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Other · Ofsted report

Harby Church of England Primary School

Inspected — · published 10 Sept 2003 · URN 120132

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  • URN verified

    120132

Page 12 of 19
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+92Very positivemore positive than 95% of reports of this type

Reads more warmly than most reports of this type.

Praiseexcellentvery wellextremelygood progressexcellent relationshipsstronghighly effectivevery high
Criticismpoorweaknessesbelowweakernot yetlimitednot effectivelyexclusions

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FindingsAbout the inspectionWhat needs to improveLeadership positive critical
  • Findings4719w+90
  • Leadership374w+89
  • What needs to improve1052w+95

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Pages
19
Words of findings
6,109
longer than usual (typical 1049)
Reading level
Fairly hard
Flesch 53, typical 45
Average sentence
19 words
Next steps
8
typical 5
Hedged sentences
1%
“some”, “not always”, “most”…

Where the words go

Findings 72%Leadership 6%What needs to improve 16%About the inspection 6%

Full report text

HARBY CE PRIMARY SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 9 th – 11 th June 2003

p.1

HARBY CE 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.

p.1

HARBY CE 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. Harby CE Primary School - 3

p.2

INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: School Lane Harby Melton Mowbray Leicestershire

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: The Governing Body

p.3

INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Name of chair of governors: Mrs S Kimbell

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: 23 rd February 1998 Harby CE Primary School - 4

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Team members

27899 Mrs G Beasley Registered inspector 01305 Dr B Rance Lay inspector

p.4

Team members

Evenlode Associates Ltd 6 Abbey Close Alcester Warwickshire B49 5QW

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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:

p.4

Team members

The Complaints Manager Inspection Quality Division

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Team members

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE Harby CE Primary School - 5

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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

p.5

WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL 10

Teaching and learning are very good and all pupils achieve very well in all subjects except ICT where achievement is satisfactory.

p.5

WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL 10

The headteacher gives outstanding leadership. He is very well supported by the Governing Body and dedicated staff team.

p.5

WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL 10

The very rich curriculum nurtures pupils’ interest and involvement in lessons and fosters their excellent attitudes to learning.

p.5

WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL 10

The school cares for its pupils very well; and this, along with its very good provision for personal development, leads to very good behaviour and excellent relationships.

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL 10

Parents hold the school in high regard due to the harmonious relationships, regular consultation and full involvement in the life of the school.

p.5

WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED 13

Make full use of the recently purchased computers to raise standards in ICT to the same high levels as other subjects.

p.5

INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Harby Primary School is a small Church of England school situated in the village of Harby just outside Melton Mowbray. It has 67 boys and girls all of whom attend full time. There are currently 15 children in the reception year. Pupils are taught in three mixed age classes, Years R/1, Years 2/3 and Years 4/5. A very small proportion of pupils have free school meals. Across the school seven pupils are identified with special educational needs, and a very low proportion has a statement of their special educational need. All pupils are from white UK background and speak English as their mother tongue. Nearly all the children come from the village and are generally from socially advantaged homes. The children start school with a range of abilities but overall have average levels of attainment.

p.6

HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

This is a very effective school with some excellent features, which is giving pupils a very good standard of education. Standards are much higher than are normally found in similar schools due to the effective and caring teamwork of all members of staff. Learning is fun because teachers make sure that lessons are interesting. This motivates pupils to do their best. The curriculum is very well organised to meet the needs of all pupils, including the different year groups in the mixed aged classes. The leadership and management of the school are excellent. The head teacher is highly effective and bases future developments on school analyses and evaluations of its performance. The school gives very good value for money.

p.6

What the school does well

• Teaching and learning are very good and all pupils achieve very well in all subjects except ICT where achievement is satisfactory. • The headteacher gives outstanding leadership. He is very well supported by the Governing Body and dedicated staff team. • The very rich curriculum nurtures pupils’ interest and involvement in lessons and fosters their excellent attitudes to learning. • The school cares for its pupils very well; and this, along with its very good provision for personal development, leads to very good behaviour and excellent relationships. • Parents hold the school in high regard as a result of the harmonious relationships, regular consultation and full involvement in the life of the school.

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What could be improved

• Make full use of the recently purchased computers to raise standards in ICT to the same high levels as other subjects. The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan.

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What could be improved

The school’s plans to develop pupils’ ICT skills are clearly detailed in the school’s strategic plan.

