Hovingham Primary School

Hovingham Primary School Inspection report

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107926 Unique Reference Number Leeds Local Authority 287960 Inspection number 19 °20 April 2007 Inspection dates Les Schubeler 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 466 School

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The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Koser Hussain Chair Mrs Janet Spence Headteacher 11 March 2002 Date of previous school inspection Hovingham Avenue School address Leeds West Yorkshire LS8 3QY

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0113 248 9537 Telephone number 0113 216 5141 Fax number

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3 °11 Age group 19 °20 April 2007 Inspection dates 287960 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

Hovingham is a large inner city school that serves an area of social and economic disadvantage. The large majority of pupils come from minority ethnic backgrounds and English is an additional language for most of them. The proportion of pupils entitled to free school meals is above average, as is the proportion having learning difficulties and/or disabilities. In recent years a high number of pupils have joined or left the school during the academic year. During the last two years the school has suffered from a high degree of disruption in staffing.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 11 Inspection Report: Hovingham Primary School, 19 °20 April 2007

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Grade: 3

This is a satisfactory school with significant strengths. 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. Pupils are provided with high levels of care and their personal development and well-being are good. They get on well with one another and are self-confident and eager to learn. They value the good relationships they have with their teachers and show great respect for adults in the school. They also respect and value an attractive environment that encourages learning. Achievement is satisfactory. Children enter the school with low levels of attainment, particularly in communication, language and literacy skills, both in English and their native language. They make satisfactory progress during the Foundation Stage and maintain that rate of progress

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Grade: 3

through Key Stages 1 and 2. Test results show that standards at the end of Year 6 are well below average. The school leadership, with effective support from the local authority, introduced strategies to bring about improvement. As a result of these initiatives, pupils in the current Year 6 are on course to reach the targets set internally by the school. The pupils' achievement reflects the satisfactory quality of teaching and learning. There are examples of good practice, but these are not consistent enough across the school. Expectations of what pupils can do are not always high enough. Teachers do not always use assessment information effectively and consistently to plan lessons that are well matched to the needs of their pupils. As a result, pupils' progress sometimes slows. Care, guidance and support are good. All safety procedures are in place. The school works effectively with outside agencies to remove barriers to learning for all of its pupils and to ensure

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Grade: 3

children are safe. Similarly the school's work with individuals to raise self-esteem and overcome obstacles to their learning is having a positive impact upon their achievement and upon their attitudes towards learning. Good support for pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, both in the classroom and in smaller groups, enables them to make the same satisfactory progress as their peers. Successful steps have been taken to involve parents more in the life of the school and to listen to their views. The school's provision for family learning is becoming increasingly successful in encouraging more parents to feel comfortable about visiting the school and helping their children to learn. The school provides its pupils with a satisfactory curriculum that is enhanced by a good range of additional activities such as visits, interesting visitors and popular lunchtime and after-school clubs. Leadership and management are satisfactory. Determined leadership lends a clear vision for

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Grade: 3

the future of the school and the headteacher has her sights fixed firmly on raising standards. The headteacher and her deputy have a secure understanding of the school's strengths and weaknesses. Accurate evaluation of the school's performance led to a focus on writing skills and, as a result, improvements are now being seen, but the school acknowledges that the pace of change has not been fast enough to effect rapid enough improvement in pupils' achievement. The current improvements in standards, the increased role being played by a team of committed middle managers in monitoring school performance, the increased involvement of parents and the improved systems for tracking pupils' progress show that the school has a satisfactory capacity for further improvement. 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Hovingham Primary School, 19 °20 April 2007 Parents place a high value on the work of the school. An active governing body supports and

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Grade: 3

challenges the headteacher and helps the school to provide satisfactory value for money.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Improve achievement in English, mathematics and science. • Improve the quality of teaching so that all of it is good or better in all areas of the school. • Ensure that assessment information is used effectively and consistently to help accelerate pupils' progress.

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Grade: 3

Pupils achieve satisfactorily overall although standards are well below average. National test results for 2006 show that standards at the end of Key Stage 1 are well below average. Girls do better than boys in all subjects and particularly in writing. Prolonged staffing instability during the last two years, added to a high number of pupils joining and leaving Key Stage 2 classes during the academic year, slowed pupils' progress. At the end of Year 6, standards in 2006 were below average in mathematics and well below average in English and science overall. For the large number of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, and the more vulnerable children, achievement is satisfactory because of the carefully targeted support they receive from well qualified teaching assistants.

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Grade: 2

The good progress children make in their personal development and well-being begins in Reception and this equips them well for their learning in Key Stages 1 and 2. Children are considerate towards one another and work well together. Despite the best efforts of the school, attendance rates remain stubbornly below average. However, they have improved steadily over the last four years. Behaviour is good and exclusions low. Pupils have a good understanding of how to be healthy and to stay safe and thoroughly enjoy joining in the aerobic exercises each day. They make a good contribution to the community. The school council, for instance, plays an important role in decision making and the Race Equality Council helps raise awareness of racial issues amongst both parents and pupils. Children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Children enjoy school and consider learning to be fun.

