Hedworth Lane Primary School

HEDWORTH LANE PRIMARY SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 5 th – 6 th November 2001

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HEDWORTH LANE 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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HEDWORTH LANE 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. Hedworth Lane Primary School - 1 INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

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HEDWORTH LANE PRIMARY SCHOOL

School address: Hedworth Lane Boldon Colliery Tyne & Wear

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HEDWORTH LANE PRIMARY SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: The governing body

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HEDWORTH LANE PRIMARY SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: May 1997 Hedworth Lane Primary School - 2 INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

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HEDWORTH LANE PRIMARY SCHOOL

Team members 3277 Miss W L R Hunter Registered inspector 9511 Mrs A Longfield Lay inspector 12631 Mrs M M McLean Team inspector 18819 Mr J Atkinson Team inspector

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HEDWORTH LANE PRIMARY SCHOOL

Eclipse (Education) Limited 14 Enterprise House Kingsway Team Valley Gateshead NE11 0SR.

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HEDWORTH LANE PRIMARY SCHOOL

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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HEDWORTH LANE PRIMARY SCHOOL

The Complaints Manager Inspection Quality Division

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HEDWORTH LANE PRIMARY SCHOOL

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE. Hedworth Lane Primary School - 3

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT [ ]

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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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Hedworth Lane is a larger than average primary school for pupils aged four to 11. There are 298 pupils in the school, with a reasonable balance of boys to girls although boys outnumber girls in Years 2 and 5. The level of free school meals is below average. Forty-two pupils have been identified with special educational needs; this is also below average, including one pupil with a statement of specific need. Most pupils are from white European families but there are a small number of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds, including two who have very recently joined the school. Five pupils have English as an additional language and some are so new to the school that they are still being assessed to determine the full extent of their needs.

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

The school is in the ex-mining village of Boldon Colliery, to the south of Hebburn and Jarrow. The area has undergone quite a change in recent years with the development of private housing estates. The school has also had recent changes with some new teachers and governors in place. A key feature of the school is that the deputy head teacher is recognised as an advanced skills teacher. She does not have responsibility for a class but teaches throughout the school and works supporting teachers in other schools.

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

The school does not have a nursery. When children start in reception, the formal assessments show that their attainment is average in relation to other schools in South Tyneside. Their work indicates that they are working at levels below what is expected of typical four year olds, especially in their reading, writing and personal and social skills.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

The school has excellent systems for monitoring and evaluating its work. These support very good teaching that, in turn, promotes good learning and high standards, especially in English and mathematics. Pupils’ attitudes are generally good. Leadership and management are very good and the school clearly adds value to pupils’ academic and personal development. Consequently, this is a very effective school that gives very good value for money.

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What the school does well

• Teaching is very good and supports good learning for all pupils. • The systems for evaluating and monitoring the school’s performance are excellent. They are used very well to make strategic decisions that influence its work, add value to pupils’ learning and sustain high standards. • The provision for pupils’ moral and social development is very good and helps to promote the good attitudes and relationships in the school. • The head teacher and deputy head teacher are an extremely effective partnership and lead and manage the school very well.

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What could be improved

• The time allocated to teaching religious education in Years 3 to 6 and the opportunities for pupils to use their writing skills in this subject. • The way the school evaluates and records what pupils know, understand and can do in information and communication technology (ICT) and religious education. • The arrangements for the registration of pupils in the morning. Hedworth Lane Primary School - 5 The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan. Hedworth Lane Primary School - 6

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

The school was last inspected in May 1997 and has made very good progress since then. It has raised standards in English and mathematics and has sustained a greater rate of improvement in its test performance than most other schools. Developments in teachers’ planning have supported an improvement in the quality of teaching to the point that teaching is now very good in all year groups. The roles of governors, curriculum co-ordinators and key staff have developed well. They are now fully involved in a regular process of self-review that supports strategic decisions about the organisation of classes, the use of teachers and support staff, and influences the curriculum being taught. The school remains committed to the continued analysis of its own performance and therefore has the capacity to sustain its very good rate of development.

