of it, results in the vast majority of lessons being well prepared to meet the learning needs of all pupils. • Pupils have positive attitudes to school. They behave well in lessons, are well motivated, try hard and are proud of their achievements.

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What could be improved

• With the exceptions of English, mathematics and science, the developing procedures in information and communication technology, and the work done in the reception class, the pupils’ achievements and progress are not adequately assessed or recorded. • The pupils’ annual reports do not provide parents with sufficient information about how well their children are doing in each subject, what they find difficult or what they need to do to improve. The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan.

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

The school was last inspected in May 1997. Overall, improvement since that time has been satisfactory, with good improvement in the provision for information and communication technology. Assessment is now well established for English and mathematics. It is under review in science and being developed in HAZLEHURST PRIMARY SCHOOL: - 7 - December 2001 information and communication technology. However, there is no consistent approach to assessment in other subjects. Pupils have more opportunities to engage in an appropriate range of investigative work that successfully involves them in selecting tools and materials and deciding on different ways of solving problems. However, they are not yet sufficiently involved in assessing their work or in promoting their own learning. The school development plan now focuses effectively on raising attainment in English and mathematics but does not show how provision and standards are to be improved in other subjects. In

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

addition, the previous report indicated that the pupils’ annual reports did not give enough information about pupils’ progress, or show how pupils could improve their learning. This is an area in which the school has not improved. The quality of teaching has improved and all teaching observed in this inspection was satisfactory or better.

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STANDARDS

The table shows the standards achieved by pupils at the end of Year 6 based on average point scores in National Curriculum tests.

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Key

English A A B C well above average above average A B Mathematics B A B C average below average C D Science A A A A well below average E

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Key

In English and mathematics, the standards attained by pupils at the end of Year 6 in 2001 were above the national average and matched the average for similar schools. In science, attainment was well above both the national average and that found in similar schools. Taken over all three subjects, the improvement over the last three years has been above the national trend, and has been particularly good in science. The attainment of the majority of pupils currently in Year 6 is above the national expectation in English, mathematics and science.

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Key

The results of the National Curriculum test and task results for pupils at the end of Year 2 in 2001 show that the pupils’ attainment was well above the national average in reading and mathematics, and matched the national average in writing. When compared with similar schools, reading was well above average, writing was average, and mathematics was above average. Over the last three years, the improvement in these results has also been above the national trend. The teacher assessments for science show that the pupils’ attainment is above the national expectation and matches that of similar schools. The attainment of the majority of pupils currently in Year 2 is above the national expectation in reading, writing, mathematics and science. The children in the reception class are well on their way to meeting what they are expected to have learned by the end of their reception year, in all areas of their

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Key

learning. Given the pupils’ average attainment on entry and their above average attainment by the time they leave the school, they achieve well.

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Key

The school has made appropriate use of assessment data in English and mathematics to set targets for the next two years. In the previous two years the targets have been considerably exceeded due to good teaching and successful booster classes that have closed gaps in pupils’ learning as a result of tracking their progress effectively over time. Good standards have been maintained in music since the last inspection. The pupils achieve very well in that subject, particularly in the areas of listening and performing. HAZLEHURST PRIMARY SCHOOL: - 8 - December 2001

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Aspect Comment

Attitudes to the school Good: the pupils enjoy coming to school. They are interested in their work and eager to participate in all activities. This contributes in great measure to their learning. Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Good: pupils listen attentively to each other and to their teachers; they are polite and well mannered, and take care of the books and equipment made available to them. There were three fixed term exclusions in the last school year, involving two pupils. Personal development and relationships Relationships are good throughout the school. Pupils care for and readily help each other and as they grow older, take increasing responsibility for a wide range of activities. These culminate in their running the school bank and forming the editorial board of the school newspaper by the time they are in Year 6. Attendance Attendance is above the national average. Pupils are almost always

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Aspect Comment

punctual and all lessons begin promptly.

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Teaching of pupils in: Reception Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6

Quality of teaching Good Good Good Inspectors make judgements about teaching in the range: excellent; very good; good; satisfactory; unsatisfactory; poor; very poor. ‘Satisfactory’ means that the teaching is adequate and strengths outweigh weaknesses.

