Hedworth Lane Primary School

Inspection Report Hedworth Lane Primary School

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108686 Unique Reference Number South Tyneside Local Authority 288156 Inspection number 5 February 2007 Inspection date Andrea Lyons HMI 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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Hedworth Lane School address Primary Type of school Boldon Colliery, Tyne and Wear Community School category

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NE35 9JB 4 °11 Age range of pupils 0191 5367262 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 0191 0536 8179 Fax number 273 Number on roll (school) Mr Keith Bell Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Tony Gill Headteacher 1 November 2001 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection date Age group 288156 5 February 2007 4 °11 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 one Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

This is a slightly larger than average sized primary school which caters for pupils aged 4 to 11. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is below the national average as is the proportion of pupils entitled to a free school meal. A very small proportion of pupils are from minority ethnic groups or have English as a second language. Most pupils come from the surrounding area but some travel from further afield. The leadership of the school has changed recently with the appointment of a new headteacher and deputy headteacher in 2006.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Hedworth Lane Primary School, 5 February 2007

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Grade: 2

Hedworth Lane is a good school. The quality of teaching is good. Pupils make good progress and consistently attain standards which are above the national average. Pupils’ personal development is good because staff care for and support them well, and there are good relationships throughout the school. Pupils take responsibility for caring for others and for helping to run the school. They have good attitudes to learning and their behaviour is good. The curriculum is enriched with a wide range of additional activities. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make good progress, but higher ability pupils are not challenged as much as they should be. Pupils’ individual targets are too broad, and marking does not provide sufficient guidance on what pupils need to do next to improve. A new headteacher has recently been appointed. In a short period of time, he has achieved a great deal. He has established new systems, such as monitoring the quality

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Grade: 2

of teaching, and appointed a new middle management team. These have strengthened the school’s ability to continue to improve. Already there is evidence of specific improvement, such as the dramatic increase in attendance. Provision in the Foundation Stage is satisfactory. The quality of teaching is good. However, the impact of this is reduced by the poor quality of the environment and inadequate resources. Pupils do not have continuous access to all the areas of learning. This hinders their progress in some areas, such as physical and creative development, although they make good progress overall.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Sharpen pupils’ individual targets and improve marking. • Improve the environment and resources in the Foundation Stage. • Ensure that more able pupils make better progress.

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Grade: 2

Children enter Reception with skills which are below average for their age, and leave school achieving standards which are higher than the national average. This is true across all core subject areas, and has been the case for a number of years. However, the school is aware that pupils achieve less well in writing than in other areas, and is taking appropriate action to improve this. According to national statistics, pupils’ progress has not always appeared to be consistent across the school, but inspectors found that progress was good in all key stages. Previous overgenerous assessments at the end of Key Stage 1 have given the impression that progress in Key Stage 2 is less good. In fact, progress in Key Stage 1 is slightly less good than previously thought, although still good, and progress across Key Stage 2 is good. 2 Inspection Report: Hedworth Lane Primary School, 5 February 2007

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Grade: 2

Pupils’ personal development and well-being are good. They show considerable responsibility in the running of the school. The school council uses its own funding to purchase toys for the playground, and there is a thriving ‘eco committee’ which is concerned with environmental development. The school has won a bronze award for involvement in paper recycling and energy conservation. Older pupils are considerate and caring towards the younger ones. Pupils’ behaviour is good. Relationships between staff and pupils are very good, and pupils comment on the kindness and care shown to them by adults in the school. Pupils enjoy their learning. They say, ‘It’s not just getting on; we have fun things to do, which make it more interesting’. Attendance at the school has dramatically improved as a result of rigorous strategies employed by the current headteacher. From being inadequate, it is now good. Provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural education is good. The school

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Grade: 2

encourages them to take responsibility for their own actions and to think carefully about the community they live in. Pupils are involved with a number of charities, and have strong links with the local church. The school runs a small business enterprise group, which develops pupils’ economic awareness and generates funds for the school council. They are aware of other cultures and faiths. Many pupils participate in musical activities including a range of festivals and performances in the community. Pupils are encouraged to develop healthy lifestyles, and the school has introduced more healthy school meals. Pupils are aware, at appropriate levels for their age, of the dangers of smoking and substance abuse.