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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 B A B B well above average above average A B mathematics A B B B average below average C D science A A C C well below average E

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Key

In the national tests for 11 year olds in 2001, the school’s performance was above the national averages in English and mathematics. It performed just as well when compared to schools with a similar level of free school meals. This level of performance was a good achievement for the school when matched against the targets that had been set for this particular group of pupils. Fewer pupils reached the higher levels in the test than did in the previous year, but this was carefully and accurately predicted, and the school’s targets for 2002 show a clear increase in the performance expected by the current Year 6.

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Key

In the above table, the school’s results in science in 2001 appear to be quite a bit lower than previous years. Although all pupils reached the level expected for 11 year olds in the tests, a few missed reaching the higher level by a very narrow margin. This affected the calculation of the test scores and brought the school’s performance close to the national average. The results were also affected by a problem in the way that these pupils had been taught science in Key Stage 1. This has been identified and rectified with the result that the school has set challenging targets for the current Year 6 and is well on track to achieve better performance in science in 2002.

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Key

When children start in the school their attainment is generally below average. Throughout the school pupils make good progress and achieve well. Consequently, by the end of Year 2, standards in reading, writing and mathematics are good and, by the end of Year 6, standards in English and mathematics are above the levels expected for 11 year olds. There was insufficient evidence to judge pupils’ standards in information and communication technology (ICT) and religious education. It was also too soon after they had started at the school to be able to judge the standards of pupils with English as an additional language. Hedworth Lane Primary School - 7

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Aspect Comment

Attitudes to the school Good. Pupils enjoy their work and are keen to learn.

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Aspect Comment

Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Good overall. Behaviour is very good in most classes but the occasional silliness of some Year 5 boys during lessons is disappointing for their teachers. Behaviour outside is very good for younger pupils but can be boisterous and occasionally quite physical for older pupils.

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Aspect Comment

Personal development and relationships Good. Pupils are used to working together in mixed age classes and groups. They develop good relationships with each other.

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Aspect Comment

Attendance Satisfactory. Rates of attendance are similar to the national figures.

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Aspect Comment

The school is a happy and welcoming place where pupils enjoy their work. Most pupils behave very well and take pride in what they do.

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

Quality of teaching Very good Very good Very 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

Teaching is very good. Teachers set precise objectives for their lessons and are clear about what they are trying to achieve. They make use of a good range of data on pupils’ previous performance to organise pupils into groups for literacy and numeracy and this helps them to target work more precisely at the levels required by the pupils. This is effective and means that lower attaining pupils, and those with special educational needs or language difficulties, receive good support and make good progress, while higher attaining pupils are also challenged sufficiently.

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

A key strength of the teaching is the way that teachers and support staff use questions to make sure that pupils understand what they are doing, why they are doing it and to explore the different methods they could use to reach the end result they want. Teachers have very good relationships with their classes and those in Years 5 and 6 manage the immature and distracting behaviour of some pupils extremely well. It is a credit to them that they prevent any lasting impact on the learning of others in the class. Hedworth Lane Primary School - 8

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Aspect Comment

The quality and range of the curriculum Good. Pupils are given a broad range of experiences and take part in a good selection of educational visits linked to the topics they study. Provision for pupils with special educational needs Satisfactory. The school has appropriate systems for identifying and assessing pupils’ needs and the school’s tracking system effectively picks up where they need extra help in their English and mathematics. Pupils receive good quality support from the learning support assistants and consequently make good progress. Provision for pupils with English as an additional language Satisfactory. The school is working effectively with the local education authority to assess and meet the needs of the pupils who need extra support with their spoken English. Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Provision for spiritual and cultural development is good. Provision for moral

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Aspect Comment

and social development is very good and is supported particularly well by the strong personal, social and health education (PSHE) programme and the high expectations of the staff. How well the school cares for its pupils The school has sound procedures for child protection. A few health and safety issues were identified, including the timing of morning registration which is taking place too long after the start of the school day.

