Hatfield Peverel St Andrew's Junior School

Inspection Report Hatfield Peverel St Andrew's Junior School

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115102 Unique Reference Number ESSEX Local Authority 290132 Inspection number 10 October 2006 Inspection date Helen Ranger 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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Church Road School address Junior Type of school Hatfield Peverel, Hatfield Peverel Foundation School category

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Chelmsford CM3 2JX 7 °11 Age range of pupils 012453 80131 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01245 382497 Fax number 229 Number on roll (school) Mrs D Goddard Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Mr C James Headteacher 14 October 2002 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection date Age group 290132 10 October 2006 7 °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 an Additional Inspector over one day.

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Description of the school

This average sized school mainly serves the village of Hatfield Peverel, although about a third of the pupils come from outside the immediate area through parental choice. Most pupils come from favourable socio-economic backgrounds. About 5% are from minority ethnic backgrounds and almost all speak English as their main language. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities is below average in most years. In recent years, pupils have started school with attainments in literacy and numeracy typical of children nationally. The school has been awarded 'Healthy School' status. The headteacher has been in post for a year.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Hatfield Peverel St Andrew's Junior School, 10 October 2006

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Grade: 2

This is a good school with some outstanding features, especially in the pupils' personal development. The school is very popular with parents and pupils alike. The high standards of pastoral care and wide range of social opportunities ensure that the pupils develop into mature and responsible young people. As a result of good teaching and a good curriculum, pupils of all ages achieve well academically. The oldest get a good boost in Year 6 to prepare them for their end of year national tests. The results in these tests have been consistently above average in English, mathematics and science in recent years and current standards in the school are similarly good. One pupil rightly commented that a strength of the school is that it 'helps you get ready for secondary school'. Teachers' lesson planning is based on accurate assessments of pupils' attainment in key skills. What has not happened until recently is a rigorous termly

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Grade: 2

whole-school system to check that each pupil is progressing as well as possible. The new headteacher has implemented such a system, which is intended to help raise standards further. Pupils behave well and get on very well together. They show a good commitment to developing healthy lifestyles and an extremely good understanding of how to keep safe, both in and out of school. They accept responsibilities well, for instance during the election process for house captains and the school council, and in their charity work. Such projects enable them to have an excellent understanding of citizenship in their school and the wider community. Their good academic standards and attitudes to learning, combined with very well developed social skills and a willingness to take initiative, give them an extremely good foundation for the next stage of their education and their future lives in the world of work. Pupils are able to

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Grade: 2

thrive because of the high standard of day to day care they receive from the staff team. This includes counselling and support for any pupils who have a problem or need guidance with their behaviour. Leadership and management are good. The new headteacher has continued to build effectively on past achievements but has his own very clear vision for the future based on thorough evaluations of the school's effectiveness. There is a good spirit of teamwork among the staff, who share the head's ambitions for the school. Recent moves to involve staff even more in how the school develops are showing results and are reflected in good action plans to which all contribute. Excellent partnerships have been built for pupils' benefit, such as those with parents, the church and the infant school. The impact of the work of governors is good. This is especially due to the efforts of a very active core group of governors,

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Grade: 2

under the very good leadership of the chair. However, some governors are involved in monitoring duties more than others, so not all are equally well informed when making decisions about the direction the school takes. The school has maintained the strengths that were identified in its last inspection in 2002 and provides good value for money. It is not complacent about how well it is doing, and its recent successes under its new headteacher show a good capacity to continue to improve

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What the school should do to improve further

- Ensure that the tracking of pupils' progress is regular and rigorous in all years, so that the teachers can build more systematically on pupils' achievements. - Involve all 2 Inspection Report: Hatfield Peverel St Andrew's Junior School, 10 October 2006 governors in checking how well the school is doing, so that their workload is shared and all are equally well equipped to support the school's continuing development.

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Grade: 2

Pupils from all backgrounds achieve well. This includes the most able pupils and those with learning difficulties or disabilities. At the time of the last inspection pupils with learning difficulties did not make enough progress. The school has since remedied this weakness. Pupils' performances in the Year 6 tests in 2006 were above average, although not quite matching the exceptionally high standards in English and mathematics that were reached in 2005. The school's records indicate that pupils' progress is good and accelerates still further in Year 6 where pupils have additional help to prepare them for the national tests and, if appropriate, for the local '11 plus' tests. However, the absence of whole-school termly progress tracking systems has meant that, until recently, it was difficult to identify easily how well individuals or whole classes were achieving during each school year as they moved through the

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Grade: 1

Pupils' enjoyment of school is reflected in high levels of attendance. They show independence, initiative and responsibility. Examples of this are their design and maintenance of the memorial garden dedicated to a former chair of governors and the great response to the recent 'Harvest for the Hungry' collection. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is excellent. A few pupils have complex behavioural difficulties and the school enables these pupils to do their best. Pupils' understanding of multi-cultural diversity was an area for improvement from the last inspection. This issue has been tackled well. Pupils show a mature understanding of different lifestyles and an appreciation of the cultural diversity of modern Britain.

