St Martin's Primary School

Inspection Report St Martin's Primary School

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116685 Unique Reference Number Herefordshire LEA 279872 Inspection number 5 October 2005 to 6 October 2005 Inspection dates Clive Kempton HMI Reporting inspector

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

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Holly Bush Walk School address Primary Type of school Hereford Community School category HR2 6AF 3 to 11 Age range of pupils 01432 273633 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01432 277162 Fax number 504 Number on roll Cllr Chris Chappell Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Euan Mcgilp Headteacher 29 November 1999 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 279872 5 October 2005 - 3 to 11 6 October 2005 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 one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors and two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

St Martin’s is one of the largest primary schools in Herefordshire, situated in the South Wye area of Hereford. The school is part of an Excellence Cluster and serves a diverse community with a large percentage of low income housing which has benefited from significant regeneration funding in recent years. Recent local development changes have impacted on falling rolls, although there is a large new local housing development. The recently closed Special Education Centre on site has resulted in the school continuing to support a significant number of pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities within the mainstream classes. A broadly average proportion of the pupils are eligible for free school meals, although take up is low due to recent changes in external provision. The headteacher took up post at the beginning of September 2005.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: St Martin's Primary School, 5 October 2005 to 6 October 2005

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Grade: 3

Inspectors agree with the school’s own self-evaluation that this is an improving school which provides a satisfactory education. Children get off to a good start in the nursery. Proficient teaching enables pupils to make satisfactory progress as they move through the school, although there is more work to do on assessment strategies, improving attendance and behaviour, and motivating pupils. The school works well with outside agencies such as the Excellence Cluster, community services, and other local schools to promote pupils’ well being. The school is well led and managed by the new headteacher and senior management team who already have an accurate picture of the school’s strengths and areas for further improvement. More importantly, they have a determination to succeed following a period of decline since the last inspection, and judged by recent successes, have a good capacity to further improve standards throughout the school. Parents have also

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Grade: 3

noted and appreciated improvements. Pupils’ personal development is satisfactory. They enjoy coming to school and all are well cared for. The school offers good value for money.

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What the school should do to improve further

• use assessment more to challenge pupils and inform them about how well they are doing • develop teaching strategies to engage pupils more in their learning • improve the attendance and behaviour of a few pupils and make sure that parents are aware of their impact on standards.

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Grade: 3

Children enter the nursery class with skills that are lower than normally expected. They are well provided for and although not all reach expected levels of attainment by the end of the Reception Year, they make good progress. Progress from Year 1 to Year 6 is satisfactory but there is variation from year to year, largely due to inconsistencies in the use of assessment information to set individual targets and checking that pupils achieve them. Standards at the end of Year 2 are broadly average in reading, writing and mathematics. Similarly, standards in Year 6 are also average in English, mathematics and science. Recent test results show improvement and the school got close to meeting its challenging targets. Pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities make satisfactory progress and the school recognises that more needs to be done to help them make better progress. 2 Inspection Report: St Martin's Primary School, 5 October 2005 to 6 October 2005

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Grade: 3

Pupils’ personal development is satisfactory and most enjoy coming to school. Attendance is unsatisfactory though, and this means that some pupils miss essential learning. Children settle well into the nursery and follow the clear guidelines expected of them. At first, many struggle to relate to others and staff work hard to develop children’s personal skills. Pupils throughout the school feel safe and well looked after because relationships with adults are good. They are generally happy at school but a significant number feel that the behaviour of a few pupils in lessons and in the playground could be better. Youngsters contribute well to the community. The school council takes an active role in finding ways to improve breaktimes and make them more interesting. For example, they have been involved in designing playground markings, which are to be painted shortly. Pupils know how to look after themselves

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Grade: 3

well and understand the value of healthy eating and exercise. They have satisfactory opportunities to work with others and enjoy singing at the church and raising funds for charities. Through such events they develop a good understanding of moral issues and the need to respect differences. Their awareness of the cultures beyond their immediate locality is limited as is their understanding of people’s faiths and beliefs. Pupils socialise with others well and really enjoy taking part in the residential visit.

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Grade: 3

Teaching and learning are satisfactory. Teachers have good subject knowledge and plan lessons carefully, although teaching assistants are not sufficiently involved in lessons to help all pupils learn. The school has recognised this and has put a programme in place to provide teaching assistants with additional training. Teachers spend too long in explanations at the start of lessons, leaving too few opportunities for pupils to investigate or discuss. The school has only just begun to assess pupils’ work regularly against targets to ensure that the work is matched to individual needs. Frequent marking celebrates success but does not give pupils enough advice on how to improve their work. Gifted and talented pupils are identified and given good opportunities to think, and pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities are closely monitored and supported. Teachers manage the poor behaviour of a small minority of pupils well, but

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Grade: 3

learning for the majority is sometimes disrupted. A good range of resources, especially in information communication technology (ICT), supports learning well.