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Aspect Comment

The curriculum meets statutory requirements but the time allocated to teaching religious education is lower than recommended in Years 3 to 6. Although the religious education curriculum is planned effectively and in great detail, it means that older pupils do not write or record their work and therefore do not use their literacy skills as well as they could through this subject. The school has excellent systems and procedures for monitoring and tracking pupils’ academic performance in English, mathematics and science but has little in place to effectively evaluate pupils’ learning in other subjects. This impacts in ICT and religious education particularly, where there was insufficient evidence available to judge pupils’ standards, and is symptomatic of the reasonably bland and general comments written about these subjects in the reports to parents.

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Aspect Comment

Leadership and management by the head teacher and other key staff Very good. The head teacher and deputy head teacher have a very clear understanding of what works and what doesn’t. Curriculum co-ordinators take good responsibility for their subject areas and are thoroughly involved in the school’s regular self-review of its own performance and development. How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities Good. A group of governors are particularly well informed through the school’s self-review process. Governors fulfil their responsibilities well and the school meets statutory requirements. The school’s evaluation of its performance Excellent. A programme of self-review sits alongside excellent pupil tracking and data analysis systems implemented and managed by the deputy head teacher. The strategic use of resources Very good. Strategic decisions are based on the outcomes of the school’s self-reviews. These target the use of the deputy head teacher’s teaching to

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Aspect Comment

specific groups of pupils, make sure that support staff are used where they are needed most, and modifies the organisation of groups and classes where necessary. Hedworth Lane Primary School - 9 The school’s self-review and pupil tracking systems are key features of its success. They encourage staff and governors to look critically at what is happening and to identify how they can improve the school’s organisation and their work to make sure that pupils get the best possible value out of their learning. This is supported by a well established and very effective programme of professional development and training for staff.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

• The teaching is good and their children make good progress. • The school has high expectations and reaches high standards. • The school is well led and managed and they feel comfortable approaching the staff with questions or problems. • Their children like and enjoy coming to school. • The amount of homework given to pupils. • The communication from the school, especially about how their children are getting on. • The range of extra-curricular activities.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

Inspectors agree with all parents’ positive comments about the school and partly agree with some of their concerns. Pupils are given appropriate homework for their ages. There is a reasonable range of extra- curricular activities but these tend to be for older pupils only. The school uses an excellent ‘home/school’ diary system as the main way of communicating with parents. This relies heavily on the pupils taking responsibility to make the system work and, for some parents, this is obviously not as effective as it could be. Annual reports to parents are not as precise as they could be about the progress the children have made in some subjects. Hedworth Lane Primary School - 10

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

Teaching is very good and supports good learning for all pupils.

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

1 Teaching is very good. Teachers set precise objectives for their lessons and are clear about what they are trying to achieve. They share these objectives with pupils at the start of each lesson and this helps the pupils to understand what they are doing, why they are doing it, and what they expect to have achieved by the end of the lesson. This encourages pupils to take some responsibility for their own learning and is particularly successful in helping those with special educational needs realise that they are making good progress. For example, in an English lesson with some Year 2 pupils, the teacher carefully explained the purpose of the lesson (to think about using interesting words – adjectives – and to write complete sentences) then used skilful, focussed questions to check that pupils understood what they were trying to do. By the end of the lesson, pupils were confidently choosing words like ‘angry’ to describe characters in their

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

sentences and they were using capital letters and full-stops more accurately to form correct sentences.

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

2 The school makes use of a good range of data to organise pupils into groups for literacy and numeracy. This helps teachers to target work precisely at the levels required by the pupils and means that lower attaining pupils, and those with special educational needs or language difficulties, receive good support and make good progress, while higher attaining pupils are also challenged sufficiently to make good progress. For instance, in a mixed Year 3 and Year 4 mathematics lesson, the class teacher concentrated on working with the Year 3 higher attaining pupils, while the deputy head teacher taught the Year 4 pupils a similar topic but with a different emphasis. This was extremely effective and boosted the learning of both groups. The quality of teaching was very good and both teachers used a wide range of interesting and stimulating resources to bring their teaching to life. While the Year 3 pupils used the results of a local traffic

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

survey to produce bar charts by hand and on laptop computers, the Year 4 pupils learnt to interpret graphs and began to appreciate the importance of scale and accurate labelling.

