Hawkinge Primary School

Inspection Report - Amended Hawkinge Primary School

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118385 Unique Reference Number Kent Local Authority 291117 Inspection number 12 °13 September 2006 Inspection dates Peter Sudworth 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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Canterbury Road School address Primary Type of school Hawkinge Community School category Folkestone CT18 7BN 4 °11 Age range of pupils 01303 892224 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01303 892224 Fax number 263 Number on roll (school) Simon Dixon Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Jackie Watson Headteacher 26 February 2001 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 291117 12 °13 September 2006 4°11

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Amended Report Addendum

Report amended due to administration error

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Amended Report Addendum

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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Amended Report Addendum

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 is one of three primary schools that serve the community. The percentage of pupils entitled to free school meals is above the national average. Children’s attainment on entry to the Reception Year is below the level expected at this age. There is an above-average percentage of pupils with special needs, mostly for learning difficulties.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Hawkinge Primary School, 12 °13 September 2006

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Grade: 3

The school accurately judges itself to be providing a satisfactory education for its pupils. Inspectors largely agree with the range of judgements that the school makes of itself. They find leadership and management to be satisfactory with some good features, including good teamwork among senior staff. The school is well served by an interested and supportive governing body. Progress since the last inspection has been satisfactory. This is a school that has a sound capacity to improve because the staff are not content to sit back. Urged on by senior staff, they are determined to make things better for the pupils, keen to improve pupils’ rates of progress and to try out new ideas. The school’s good evaluation of pupils’ test results, combined with effective use of external advice, has resulted in improved provision for able pupils and a rise in the number reaching the higher levels for their age. However, the provision for pupils with learning

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Grade: 3

difficulties is inadequate and consequently they do not always make enough progress. The progress these pupils make is not monitored carefully enough. The school works in challenging circumstances. Staff tackle much low attainment when the pupils enter at the start of the Reception Year. The overall curriculum is now good because of the attention given to it and developments since the last inspection. The school has a keen interest in care for the environment and the arts, for which it has won national awards. The skills pupils need for their future lives and their understanding of society are developed to a satisfactory level. Teaching and learning are satisfactory overall, including a little that is outstanding. Very good relationships foster pupils’ good learning habits. A particular strength in the teaching is the sharing of the next steps in learning so the pupils know where they are heading with their work.

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Grade: 3

Standards and pupils’ achievements are satisfactory overall. Good provision in the Reception Year enables the children to make good progress. Progress is satisfactory in Years 1 to 6. Standards are below the national average at Year 2 and broadly average at Year 6. That standards are lower in Year 2 than in Year 6 in relation to the age of the pupils is a reflection of a decline in attainment on entry to the Reception class in the last four years. Writing is a weaker aspect of pupils’ work but as the school’s initiative to improve reading begins to bear fruit, there are signs that writing is also beginning to improve. Staff create a happy school which pupils are pleased to attend. Pupils enjoy their education and undertake responsibilities conscientiously. Resulting from the good care taken of them and effective teaching and learning of health and safety matters, pupils’ personal development and well-being are good. Parents have confidence in

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Grade: 3

the school. A parent expressing the views of many commented, ‘My daughter has only been at the school for a short time but seems to be happy and well settled.’ Links with the community are a particular strength. Pupils make a strong contribution to local life and links with the community support their learning effectively. 2 Inspection Report: Hawkinge Primary School, 12 °13 September 2006

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What the school should do to improve further

• Take steps to improve pupils’ skills in writing for different purposes in all years, and particularly in Years 1 and 2. • Improve the provision for pupils who have learning difficulties and monitor their progress more effectively.

