Herne Church of England Infant and Nursery School

Inspection Report - Amended Herne Church of England Infant School

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118710 Unique Reference Number Kent Local Authority 291222 Inspection number 16 January 2007 Inspection date Derek Watts 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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Palmer Close School address Infant Type of school Herne Voluntary controlled School category Herne Bay CT6 7AH 3 °7 Age range of pupils 01227 740793 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01227 373758 Fax number 308 Number on roll (school) Trevor Codd Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Sylvia Wilson Headteacher 18 November 2002 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection date Age group 291222 16 January 2007 3 °7

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Amended Report Addendum

Report amended due to factual inaccuracy

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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 one Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

Herne C of E is a larger-than-average infant school. Most pupils are from a White British background. There are no pupils who speak English as an additional language. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities is just below average. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is below average. Children's attainment on entry to the Nursery is broadly average.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Herne Church of England Infant School, 16 January 2007

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Grade: 1

Herne C of E Infant is an outstanding school where pupils achieve exceptionally well and make outstanding progress in their personal development. Parents hold the school in extremely high regard and it clearly has their absolute confidence. They are rightly lavish in their praise, typically making comments such as, 'A fantastic school all round', 'Excellent school ° so glad I chose it for my children', and 'The ethos is wonderful'. Highly effective leadership and management are major factors contributing to the school's success and the good improvements since the last inspection. A parent astutely wrote, 'An excellent school, thanks to the dedication of the headteacher and her staff'. An enthusiastic and very experienced headteacher provides outstanding vision and direction for the school. The deputy and other leaders provide excellent support. Teamwork among the staff is outstanding and there is a strong commitment to

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Grade: 1

continuous review of practice and improvement. All staff are committed to pupils doing as well as they can. Rigorous self-evaluation and successful planning mean that the school knows how well it is doing and takes effective action to bring about improvements. Well-established assessment and tracking mean that the school has a clear overview of how well each individual pupil is progressing. Outstanding care, guidance and support contribute significantly to pupils' academic and personal development. In this harmonious and positive school community, all pupils are highly valued and thrive. Their needs are carefully assessed and excellent guidance and support are provided for all pupils, including those with learning difficulties and disabilities and the higher attainers. Pupils thoroughly enjoy school because of the exciting activities offered. Attendance is good and behaviour is exemplary. Pupils' ability to take responsibility and work independently is a clear

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Grade: 1

strength in this highly effective school. Excellent teaching and a stimulating curriculum contribute to pupils' outstanding progress. Children in the Nursery and Reception make exceptional progress in all areas of learning and reach above-average standards. Outstanding progress continues in Years 1 and 2 and standards are well above average in Year 2. Pupils' achievements and work in writing and science are particularly impressive. High quality displays are another strong feature of the school. A visitor noted, 'The school always looks beautiful, with emphasis on displaying as much work as possible'. Teachers are enthusiastic and have high levels of expertise which motivate and inspire the pupils. Challenging work is well matched to pupils' needs so they make exceptional gains in their learning. One of the school's current priorities is developing further links with the neighbouring junior school. Pupils are exceptionally well prepared for the next stage of their

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What the school should do to improve further

• Build on the current work to increase the partnership with the junior school. 2 Inspection Report: Herne Church of England Infant School, 16 January 2007

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Grade: 1

Achievement across the school is outstanding. Children get off to a great start in the Nursery. Children in Nursery and Reception make exceptionally good progress in all areas of learning. In Year 2, standards are above average in reading and well above average in writing, mathematics and science. The proportion of pupils who attain the higher Level 3 is significantly higher than average. This is because higher-attaining pupils are challenged and stretched. Pupils' writing is of high quality. It is frequently well structured and imaginative. Handwriting is fluent and joined. Pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities also make exceptional progress because of the high quality support they receive. Outstanding provison and tasks being well matched to pupils' needs contribute to the high standards and the excellent progress made.

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Grade: 1

Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding. Pupils thoroughly enjoy school and this is not surprising given the exciting learning opportunities provided. A parent wrote, 'My child is keen to get to school in the morning and is full of excitement each evening'. Consistently high expectations of staff and excellent relationships lead to outstanding behaviour. Pupils are confident and independent because they are given responsibilities. They are eager to find out things for themselves, they choose suitable learning resources and are keen to help fellow pupils. Pupils adopt healthy lifestyles. They show a good understanding of healthy eating and they take regular exercise. They take on board the need to stay safe. Those on the school council take their responsibilities seriously. Pupils make positive contributions to the wider community. For example, the choir performs at a

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Grade: 1

local hospital. Pupils' skills in working with others are well developed. These, with their excellent progress in basic literacy and numeracy skills, prepare them very well for their future economic well-being.

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Grade: 1

Excellent teaching and learning contribute to pupils' outstanding achievement. Teachers' enthusiasm and high levels of expertise challenge, inspire and motivate the pupils. Pupils respond very well to teachers' consistently high expectations of learning and conduct. Lessons are exceptionally well planned and teachers share learning intentions with the class so pupils know what they are to learn. Assessment is used effectively to match tasks to pupils' different abilities. As a result, pupils are challenged, their interest is maintained and excellent progress is made. Explanations and demonstrations by teachers are extremely clear and informative. Teachers' high quality 3 Inspection Report: Herne Church of England Infant School, 16 January 2007 demonstrations and modelling of writing skills contribute to the school's success in this area. Pupils take great pride in their work and their handwriting and presentation

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Grade: 1

are impressive. Pupils respond enthusiastically to teachers' skilful questioning. They are articulate and confident in their responses. Teaching assistants provide high quality support, particularly to those with learning difficulties and disabilities.

