All Saints Church of England Voluntary Controlled Infant School, Hessle

Inspection Report All Saints CofE Voluntary Controlled Infant School, Hessle

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117979 Unique Reference Number East Riding of Yorkshire Local Authority 290987 Inspection number 25 °26 January 2007 Inspection dates Keith Bardon 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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Northolme Road School address Infant Type of school Hessle Voluntary controlled School category HU13 9JD 3 °7 Age range of pupils 01482 648061 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01482 648061 Fax number 333 Number on roll (school) Mr Graham Marshall Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Anne Kavanagh Headteacher 1 November 2001 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 290987 25 °26 January 2007 3°7 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 three Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

The school serves an area with broadly average social and economic characteristics a few miles from the City of Hull. With few exceptions, pupils are White British and the number who are at an early stage in learning English is very small. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is a little above average. Children’s attainment when they first start school has fallen in recent years and is below average for their age.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: All Saints CofE Voluntary Controlled Infant School, Hessle, 25 °26 January 2007

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Grade: 3

This is a satisfactory school in which pupils make steady progress and attain standards similar to the national average. The provision in the Foundation Stage is satisfactory with elements that are good. Despite making clear gains, a substantial number of children are still some way short of the expectations for their age by the end of Reception. This is particularly true of summer-born children, who spend far less time in the Foundation Stage than those born at other times. Standards at the end of Key Stage 1 are similar to the national average. The pupils’ achievement in Key Stage 1 is satisfactory and prepares them adequately for the junior school, but the school recognises there is scope for improvement. The loss of senior staff through illness and retirement has adversely affected the school’s capacity for consistent and sustained development. Under the careful guidance of the headteacher, the school has maintained

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Grade: 3

pupils’ attainment at a reasonable level and a more stable staff presents the opportunity to raise standards. Key to this is providing pupils with consistently good teaching. Teaching and learning are satisfactory overall but throughout the school there are examples of well-taught lessons. After a number of changes at the start of the school year, teachers in the Foundation Stage are beginning to work effectively as a team and there are early signs of improvement. However, because of the three-term intake into Reception, the school has to employ temporary teachers for short periods each year, which adversely affects continuity. Most lessons in Key Stage 1 are interesting and build carefully on what has gone before but there are times when teachers’ expectations are not high enough and pupils could learn more. The use of teaching assistants is also variable - good in some lessons but much less effective in others.

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Grade: 3

Most pupils behave well but a minority need regular reminders of what is expected and in some cases help from staff to improve their social skills. Happy faces are clear evidence of the enjoyment pupils get from school and they feel safe and secure in its friendly atmosphere. Despite the school’s concerted efforts to improve matters, attendance remains just below average. The school takes good care of its pupils. Systems for tracking pupils’ progress provide a useful overview of their academic development but lack sufficient detail. Pupils spend an appropriate amount of time on each of the different subjects; additional events such as theme weeks add variety and colour to the curriculum. Procedures for checking the school’s performance are satisfactory and provide accurate and useful information. When evaluating provision, there is a tendency to focus on what teachers are doing rather than what pupils are gaining. Consequently the links

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Grade: 3

between achievement, standards, teaching and learning are not always clear enough in the school’s plans for improvement. Governors carry out their statutory responsibilities conscientiously and play an active part in the life of the school. The school provides satisfactory value for money.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Raise standards by the end of Year 2. 2 Inspection Report: All Saints CofE Voluntary Controlled Infant School, Hessle, 25 °26 January 2007 • Improve the quality of teaching so that all pupils benefit from consistently well-taught lessons. • Make closer links between provision and outcomes when monitoring and evaluating the work of the school, and sharpen the plans for improvement.

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Grade: 3

Pupils’ achievement is satisfactory. Throughout their time in the school, pupils make satisfactory progress and by Year 2 attain standards that are similar to the national average. Children’s progress in the Foundation Stage is satisfactory but a significant number do not reach the standards expected for their age by the end of Reception. Because of the time of year in which they are born, some children receive little Nursery experience and only one term of full-time education in Reception. This gives them little time to catch up and the attainment of these children is often below that of pupils born earlier in the school year. The results pupils attain in the national assessments at the end of Year 2 have remained broadly average for a number of years. In 2006, results dipped a little below average in reading and writing because the group contained a high proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. Although girls tend to do a little better than

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Grade: 3

boys in reading and writing, the gap is narrower than in many other schools. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make satisfactory progress overall and at times good progress against their individual targets.

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Grade: 3

Pupils’ personal development, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, is satisfactory. Pupils say that they enjoy school and have positive attitudes towards it. Most pupils behave well in lessons but a minority have difficulty sustaining concentration without regular help. Behaviour in the cloakrooms and dining room is often noisy, as can be the case in lessons until pupils are reminded of what is expected. Attendance is just below average although the school is working hard to address this problem through reward schemes and other strategies; attendance is steadily improving. Pupils adopt a healthy life style through a sensible diet and exercise. The school is working towards the Healthy Schools Award. Pupils are mostly sensible around school and say that they feel safe. Bullying rarely occurs and any which does is usually in the form of name-calling, which is quickly dealt with by teachers. The recently established

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Grade: 3

school council has increased pupils’ sense of responsibility and pupils willingly contribute to the local and wider community. Overseas links and studies help to broaden pupils’ awareness of other cultures. Preparation for their future economic well-being through the development of key skills is satisfactory. 3 Inspection Report: All Saints CofE Voluntary Controlled Infant School, Hessle, 25 °26 January 2007

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Grade: 3

Teaching and learning are satisfactory, with examples of good practice in each year group. New strategies for teaching are makings some links between subjects to improve learning. The contribution of teaching assistants in lessons is inconsistent. Where they are used best, they support and extend learning well but in other lessons their role is underdeveloped and they do not interact enough with pupils. Teachers employ information and communication technology to support English and mathematics to good effect. Most lessons are well planned and build on previous learning but teachers do not always make full use of assessment information. As a result, some children capable of attaining higher standards are not always sufficiently challenged. Teachers often share learning objectives with pupils at the start of lessons. These provide useful guidance but at times are too complicated for pupils to remember, limiting their usefulness.

