Henry Chichele Primary SchoolOfsted inspection, 21 Jun 2006

Inspection Report Henry Chichele Primary School

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133552 Unique Reference Number Northamptonshire LEA 282313 Inspection number 21 June 2006 to 21 June 2006 Inspection dates Paul Edwards AI Reporting inspector

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

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School Lane School address Primary Type of school Higham Ferrers Community School category Northamptonshire NN10 8NQ 4 to 10 Age range of pupils 01933 352850 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01933 352853 Fax number 138 Number on roll Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Steve Hollingshurst Headteacher Not applicable Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 282313 21 June 2006 - 4 to 10 21 June 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 two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

Henry Chichele is a smaller than average primary school that opened in September 2004 to accommodate the rise in population in Higham Ferrers, although they also come from further afield. It will have a Year 6 class in September 2007. Pupils enter the school with skills that are broadly average. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties is average. Most pupils are of White British heritage and none are at an early stage of learning English. The staffing structure is changing as the school grows and the roles of subject leaders and senior managers are still developing.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Henry Chichele Primary School, 21 June 2006 to 21 June 2006

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Grade: 3

Henry Chichele provides a satisfactory education but is well placed to improve further. In a short time, the headteacher has correctly identified the school’s effectiveness and what is needed to raise standards. The staff work well as a team and new staff have settled quickly. Teaching and learning are satisfactory and any shortfalls in teaching are due to assessment procedures not yet impacting on the pupils’ achievement. Children thoroughly enjoy school and behave well. They make satisfactory progress in the Reception class, although a small number do not achieve the goals expected of them by the time they enter Year 1. Progress overall is satisfactory throughout the rest of the school, although it is better in reading, where pupils attain standards that are well above average. The school is aware that a small number of more able Year 2 pupils did not achieve as well as they could in writing and mathematics in the 2005

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Grade: 3

tests. Improved use of assessment and tracking procedures have partially addressed this but subject leaders and senior staff are not yet sufficiently rigorous in monitoring to ensure all pupils are making the progress of which they are capable and are suitably challenged. Leadership and management overall are therefore satisfactory. Presentation of work is variable, and not all pupils take sufficient care in setting it out neatly. Pupils are well cared for and their outstanding awareness of keeping fit and healthy is a result of the strong emphasis by the school. An increasing range of out-of-school activities is enriching school life for the pupils. The school provides satisfactory value for money.

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What the school should do to improve further

•Raise standards further in writing and mathematics, particularly that of the more able pupils, by ensuring work is sufficiently challenging. •Ensure subject leaders and senior staff take greater responsibility for monitoring work. •Encourage pupils to take greater responsibility for presenting their work neatly.

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Grade: 3

The pupils’ achievement is satisfactory. Children enter the Reception class with skills that are similar to those expected for their age. They make satisfactory progress, although a small minority have yet to achieve the goals expected of them by the time they enter Year 1. Pupils achieve satisfactorily as they move through the school, although they make good progress in reading because of the effective targeting of basic skills. Achievement in writing and mathematics is satisfactory and shows signs of improving further. A small number of more able pupils could do better in these subjects. Good tracking and assessment procedures are in place and are beginning to help raise pupils’ achievement further but could be more rigorously enforced. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities are provided with adequate support, enabling them to learn at the same rate as their classmates. The school has set

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Grade: 3

challenging targets for its future Year 6 pupils and, although this is some way off, those currently in Years 4 and 5 are on course to achieve the targets. 2 Inspection Report: Henry Chichele Primary School, 21 June 2006 to 21 June 2006

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Grade: 2

Pupils’ personal development and well-being are good. Pupils enjoy coming to school and report that they like ‘the interesting, challenging lessons’. Their enjoyment of learning is one of the reasons why attendance is better than the national average. Pupils are polite, caring and most welcoming to visitors. They behave well because of the good relationships that exist. Pupils support and help each other well, for instance, ‘buddying’ those who find break times difficult. Their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. They show respect for each other’s feelings and opinions. They are very aware that some people are not as fortunate as themselves and have raised substantial amounts of money for various charities. During quiet reflection in assemblies, pupils show a developing spiritual awareness. There is active participation in the cultural activities in the school and pupils show a growing awareness of the

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Grade: 2

diversity of cultures within modern British society. Pupils feel they are listened to and their suggestions for improvement are followed up. The junior pupils particularly like the ‘worry box’ system and feel they can raise any concerns, which will be dealt with as quickly as possible. Pupils make a good contribution to the community through the responsibilities they are given, which they take very seriously. Pupils have an excellent understanding of the need to live healthy lifestyles and to keep safe, and value the school’s good swimming programme. They enthusiastically take part in physical activities, including those within the extra-curricular programme. Physical education is the most popular lesson. Pupils are developing a growing awareness of economic matters through their participation in events to raise money for charity and the school.