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Grade: 3

Standards and achievement are satisfactory. Children in the Reception Year achieve well from their below-average attainment on entry. About two-thirds reach all the expectations for their age by the end of the school year but attainment is lowest in communication, language and literacy. Linked to lower attainment on entry in recent years, standards of attainment have been falling at the end of Year 2. A marked improvement took place in 2006, however, because of successful school action to address reading problems. More pupils reached the higher level in reading than in the previous year. Achievement in Years 1 and 2 is satisfactory, although results are below the national average. Results in Year 6 have risen in the past three years and are broadly average. Pupils make steady progress from the start of Year 3 and Year 6 pupils exceeded their target in 2006. Despite improvements, writing remains a weakness,

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Grade: 3

particularly in Years 1 and 2. Although able pupils are now reaching their potential more frequently, pupils with learning difficulties do not achieve well enough. Girls attain more highly than the boys in Years 1 and 2 but usually the boys catch up by Year 6.

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Grade: 2

Pupils’ personal development and well-being are good. Children in the Reception class settle in quickly. By Year 6, pupils are confident, friendly and responsible. They enjoy school, as shown by their good attendance. Pupils behave well, have positive attitudes to learning and participate in lessons enthusiastically. Their engagement in a range of responsibilities such as membership of the school council and as playground helpers supports their thinking and negotiating skills. When problems arise they are resolved quickly. A group of pupils said, ‘Friendship problems are soon sorted out.’ Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Pupils acquire an understanding of different faiths, cultures and lifestyles and a good awareness of the world around them. They engage with much interest in the focused weeks for art, Black history, science and music workshops and a residential visit to Boulogne. All

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Grade: 2

these experiences support their understanding of different cultures. Pupils understand safe living and the importance of a healthy lifestyle. Many are involved a wide range of physical activities, including sports clubs. They are aware of others’ needs and contribute to charities. 3 Inspection Report: Hawkinge Primary School, 12 °13 September 2006

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Grade: 3

Teaching and learning are satisfactory. There are some good features to the teaching. Lessons could not be observed in the Reception class but records of the children’s progress suggest that teaching is good. Typically, teaching is marked by good relationships, effective sharing of the purpose of lessons and well-prepared tasks. Some factors reduce the overall effectiveness of teaching and prevent it from being better than satisfactory. Pupils working on activities without direct support do not always receive clear enough instruction and so they are sometimes unsuccessful in accomplishing the task. Insufficient use is made of computers within lessons to extend the pupils’ skills and expectations of handwriting quality are not high enough in Years 5 and 6. Teaching assistants are used well in activities but are not used fully in the introductions to lessons. Pupils enjoy their learning. ‘Lessons are fun but we get to learn things,’ said one.

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Grade: 3

Marking is good and often helpful to pupils in their future learning. Teachers generally cater well for different pupils’ abilities in lessons but the work of pupils who have learning difficulties is not monitored regularly enough, nor is appropriate action always taken to meet their individual needs and so their progress suffers. Increasingly, able pupils are being challenged well in literacy and numeracy, particularly in Years 5 and 6, and this has led to improved results at Year 6.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is good overall but the development of pupils’ writing skills is not secure enough in English and other subjects. This affects their progress. The overall curriculum is organised well to meet the needs of mixed-age classes and to ensure that work in one year builds on that in the previous year. The range of learning opportunities strongly supports pupils’ personal development. Good attention is paid to ensuring that all National Curriculum subjects are adequately covered. There are good links between subjects, as when pupils study the local area and learn about related aspects of both geography and history. Extra-curricular provision is very good, with strong provision for sport. Residential experiences, outdoor activities and modern language studies provide further opportunities to which pupils respond eagerly. Visits to places of interest such as Leeds Castle and visits by theatre groups and specialist

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Grade: 2

expertise such as dance teachers support the variety and quality of work well. The school’s provision for personal, social, health and citizenship education is a particular strength. 4 Inspection Report: Hawkinge Primary School, 12 °13 September 2006

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Grade: 2

Care, guidance and support are good, with some outstanding features. Teachers and adults have good knowledge of pupils’ personal development and they respond thoughtfully and sensitively to pupils’ personal and social needs. Child protection procedures are good. Pupils are secure in a clean and carefully maintained building. In the playground they are supervised well by trained adults and trained pupil helpers. The good provision of play equipment and activities contributes to calm and well-organised lunchtimes. Class teachers regularly assess pupils’ work and set achievable targets for improvement. These are very usefully shared with most pupils, but there is not enough rigour in analysing the progress of pupils with learning difficulties. Good procedures quickly identify vulnerable pupils. The school has an effective partnership with parents and carers and provides personalised extra support through a family liaison officer and a variety of external

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Grade: 2

agencies. Transfer from pre-school settings is planned sensitively to give children good knowledge of their new setting before they begin. The school has good systems in place to ensure behaviour is managed consistently and to monitor absence and encourage promptness for school.