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Teaching of pupils in: Reception Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6

The quality of teaching is good overall. It was at least satisfactory in all lessons observed. English and mathematics teaching is good and music teaching is occasionally excellent. The basic skills of literacy and numeracy are taught well throughout the school. However, while teachers help pupils to consolidate these skills well in other subjects, there is no whole school approach to determining how effectively other subjects can contribute to learning in literacy and numeracy. The large amount of time allocated specifically to English and mathematics is causing some anxiety for the school as it tries hard to maintain breadth and balance in the curriculum overall. The school successfully meets the learning needs of all pupils, enabling them to achieve well in relation to their prior learning. All teachers are well organised and well prepared for lessons. Planning is good and identifies clearly the step-by-step learning

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Teaching of pupils in: Reception Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6

required to achieve the lesson objectives. The teachers share with the pupils what they are expected to learn and provide a range of increasingly challenging activities that make high demands of them in terms of work rate and behaviour. The majority of pupils respond well to these expectations by working at a good pace, persevering when faced with new problems to solve and, as they grow older, taking more and more responsibility for finding things out for themselves. This aspect of learning is very successfully developed first of all in the reception class, where the children respond very well to the established rules and routines, for example, in relation to the number of children that can be in any one area at a given time. However, in the rest of the school generally, the pupils are not yet fully and effectively involved in assessing their work or in working to given targets to improve their learning.

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Aspect Comment

The quality and range of the curriculum The school provides an appropriate range of worthwhile learning opportunities and places strong emphasis on literacy and numeracy. Statutory requirements are met and there is an appropriate range of activities outside of the normal school day. Provision for pupils with special educational needs Satisfactory: pupils are identified early and appropriate support is provided for them, although their learning targets are not always precise enough to show the small steps in learning that they need in order to improve. Provision for pupils’ Good. School assemblies, which include very good acts of collective HAZLEHURST PRIMARY SCHOOL: - 9 - December 2001 personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development worship, are particularly effective in promoting the pupils’ spiritual development. The school helps pupils to behave well, and to look after and care for themselves, each other and their environment. It also

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Aspect Comment

prepares them well for life in a culturally diverse Britain. How well the school cares for its pupils All pupils are cared for well. There are good procedures in place for child protection and for ensuring pupils’ welfare. Procedures for monitoring attendance, behaviour and personal development are good. Procedures for assessing academic achievement are good in English, mathematics and science. However, in other subjects, the school does not adequately assess pupils’ learning and achievement and, with the exception of information and communication technology, has not yet begun to relate assessment procedures to the expected outcomes in the National Curriculum.

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Aspect Comment

Leadership and management by the headteacher and other key staff The headteacher provides clear and purposeful leadership that effectively focuses all staff on improving standards and promotes good achievement in all aspects of school life. The deputy headteacher and a highly committed team of teaching and non-teaching staff support him well in this work. How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities The governing body provides suitable support for the school and fulfils its statutory duties appropriately. Governors have a sound understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses and are very supportive of its work in English, mathematics, science and information and communication technology. They are less secure about its work in other subjects. The school’s evaluation of its performance Good: the rigorous analysis of strengths and weaknesses in English, mathematics and science have led to improved results in the National

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Aspect Comment

Curriculum tests. The effective, whole-school co-ordinated approach to checking teachers’ planning, and their work in the classroom, has led to improvements in teaching. The strategic use of resources Spending is very closely allied to the school’s stated priorities and very effective use is made of designated funding. The school spends very wisely and carefully. Good consideration of best value for money is effectively combined with checking on how various resources have an impact on the pupils’ learning.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

• Children like school. • They behave well. • They are expected to work hard and achieve their best. • Parents are comfortable approaching the school. • The school helps the children to become mature. • Homework (though they did not say whether too much or too little); • Information about how their children were progressing; • The school working closely with parents; • Leadership and management; • The limited range of activities outside of school.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

The inspection team agrees with the parents’ positive views. It found that the amount and type of homework set is adequate and helps the pupils to make progress, and that parents are given good information about this at the start of the school year. The school does not consult widely with parents, though it did so for the home/school agreement, and there are few parent helpers in the school. The pupils’ annual reports do not provide enough information for parents as to how well their children are doing, what they find difficult, or what they need to do to improve further. However, the school does HAZLEHURST PRIMARY SCHOOL: - 10 - December 2001 provide parents with good information about what goes on in school, and there is a satisfactory range of activities for pupils outside of the normal school day. The inspection team found good leadership and management in the school, which was clearly and effectively focused on raising standards and helping

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

all pupils to achieve as well as they could. HAZLEHURST PRIMARY SCHOOL: - 11 - December 2001

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Pupils’ attainment is above average in English, mathematics and science, and good

standards have been maintained in music.