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

There has been very good improvement since the previous inspection in February 1998 and all the key issues have been dealt with effectively. Standards have risen considerably in many subjects but particularly in English, mathematics, science, history, geography and design technology. Good standards in other subjects have been maintained. More opportunities are provided for pupils to take part in a wide range of musical activities. Provision for PE continues to be very good. Teaching and learning are now very good and this enables pupils to achieve very well. The curriculum is very rich and very well planned. Pupils now have excellent attitudes to their learning and behave very well in lessons and when they are outside on the playground. The pupils’ personal development is particularly strong. Pupils are very well cared for. Due to the excellent links between home and school, parents support their children’s learning

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

extremely well at school and at home. The Governing Body gives very good support to the school and carries out its duties very well. Harby CE Primary School - 7

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STANDARDS

The table shows the standards achieved by pupils at the end of Year 2 based on National Curriculum test results.

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Performance in: all schools similar schools Key

2000 2001 2002 2002 Top 5% nationally A * Reading E A* A* A well above average above average A B Writing D A* A* A average below average C D Mathematics D A* A* A well below average E

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Performance in: all schools similar schools Key

Children in the reception year make very good gains in their learning. They are all likely to attain the early learning goals, the expected national levels, by the end of the year. A good number will exceed these.

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Performance in: all schools similar schools Key

Standards in reading, writing and mathematics have risen considerably since the previous inspection and were very high at the end of Year 2 in the 2002 national tests. This puts the school’s performance in the highest 5% of schools nationally. Standards seen during the inspection indicate that this year at the end of Year 2, reading and mathematics are well above average and are above average in writing. Because this is a very small year group, year on year comparisons should be treated with caution. Achievement since this group of pupils started school is very good in all these subjects.

p.7

Performance in: all schools similar schools Key

Standards at the end of Year 5 in English and mathematics are above average. This is the group of pupils who attained below average results at the end of Year 2 and reflects very good progress overall. Pupils with special educational needs make very good progress due to the focused support they get in lessons and when working in small groups. This enables them to be fully included in all lessons and activities. The school’s involvement in a writing project has led to much higher standards in writing across the school and pupils are achieving very well.

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Performance in: all schools similar schools Key

Standards in science are above average at the end of Year 2 and Year 5. Skills in investigative science are particularly good because pupils are fully involved in planning their own learning in this subject. Standards in art and design are above average at the end of Year 2 and Year 5. Standards in DT, history and geography are above average at the end of Year 2 and well above average at the end of Year 5. No overall judgement was made about standards in music and PE. It is evident from teachers’ planning and photographs that the curriculum is very broad in these two subjects. Overall achievement is very good.

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Aspect Comment

Attitudes to the school Excellent. Pupils are keen to learn, are fully involved in lessons and have extremely positive attitudes to school.

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Aspect Comment

Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Very good. Pupils get along very well when playing on the playground. They share equipment amicably and make sure they do not interrupt each other’s games. Pupils listen very well to adults and to each other in lessons and work together in groups very constructively.

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Aspect Comment

Personal development and relationships Excellent. Pupils are given every opportunity to take responsibility for their own learning and actions. School councillors are very proud to represent their schoolmates and carry out their roles conscientiously.

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Aspect Comment

Attendance Above average. Pupils attend regularly and arrive at school on time. Harby CE Primary School - 8

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Teaching of pupils in: Reception Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 5

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 – 5

The quality of teaching is very good throughout the school with some excellent features. Teachers’ questions are very astute. This helps them assess pupils’ thinking before they start work and to make any necessary changes to the learning intentions and match activities more closely to the individual needs of pupils. Expectations are high and therefore pupils are challenged and motivated to achieve even higher standards. Pupils themselves always expect to do well and lessons are structured to enable this to happen, focusing on the precise skills they need to learn and develop, and to ensure understanding is consolidated and built upon systematically.

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Teaching of pupils in: Reception Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 5

The teaching of English and mathematics is very good. Literacy and numeracy skills are taught extremely well through all subjects. Pupils are encouraged to talk to each other about their ideas before putting pen to paper. This helps them organise their thinking before they start to record their ideas. Science is taught very well throughout the school. Pupils are involved in practical investigation and are expected to draws conclusions from the range of evidence they collect. History and geography are brought to life through carefully chosen activities, which spark the pupils’ imagination and motivate their learning. ICT teaching is satisfactory overall. Careful thought is given to how computers can support learning in other subjects and this gives learning a meaningful and interesting context.