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Grade: 2

The quality of teaching is good. Staff use whole-class targets effectively to focus pupils’ learning within individual lessons. However, pupils’ own longer-term targets are too broad and do not guide their progress sufficiently. Lessons are well planned and teachers have good subject knowledge. There is good use of information and communication technology (ICT) to support and extend pupils’ learning. Support staff work well with teachers to ensure that all pupils participate well in lessons. There is a positive and purposeful atmosphere in classes, and pupils concentrate well on their work. Teachers use a range of approaches to interest pupils and vary the activities available in lessons. The pace of lessons is good, and pupils complete a good amount and range of work over time. Good support is provided for pupils who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities, with activities well matched to their abilities. However,

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Grade: 2

higher ability pupils are often not challenged enough nor are they provided with suitable extension activities. Teachers provide structured opportunities for pupils to develop their speaking and listening skills, for example, through paired work, and this extends their learning considerably. 3 Inspection Report: Hedworth Lane Primary School, 5 February 2007

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Grade: 2

The quality of the curriculum is good. It is broad and balanced and is enriched with a number of after-school clubs and extra-curricular activities. There are many visits from a wide range of artistic and sporting professionals, and pupils regularly visit places of interest linked to current areas of learning. The school has reviewed the way it delivers the curriculum and now makes very good links between different subjects, which enhances pupils’ learning and enjoyment. The school teaches modern foreign languages in partnership with the local comprehensive school.

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Grade: 2

Care, guidance and support for pupils are good overall. All systems for safeguarding pupils’ welfare are in place. The school has good links with a number of outside agencies. Staff care for pupils well, and ensure their safety and well-being. The quality of marking across the school, however, does not provide sufficient guidance for pupils to know the next steps they have to take to improve their learning. Provision for pupils who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities is good, as it is for pupils who need additional support in certain subjects. However, the school has only recently established a register of gifted and talented pupils and begun to make appropriate provision for them. These pupils are not always sufficiently challenged and do not always make the progress of which they are capable.

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Grade: 3

The leadership and management of the school are satisfactory, with many good features. The headteacher provides good leadership with outstanding qualities. In the short period of time since his appointment, he has developed a good strategic view of the school. He knows what its strengths and areas for development are, and has acted promptly and effectively to remedy some key areas such as poor attendance. He has developed a robust and effective system to monitor the quality of teaching and learning, and supports this well with a strong commitment to staff training. Reports to the governing body and communications with parents are of very high quality. The headteacher is developing a good network of middle managers, and there is now good capacity to improve the school further. However, while the many recent developments and management structures are of good quality, they are still too new to have demonstrated their impact fully.

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Grade: 3

The governing body fulfils its statutory duties. It is beginning to become more involved in monitoring the school’s work through formal links between governors and curriculum areas. The school manages its finances well, and has good plans to manage its resources effectively over the next few years. However, although arrangements are now in hand 4 Inspection Report: Hedworth Lane Primary School, 5 February 2007 to develop the external learning environment, it has not acted quickly enough to renew the resources in Foundation Stage. Parents are very positive about the school. The very high number of returned questionnaires showed overwhelming support for all areas of the school’s work, especially its leadership and management. The school has made all improvements required by the previous inspection report and it has good capacity to continue to improve. It provides good value for money. 5 Inspection Report: Hedworth Lane Primary School, 5 February 2007

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Grade: 3

set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Hedworth Lane Primary School, 5 February 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 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 2 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

2 How well do learners achieve? 2 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 2 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 2 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. 7 Inspection Report: Hedworth Lane Primary School, 5 February 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? 8 Inspection Report: Hedworth Lane Primary School, 5 February 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Hedworth Lane Primary School Hedworth Lane Boldon Colliery Tyne and Wear NE35 9JB 5 February 2007 Dear Children Thank you for welcoming us to your school. It was good to meet with you. You were very polite and helpful, and gave us some good information about the school. We think that your school is a good school. You make good progress in your lessons and the standard of your work is high. You are well behaved and concentrate well on your lessons. We were impressed with the way you take responsibility for helping others throughout the school. Teachers and other adults in the school take care of you and teach you well. We have asked Mr Gill and all the other staff to make the school even better by: • improving your individual targets and how well teachers mark your work • improving the rooms and equipment in the Foundation Stage • ensuring that more able pupils make the progress they are capable of. The staff are already working hard to help you improve your writing. You can help by trying

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

hard with your writing and making good use of the suggestions that teachers write in your books to help you improve. Please thank your parents for us for sending in so many questionnaires. They are very pleased with the school, and we agree with them. Thank you again for being so welcoming and helpful. We really enjoyed our visit. Keep up the good work and all best wishes for your future. Yours sincerely Andrea Lyons Joy Frost Her Majesty’s InspectorAdditional Inspector 9 Inspection Report: Hedworth Lane Primary School, 5 February 2007

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