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Grade: 3

The quality of the curriculum is satisfactory and a good amount of time is spent on literacy, numeracy and ICT. Subject co-ordinators check the quality of teacher planning, but there is still a lack of exciting and motivating experiences to engage pupils’ interests 3 Inspection Report: St Martin's Primary School, 5 October 2005 to 6 October 2005 and extend the learning. There is a good range of well attended after-school clubs which, coupled with educational visits for all years, contribute well to the pupils’ personal development. Pupils learn citizenship and health and safety within personal social and health education. They contribute well to the community through charity events such as a Macmillan coffee morning. The school gives parents opportunities to learn basic skills so that they too can support their children’s education.

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Grade: 3

Inspectors agree with the school that there are good features of care, guidance and support but there are also aspects that need addressing. There is good care for pupils with emotional difficulties, and all pupils feel confident to talk to their class teachers about problems. Parents and pupils comment favourably on the new procedures for dealing with poor behaviour, which they believe have already improved the atmosphere for learning. Procedures for checking absence have been reviewed this term, resulting in some improvement. Safety has high priority and the new perimeter fence and gates have greatly improved the security of the site. This is welcomed by parents. Regular site checks and recognised procedures for moving around the school also keep pupils safe. Pupils are supervised at breaks and lunchtimes, although they are not always prevented from behaving in ways that could cause hurt to themselves or others. The school has, as a consequence, arranged training for

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Grade: 3

playground assistants. Child protection procedures are fully in place.

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Grade: 3

The leadership and management of the school are satisfactory and improving at a swift pace. The school is well led by the new headteacher who has quickly established a conscientious senior leadership team, committed to raising standards. The school has a good capacity to improve. The senior management team has produced an accurate self-evaluation of the school’s strengths and weaknesses and knows that its principal focus is on raising standards across the school. Rapid progress has already been made in the first few weeks of term in establishing a different atmosphere around the school. Staff now feel much more supported by the headteacher in dealing with challenging pupil behaviour. Reported incidents of poor behaviour are reducing. Parents are unanimous in agreement that the headteacher has made a significant impact in the school and local community. Subject co-ordinators feel they have been empowered to take more responsibility for

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Grade: 3

their curriculum area and have enthusiastically risen to the management challenge. Careful subject audits have enabled them to produce an agenda for future action, although there are insufficient opportunities for them to monitor their subject across the school and disseminate good practice. 4 Inspection Report: St Martin's Primary School, 5 October 2005 to 6 October 2005 The school development plan is embryonic and contains too many action points. It is not sufficiently focused to help the senior leadership team and the governing body measure how well they are meeting targets. The governors are enthusiastic in their support for the school but provide insufficient challenge to the management to be more accountable for pupil progress. Other professionals involved with the school, such as the home school liaison worker and the community policeman, feel that the school has improved quickly and that this is

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Grade: 3

having a positive impact in the local area. Parents are now much more confident to approach the school with concerns. They feel they are listened to and consulted and that swift action is taken when needed. Teaching resources are deployed efficiently. The budget is in surplus and there are sensible plans to employ additional teaching assistants to support pupil learning and to further develop the site to create a new entrance to the school. 5 Inspection Report: St Martin's Primary School, 5 October 2005 to 6 October 2005 .

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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: St Martin's Primary School, 5 October 2005 to 6 October 2005

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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 3 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 3 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development NA 3 The behaviour of learners NA 4 The attendance of learners NA 3 How well learners enjoy their education NA 3 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 3 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles NA 3 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community NA 3 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 3 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 3 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

Thank you for letting us visit your school. We enjoyed talking to you, your teachers and your parents and watching you learn. We thought you would like to know what we liked about your school and how we thought it could get even better. What we liked about your school you made us all feel very welcome in your school and greeted us with a friendly smile you are all very proud of your school you all looked very smart in your school uniform you all speak very politely to your teachers and visitors your teachers work very hard and want you to do well your new headteacher runs the school well your parents and carers are right in thinking that you go to a school that is getting better and better..What we have asked your school to do now to make it even better: tell you how well you are getting on with your work and make you work even harder make some of your lessons a bit more exciting a few of you could be kinder to each other and behave more sensibly

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

a few of you are away from school too much and get behind with your work.

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