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Teaching of pupils in: Reception Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 5

Pupils with special educational needs make very good progress because they are very well supported in all lessons and when they work in small groups on particular tasks identified in their individual education plans. Higher attaining pupils enjoy the frequent opportunities to work together. Teachers’ focused questions and very well thought out activities enables this group of pupils to achieve very well in all subjects.

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Teaching of pupils in: Reception Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 5

The use of assessment information to match tasks to pupils’ individual learning needs is excellent. Consequently pupils have an extremely good knowledge of their own learning. Marking is focused on each pupil’s target and provide very good guidance on how they can improve further. Individual targets towards which the pupils strive to achieve are linked closely to overall targets in English and mathematics. Lessons are interesting due to the cross-curricular links and the imaginative way teachers present the learning. As a result, pupils are fully involved in lessons and motivated to learn. The different ways that learning is organised means that pupils concentrate very well throughout all lessons.

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Aspect Comment

The quality and range of the curriculum Very good. The curriculum is very rich and is carefully planned to link several subjects in a meaningful way. Computers are used effectively to support learning in other subjects but are not yet used effectively enough to teach ICT skills. Visits and visitors provide further interest to learning. Provision for pupils with special educational needs Very good. Pupils are all fully included in all activities. They are given very good support from a team of well-qualified and skilled ancillary assistants.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Very good. Work in history and geography, and the very close links and relationships with the local community help pupils develop an excellent awareness of their local culture. Provision for pupils’ social and moral development is excellent. Very good opportunities are provided for pupils’ spiritual development. How well the school Very well. The care with which all members of staff treat pupils is evident Harby CE Primary School - 9 cares for its pupils in the cheerful atmosphere in school, the extremely positive relationships and safe and the well-kept accommodation. Nearly all parents expressed very positive views of the school. Links with parents are excellent and this means they support their children’s learning extremely well.

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Aspect Comment

Leadership and management by the headteacher and other key staff Excellent. The headteacher strives to do his best for the pupils at all times and inspires all who come into contact with the school. All members of staff fulfil their roles very well and are totally committed to providing the best they can.

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Aspect Comment

How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities Very well. Governors are fully involved in putting together the school’s strategic plan and consequently have a very clear understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for development. They systematically monitor what happens in school and make sure that resources are available.

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Aspect Comment

The school’s evaluation of its performance Excellent. The school makes careful note of how well pupils are doing in all subjects and uses the information to plan and implement the many improvements that have taken, and are taking place. The school strategic plan details exactly what needs to be done to make the necessary improvements to ICT provision.

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Aspect Comment

The strategic use of resources Very good. Financial planning is very good and linked precisely to pupils’ needs. The school considers purchases very carefully and monitors how effective they have been in terms of the pupils’ achievements. It applies the principles of best value extremely well. The large amount of money carried forward last year has now been spent on additional computers to improve provision in this subject.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

• All parents agree that their child likes school. • They all agree that behaviour is good and that the school is helping their child to become mature and responsible. • All parents think that teaching is good, and that their child is expected to always do their best and is making good progress. • They all agree that the school is well led and managed, and that they feel comfortable about approaching the school. • All parents feel they are kept well informed about how their child is getting on and that the school works closely with them. • Nearly all parents feel the school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons and that their child gets the right amount of work to do at home. • No significant concerns were raised.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

The inspection team wholeheartedly agrees with parents’ positive views and that there are no significant concerns. Harby CE Primary School - 10

p.9

Teaching and learning are very good and all pupils achieve very well in all subjects except ICT

1. Learning at Harby is fun. This is because teachers make sure that lessons are set within a particular context, which sparks the pupils’ imaginations and makes them want to learn. Pupils are keen to talk about what they have learned. They are interested in finding out more and often do extra work at home. The annual ‘K-Nex project’ sparks pupils’ imaginations in DT. It encourages older pupils to use a commercial construction kit to design and build their own models. The finished work is complex and imaginative. Several models have been completed and such is the quality of finish and the high standards reached, that some pupils get to the regional finals in Nottingham. In one excellent English lesson observed during the inspection, pupils considered the impact a new motorway would have on their own lives and that of other villagers. The way that the activity was presented meant that pupils really thought that a motorway was to be built through

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Teaching and learning are very good and all pupils achieve very well in all subjects except ICT

the centre of Harby and this provoked intense feelings, both for and against the project. The ensuing discussions meant that pupils had a realistic context in which to put forward their persuasive arguments. The lesson made an excellent contribution to pupils’ personal development through their consideration of the feelings of others who would be affected by the development. Ancillary assistants played along by wondering with the pupils what it would be like if, for example, a new services station were to be built on the outskirts of the village. This ensured that pupils with special educational needs were fully involved in the lesson.