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Grade: 3

Relationships are good. Pupils are managed well, are happy and generally enjoy their work. Teaching and learning are satisfactory in the Foundation Stage, where staff have a firm understanding of the age group and provide ample resources for a wide range of learning opportunities. Throughout the school, when pupils are sufficiently challenged and teachers' expectations are high, learning is good. At other times the pace is too slow and the sequence of tasks does not follow briskly enough. Teachers do not always use assessment information effectively and consistently in order to plan lessons which are well matched to the needs of all their pupils. The school has recently revised its marking policy, but it has not yet been put into practice with enough consistency to enable all pupils to understand clearly how to improve 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Hovingham Primary School, 19 °20 April 2007 their work. Frequently opportunities are missed for teachers to allow pupils to take responsibility

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Grade: 3

for their own learning. Learning assistants are suitably briefed and they support learning effectively, especially for pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and for the many for whom English is an additional language.

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Grade: 3

There are good features to the school's curriculum, but it is satisfactory overall rather than good because not enough is done to promote pupils' achievement in literacy and numeracy. The school successfully provides experiences for pupils that broaden their horizons and make a valuable contribution to their personal development. The school works hard to expand pupils' cultural development through visits to different places of worship. Many visits and visitors enhance pupils' learning. A residential visit, for example, to Lineham Farm gives pupils opportunities to develop independence and gain an experience beyond the confines of their immediate surroundings. Strong partnerships with others enrich learning. For example, pupils take part in the Aim Higher project that involves visits to Leeds Metropolitan University and helps to raise their aspirations. Links between subjects enhance the everyday curriculum.

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Grade: 3

Attractive wall displays emphasise these links and promote pupils' creativity and literacy at the same time. The personal, social and health education and citizenship programme enables pupils to develop awareness of risks and of the importance of good health.

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Grade: 2

The school takes good care of its pupils and all adults have concern for their welfare. Procedures for keeping pupils safe from harm are in place. The school takes every opportunity to involve parents in the education of their pupils and in the life of the school. For instance, pupils' own progress in reading has improved as a result of the adult literacy course held at the school for their parents. Pupils' attitudes have also improved as a result of parents learning about healthy eating and cooking in the school. Teachers' detailed use of assessment to track and plan progress is at an early stage of development. Consequently, not all pupils have developed enough awareness of how to improve their work.

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Grade: 3

The headteacher and the deputy headteacher have their sights firmly set on raising standards. They have a secure understanding of the school's strengths and areas for development because of their accurate view of the school's performance. They are ably assisted by the governing body who demonstrate a satisfactory level of support for the school. Careful analysis of the school's performance by the school's leaders has resulted in the establishment of a programme of lesson observations that has contributed to an improving picture of the quality of teaching and learning. However, there is still a need for further improvement in order to make it good throughout the school. Against a background of disruption to staffing and many changes to the school population, the school has welcomed the introduction of the local authority's intensifying support programme. As a result, the development of systems that enable teachers to track pupils'

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Grade: 3

6 of 11 Inspection Report: Hovingham Primary School, 19 °20 April 2007 progress more closely is beginning to help pupils become more aware of their work and of how to improve. However, more still needs to be done to ensure consistency of practice across the school. Steps have been taken to promote the professional development of the school's middle managers by enabling them to play a bigger part in the monitoring of their areas of responsibility. This has resulted in a strong determination to strive for more improvement. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Hovingham Primary School, 19 °20 April 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. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: Hovingham Primary School, 19 °20 April 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? 3 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? 4 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 2 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?

2 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. 9 of 11 Inspection Report: Hovingham Primary School, 19 °20 April 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? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: Hovingham Primary School, 19 °20 April 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you for the warm welcome you gave to the three inspectors who visited your school recently. We would like to thank you for being so courteous and friendly. We enjoyed talking to you and finding out your views about the school. We spent a lot of time finding out how well you learn, looking at your work and talking to your headteacher and school staff. We decided that Hovingham is a satisfactory school with some good features. We think your teachers and teaching assistants care for you and look after you well, keeping you safe and healthy. It was very pleasing to see that you get on well with one another and all the adults who work with you. We think that you could do better in English, mathematics and science. Your teachers have introduced ways of checking your progress that help you to know better how to improve. We think that if you concentrate on trying to reach the targets that your teachers set for you and listen carefully to the advice they give you on how to make

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

progress, then the standard of your work will get better. To help your school to improve further, we have asked your head teacher and the other staff to make improvements in teaching and learning and to make sure that close checks are kept on your work so that you can make progress more quickly. We are sure that you will carry on enjoying school and continue to build on the improvements that you are making now. Most of all, we hope that you will continue to work hard and help all the staff to make Hovingham an even better school in the future. 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Hovingham Primary School, 19 °20 April 2007

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