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Pupils’ attainment is above average in English, mathematics and science, and good

1. There has been overall good improvement in pupils’ attainment and achievement in English, mathematics and science since the last inspection. The children are given a good start in the reception class and their effective learning is successfully built upon in subsequent years. Their achievement is good and the majority are already well on the way to attaining what is expected of them at the end of their reception year. Higher attaining children form letters that are of a consistent size, and are beginning to construct sentences accurately, using capital letters and full stops. The emergent writing of the middle attainers shows good awareness of initial letter sounds, and good attempts at phonic spellings, and some of this is evident also in the work of the lower attaining children. All children count accurately to five, and the higher attainers to ten. The majority understand the concepts of ‘more than’ and ‘less than’ in relation to

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Pupils’ attainment is above average in English, mathematics and science, and good

numbers. Higher attaining children are beginning to count on from a given number to find another, and lower attainers demonstrate their understanding of ‘more than’ and ‘less than’ by stacking blocks to show this in a practical way. As they gain increasing knowledge and understanding of their world, they demonstrate appropriate aural discrimination, recognising, for example, the different sounds that animals make, and placing baby animals correctly alongside their mothers. By the time the pupils are in Year 2 and Year 6, their attainment is above the national expectation for their age in English, mathematics and science, and their achievement is good.

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Pupils’ attainment is above average in English, mathematics and science, and good

2. The teachers’ consistently effective planning takes good account of the National Strategies for Literacy and Numeracy. Good support for pupils with special educational needs and the rigorous tracking of pupils’ progress throughout the school in literacy and numeracy means that the teachers know the strengths and limitations of all of their pupils in these subjects. They are confident enough in their subject knowledge to adapt lessons to answer particular learning needs and their planning shows that for most lessons, they do this equally for higher or lower attaining pupils. Teaching is good overall in English and mathematics, and some very good teaching was observed in mathematics.

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Pupils’ attainment is above average in English, mathematics and science, and good

3. In English, the pupils learn to read fluently, accurately and with expression. By the time they are in Year 6, they have read a wide range of texts, including poetry. All pupils enjoy reading and use books and CD ROMs competently and confidently to find information. This work is successfully fostered from an early age and as the pupils move through the different year groups, the majority talk with increasing knowledge about plot and characters, and develop a good understanding of how to communicate with an audience. For example, as pupils in Year 5 prepared a radio play, they responded very well to the teacher’s reminder that their performance was for a ‘listening audience’. They wrote effective introductions to set the scene, using their speaking and listening skills well, and remembering to include a wide range of appropriate sound effects to ensure that the listeners were able to follow the plot and

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Pupils’ attainment is above average in English, mathematics and science, and good

understand the script. Good quality learning experiences enable the pupils to gain a good grasp of how to re-tell stories, write newspaper reports, descriptions, explanations and instructions. Diaries, class collections of biographies and autobiographies, and writing based on the ‘Just so’ stories showed some very good use of descriptive language, secure sentence construction with good grammar, the effective use of paragraphs and legible handwriting. Pupils’ speaking and listening HAZLEHURST PRIMARY SCHOOL: - 12 - December 2001 skills are also good. They respond very confidently to their teachers’ well-targeted questions and to the high demands made of them to use Standard English, for example, in the introduction to their play, and to use the correct subject vocabulary in discussion and debate. Their good achievement in English is especially well demonstrated in the flexible use of a wide range of texts in the ‘Hazlehurst Chronicle’

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Pupils’ attainment is above average in English, mathematics and science, and good

where they successfully reach an audience interested in reading sports reports, accounts of events in school, jokes, interviews with staff and pupils, and poetry. Using their information and communication skills well, they import pictures, manipulate text and fonts, and produce an attractive newspaper, overseen by the editorial board consisting of pupils in Year 6.

