Hargate Primary School

Hargate Primary School Inspection report

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103905 Unique Reference Number Sandwell Local Authority 286803 Inspection number 10 °11 May 2007 Inspection dates Barbara Crane Reporting inspector

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

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Primary Type of school Community School category 3 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 244 School

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The governing body Appropriate authority N P Patel Chair Viven Moore-Stow Headteacher 14 October 2002 Date of previous school inspection Hargate Lane School address West Bromwich B71 1PG

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0121 5534178 Telephone number 0121 5533185 Fax number

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3 °11 Age group 10 °11 May 2007 Inspection dates 286803 Inspection number .

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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 primary school serves an area in which many families face challenging circumstances. Children's attainment when they start at the school is well below average. Pupils come from a wide range of ethnic groups and a very small number of pupils are at an early stage of learning English as an additional language. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities is above average. The school has twelve places for deaf pupils and ten pupils currently attend. The school is an enhanced resource centre for these pupils. Half of the class teachers have changed in the last two years.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 10 Inspection Report: Hargate Primary School, 10 °11 May 2007

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Grade: 3

This is a satisfactory school. Although standards are below average by the time pupils leave the school, their achievement is satisfactory, given their starting points and capability. Children in the Foundation Stage get off to a fast start because of good teaching. In other year groups, some pupils make quicker progress than others, and there is uneven progress between starting in Year 1 and leaving in Year 6. Teachers' expectations of pupils vary and they do not always check pupils' understanding of what is needed when pupils work independently. Sometimes targets are not set at the right level for pupils and teachers' marking does not consistently help pupils to understand what they need to do to improve their work. These factors restrict pupils' progress from being better, particularly for lower-attaining pupils and a few who have learning difficulties. Deaf pupils make good progress because of expert support and because teaching

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Grade: 3

meets their needs more successfully, right across the school. Some positive features are helping the school to move forward. Pupils from all backgrounds get on very well together and enjoy school. Their personal development and well-being are good and pupils know how to stay fit, healthy and safe. The curriculum is satisfactory. Pupils say that they like the school's new approach in creating a practical dimension to the curriculum which is more exciting. They have easy access to computers and enjoy working with them. Relationships between staff and pupils are good, which helps to overcome everyday problems. Care, guidance and support are satisfactory but guidance for pupils' academic progress is not as strong as for their personal development. Leadership and management are satisfactory. The school knows what it needs to work on to bring about improvement because of sound self-evaluation. Systems for collecting data have been set up to make sure that the school is

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Grade: 3

in a better position to identify individuals and groups of pupils who are lagging behind in their work. As yet, the school is not yet fully using its data about pupils' progress effectively to plan future interventions to boost this. Leaders and managers are not quite as clear as they should be about how well current initiatives are working to improve pupils' achievement. This is because checks are not always made sufficiently rigorously or frequently. There is satisfactory capacity to improve, indicated by the improvements in pupils' speaking and listening and writing.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Improve pupils' achievement and raise standards by ensuring that teachers have consistently high expectations of pupils, that targets are at the right level for pupils and that there is more effective guidance for pupils to meet them. • Ensure that planning to meet the needs of lower-attaining pupils and pupils with learning difficulties promotes their progress more consistently. • Improve the effectiveness with which leaders and managers check what is working well and where weaknesses need to be remedied. In addition, use data about pupils' progress more effectively in planning future initiatives. A small proportion of the schools whose overall effectiveness is judged satisfactory but which have areas of underperformance will receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection.

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Grade: 3

The best progress is made by children in the Foundation Stage. They gain ground quickly from a well below average starting point in the Nursery. Given their starting points, they achieve 4 of 10 Inspection Report: Hargate Primary School, 10 °11 May 2007 well and by the end of the Reception Year they are working well towards the standards expected for their age, even though most do not reach them. Standards are below average for Year 2 and Year 6. In 2006, records of Year 6 pupils' progress indicated much slower than expected progress. The current picture shows that whilst Year 6 pupils are on track to reach standards that are still below average, there has been improvement in their achievement. The underachievement that was previously seen has largely been dealt with by improvements in teaching. There has been particular improvement in pupils' writing, both in presentation and in how effectively pupils use their knowledge about the sounds made by different groups of

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Grade: 3

letters. Spelling is now much better. Despite the improvements, pupils' progress is still faster for some groups than others and is uneven for pupils during their time at the school. This particularly affects the progress of lower-attaining pupils and a few who have learning difficulties. Sometimes, more capable pupils do not do their best because expectations vary from year to year. Deaf pupils make good progress in all year groups because they receive good quality support that meets their needs.

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Grade: 2

Pupils say that they enjoy school and like being with their friends. Good relationships between pupils, regardless of ethnicity or cultural background, do much to create the school's happy atmosphere. Pupils' personal development, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, is good. They have a good knowledge of how to eat healthily, keep fit through being active and keep safe. The pupils behave well in classrooms and on the playground. They are polite and show respect to adults and to each other. Pupils recognise others' needs and are quick to help. Deaf pupils are fully involved in discussions because their classmates sign for them. Older pupils are keen to use the computers independently at lunchtime to revise work and show a good sense of responsibility in doing so. The pupils' confidence grows as they become older and this sets them up well for the future but they lack the literacy and numeracy

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Grade: 2

skills to give them the best chances in future life. Some older pupils gather others' views about what needs to improve and communicate these through a school newspaper. Opportunities for pupils to become involved and to make a difference in their wider community are limited. Attendance is satisfactory and has risen through the school's efforts to improve it.