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Grade: 3

Leadership and management are satisfactory. The strategic leadership that senior staff provide is rightly focused on raising standards. They ensure that the school runs smoothly on a daily basis. However, the organisation of the provision for pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities is inadequate. Parents express much satisfaction about their pupils’ education but a few feel that communication about organisational matters could be improved. The school’s priorities for improvement, such as writing, are accurate. However, the school development plan is not rigorous enough in setting out how it will judge the success of different initiatives on the plan. The school rightly recognises the need to improve monitoring of both its own work and the progress of pupils. Monitoring has shown, for example, that the quality of teaching is not consistently good throughout the school. As a result, the school has identified training opportunities to ensure that all teachers have a clear

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Grade: 3

understanding of their own accountability and responsibility for pupils’ progress. The accurate analysis of test results has led to effective steps being taken to improve the teaching of literacy, and standards have risen in Year 2. Governors recognise the strengths and areas for improvement and are diligent about pupils’ health and safety. Finances are well managed and the school ensures that purchases provide best value. The headteacher and senior staff ensure that the school runs smoothly on a daily basis. 5 Inspection Report: Hawkinge Primary School, 12 °13 September 2006 .

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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: Hawkinge Primary School, 12 °13 September 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 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 4 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: Hawkinge Primary School, 12 °13 September 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? 8 Inspection Report: Hawkinge Primary School, 12 °13 September 2006

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you for your warm welcome when we visited your school, for sharing your work with us and talking with us about what you do. We enjoyed meeting you. We found that your school provides a satisfactory education for you and it is keen to make your lessons even better. We saw that your behaviour was good and you show much interest in your work. Your teachers take good care of you and provide you with interesting things to learn. The headteacher and senior staff are thoughtful in managing the school and looking after your interests. You clearly enjoy the extra activities after school. You are developing useful skills to help you as you get older, such as through the work of the school council and your helpfulness in the playground. Most of you make satisfactory progress in your work and some of you make good progress. You try hard to reach the expectations in reading, writing, mathematics and science for your

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

age and many of you succeed. You clearly find it useful to know what you need to do to improve your work. There are some things that the school needs to do to improve and you can help in some of this. We have asked the school to help you to make more progress in your writing skills in different lessons. We have also asked your teachers to do more to help some of you who find learning difficult so that you can make better progress. We hope that you will continue to enjoy school. We wish you all well for this new school year and beyond. 9 Inspection Report: Hawkinge Primary School, 12 °13 September 2006

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Annex B

Hawkinge Primary School Canterbury Road Hawkinge Folkestone Kent CT18 7BN

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Annex B

Thank you for your warm welcome when we visited your school, for sharing your work with us and talking with us about what you do. We enjoyed meeting you. We found that your school provides a satisfactory education for you and it is keen to make your lessons even better. We saw that your behaviour was good and you show much interest in your work.

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Annex B

Your teachers take good care of you and provide you with interesting things to learn. The headteacher and senior staff are thoughtful in managing the school and looking after your interests. You clearly enjoy the extra activities after school. You are developing useful skills to help you as you get older, such as through the work of the school council and your helpfulness in the playground.

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Annex B

Most of you make satisfactory progress in your work and some of you make good progress. You try hard to reach the expectations in reading, writing, mathematics and science for your age and many of you succeed. You clearly find it useful to know what you need to do to improve your work.

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Annex B

There are some things that the school needs to do to improve and you can help in some of this. We have asked the school to help you to make more progress in your writing skills in different lessons. We have also asked your teachers to do more to help some of you who find learning difficult so that you can make better progress.

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Annex B

We hope that you will continue to enjoy school. We wish you all well for this new school year and beyond.

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