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Pupils’ attainment is above average in English, mathematics and science, and good

4. In mathematics, the majority of pupils in Year 6 have good recall of multiplication tables and use them competently to solve two and three digit number problems in their heads. All pupils have an at least sound understanding of fractions and their common equivalents and work well with decimals and percentages, which they develop as early as Year 4. For example, pupils in that year group demonstrated a good understanding that 17 divided by 2 could be expressed as 8 ½ or as 8.5, and the teacher’s effectively targeted questioning enabled all pupils to participate fully in such calculations. Pupils develop a good understanding of shape, space and measure as they move through the different year groups. As early as Year 2, pupils record information using bar charts and block graphs, successfully translating the information they had gathered using tally charts. By Year 6 the pupils demonstrate good skills in handling information

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Pupils’ attainment is above average in English, mathematics and science, and good

and successfully record their findings using graphs, pie charts, bar and block graphs, competently using information and communication technology to do so. They learn the conventions for reading co-ordinates as they explore negative and positive numbers in a highly motivating way that assists them in remembering to read the vertical line first, then the horizontal to identify co-ordinates. In the Year 6 lesson observed, all pupils reached this understanding by the end of the lessons, demonstrating very good learning.

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Pupils’ attainment is above average in English, mathematics and science, and good

5. In science, the pupils have many first-hand practical experiences and by Year 6 they have a good knowledge of scientific topics such as the effect of light on shadows caused by the movement of the Earth around the Sun, what happens to food after it enters the mouth, and how sound travels through the air and vibrates. The pupils confidently undertake challenging investigative work that makes them think hard about how to conduct a fair test as they solve problems such as constructing an electrical circuit and working out what to do if a light does not immediately come on. For example, pupils in Year 4, working in pairs, responded eagerly to the highly motivating challenge to create a quiz board in which a correct answer lit a bulb. The very good step-by-step approach adopted by the teacher helped the pupils to persevere with batteries, foil, card and paper clips, to ensure that all circuits were successfully

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Pupils’ attainment is above average in English, mathematics and science, and good

connected prior to playing the quiz with another pair of pupils.

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Pupils’ attainment is above average in English, mathematics and science, and good

6. Pupils with special educational needs make good progress towards the targets in their individual education plans. The majority benefit from good support in and out of class. They achieve well and the majority reach the nationally expected standards for their age by the time they leave the school.

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Pupils’ attainment is above average in English, mathematics and science, and good

7. In an excellent music lesson, pupils in Year 6 demonstrated musical knowledge and listening skills that are well above the expectation for their age as they successfully identified a range of twentieth century music featuring styles as diverse as rhythm and blues, calypso, heavy metal, opera, jazz and country and western. They use a good range of musical vocabulary and have a highly developed sense of rhythm, and a good sense of pitch. The teacher’s effective questioning helps the pupils to evaluate their HAZLEHURST PRIMARY SCHOOL: - 13 - December 2001 singing and playing. They concentrate very hard and listen very carefully to whether they are keeping in time or not. The pupils sing both in class and in assembly, keeping together and in tune, and they know a good range of songs and hymns from memory. The high standards reported at the previous inspection have been maintained. Standards are at least satisfactory in all other subjects.

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The headteacher’s determined and very clear vision for the school is effectively

8. The headteacher continues to provide strong and purposeful leadership that effectively focuses all staff on raising standards in literacy, numeracy and science, and on promoting good achievement in all aspects of school life. He is appropriately supported by the deputy headteacher and a highly committed team of teaching and non-teaching staff. The headteacher, together with the Year 2 and Year 6 teachers, fully analyses the results of the National Curriculum tests. They then use the information to determine areas that need to be addressed in order to improve the results further. The school sets targets that are securely based on the test and assessment results of the relevant pupils, and are reasonably challenging for them. It then works very hard with pupils in Years 5 and 6 to fill the gaps in their learning and to help them achieve as well as they can, and as a result, exceeded the targets it set for

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The headteacher’s determined and very clear vision for the school is effectively

2001. It has not yet started to take account of these elements of its work in order to set more challenging targets in the first place.

