Hatton Hill Primary School

Inspection Report Hatton Hill Primary School

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104878 Unique Reference Number Sefton LEA 277245 Inspection number 13 March 2006 to 14 March 2006 Inspection dates Mr Ian Thompson CfBT Lead Inspector Reporting inspector

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This inspection was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Alwyn Avenue School address Primary Type of school Litherland Community School category Liverpool, Merseyside L21 9NZ 3 to 11 Age range of pupils

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0151 928 7012 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 0 151 949 0250 Fax number 396 Number on roll Mr J Whitley Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs H Lyall Headteacher 27 March 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 277245 13 March 2006 - 3 to 11 14 March 2006 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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

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Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied.

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by three additional inspectors.

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Description of the school

This larger than average school serves an area of social and economic disadvantage. Most pupils are of white British heritage; a few belong to a small number of minority ethnic groups. None is at an early stage of learning English. The proportion of pupils with additional learning difficulties and/or disabilities is below average. The proportion with a statement of special educational need is also below average.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Hatton Hill Primary School, 13 March 2006 to 14 March 2006

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Grade: 3

Inspectors agree with the school's view that it provides a satisfactory quality of education. Given its low costs, the school provides satisfactory value for money Children make satisfactory progress in the Foundation Stage, many making good progress in developing social skills. Pupils' progress continues to be satisfactory throughout the school. Teaching and learning are satisfactory but too much whole class teaching means that not all pupils are consistently stretched. Pupils respond well to teachers' expectations of their work and behaviour. All members of staff work well together to help pupils enjoy coming to school so that attendance is improving and is now satisfactory. The school takes good care of its pupils and provides effective support for them. Guidance is satisfactory but there are elements that require improvement in relation to raising academic standards through target setting. The great majority of pupils are eager to learn and behaviour is good. Pupils' personal

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Grade: 3

development is good as a result of the wide range of curricular and extracurricular opportunities that the school provides, often with the support of other agencies and organisations in the community. The school has gone to considerable lengths to involve parents in a successful partnership. Leadership and management are satisfactory and the school has made satisfactory improvement since the last inspection. The school's self evaluation is accurate and provides a good basis for improvement planning. The headteacher has a clear view of what needs doing to manage the school's improvement. Initiatives aimed at raising standards in English have contributed to a rising trend of test results. Efforts to improve standards in mathematics have been less consistently successful but are now beginning to bear fruit.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Improve teaching and learning by matching lessons closer to pupils' individual needs. • Ensure that pupils can understand their targets for improvement.

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Grade: 3

Pupils' achievement is satisfactory as they move up through the school. Children enter the school with below average standards. Many do well in the Foundation Stage and by the end are meeting the standards expected for their age. Nevertheless, a substantial proportion still has difficulties with speaking and listening and a few still have poor social skills. Overall, standards are close to but below average. By the end of Year 2, results in national tests are broadly average and have shown a rising trend over the last five years. Reading standards have improved at a faster rate than writing. Results in tests at the end of Year 6 also show a rising five year trend but remain a little below average. For 2005, the school set ambitious targets that were close to the national 2 Inspection Report: Hatton Hill Primary School, 13 March 2006 to 14 March 2006 average. The target for English was met and higher attaining pupils' results were above

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Grade: 3

average. Science results were close to average and continued a trend of improvement. Results in mathematics fell short of the target and it is here that analysis of data indicates that there was some underachievement. Work seen during the inspection shows that the school has identified causes for underachievement and has taken steps to improve teaching and learning in mathematics.

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Grade: 2

Provision for pupils' personal development and well-being is good. Pupils' behaviour is good and they work well together. They have positive attitudes to learning, respond well to teachers and other staff and thoroughly enjoy being at school where they feel safe and happy. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is a strength of the school. They are given opportunities to reflect on the wider issues of life in class 'circle time' and school assemblies. Pupils welcome opportunities, such as the school council, to have a voice in decisions that affect their life in the school. A good example is their involvement in improving lunchtime menus that promote healthy lifestyles well. A number of pupils were heard to say 'our school dinners are lovely'. Pupils take their responsibilities in school very seriously. For example, a Year 6 pupil said 'as Playtime Pals we learn a lot from helping younger ones to play well together'.

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Grade: 2

The wealth of enjoyable after school activities provides pupils with good opportunities to develop their interests and talents effectively. Pupils participate in local events, organising fundraising projects for charities and the school. This makes a good contribution to developing skills for later life. Through effective whole school support, attendance is now satisfactory.

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Grade: 3

The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory. Some examples of good teaching were seen during the inspection. Teaching and learning are consistently good in the nursery and Reception classes where children respond enthusiastically to the many stimulating activities. Relationships are good. Pupils respond well to teachers consistently high expectations of their work and behaviour. Where teaching is good, pupils are highly motivated and are actively engaged in challenging tasks. Teachers work hard to support pupils who find learning difficult. However, there is insufficient additional classroom support available to meet the full range of learning difficulties and/or disabilities. Teachers plan lessons carefully. However, they often try to do too much for pupils rather than making them think for themselves. Higher attaining pupils are not always sufficiently challenged and this impedes their learning.