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

3 A key strength of the teaching is the way that teachers and support staff use questions to make pupils explain and explore the different methods they use to reach the end result they want. For example, in a Year 4 mathematics lesson, the teacher urged pupils to explain how they had worked out the fractions of shapes and how they had decided which order to put fractions in along their number line from 0 to 1. When one pupil got slightly confused trying to explain 2/8 as the mixed fraction 2 and 1/8, the teacher confidently grasped this opportunity to extend pupils’ learning and explain the idea of whole numbers and fractions greater than 1. This was effective because, when given the chance to work independently, some pupils followed this up in their practical work using puzzles to make mixed fractions.

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

4 Teachers have very good relationships with their classes and those in Years 5 and 6 manage the immature and distracting behaviour of some Year 5 boys extremely well. For instance, in a science lesson, where pupils looked at how musical instruments produced sounds by vibration, the teacher kept a close check on a group of pupils that had carried out their experiments well but who became restless when they were expected to take part in discussions and listen to the results of others in the class. Similarly, in a mathematics lesson on calculating the perimeter of rectangles, the teacher kept the lesson moving along at a fast pace to hold the interest and attention of a group of boys who tended to rush their work then fidget and distract others. He set specific challenges for them to tackle and kept bringing them back to the purpose of the lesson to check their understanding of perimeter.

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

5 Teachers benefit from a well-established and effective programme of professional development and training. As a result, they are confident and comfortable with the subjects and topics they teach. They encourage pupils to talk about their work and, in so doing, support the development of their good speaking Hedworth Lane Primary School - 11 and listening skills as well as introducing subject specific vocabulary. Teachers work very well with the learning support staff in the school, who also receive high quality training and professional support to help them carry out their roles. Teachers value the support and contribution they receive from these colleagues and use them effectively to work with individuals and groups of pupils to boost their learning. For instance, in a reception class, the teacher grabbed children’s attention by using puppets to introduce the lesson then asked a group of children to work with the support assistant on a carefully organised range of practical

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

activities to help them learn about the properties of basic shapes. This was very effective and left the teacher free to work with other children in the class and move them on to classifying shapes and sorting shapes.

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

6 The very good quality teaching in the school is underpinned by the excellent assessment and tracking systems that monitor pupils’ progress and performance, especially in English and mathematics. This helps to make sure that pupils are building systematically on their previous achievements and that the work in lessons is targeted at the right level to maximise their learning. Consequently, the combination of effective assessment and high quality teaching is contributing well to the school’s high standards and performance in the national tests for 11 year olds.

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used very well to make strategic decisions that influence its work, add value to pupils’ learning

7 The school has a strong established culture of self-evaluation and review. This involves all staff and a key group of governors taking a critical look at how the school is performing and where it needs to channel and target its resources on a termly basis. This works very well and is a key factor in the school’s success.

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used very well to make strategic decisions that influence its work, add value to pupils’ learning

8 The school has a systematic and effective programme of monitoring in place. Curriculum co- ordinators take responsibility for monitoring the quality of planning in their subjects and match this to the standards of work produced by pupils. They hold themselves accountable for developments in their subjects and play an important role in helping the school to identify its strengths and pinpoint the areas that need priority attention. Alongside this, the head teacher, deputy head teacher, co-ordinators for each age range and key subject co-ordinators monitor the quality of teaching taking place across the school. Three times a year, the information gathered through these monitoring activities is pooled and brought together in a document that is given to staff and is also put to a governors’ self-review group. This keeps governors and staff fully informed about the school’s progress and makes sure that everyone shares the responsibility and

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used very well to make strategic decisions that influence its work, add value to pupils’ learning

understanding of where the school is focusing its efforts.