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The headteacher’s determined and very clear vision for the school is effectively

9. The headteacher regularly and frequently checks teaching and learning in the classroom, as well as teachers’ planning and pupils’ work. Timetables for this are clearly laid down and the expectations for good teaching are made explicit to all staff. The head provides a good teaching role model as he takes each class in turn to enable the co-ordinators to check planning in their subjects. There is a co-ordinated whole school approach to the monitoring of teachers’ planning that is efficient and productive and ensures that pupils’ learning is continuous as they move through the school. The head and the relevant co-ordinators initial the planning to record that they have examined it. This monitoring of planning does not offer suggestions as to what to do to address areas not covered or not understood by the pupils. The staff evaluate their work in an efficient way by highlighting what has been covered, what is still

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The headteacher’s determined and very clear vision for the school is effectively

ongoing and what has not been achieved. In English, mathematics, science and information and communication technology, though not in other subjects, the teachers make good use of the information gained to plan subsequent learning. In addition to the headteacher, the co-ordinators for literacy and numeracy have also carried out some in-class observations of teaching and learning, although this work has been halted this year because of budget constraints.

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The headteacher’s determined and very clear vision for the school is effectively

10. Good liaison between the head and the governing body ensures that governors receive all relevant information and have the opportunity to debate and discuss the issues facing the school, including the standards it achieves. Together, the headteacher and governors manage very efficiently the school’s very tight finances and ensure that the pupils’ learning and achievement come first and foremost when making decisions about spending.

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approach to planning and the evaluation of it, results in the vast majority of lessons

being well prepared to meet the learning needs of all pupils.

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approach to planning and the evaluation of it, results in the vast majority of lessons

11. The quality of teaching is much improved since the previous inspection. In the Foundation Stage, that is, in the reception class, good assessment procedures track HAZLEHURST PRIMARY SCHOOL: - 14 - December 2001 children’s learning very effectively. The staff have very good knowledge and understanding of how young children learn and construct their questions well to elicit good responses from each child, thus raising their self esteem and motivating them to try harder to succeed. In a lesson in mathematical development, for example, a range of imaginative ways of teaching lower attaining children the concepts of ‘more’ and ‘less’ included stacking blocks and making columns of blocks on the easel rest, and led to the children beginning to be able to sequence the numbers one to five with increasing accuracy. Similarly, in a model making activity, the nursery nurse fostered the children’s independent learning skills well as she encouraged them to make

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approach to planning and the evaluation of it, results in the vast majority of lessons

decisions as to which tools and materials they should use to complete their models of fire engines. The co-ordinator for the Foundation Stage has worked effectively with all staff to show them how the six areas of learning feed into the National Curriculum programmes of study. Very good liaison with the Year 1 teacher ensures that the pupils’ learning is continuous from reception into Year 1.

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approach to planning and the evaluation of it, results in the vast majority of lessons

12. The co-ordinated and consistent whole school approach to planning ensures that the pupils’ learning is continuous as they move through the school. This is evident in the teachers’ ‘forecast’ and assessment files, which state clearly what the pupils will learn, based on the whole school scheme of work for each subject. These files are well-kept working documents. Good use is made of the National Strategies for Literacy and Numeracy, and of the national guidance available in other subjects. All teachers evaluate their planning consistently well by highlighting what has been covered, what is still ongoing and what has not been achieved. In English, mathematics, science, and more recently in information and communication technology, the information is carried forward to the next topic to address any gaps in learning. In the best examples, the teachers also make a note of which pupils have exceeded expectation and of

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approach to planning and the evaluation of it, results in the vast majority of lessons

those who require further help, and build this knowledge into their subsequent planning, by identifying appropriate extension or support work. Similar good planning is in place for art and design, design and technology, geography, history, music, physical education and religious education (the foundation subjects) topic by topic, but in these subjects, the teachers do not yet use their evaluations sufficiently to address identified gaps in learning.

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approach to planning and the evaluation of it, results in the vast majority of lessons

13. In Years 1 to 6, the good planning of work to meet the needs of all pupils results in their achieving well as their weaknesses are addressed and their strengths consolidated. Motivating ways of presenting learning objectives, for example ‘I will be a superstar if I have listened carefully and written clear instructions’ and good explanations from a carefully chosen text, successfully encouraged pupils in Year 3 to explain clearly, both orally and in writing the steps needed to write a successful book. The teachers’ good use of question and answer sessions helps to verify pupils’ understanding and to move their learning on by making them think hard as they answer questions such as ‘What do you think would happen if…?’ Thus the pupils are successfully encouraged to learn from each other, to think for themselves and to try out different ways of doing things.