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Teaching and learning are very good and all pupils achieve very well in all subjects except ICT

2. Standards and achievement in writing have been particularly good over recent years. This is partly due to the writing project undertaken with a group of local schools, that introduced pupils to authors and poets and which provided a wide range of interesting things to write about. It is due also to the quality of teachers’ planning, which goes to great lengths to find a real purpose for every piece of writing. The range of styles used is very wide as a result. Pupils often work in groups to discuss, share and try out ideas before putting pen to paper and this helps them to gather their thoughts and structure their writing before they begin to write. As a result, all Year 1 pupils retold their stories of the Three Little Pigs in greater detail, using speech marks to show when each character was talking. This is much more advanced than you would normally find for pupils of this age. Vocabulary is very interesting due to the time pupils have for planning their ideas and,

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Teaching and learning are very good and all pupils achieve very well in all subjects except ICT

as a result, they use several different effects to get their meaning across. For example, when writing about ‘The creature from the swamp’, one older pupil wrote, ‘ as I walked crookedly over the shaky bridge I just stopped myself from falling into the oily, smelly, dark water’ . This set the suspense of the following story precisely.

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Teaching and learning are very good and all pupils achieve very well in all subjects except ICT

3. Teachers have very high expectations of pupils and excellent behaviour management skills. Pupils have the same high expectations of themselves because they know that if they behave well, they will enjoy the lessons. Excitement was sparked successfully in one lesson, where pupils were considering the effects of bacteria on the teeth. They responded with the usual distaste when they were shown photographs of the offending bacteria and immediately swore to clean their teeth properly at least three times a day. Their attention remained throughout the lesson as this was followed up by a carefully controlled investigation into what happens to your teeth if you do not clean them properly. The pupils’ factual knowledge and understanding of foods and their effect on teeth was developed at the same time through well planned discussions which encouraged the pupils to use the correct terms for the different types of teeth, for plaque and bacteria. This

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Teaching and learning are very good and all pupils achieve very well in all subjects except ICT

excitement carried over into the next day when pupils produced toothbrushes and toothpaste to clean their teeth after lunch.

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Teaching and learning are very good and all pupils achieve very well in all subjects except ICT

4. Assessment information is used extremely well to match learning appropriately to the range of abilities in year groups. This means that pupils with special educational needs get very good Harby CE Primary School - 11 support and more able pupils get the challenge they need to attain higher than average standards. Teachers use questions in a focused way to probe pupils’ understanding and adjust the learning appropriately. This encourages pupils to question things for themselves and deepens their understanding and extends their skills. ‘ I wonder if that is right ’ questions one pupil when the class were considering the fact in a book that nearly every snowflake has six sides and never the same shape. The ensuing discussion identified a range of strategies pupils could use to find out whether this statement was correct and referred back to how they questioned sources of evidence in history lessons. Marking is detailed and gives very good feedback and guidance on what pupils

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Teaching and learning are very good and all pupils achieve very well in all subjects except ICT

need to do next to improve. Pupils evaluate their work themselves and this gives them excellent knowledge of their own learning. All of these strategies encourage pupils to think things through for themselves and this enhances the quality of learning and ensures high achievement.

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The headteacher gives outstanding leadership. He is very well supported by the Governing

5. Respect permeates the school due to the excellent roles models displayed by all staff, but the head teacher in particular. He leads by example and has very high expectations of himself. He knows exactly what he wants the school to be like and the way he will achieve this. As a result, a very positive and caring atmosphere permeates the whole school. All staff work together to provide the best for pupils and this is reflected in the commitment with which they work together to plan and provide an exciting curriculum, a calm and enjoyable lunchtime, the resources they need to make learning fun and the bright and cheerful surroundings which help pupils take pride in their work and themselves. School targets are linked very closely to the aims of the school and this means that all priorities identified in the strategic plan have a purpose and a planned intention to improve pupils’ achievements.