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Grade: 3

Good teaching in the Foundation Stage means that children get off to a fast start in their learning and make good progress. Teachers are skilled at setting activities at just the right level because they have a clear idea of what each child needs to learn next, based on careful observations. Relationships between adults and pupils are good throughout the school. Teachers use information and communication technology (ICT) well in all year groups, which makes the start of lessons lively and engages pupils' interest. They manage the behaviour of pupils well and classrooms are calm. The expert teaching for deaf pupils ensures their consistently good progress. Some factors combine to limit pupils' progress. Expectations of what more able pupils can achieve are sometimes too low. Pupils' understanding of what tasks involve is not always checked as thoroughly as it should be and so some pupils, particularly lower attainers, flounder

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Grade: 3

when they work independently. The information gained from assessments is not consistently used to pitch work at the right level for pupils' different capabilities. Teachers sometimes give 5 of 10 Inspection Report: Hargate Primary School, 10 °11 May 2007 good guidance when marking pupils' work and comments help them understand what needs to improve. However, this is not consistently the case.

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Grade: 3

The curriculum is satisfactory. The school has made good progress in improving pupils' speaking and writing skills, which are strong features in planning in each classroom. Pupils are responding well to the theme or topic supporting many of the lessons and say that the practical experiences have increased their enjoyment in learning. Computers are used frequently and pupils are keen to use their ICT skills independently. In the Foundation Stage, the curriculum meets the needs of different children well but in other parts of school it is not always well adapted for different capabilities. A reasonable range of activities supports the curriculum outside normal lessons. Older pupils benefit from the residential visit and say that they are proud of their achievements in developing self-reliance as well as co-operative working through group activities.

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Grade: 3

The safeguarding of pupils is secure. Adults are good at helping pupils when they meet problems in their daily lives. Consequently, the youngest children happily settle into the school's routines and the older ones say that they feel safe in school and know whom to talk to about problems. The support for pupils with learning difficulties is satisfactory but does not always enable children to make the progress of which they are capable. This is because some planning to meet pupils' particular needs is not sufficiently taken into account in lessons. The support for deaf pupils is well planned and carried out more effectively and so they make good progress. Academic guidance for pupils is not as robust as that for their personal development. The targets for pupils are not yet fully reflecting what they need to do in order to do their best.

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Grade: 3

The school's satisfactory self-evaluation has made it aware of the further development needed. There is satisfactory capacity to improve, reflected in the way in which weaknesses in teaching have been tackled to resolve the previous picture of underachievement. The school's vision of including deaf pupils is fully realised. Leadership and management give effective support to creating a happy school and boosting pupils' personal development. The school does not always check that what it has put in place to improve pupils' achievement is working consistently before moving on to introduce new initiatives. Consequently, leadership and management are not yet fully effective in supporting consistency in teaching and pupils' progress. Much work has been done in improving the accuracy of assessments and ways of collecting data. This has put the school in a stronger position to identify where groups and individual pupils are falling

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Grade: 3

behind. However, the data is not always analysed as carefully as it could be to help teachers understand which groups need the focus next or to identify trends over time. There is a satisfactory partnership with parents, most of whom are pleased with what the school provides for their children, but some feel that their views are not sought sufficiently. Governance is satisfactory and all statutory duties are fulfilled. Governors' role in asking questions to challenge the school about its performance is developing. 6 of 10 Inspection Report: Hargate Primary School, 10 °11 May 2007 .

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Grade: 3

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 7 of 10 Inspection Report: Hargate Primary School, 10 °11 May 2007

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Inspection judgements

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

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Overall effectiveness

How effective, efficient and inclusive is the provision of education, integrated care and any extended services in meeting the needs of learners? How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 2 The quality and standards in the Foundation Stage 3 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 3 The capacity to make any necessary improvements Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

3 How well do learners achieve? 3 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 3 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

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

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and interests of learners?

3 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average to below average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low. 8 of 10 Inspection Report: Hargate Primary School, 10 °11 May 2007

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and supporting all learners?

How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can How effectively and efficiently resources, including staff, are deployed to achieve value for money The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities Yes Do procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements? No Does this school require special measures? No Does this school require a notice to improve? 9 of 10 Inspection Report: Hargate Primary School, 10 °11 May 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

12 May 2007 Dear Pupils Inspection of Hargate Primary School, West Bromwich, West Midlands, B71 1PG We appreciated the warm welcome you gave us when we visited your school recently. You told us that you enjoy going there and we found it to be a satisfactory school. Thank you for helping us with our work. This is what we found out while we were with you: • Your achievement is satisfactory because of sound teaching and a satisfactory curriculum, but we think you could do even better. • We were pleased to hear that you enjoy school. We are glad that you eat healthily and know how to keep fit and safe. • You are growing up as caring, polite and considerate young people who behave well. We could see how well everyone gets on together. Well done! • Adults in school are kind and keep you safe. They help you to deal with the little problems that you meet in your everyday lives. • Your teachers and the people in charge are doing a sound job. They work hard and know

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

what to do to help the school improve. These are the things that we have asked the adults to do to make the things even better for you. • Make sure that you understand what you have to do when you work on your own, that work is a bit harder for some of you at times and that your targets are just right for all of you. We have also asked your teachers to make sure that you know what to do to improve your work when they mark it. • Make sure that those of you who need a bit of extra help always get what you need so that you can do better in your work. • Make sure that what the school is doing to improve things is working well everywhere. We have also asked that adults look more carefully at the results of tests and assessments to see if any of you could be doing better. We wish you all the very best in the future. Keep on enjoying school and trying your best. Yours sincerely Mrs B Crane Lead Inspector 10 of 10 Inspection Report: Hargate Primary School, 10 °11 May 2007

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