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approach to planning and the evaluation of it, results in the vast majority of lessons

14. Throughout the school, the teachers have high expectations of the pupils in terms of work rate and behaviour, and in almost all lessons, pupils of all ability levels respond well and are spurred on to achieve more. For example, in a Year 4 mathematics lesson, as all pupils successfully learned how to interpret a bar chart, the work was broken down sufficiently to enable the pupils to construct a pictogram, set down symbols to interpret it, and to enter onto it the information they had gathered. A set of additional questions required the higher attaining pupils to interpret the information in greater depth thereby furthering their understanding of the use and interpretation of data. Higher attaining pupils from Year 3 were also included in this class as a result of HAZLEHURST PRIMARY SCHOOL: - 15 - December 2001 their teacher’s assessment of their learning potential and the need to ensure that they

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approach to planning and the evaluation of it, results in the vast majority of lessons

15. The vast majority of pupils work purposefully and at a good pace, listening attentively to their teachers, and following instructions accurately. This is because the teachers’ very good classroom management skills ensure that all time is used productively, and that all resources are to hand and are used well. Much positive encouragement is given through ongoing assessment and guidance, and pupils are constantly reminded of the intended learning outcomes for the lesson. This ensures that all pupils, including those with special educational needs are effectively included in all lessons and given the support they need to achieve well.

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approach to planning and the evaluation of it, results in the vast majority of lessons

16. Pupils’ work is marked regularly and discussed with them. All classes have targets for improvement in literacy and numeracy, arrived at through the effective assessment of the pupils’ prior learning, though targets for individual pupils are not yet a part of the school’s culture. The teachers also ensure that the pupils’ learning is consolidated and extended in an appropriate range and amount of homework. This is made known to the parents at the start of a term to give them the opportunity to help their children achieve well by becoming involved in their learning.

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approach to planning and the evaluation of it, results in the vast majority of lessons

17. Reading records are detailed and standards are monitored closely on an individual and group basis. As a result of the good planning, all resources are readily available for pupils at the start of lessons and pupils’ learning takes place step-by-step, because the teachers build well on what has gone before. This very effectively ensures that time is used productively for learning. The teachers are also careful to ensure that the pupils have the opportunity to select their own tools and materials in relevant lessons.

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Pupils have positive attitudes to school. They behave well in lessons, are well

motivated, try hard and are proud of their achievements.

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Pupils have positive attitudes to school. They behave well in lessons, are well

18. The pupils’ good attitudes, values and personal development have been maintained since the last inspection. They contribute to the good learning atmosphere achieved in the school because the pupils are able to work and play in a happy and secure environment, which is free from oppressive behaviour and harassment. The pupils know and understand the system of rewards and sanctions, and are confident that should any untoward behaviour such as bullying cause them problems, their teachers would deal with it quickly and effectively. The pupils behave very well in lessons and behaviour is good outside of lessons. However, some pupils engage in aimless chasing of each other in the playground because there are insufficient positive activities to occupy them, for example, games and other play equipment.

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Pupils have positive attitudes to school. They behave well in lessons, are well

19. Pupils enjoy coming to school and form good relationships with the adults and with each other. They involve themselves fully in school life and display good attitudes to their work. Right from the reception class, the children want to do well and take pride in their work They present it well, confidently explain what they are doing and are eager to show their developing skills. Co-operative work is good. When working in pairs and groups, the pupils readily share equipment and take turns. They listen carefully to each other’s ideas and suggestions and take responsibility for their own learning. In a Year 4 science lesson, for example, while card, paper clips, foil, batteries and electric wires were readily available for the pupils, they responded well by making decisions for themselves as to which to use and at what stage in the lesson, to achieve the intended learning outcome. This is an improvement on the previous inspection.