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The headteacher gives outstanding leadership. He is very well supported by the Governing

6. The Governing Body are dedicated and support the school very well. All governors are fully involved in strategic planning and therefore have a clear knowledge and understanding of the school’s strengths. They know that ICT is the next area for development and have made sure that things are in place to allow improvements to continue. They are conscientious in finding out more about education and recent new strategies, and attend relevant training. This ensures that they can support the school in the right way and ask the right questions to check whether what has been agreed is put into place. They make a strong contribution in ensuring that the school environment is a safe and happy place to be.

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The headteacher gives outstanding leadership. He is very well supported by the Governing

7. Subject co-ordinators have a very clear overview of their subjects. They monitor standards closely and make sure that their evaluations lead to further improvements. Their commitment is evident in the way they support each other with ideas and offer feedback on what they have seen. Everything is approached in a positive and objective way, so staff recognise for themselves how they can improve their own performance. As a result, teachers have very good subject knowledge in a range of subjects, all ancillary staff are fully trained for their roles and everyone has high expectations of their own performance.

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The very rich curriculum nurtures pupils’ interest and involvement in lessons and fosters their

8. Very good cross-curricular links means that learning is relevant and set within real projects and first hand experiences and interests. This gives learning purpose and makes pupils want to learn. Literacy and numeracy links are particularly well planned and this means pupils use these skills on a regular basis in a number of subjects. For example, children in reception talked to each other about what they had found out in a science lesson, before writing shared sentences to explain which things move with a push, which by a pull and which by both. The children were keen and interested due to the practical nature of the task and the opportunity to share ideas. Older pupils used their numeracy skills effectively when calculating the perimeter and heights of the abbey during a recent residential visit to Scarborough, or recording information about traffic surveys as Harby CE Primary School - 12

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The very rich curriculum nurtures pupils’ interest and involvement in lessons and fosters their

graphs. Pupils are fully involved in all lessons and they have excellent attitudes to learning. This was demonstrated when the youngest children went outside to look for symmetrical pairs of faces. Despite the excitement of the activity, set up very well by the adults who planned the activity by hiding the faces in imaginative places and encouraging the children through clues such as ‘cold, warmer and very hot’ comments, the children were very sensible and remained focused on the task at all times until they had found all the faces. One impressive part of the activity was the way they worked together as a group to check out whether another person had the matching partner to theirs and arranged a swap very amicably.

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The very rich curriculum nurtures pupils’ interest and involvement in lessons and fosters their

9. Links with the local community are very strong. The annual Belvoir challenge allows pupils, staff and parents to get together to raise funds for the school and to take part in a truly social event with other members of the village. The school newsletter is delivered to every home in the village so that local residents know what the school is doing and when. This develops a strong bond between the school and the village residents and helps form very harmonious relationships. In geography the views of villagers are sought via emails, to provide starting points for pupils’ investigations in geography when considering how they can improve their local environment. They consider the things that villagers like and plan how they can maintain these before considering the things that villagers do not like in order to plan how they can improve on these areas.

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The very rich curriculum nurtures pupils’ interest and involvement in lessons and fosters their

10. Visits and visitors enrich the curriculum further. Consequently, pupils are inspired to learn more about their work in a number of subjects. This is particularly good in history and geography. Links with the church are strong. Pupils attend church regularly for services and to perform to parents and villagers. The church is used as a resource to find out about local history and to consider the role of the church to people who live in the village. Extra curricular activities provide very good additional opportunities for pupils to develop their artistic, sporting and musical skills in a different environment. Arts week, sporting events and collaborative work with schools in the local area give further rich opportunities for pupils to perform and practise their skills.

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The school cares for its pupils very well; and this, along with its very good provision for

personal development, leads to very good behaviour and excellent relationships.

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The school cares for its pupils very well; and this, along with its very good provision for

11. This is a very caring school, which wants the best for all the pupils in its care. There is a respect for everyone who comes into contact with the school and an expectation from staff and pupils that the environment will be cared for. The respect with which the staff holds pupils’ work is reflected in the high quality colourful displays of their work throughout the school and the care with which their belongings are looked after. The school is very clean and tidy and yet this does not prevent pupils from using every bit of space to support their learning. Classroom areas are shared when available so for example, as one class goes outside to sketch the grounds, others see the opportunity and move into the extra space created, to test out the effectiveness of their string telephones. The independent way that this was done reflects the high expectations of pupils’ behaviour and the expectations that pupils have of themselves. This means that they are not

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The school cares for its pupils very well; and this, along with its very good provision for

afraid to use their initiative, can work independently and organise learning for themselves.