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Grade: 3

Work for pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is planned thoughtfully, enabling them to make steady, and sometimes good, progress.

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Grade: 3

Curriculum provision is satisfactory and meets the needs of learners. It has some good features and covers the full range of subjects. Most teachers make learning an enjoyable experience. The curriculum is being reviewed to increase links between subjects so that pupils understand better why they need to learn, for instance, spellings and multiplication tables. The school recognises that, while a productive start has been made, this approach requires further development to be fully successful in raising standards. The Foundation Stage curriculum is based on practical experiences and a secure understanding of how young children learn. Regular visits and visitors to the school and a range of extra-curricular activities broaden and enhance the curriculum. The visit of the fire safety officers during the inspection was a good example of the positive contribution the curriculum makes to pupils’ personal, social, health and citizenship

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Grade: 3

Pupils are cared for well. Safeguarding procedures are in place and staff are aware of the procedures to be followed where necessary. Health and safety issues are regularly checked and reviewed by the governors. Risk assessments are carried out where appropriate. Pupils are safe in school and say that there is always someone they can talk to if they need help. Provision for pupils with learning and disabilities is structured 4 Inspection Report: All Saints CofE Voluntary Controlled Infant School, Hessle, 25 °26 January 2007 carefully but procedures for monitoring their progress are limited in their scope. The school has adopted a new scheme of work for PSHCE and staff have undertaken training in philosophy in order to further improve pupils’ behaviour. Academic guidance for pupils is satisfactory. Pupils’ attainment is assessed regularly. Tracking procedures give an overview of the progress pupils make each year but do

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Grade: 3

not provide sufficiently detailed on-going information. This has been recognised by the school and more effective systems are currently being introduced.

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Grade: 3

Leadership and management are satisfactory. Despite the long-term absence of several senior members of staff, standards have been maintained at a nationally average level and the school has made satisfactory progress since its last inspection. Much of this is due to the positive attitude of the headteacher, who has made sensible decisions to address each new problem. Despite this, there has inevitably been some lack of continuity in the school’s development. Governors work closely with senior staff to check the school’s performance. Regular evaluations are made of how well decisions are being implemented but are not focused enough on pupils’ learning. As a result, while plans for development are satisfactory, they lack the cutting edge needed to accelerate improvement and give staff a crystal clear picture of what they need to do to raise standards. Recent changes to the senior management team are beginning to bed in and the school

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Grade: 3

is moving forwards. There is an enthusiasm and willingness for change; the school’s capacity for further improvement is satisfactory. While most parents hold positive opinions of the school a minority find communication difficult and the school has yet to establish procedures for systematically seeking their views. 5 Inspection Report: All Saints CofE Voluntary Controlled Infant School, Hessle, 25 °26 January 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: All Saints CofE Voluntary Controlled Infant School, Hessle, 25 °26 January 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? 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?

3 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 3 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 3 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. 7 Inspection Report: All Saints CofE Voluntary Controlled Infant School, Hessle, 25 °26 January 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: All Saints CofE Voluntary Controlled Infant School, Hessle, 25 °26 January 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

All Saints CE Voluntary Controlled Infant School Northolme Road Hessle HU13 9JD 25 January 2007 Dear Children Thank you very much for the very friendly way you treated us when we visited your school recently. Lots of you smiled and chatted to us, which made us feel very comfortable and welcome. Although we were with you for only two days, we thoroughly enjoyed finding out about the work you do, and a special thanks to those who talked with us about the school. There were lots of things we liked about the school. It is clear that you are happy at school and that you get on well with each other and your teachers. When we came into your lessons, most of you were behaving well and trying hard with your work. You do get rather noisy around school and sometimes in lessons and it would be better for everyone if you could remember to speak quietly wherever you are. Adults look after you carefully and it is good that you feel safe and that you can get help if

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

you need it. We enjoyed the singing in assembly and it was nice to see that when the headteacher had her little accident you were all concerned as to whether she was all right. It shows you care for others as you should do. While most of you come to school regularly, there is quite a lot of absence. You should always try to come to school unless you are really unwell. It was good to see the pride with which the school councillors wear their caps because it shows you are becoming sensible children and taking seriously the responsibilities you have been given. We also looked at what the school might do become even better. These are the things we suggested. • By learning even more before you leave to go to the junior school. You can play your part by listening carefully to your teachers all of the time, trying your very best to do as they ask, doing as much work as you can during lessons and working quietly so that you and the

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

children sitting near to you can concentrate fully; • By making sure the plans that show how your school is going to improve are very clear so that everyone knows what they need to do. Thank you once again for being so nice and for sharing your school with us. Yours sincerely Keith Bardon (Lead inspector) 9 Inspection Report: All Saints CofE Voluntary Controlled Infant School, Hessle, 25 °26 January 2007

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