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used very well to make strategic decisions that influence its work, add value to pupils’ learning

9 The deputy head teacher has been instrumental in developing and implementing an excellent computer-based system for tracking pupils’ progress and performance in English, mathematics and science. This is now firmly embedded as part of the school’s regular review process and provides staff with a wealth of useful data about the performance and targets for the pupils they teach. In addition, the school is making extremely good use of this data to help organise pupils into teaching groups for literacy and numeracy, to identify pupils that could benefit from additional support, and to determine where the deputy head teacher could best use her time for focused teaching. For example, having identified a shortfall in Year 4 pupils’ understanding of how to handle data and interpret graphs in mathematics and science, the deputy head teacher has been timetabled to teach these aspects to a specific group of pupils in Year 4 in order to boost

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used very well to make strategic decisions that influence its work, add value to pupils’ learning

10 The systematic use of data and regular self-critical review of performance underpins the school’s strategic decisions about how, when and where to make use of its valuable resources, such as the learning support staff and the deputy head teacher’s teaching time. This is a positive approach to inclusion that Hedworth Lane Primary School - 12 ensures that pupils of all abilities are given maximum opportunities to benefit from the school’s resources. It also helps to feed into a well-established programme of professional development to support the teaching and support staff in the school. The self-evaluation process is a strong feature of the school. It supports the value that the school adds to pupils’ learning, helps to sustain its high standards and ensures that it provides very good value for money.

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The provision for pupils’ moral and social development is very good and helps to promote the

good attitudes and relationships in the school.

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The provision for pupils’ moral and social development is very good and helps to promote the

11 Provision for pupils’ moral and social development is very good. Pupils are taught the importance of belonging to a ‘community’ and take great pride wearing their school uniforms to show that they are part of the school.

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The provision for pupils’ moral and social development is very good and helps to promote the

12 The school has a clear code of conduct and high expectations of behaviour and personal attitudes. Parents and pupils contributed to the school rules and these are well understood by pupils of all ages. Pupils are clearly taught the difference between ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ and assemblies play an important part in the development of their moral understanding. For example, in one assembly on the theme of ‘heroes’, pupils came to the conclusion that heroes were ‘special’ people and made many suggestions from different walks of life, including Neil Armstrong, Christopher Columbus, Jesus and Steve Redgrave. They understood that each of these individuals was ‘special’ for different reasons and realised that they too could be ‘special’ in different ways. In another assembly, pupils were reminded of the importance of saying ‘Thank you’ and they tried hard to remember to thank people for their help during the rest of that day.

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The provision for pupils’ moral and social development is very good and helps to promote the

13 Pupils are keen to accept responsibility and take pride in being given ‘jobs’ to do by their teachers. They respond well to the high expectations of the staff in the school and are eager to please them and earn their trust and respect. As a result, pupils develop good attitudes to their work and forge good relationships with the adults and other children in the school.

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The provision for pupils’ moral and social development is very good and helps to promote the

14 Pupils develop a strong social conscience. They eagerly take part in activities that involve the local community, such as a Harvest Festival appeal, and readily collect money for charities and people less fortunate than themselves. Pupils’ social development is supported well by many opportunities to work co- operatively and collaboratively in mixed age groups during lessons, and to take part in the good range of educational visits that supports the curriculum. For example, in a personal, social and health education (PSHE) lesson in Years 5 and 6, pupils were encouraged to work together, share their views and listen to and respect each others’ ideas to make an informed view on the dangers of smoking. Pupils in Years 5 and 6 undertake a residential visit, while pupils in other classes take part in several visits each year to support their work in history, geography, science and religious education. Pupils also get the chance to develop

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The provision for pupils’ moral and social development is very good and helps to promote the

relationships with regular visitors to the school, including artists, authors, theatre groups and local clergy.

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The provision for pupils’ moral and social development is very good and helps to promote the

15 The school offers a broad programme of PSHE activities to pupils. This covers a wide range of topics, such as ‘feelings’, ‘friends and family’, ‘bullying’, ‘laws and democracy’, ‘making and breaking rules’ and ‘prejudice and human rights’. This provides pupils with plenty of opportunities to learn about the importance of relationships and to consider factors that can influence their life. It also helps them to understand the needs of different groups of people in the community and to appreciate and respect that people have different values and ideas about the world we live in.