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The school cares for its pupils very well; and this, along with its very good provision for

12. One example of pupils’ high levels of personal development and excellent relationships is in lunchtime arrangements when pupils organise themselves totally. They are responsible for when they start and finish their meals and do this extremely well. Year 5 pupils lead prayers when their table is ready and make sure that everyone is involved in the ensuing conversations. Lunchtime staff encourage this is a non-invasive way, monitoring from a distance that everyone is all right. They know the pupils extremely well and this helps them to know when someone needs quiet encouragement, a smiling comment or seconds of their favourite pudding. Another example of pupils’ high levels of personal development is shown in the recent plans to remove and replace the fence along the front of the school. Following pupil consultation through the school council, pupils identified a need to replace the old fence at the front of the school. They identified several

p.12

The school cares for its pupils very well; and this, along with its very good provision for

reasons why this needed replacing before putting forward suggestions to inform a specification to different building companies. They were involved throughout the decision making process and Harby CE Primary School - 13 have plans to evaluate and monitor the new fence closely when it is put into place. This evaluation followed on naturally from pupils’ own plans to develop the school grounds. The millennium garden and playground markings are used very imaginatively at playtimes for games and as quiet places to relax and chat with friends. Pupils particularly valued being consulted on how to spend £50 on new playground equipment. 13. Focused questions from the teachers take learning beyond the literal and develop pupils’ spiritual awareness very well. This was evident in a very good history lesson when discussions about epitaphs found on the gravestones in Harby churchyard led to pupils’ astute understanding of what

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The school cares for its pupils very well; and this, along with its very good provision for

the phrase ‘ease my pain’ tells us about the way one previous resident died. This empathy was then carried forward to the next epitaph they considered, and enabled them to think about what the epitaph tells us about the person beyond what it says. The dates were considered carefully to work out how old the person was when they died, and what this must have meant to their immediate relatives, particularly when someone died at a young age or while fighting overseas. Very good links were made to previous learning through the consideration of child deaths to the living conditions at that time. Writing provides excellent opportunities for pupils to consider and empathise with the feelings of others. The range of contexts gives pupils very good opportunity to think about issues such as bullying and racial harmony. In response to watching the Queen Mother’s funeral pupils wrote about their own grannies. They used empathetic phrases – ‘eyes

p.13

The school cares for its pupils very well; and this, along with its very good provision for

getting steadily weaker, glasses grown old, scratched and spotted but better than nothing’, which revealed their insight into what it must be like to grow old. Curriculum planning identifies numerous other opportunities to develop pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development systematically.

p.13

Parents hold the school in high regard due to the harmonious relationships, regular consultation

and full involvement in the life of the school.

p.13

Parents hold the school in high regard due to the harmonious relationships, regular consultation

14. Questionnaire responses and informal chats with parents at the end of the day reflect the very high levels of regard with which parents hold the school. Homework activities are supported very well and parents are conscientious in ensuring tasks are completed on time. Many parents regularly help in school and this makes an extremely good contribution to pupils’ learning due to the individual support they get in lessons with specific skills. The youngest pupils consequently make very good progress in their reading and writing, and older pupils, when researching for information on visits, and when finishing things off to a high standard, for example, when adding bead decorations to their ‘coats of many colours’.

p.13

Parents hold the school in high regard due to the harmonious relationships, regular consultation

15. There is a real family spirit at the end of the day when parents chat together while their children play. Relationships are excellent. Parents are clearly part of the school and the school part of the village. Parents are involved from the moment their child starts school, contributing to assessments, which help the school get to know what their child can do and some of the things they don’t like. This helps the school put suitable provision into place quickly. The PTA supports relationships extremely well through organising social events and fund raising activities. Regular information is sent home and this keeps parents very well informed about what is going on in school.

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Make full use of the recently purchased computers to raise standards in ICT to the same high

16. The school makes good use of computers to support learning in all subjects. The planned activities are interesting and support the rest of the curriculum well. However, although specific ICT skills are taught systematically, because there have been a limited number of computers in each class until now, there has not been opportunity for pupils to practise new skills regularly enough. Harby CE Primary School - 14 Therefore, although learning and achievement in other subjects is very good, learning of specific ICT skills is satisfactory overall.