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Pupils have positive attitudes to school. They behave well in lessons, are well

HAZLEHURST PRIMARY SCHOOL: - 16 - December 2001 20. Personal development is actively and successfully encouraged from an early age. For example, children in the reception class know the well-established routines and class rules for how many children are allowed to participate in any activity at a given time. They show this by quickly putting on their coloured strings to show which area they are in and pass these on to others as they change areas. As they grow older, the pupils willingly take on more responsibilities, and gain increasing confidence in themselves. In an infant assembly, pupils presented group and solo work very well. In a Year 5 drama lesson, the pupils demonstrated good ability to organise their own work, allocate roles and work together in groups to prepare competent performances. By Year 6, the pupils run the school bank efficiently following a rota, and sit on the ‘editorial board’ of the school newspaper, thereby gaining a good understanding of the

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class, the pupils’ achievements and progress are not adequately assessed or

21. Good records of progress are maintained in literacy and numeracy. There are adequate records in science, and the procedures are currently under review to improve them. A new assessment booklet is in the process of being introduced to record pupils’ skill acquisition in information and communication technology. In other subjects, the teachers do not make sufficient use of their good evaluations of what is covered. There is very little diagnosis of pupils’ learning and no records of how well they are progressing, or what they need to do to improve further. Assessment procedures are inconsistent. They are in direct opposition to the effective whole school approach to planning, and are not yet related to the requirements of the National Curriculum for Year 2 and Year 6.

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class, the pupils’ achievements and progress are not adequately assessed or

22. The school uses a commercially produced scheme of work for personal, social and health education, and citizenship. All teachers cover aspects of these areas during lessons. They are also suitably reinforced in whole school assemblies and in designated ‘circle time’, when pupils have the opportunity to discuss a wide range of personal development topics. However, the approach is inconsistent. There is no assessment of the pupils’ learning and no checks on whether that learning is continuous throughout the school.

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how well their children are doing in each subject, or what they find difficult and what

23. This is very closely allied to the previous issue. Because the teachers do not record the progress that the pupils are making in all subjects, the information is not readily to hand to include in the annual reports, which do not meet statutory requirements. In the reports, history, geography and religious education are reported on together under the title of ‘humanities’, and the section on information and communication technology covers that subject and design and technology. The reports are mostly about what the pupils have covered, and their attitudes to work in each subject, rather than giving parents a clear indication of what their children know, understand and can do, what they find difficult, and what they need to do to improve. This information is not even consistently given for English, mathematics and science. HAZLEHURST PRIMARY SCHOOL: - 17 - December 2001 24. Overall, the reports are not constructive enough; they contain insufficient detail on

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how well their children are doing in each subject, or what they find difficult and what

achievement; they do not identify targets for improvement; and they give little guidance to parents as to how they might help their children at home. Comments are repetitive and too general. On too many occasions, for example, higher attaining pupils are described subject after subject as being a ‘delight to teach’ because they ‘enjoy the subject’, whilst the reports on lower attaining pupils contain consistently negative comments, again repeated subject after subject, commenting on pupils being ‘slow to settle’, ‘lacking concentration’ and being ‘easily distracted’. On occasions, it is not possible to identify which subject is being reported on, for example, in one humanities report the teacher has written ‘(Pupil) doesn’t like to contribute to class discussions, preferring to sit and listen. (Pupil) works hard at his own level.’

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how well their children are doing in each subject, or what they find difficult and what

25. The inspection team judges that the quality of the comments may well have led to the albeit small number of parental comments that the school caters only for pupils who do well and does not give enough support to those who struggle. Whilst this is not true of the day-to-day teaching of the pupils, it is easy to see from the pupils’ annual reports, how the parents concerned may have arrived at such a conclusion. HAZLEHURST PRIMARY SCHOOL: - 18 - December 2001

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

26. To raise standards further, the school should:

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• Improve the procedures for assessing and recording pupils’ progress and achievement in Years 1 to 6, in art and design, design and technology, geography, history, information and communication technology, physical education, religious education (the foundation subjects) and personal, social and health education (PSHE) by including in the School Development Plan a clearly defined timetable for:

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

- implementing fully the work on assessment in information and communication technology, and by drawing up and implementing effective and manageable procedures for recording pupils’ attainment and achievement in the other foundation subjects and in PSHE; - building teachers’ confidence to assess pupils’ attainment in accordance with the levels described in the National Curriculum for the foundation subjects; - extending the consistent monitoring of teachers’ planning to include checking that the outcomes of assessment are being used effectively to plan further learning in all subjects; - extending the role of the subject co-ordinators to include, for example, regular reviews of their subjects and drawing up action plans for improving standards and provision in them. (Paragraphs: 21 – 22)