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Grade: 2

Good teaching is the main reason for the good progress pupils make. The staff teams within each year group work well together. Teachers plan lessons that motivate and interest pupils. They liaise closely with the teaching assistants and special needs coordinator to ensure that any pupils who need extra support with work or behaviour receive it. They provide challenging activities for all pupils, including the more able. Pupils receive regular verbal feedback on their work but the quality of marking in pupils' books varies in the extent to which it tells pupils how well they have done or how to improve. The new arrangements for more regular assessment and tracking of 3 Inspection Report: Hatfield Peverel St Andrew's Junior School, 10 October 2006 pupils' progress have been welcomed by teachers and are helping to ensure that pupils' knowledge and skills are developed even more efficiently.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is well planned and teachers provide interesting and stimulating lessons for all age groups. Effective links are made between subjects. Pupils enjoy the variety, including the lessons that are led by teaching assistants and instructors, such as Spanish and extra football. There is a good range of clubs and visits. These together with the extensive programmes for social and health education and citizenship help to develop pupils' personal skills very well. The school is currently extending its provision for pupils with particular gifts or talents and this is appreciated by these pupils. It is also in the process of joining with other schools in a local sports partnership to provide a wider range of physical activities. All these elements contribute well to pupils' enjoyment of school, their health and the progress they make.

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Grade: 2

Teachers and support staff provide pupils with very good pastoral care. The procedures to ensure that pupils are safe meet requirements. Teaching assistants are available at lunchtimes to help sort out any problems. The local authority's behaviour support service is involved for pupils who needs additional specialist help. An improving aspect of pupil care is academic support and guidance. Pupils are increasingly made aware of their learning targets and how to reach them. Improved tracking of individual pupil's progress is giving teachers better quality information on which to base the guidance they give to pupils about how to improve their work. The school is good at listening and responding to pupils' views and they feel part of the decision making process.

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Grade: 2

Good leadership and management underpin the good quality of education provided by the school. The headteacher has quickly evaluated the school's effectiveness and established relevant and manageable priorities for further development. He is supported well by the senior leadership team. Subject leaders are enthusiastic about the current drive to improve their management roles further through the local authority's Primary Leadership Programme. A positive ethos is evident in the school based on good relationships at all levels and with the pupils firmly at the centre of all endeavours. Governors are supportive and many act effectively as 'critical friends' to the school. Their long-term planning is improving well, typified by a detailed 10-year plan for the premises and a well focused three-year development plan. 4 Inspection Report: Hatfield Peverel St Andrew's Junior School, 10 October 2006 .

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Grade: 2

set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 5 Inspection Report: Hatfield Peverel St Andrew's Junior School, 10 October 2006

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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 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?

1 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2 The behaviour of learners 1 The attendance of learners 1 How well learners enjoy their education 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 1 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. 6 Inspection Report: Hatfield Peverel St Andrew's Junior School, 10 October 2006

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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? 7 Inspection Report: Hatfield Peverel St Andrew's Junior School, 10 October 2006

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

11 October 2006 Dear Pupils Hatfield Peverel St Andrew's Junior School, Church Road, Hatfield Peverel, Chelmsford, CM3 2JX I enjoyed meeting you during my recent visit to your school. Thank you for helping me to find out about it. Special thanks go to the Year 6 pupils and house captains who gave up some extra time to talk to me. You and your parents told me that you go to a good school and I agree. Here are some of the good things about your school: - You get on well together and behave well. - By the time Year 6 leave to go to secondary school, their standards in literacy, numeracy and science are good for their age. - Teachers and teaching assistants do a good job in helping you learn. - Your headteacher is working well with the staff and many governors so that your school keeps on getting better. - You are taking advantage of the ways the school helps you to lead an enjoyable and healthy lifestyle, such as at all the

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

clubs and sports activities you attend. - You are good at taking responsibility and caring for others, for example, as members of your school house and when you support charities. In all schools there are things that can be even better. I have asked your school to do two things in particular: - Carry out its plans to check regularly how much progress you are making in your work during each school year. In this way you and your teachers can work together to make your learning even better. - Make sure that all the governors work together with the staff on the plans to keep the school improving. Carry on making the most of all that your school offers you. Best wishes Mrs Helen Ranger (Inspector) 8 Inspection Report: Hatfield Peverel St Andrew's Junior School, 10 October 2006

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