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The provision for pupils’ moral and social development is very good and helps to promote the

16 The school’s strong provision for pupils’ moral and social development helps them to grow in confidence and develop mature, responsible attitudes. This in turn helps to support their work in many subjects as they learn to listen to each other, share ideas and respect views different to their own. Hedworth Lane Primary School - 13

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The head teacher and deputy head teacher are an extremely effective partnership and lead and

17 The head teacher and deputy head teacher have strengths that complement each other extremely well. As a result, their working partnership provides the school with clear and effective leadership. A combination of good communication and precise analytical skills underpins the school’s self-evaluation and review process and provides good support for teachers, support staff, governors and pupils.

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The head teacher and deputy head teacher are an extremely effective partnership and lead and

18 The day-to-day management of the school is efficient and effective. Consequently, the school runs very smoothly and pupils benefit greatly from their experiences. This shows in the outcomes of the school’s work, including its performance in national tests, the high levels of attendance and the good attitudes and values that pupils develop.

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The time allocated to teaching religious education in Years 3 to 6 and the opportunities for pupils

to use their writing skills in this subject.

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The time allocated to teaching religious education in Years 3 to 6 and the opportunities for pupils

19 The school allocates an appropriate amount of its teaching time to religious education in Key Stage 1. However, for the older pupils from Year 3 onwards the time given to this subject is too low. The impact of this is shown in the lack of opportunities that pupils are given to record or write about their experiences in religious education.

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The time allocated to teaching religious education in Years 3 to 6 and the opportunities for pupils

20 The school’s planning for religious education is detailed, thorough and provides good guidance for teachers. It clearly indicates that all the required elements are being taught, including the three faiths of Christianity, Judaism and Islam and that there is a good range of educational visits to support pupils’ learning. This is monitored very carefully by the co-ordinator to make sure that pupils are consistently taught what is planned. However, the low allocation of time in Key Stage 2 means that the school has placed an emphasis on speaking and listening activities in religious education, with the result that older pupils rarely record any written work in this subject.

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The time allocated to teaching religious education in Years 3 to 6 and the opportunities for pupils

21 The development of pupils’ writing has been a recent focus for the whole school. Pupils regularly use their literacy skills effectively to support their work in subjects such as history, geography and science, but opportunities are being missed to give them the chance to use these skills to support the development of their knowledge, skills and understanding in religious education. As a consequence, although pupils have secure multicultural awareness and can talk about different religious faiths and beliefs, their recall and understanding is sometimes fragmented. However, in the absence of any written work, especially in Year 6, there is insufficient evidence to judge pupils’ standards in religious education.

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The way the school evaluates and records what pupils know, understand and can do in

information and communication technology (ICT) and religious education.

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The way the school evaluates and records what pupils know, understand and can do in

22 The school has excellent systems and procedures for assessing and monitoring pupils’ work and progress in English, mathematics and science. However, in the other key subjects of ICT and religious education there is little in place to effectively track pupils’ learning or to evaluate the standards pupils reach. Consequently, the comments in the annual reports to parents are relatively bland for these subjects and do not do credit to the experiences that pupils receive.

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The way the school evaluates and records what pupils know, understand and can do in

23 Information and communication technology (ICT) is a high priority in the school development plan and this subject has undergone significant change and improvement in the school over recent years. Pupils Hedworth Lane Primary School - 14 are taught the basic skills by their class teachers and then use them effectively to support their work in other subjects. For example, they have used their word processing skills to write play-scripts and produce book reviews in English, have combined text and graphics to make posters about ‘how to brush your teeth’ in science, and have used spreadsheets to create graphs linked to work in mathematics. However, although the school has a comprehensive scheme of work identifying the skills that pupils of different ages are expected to achieve, there are few formal assessments taking place and pupils’ work is not systematically saved or stored. As a result, pupils can only talk in general terms about their experiences and there are

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The way the school evaluates and records what pupils know, understand and can do in

some gaps in their recall of all the areas they should have covered. There was insufficient evidence to judge standards in ICT and this reflects the fact that teachers also have little evidence on which to judge the progress that pupils are making or to demonstrate their achievements to parents. The school is aware of this and has plans to introduce a more formal approach to retaining examples of pupils’ work and assessing their learning in this subject following the recent building work that has provided access to a computer suite and network for the first time.