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Grade: 1

An imaginative and stimulating curriculum successfully promotes exceptional achievement and outstanding personal development. Strong emphasis on the basic skills of literacy, numeracy and science contributes to the high standards in these areas. Provision is also of high quality in art and design, music and sport. The school has been particularly effective in developing pupils' writing skills. They have done this by extending pupils' creative experiences through drama and role play and using attractive displays and stimulating visual aids to inspire writing. They have also provided an interesting and wide range of opportunities for pupils to write in different styles and for different purposes and concentrated on basic writing skills in the Foundation Stage. Provision for ICT is good and it is used well to support teaching and learning in a range of subjects. An excellent personal, social and health education programme

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Grade: 1

gives clear attention to healthy lifestyles and keeping safe. The Foundation Stage curriculum offers a wide range of interesting and stimulating activities that promote outstanding progress. The spacious new accommodation for the Nursery is a recent asset.

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Grade: 1

All staff are highly committed to pupils' learning and welfare and this is much appreciated by the parents. As one parent wrote, this is 'a wonderful school with caring staff. We could not ask for more'. There are effective procedures to ensure that pupils are cared for and safe. Successful induction ensures that new arrivals settle quickly. The family liaison officer does a good job in promoting attendance. Imaginative programmes are designed for pupils with specific needs. This enables these pupils to achieve success and make exceptional progress. Academic guidance and support are outstanding. Highly effective assessment and tracking are used extremely well to plan pupils' learning and set challenging individual targets in literacy and numeracy.

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Grade: 1

Leadership and management at all levels are successfully promoting outstanding achievement and excellent personal development. There is a strong focus on providing high quality teaching, a stimulating curriculum and effective care so that all pupils can succeed. 4 Inspection Report: Herne Church of England Infant School, 16 January 2007 Partnership with parents is outstanding. Communication with parents is excellent and a range of opportunities to help them to support their children's learning is provided. 'Lively Literacy' and 'Marvellous Maths' workshops are popular and successful. One parent remarked, 'The school strives to ensure that parents feel valued partners in their child's education'. Leadership has been effectively shared and leadership roles are highly developed. The expertise of all staff is enhanced through a strong emphasis on professional development. Teamwork among the staff is exceptional and there is a commitment to

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Grade: 1

continuous improvement. Staff are empowered and supported by the headteacher and by colleagues. As a result, they are motivated and feel valued as professionals. As one leader commented, 'The headteacher lets us run with ideas'. Self-evaluation is highly effective and the school has a clear view of what it does well and what it needs to do to improve. The monitoring and development of teaching has a high profile and this contributes to the high quality practice. Providing support to colleagues and sharing classroom practice are part of the school's professional culture. The school has two advanced skilled teachers who share their expertise at Herne and at other schools. The school is always trying something new in order to improve and extend pupils' learning. There is a strong overseas element to the school's professional development and improvement programmes. For example, the school has added to its

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Grade: 1

personal and social development programme from practice in Finland and has been influenced by the French approach to the teaching of handwriting. The curriculum is creatively reviewed in order to increase pupils' achievement and enjoyment. Administrative staff are highly efficient, which enables senior leaders to focus on pupils' achievement and educational provision. Governance is outstanding. The governing body are well informed about the school's performance and provide an effective blend of challenge and support. Since the last inspection, the quality of provision and outcomes for pupils has steadily improved. There is excellent capacity for further improvement. 5 Inspection Report: Herne Church of England Infant School, 16 January 2007 .

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Grade: 1

set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Herne Church of England Infant School, 16 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? 1 The quality and standards in the Foundation Stage 1 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 1 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

1 How well do learners achieve? 1 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 1 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 1 The behaviour of learners 2 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 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?

1 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: Herne Church of England Infant School, 16 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: Herne Church of England Infant School, 16 January 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you so much for welcoming me into your school and showing me your work. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit and would like to tell you what I found out. Herne C of E is an excellent school and one you can be very, very proud of. These things are strengths of the school • You clearly enjoy school because of the exciting activities provided. • Children in the Nursery get off to a great start. • Teaching is excellent, which is why you learn so much. • You are making outstanding progress, particularly in writing, mathematics and science. Some of your writing is particularly interesting and imaginative. • The displays of your work are fantastic and some of the best I have ever seen. • Your behaviour is excellent in lessons and around the school. • The staff know you very well and you receive outstanding support from them. • You are all developing into extremely confident and independent learners. • Your headteacher, deputy headteacher and senior teachers run the school very, very well.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

• Your parents are delighted with this excellent school. There is just one thing which the school is working to improve • Your teachers are keen to build a strong partnership with the junior school. Finally, thank you once again for all your help. I wish you all the best for the future. 9 Inspection Report: Herne Church of England Infant School, 16 January 2007

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