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Make full use of the recently purchased computers to raise standards in ICT to the same high

17. Pupils use computers confidently from the moment they start school. Younger children use the mouse with suitable control to move pictures around the screen. They select items independently when playing games and therefore have satisfactory skills when they start in Year 1. As pupils move through the school, they learn about different types of programs. By the end of Year 5 they can use word processing and graphics software competently to produce the school magazine. They sort and present information in graphs to display what they have found out in a range of investigations. For example, pupils in Year 4 and 5 used a computer graphing package effectively to display what they found out from their traffic surveys of Harby and Scarborough. They displayed the graphs side by side so that an easy comparison could be made. This is recent learning however and although younger pupils have access to this software, they are only just

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Make full use of the recently purchased computers to raise standards in ICT to the same high

learning how to input information. This is because, in the past, pupils had to take turns to complete each piece of work, and therefore it took several weeks for them all to finish the planned task. This slowed down learning. Now the school has the necessary equipment, they are well placed to implement the ICT action plan.

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

18. The school is highly effective in providing a very good quality education for its pupils. The following area for development is set within the very good improvements already made in provision since the previous inspection.

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

19. In order to improve further the quality of education for all pupils the headteacher, staff and governors should:

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(1) Make full use of the recently purchased computers to raise standards in ICT to the same high levels as other subjects by: • Planning ways to use the laptop computers in lessons more regularly. • Implementing fully the scheme of work for ICT. • Developing assessment procedures to monitor the progress of pupils’ ICT skills. Harby CE Primary School - 15

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Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of lessons observed 15 Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 9

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Poor Very Poor Number 1 8 5 1 0 0 0 Percentage 7 53 33 7 0 0 0 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 six percentage points.

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils on the school’s roll YR – Y5 Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 67 Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 3

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Information about the school’s pupils

Special educational needs YR – Y5 Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 1 Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 7

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Information about the school’s pupils

English as an additional language No of 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 Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 3 Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 2

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Authorised absence Unauthorised absence

% % School data 4.9% School data 0% National comparative data 5.4% National comparative data 0.5% Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. Harby CE Primary School - 16

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

Year Boys Girls Total Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 1 for the latest reporting year 2002 9 6 15

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National Curriculum Test/Task Results Reading Writing Mathematics

Numbers of pupils at NC Boys N/A N/A N/A level 2 and above Girls N/A N/A N/A Total 15 15 15

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National Curriculum Test/Task Results Reading Writing Mathematics

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

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Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

Numbers of pupils at NC Boys N/A N/A N/A level 2 and above Girls N/A N/A N/A Total 15 15 15

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Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

Percentage of pupils School 100 (100) 100 (100) 100 (100) at NC level 2 or above National 85 (85) 89 (89) 89 (89) Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year.

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Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

The numbers of boys and girls have been omitted because there are fewer than ten in each group. Harby CE Primary School - 17

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exclusions

White – British 52 0 0 White – Irish 0 0 0 White – any other White background 0 0 0 Mixed – White and Black Caribbean 0 0 0 Mixed – White and Black African 0 0 0 Mixed – White and Asian 0 0 0 Mixed – any other mixed background 0 0 0 Asian or Asian British – Indian 0 0 0 Asian or Asian British – Pakistani 0 0 0 Asian or Asian British – Bangladeshi 0 0 0 Asian or Asian British – any other Asian background 0 0 0 Black or Black British – Caribbean 0 0 0 Black or Black British – African 0 0 0 Black or Black British – any other Black background 0 0 0 Chinese 0 0 0 Any other ethnic group 0 0 0 No ethnic group recorded 0 0 0 The table refers to pupils of compulsory school age only. It gives the number of exclusions, which may be different from the number of pupils excluded. Harby CE Primary School - 18

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Qualified teachers and classes: YR – Y5

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 3.5 Financial year 2002/2003 Number of pupils per qualified teacher 19 Average class size 22 £ Education support staff: YR – Y5 Total income 266345 Total number of education support staff 3 Total expenditure 239653 Total aggregate hours worked per week 55 Expenditure per pupil 3473 FTE means full-time equivalent. Balance brought forward from previous year Balance carried forward to next year

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers who left the school during the last two years 1

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers appointed to the school during the last two years 1

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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) FTE means full-time equivalent. Harby CE Primary School - 19

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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. 87 13 0 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

Behaviour in the school is good. 74 26 0 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 61 34 3 0 3

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Percentage of responses in each category

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 68 32 0 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. 92 8 0 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. 87 13 0 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school works closely with parents. 76 24 0 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is well led and managed. 87 13 0 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 68 32 0 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 65 27 3 0 5

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