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The way the school evaluates and records what pupils know, understand and can do in

24 In religious education, the syllabus for this subject gives teachers clearly defined statements about what is expected of pupils by the ages of seven and 11. These are designed to help teachers judge pupils’ attainments in relation to what they should know, understand and be able to do. Evidence of this is expected to come from a variety of sources, such as observations of pupils’ work in groups, conversations with pupils, direct questioning of pupils, assessment of pupils’ written work and structured assessment tasks. Because the school has opted to teach most of its religious education curriculum through discussion, older pupils rarely produce written work or undertake activities that provide evidence of their knowledge and understanding. Consequently, teachers rely on their personal knowledge of their discussions with pupils to ascertain how well they are doing in this subject. This is not secure enough and does not provide sufficient information for

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The way the school evaluates and records what pupils know, understand and can do in

teachers to be able to demonstrate what individual pupils have achieved, either to themselves, to the pupils or to the parents. This shows in the relatively bland and general comments that are made about pupils’ progress in religious education in the annual reports written for parents.

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The way the school evaluates and records what pupils know, understand and can do in

The arrangements for the registration of pupils in the morning.

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The way the school evaluates and records what pupils know, understand and can do in

25 On some days, pupils in Key Stage 1 go straight into the hall for assembly when they arrive in school while, on other days, this happens with the older pupils in Key Stage 2. On these occasions, the pupils are not registered until they go into their classrooms after assembly has finished. This means that the school does not have an accurate record of the pupils that are in school during this period each day. This is a health and safety concern.

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(a) Increase the time allocated to teaching religious education in Years 3 to 6 to match the recommendations of the local Agreed Syllabus and therefore allow pupils more opportunities to use their writing skills in this subject. (Paragraphs 19-21)

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(b) Establish systems for assessing and recording what pupils know, understand and can do in information and communication technology (ICT) and religious education. Do this to be able to: § demonstrate to pupils that they are reaching the right standards in these subjects. § communicate pupils’ progress in these subjects more effectively to parents. (Paragraphs 22-24)

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(c) Make sure that pupils are registered promptly at the start of the school day. Hedworth Lane Primary School - 15 (Paragraph 25) Hedworth Lane Primary School - 16 PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

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Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 17

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory 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 five percentage points.

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 298

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 43

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 1

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 42

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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 5

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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 5

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 12

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Attendance

National comparative data 5.2 National comparative data 0.5 Hedworth Lane Primary School - 17 Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. Hedworth Lane Primary School - 18

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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 20 18 38

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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 17 18 18 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 17 18 18

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

Percentage of pupils School 89% (96%) 95% (91%) 95% (96%) 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 17 18 20 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 18 18 18

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

Percentage of pupils School 92% (93%) 95% (98%) 100% (98%) 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.

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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 20 23 43

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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 18 18 20 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 20 23 23

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

Percentage of pupils School 88% (91%) 95% (85%) 100% (97%) 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 18 18 20 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 20 23 23

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

Percentage of pupils School 88% (88%) 95% (85%) 100% (97%) 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. Hedworth Lane Primary School - 19

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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 0 Black – African heritage 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Any other minority ethnic group 3 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) 13 Financial year 2000 - 2001

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 23

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: YR – Y6 Total income 552,589

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 6 Total expenditure 542,758

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 135.5 Expenditure per pupil 1,815

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Teachers and classes Financial information

FTE means full-time equivalent. Balance brought forward from previous year 16,061

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Balance carried forward to next year 25,892

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers who left the school during the last two years 3

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers appointed to the school during the last two years 3

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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. Hedworth Lane Primary School - 20

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

Percentage of responses in each category

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

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

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

My child is making good progress in school. 55 42 1 0 1

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

Behaviour in the school is good. 49 45 1 0 5

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 35 46 14 1 5

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 41 42 15 1 1

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 68 22 7 2 1

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 69 29 1 0 0

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school works closely with parents. 44 38 14 2 3

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school is well led and managed. 59 33 3 3 2

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 54 43 2 0 1

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 25 33 16 8 18

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