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• Improve the quality of the pupils’ annual reports and the information for parents regarding their children’s achievements by ensuring that:

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

- the reports meet the statutory requirement to report progress in every National Curriculum subject and religious education, as well as providing information on pupils’ personal development; - the reports provide parents with clear information on how well their children are doing in each subject, what they find difficult, and what they need to do to improve further. (Paragraphs: 23 –25) HAZLEHURST PRIMARY SCHOOL: - 19 - December 2001

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Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 11

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactor y Poor Very Poor

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

The table gives the number and percentage of lessons observed in each of the seven categories used to make judgements about teaching.. Care should be taken when interpreting these percentages as each lesson represents more than four percentage points.

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils on the school’s roll Nursery YR – Y6

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) N/A 174

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals N/A 7

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Information about the school’s pupils

Special educational needs Nursery YR – Y6

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs N/A 2

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register N/A 17

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Information about the school’s pupils

English as an additional language No of pupils

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with English as an additional language 0

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 12

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 10

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Attendance

School data 3.8 School data 0.3 HAZLEHURST PRIMARY SCHOOL: - 20 - December 2001 National comparative data 5.6 National comparative data 0.5

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Attendance

Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. HAZLEHURST PRIMARY SCHOOL: - 21 - December 2001

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 1 for the latest reporting year 2001 14 10 24

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)

National Curriculum Test/Task Results Reading Writing Mathematics

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)

Boys N/A N/A N/A Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls N/A N/A N/A

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)

Percentage of pupils School 96 (96) 96 (96) 100 (100) at NC level 2 or above National 84 (83) 86 (84) 91 (90)

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)

Boys N/A N/A N/A Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls N/A N/A N/A

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)

Percentage of pupils School 96 (96) 100 (92) 96 (96) at NC level 2 or above National 85 (84) 89 (88) 89 (88)

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)

Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year. Numbers of boys and girls are not given in the table because this information is not required when there are ten or less of either in the year group.

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6)

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 2 for the latest reporting year 2001 16 14 30

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6)

National Curriculum Test/Task Results English Mathematics Science

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6)

Boys 14 14 16 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 14 13 14

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6)

Percentage of pupils School 93 (91) 90 (91) 100 (94) at NC level 4 or above National 75 (75) 71 (72) 87 (85)

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6)

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6)

Boys 14 14 16 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 14 13 14

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6)

Percentage of pupils School 93 (91) 90 (91) 100 (94) at NC level 4 or above National 72 (70) 74 (72) 82 (79)

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6)

Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year. HAZLEHURST PRIMARY SCHOOL: - 22 - December 2001

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – Caribbean heritage 0 Black – Caribbean heritage 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – African heritage 1 Black – African heritage 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Any other minority ethnic group 1 Other minority ethnic groups 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

This table refers to pupils of compulsory school age only. This table gives the number of exclusions of pupils of compulsory school age, which may be different from the number of pupils excluded.

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 8 Financial year 2000/2001

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 21.8

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: YR– Y6 Total income 384,770

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 5 Total expenditure 382,388

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 59.5 Expenditure per pupil 2,045

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Teachers and classes Financial information

FTE means full-time equivalent Balance brought forward from previous year -6,164

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Balance carried forward to next year -3,782

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers who left the school during the last two years 2

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers appointed to the school during the last two years 2

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Recruitment of teachers

Total number of vacant teaching posts (FTE) 0

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of vacancies filled by teachers on temporary contract of a term or more (FTE) 0

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of unfilled vacancies or vacancies filled by teachers on temporary contract of less than one term (FTE) 0

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Recruitment of teachers

FTE means full-time equivalent. HAZLEHURST PRIMARY SCHOOL: - 23 - December 2001

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Percentage of responses in each category

Strongly agree Tend to agree Tend to disagree Strongly disagree Don’t know

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Percentage of responses in each category

My child is making good progress in school. 54 35 9 0 2

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Percentage of responses in each category

Behaviour in the school is good. 37 57 6 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 39 43 19 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 39 43 19 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 70 28 2 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 59 37 2 0 2

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school works closely with parents. 43 39 17 0 2

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is well led and managed. 46 35 15 2 2

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 56 39 6 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 30 44 13 4 9

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