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Grade: 3

3 Inspection Report: Hatton Hill Primary School, 13 March 2006 to 14 March 2006 Teachers are beginning to make much more effective use of assessment information to provide targets for pupils. However, targets are not always expressed clearly enough so that they are not as useful as they should be in guiding pupils on what they need to do to improve. Challenge for more able pupils is not consistently high enough, for example, in investigating and solving mathematical or scientific problems for themselves.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is good. It is well designed and is a firm foundation for raising standards. Improving provision for literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology provides pupils with effective basic skills for life. Provision for personal development and emotional well-being is good. The curriculum supports the development of healthy lifestyles and a keen sense of community. Pupils enjoy and learn a great deal from the themed weeks that are provided, to enhance the curriculum such as 'Healthy Week'. The school works very effectively with a range of outside agencies in order to provide a wealth of sporting and cultural opportunities for enrichment outside the classroom. These enjoyable and exciting learning opportunities are well attended and enjoyed by pupils, helping to support their physical, aesthetic and personal development. A good series of educational visits and visitors broadens

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Grade: 2

The school's arrangements for care and support are good. However, guidance is satisfactory because although most pupils know their targets they do not always understand what they need to do to improve further. Risk assessment is thorough. The school is coping well under the restrictions of the current building work to ensure that pupils are safe at all times. Arrangements for child protection are robust; pupils and parents express high levels of trust in staff. Pupils have good opportunities, through trips and residential visits to develop their teamwork and co-operation skills effectively. Pupils' self-confidence and self-esteem are successfully developed through praise and recognition of their work in assemblies and in displays throughout the school. Where support is available, vulnerable pupils and those with additional needs make good progress. However, there is insufficient additional classroom provision to

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Grade: 3

Leadership and management are satisfactory. The school has made satisfactory improvement since the last inspection. The school's evaluation of its performance is accurate and the headteacher has a clear view of what needs doing to secure improvement. She is well supported by senior staff in communicating her vision of 4 Inspection Report: Hatton Hill Primary School, 13 March 2006 to 14 March 2006 putting the school at the centre of the community and developing extended care. The difficulties arising from the extensive building programme are managed well so that the school's work is not impeded. Considerable effort has been put into productively reviewing and revising teaching and learning policies. At middle management level, subject leaders are helping to raise performance. The monitoring of classroom standards, linked to professional development, is beginning to have a positive effect. Rising standards point to the

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Grade: 3

success of these initiatives and the school's capacity to improve. However, there is still some way to go before consistency is achieved in implementation across the school of policies relating to teaching and learning, particularly the use of target setting. Governors are very supportive and well informed about the school's work. However, they have not been consistently rigorous enough in holding it to account for its performance. 5 Inspection Report: Hatton Hill Primary School, 13 March 2006 to 14 March 2006 .

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set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s

website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Hatton Hill Primary School, 13 March 2006 to 14 March 2006

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Overall

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

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learners?

NA 2 How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? NA 2 The quality and standards in foundation stage NA 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation NA Yes The capacity to make any necessary improvements NA Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

NA 3 How well do learners achieve? NA 3 The standards 1 reached by learners

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Achievement and standards

NA 3 How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners NA 3 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

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

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needs and interests of learners?

NA 2 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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needs and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low.

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and supporting all learners?

NA 2 How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education NA 3 How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets, through quality assurance and self-review NA 2 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can NA 3 How effectively and efficiently resources are deployed to achieve value for money NA 3 The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities NA Yes The adequacy and suitability of staff to ensure that learners are protected

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The extent to which schools enable learners to be healthy

Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to eat and drink healthily Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to take regular exercise Yes Learners are discouraged from smoking and substance abuse Yes Learners are educated about sexual health

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The extent to which providers ensure that learners stay safe

Yes Procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements Yes Risk assessment procedures and related staff training are in place Yes Action is taken to reduce anti-social behaviour, such as bullying and racism Yes Learners are taught about key risks and how to deal with them

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The extent to which learners make a positive contribution

Yes Learners are helped to develop stable, positive relationships Yes Learners, individually and collectively, participate in making decisions that affect them Yes Learners are encouraged to initiate, participate in and manage activities in school and the wider community

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The extent to which schools enable learners to achieve economic well-being

Yes There is provision to promote learners’ basic skills Yes Learners have opportunities to develop enterprise skills and work in teams NA Careers education and guidance is provided to all learners in key stage 3 and 4 and the sixth form NA Education for all learners aged 14–19 provides an understanding of employment and the economy

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

As you know, a team of inspectors visited your school to check on how well it is doing. Thank you very much for the way you welcomed us into your school. We enjoyed talking to you about your work and your life in the school. We were very impressed by the courtesy and help you gave us. We agree with you that the school is a safe and happy place where everyone can enjoy learning. The best things about the school are: - you form good relationships with all others in the school, including visitors like ourselves - the school makes it clear that it is important for you to have a healthy way of living. We could see at lunchtime that you take this seriously - everyone in the school cares for you all well so that you get help with any difficulties - your behaviour is good, in and out of lessons. You get on well together and help each other. We particularly liked the way older pupils help the younger ones at play times

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

- there are lots of extra activities that you enjoy. We have asked your teachers to improve some things to make your school a better place to learn. These are: - to make sure that all of you need to work hard in lessons and think things out for yourselves - to make sure that everyone understands what they need to do to improve their work. Thank you for helping us with our work. We hope that you carry on enjoying lessons and continue to help the staff to make Hatton Hill an even better place to learn.

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