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Grade: 3

Teaching and learning are satisfactory overall, although mainly good teaching was seen during the inspection. A satisfactory range of activities in the Reception class and effective use of assessment information enable the children to make sound progress overall. Throughout the school, a strong feature of teaching is the effective management of pupils’ behaviour, helping to create a warm, friendly atmosphere where all pupils are encouraged to learn. Teachers know the pupils well and are beginning to make effective use of assessment information to plan lessons that match the pupils’ ability, including for those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. Teachers make very good use of interactive whiteboards to demonstrate aspects of lessons, as seen when illustrating inverse operations in a good Year 2 mathematics lesson, and this helps to maintain the pupils’ interest well. Occasionally, a small number of more able

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Grade: 3

pupils do not make the progress of which they are capable in mathematics because they repeat work unnecessarily. Some numeracy lessons are too long and, whilst pupils achieve the goals expected of them, they take longer than necessary to reach them. The marking and assessment of pupils’ work is good and teachers are encouraging pupils to become more aware of how they might improve their work. Throughout the 3 Inspection Report: Henry Chichele Primary School, 21 June 2006 to 21 June 2006 school, pupils do not present their work as neatly as they should and this is not picked up sufficiently by some teachers.

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Grade: 3

The curriculum is of satisfactory quality. It covers a wide range of interesting activities and experiences, which help the pupils to make satisfactory progress. Since the school opened, it has quite rightly spent time organising and developing the core subjects of English, mathematics, science and information and communication technology (ICT). The skills learned in these subjects now need to be extended to other aspects of the curriculum. Computers are used frequently in all subjects. The staff have worked hard planning the curriculum but have not had time to monitor its effect. Good opportunities are taken to look outside the normal curriculum for pupils to develop teamwork and enhance their skills. For instance, Year 3 - 6 pupils have worked with English Heritage to assist with problem solving and thinking skills on the ‘Chichele College Labyrinth’. The school has been quick to respond to parental comments about the curriculum and

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Grade: 3

have organised half-termly curriculum information leaflets for parents to support the curriculum at home. The pupils’ understanding of how to stay safe and healthy is highlighted in many activities, including science, physical education and personal, social and health education. The school provides a growing range of clubs, activities and visits, which add to pupils’ enjoyment and learning during their time at the school.

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Grade: 2

Pupils receive good care and guidance. Teachers and their assistants create a friendly and secure learning environment where all pupils are valued equally. Parents appreciate the good care and support given to pupils by the staff. The school has robust procedures for child protection and for dealing with and assessing risks. All staff are aware of their responsibilities for the health and safety of pupils within their care. Pupils said that they were ‘safe, happy and enjoyed their time at work and play’. Although pupils say there is no bullying at the school, they expressed their confidence that, if it did occur, it would be dealt with quickly and effectively. Staff know pupils well and provide good guidance for them with home visits prior to entry to Reception proving invaluable. Assessment is used effectively to set targets for improvement. Parents are kept well informed of this process. Pupils with learning

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Grade: 2

difficulties and/or disabilities are well supported through an organised programme and make sound progress towards their individual educational plans. There are regular and effective meetings between teachers and support assistants and outside agencies who support these pupils, enabling them to achieve success in their learning. 4 Inspection Report: Henry Chichele Primary School, 21 June 2006 to 21 June 2006

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Grade: 3

Leadership and management are satisfactory. The headteacher has a very clear understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the school. He provides a good role model for leadership and has been very effective in creating a school that is well thought of by the whole community. Parents and pupils are already fully involved in the process of self-evaluation and views are listened to and acted upon, for example, in informing parents regularly about curriculum activities. Senior staff and subject leaders have worked hard to clarify their roles and responsibilities but initiatives that have been implemented are too new for their effects to show a significant impact on standards. There is some evidence, however, that improved tracking of pupils’ progress is helping to raise standards. For example, there are signs that more pupils are now working successfully towards attaining higher levels but this will have to be consolidated

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Grade: 3

over a longer period of time to be fully secure. Much of the tracking and assessment of pupils’ progress has been overseen by the headteacher and there is a recognition that other staff now need to take on greater responsibility. The school improvement plan has rightly focused on ensuring pupils and staff settle well in the new school and the headteacher acknowledges the need to ensure it now clearly focuses on raising standards further. The governors have provided effective support during the establishment of the school and recognise the need to undergo training to enable them to support and challenge the school more effectively. 5 Inspection Report: Henry Chichele Primary School, 21 June 2006 to 21 June 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: Henry Chichele Primary School, 21 June 2006 to 21 June 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 3 The quality and standards in foundation stage NA 3 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation NA Yes The capacity to make any necessary improvements NA NA 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 2 The attendance of learners NA 2 How well learners enjoy their education NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 1 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles NA 2 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 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 3 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 NA 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 all very much for the warm welcome you gave us when we visited your school recently. We particularly like these things •Your good behaviour and your enthusiasm for lessons and other activities. •The good relationships you have with one another and with the staff. •Your good reading skills. •You are well looked after and given good support by the adults in school. •The way you are becoming very aware of the importance of eating healthily and taking part in exercise. These are the things we have suggested those in charge of the school should do to make it better •Ensure that you are all given work that is hard enough and challenges you to do better, especially in maths and writing. •Ensure the adults in charge of the school and individual subjects take more responsibility for checking how well you are doing in lessons. •Encourage you to take more care when presenting your work. We are pleased that you enjoy school and wish you all the best for the future.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you again for helping us with our work.

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