Hollinswood Primary School

Hollinswood Junior School Inspection report

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123456 Unique Reference Number Telford and Wrekin Local Authority 292672 Inspection number 27 °28 June 2007 Inspection dates Ted Wheatley 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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Junior Type of school Community School category 7 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 172 School

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The local authority Appropriate authority Glenn Atkinson Headteacher 11 March 2002 Date of previous school inspection Dale Acre Way School address Hollinswood Telford TF3 2EP

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01952 386940 Telephone number 01952 386944 Fax number

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7 °11 Age group 27 °28 June 2007 Inspection dates 292672 Inspection number .

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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 two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

This is a small school. Pupils come from mainly White British backgrounds and a small number of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds. None are in the early stages of learning English. Pupils come from a wide range of social backgrounds and the proportion entitled to free school meals is above average. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is above average. Attainment on entry to the school is broadly average but it varies between years. A larger proportion of pupils than normal leave and join the school during the year.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 11 Inspection Report: Hollinswood Junior School, 27 °28 June 2007

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Grade: 3

The school provides a satisfactory and improving standard of education. Standards are average and pupils' achievement is satisfactory. Prolonged staff illness and other absences have disrupted pupils' learning. Staffing is now settled; achievement is improving and standards are rising. The headteacher provides strong leadership. His careful management of the staffing difficulties and his clear direction for improvement have ensured the school has maintained a focus on how it must improve. He is well supported by dedicated colleagues. Rapid changes in staffing have meant reallocating responsibilities and consequently leadership and management skills are variable. Overall, leadership and management are satisfactory but improving. Past underachievement is being dealt with soundly. The focus on literacy and numeracy is starting to have a positive impact, though there is still some way to go. Teaching is satisfactory

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Grade: 3

and improving, with strengths in planning work to meet pupils' learning needs and in providing opportunities for pupils to work independently. Teaching assistants work well with pupils of all abilities and contribute effectively to improving achievement. Nevertheless, there are still some weaknesses that limit achievement. Occasionally, the most able pupils, particularly boys, are not fully challenged or engaged in their work. Pupils' writing is a weakness and work is not checked often enough to ensure spelling and punctuation are accurate. The curriculum is satisfactory. There is a wide range of well-planned activities mostly matched to pupils' needs. However, there are not enough opportunities for pupils to write at length in subjects other than English. This limits how fast writing skills improve. The personal, social and health education (PSHE) programme contributes effectively to pupils' good personal

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Grade: 3

development. There is a wide range of activities, visits and visitors that enlivens the curriculum, and the programme of out-of-school activities is good. Pupils enjoy school and behave well. Attendance is satisfactory and has improved. Pupils have positive attitudes, although occasionally a small number of boys waste time when they are not interested. Pupils have a good understanding of healthy eating and the importance of regular exercise. They are considerate towards each other and take on responsibilities willingly. The school provides satisfactory care, support and guidance. It is generally a safe place to be, with governors addressing safety issues with urgency. The quality of support for pupils is good, from all adults in school and with effective support from outside agencies. Academic guidance is satisfactory, although pupils do not always fully understand what they need to do to improve their work.

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Grade: 3

Parents regard the school highly and support activities well. At the recent fathers' day, fathers joined numeracy lessons. They were highly impressed with the quality of mathematics teaching, the practical investigations and the way pupils worked together.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Improve standards in writing by making sure that spelling and punctuation are effectively taught in all lessons. Also, provide more planned opportunities to write in all subjects. • Improve the achievement of the most able pupils, especially boys, by ensuring that work consistently challenges and motivates them. • Make sure that pupils consistently understand their targets and that marking guides them on how to improve their work. 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Hollinswood Junior School, 27 °28 June 2007 A small proportion of the schools whose overall effectiveness is judged satisfactory but which have areas of underperformance will receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection.

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Grade: 3

In recent years pupils have not achieved as much as they should because of the staffing problems. There are still some pockets of underachievement, but the great majority of pupils, including those with learning difficulties, are now making satisfactory progress. The small proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds and those joining the school during the school year also make satisfactory progress. Achievement has improved noticeably in numeracy and standards are rising. This is due to a sharp focus on matching work to pupils' needs and making sure it is interesting and with opportunities for problem-solving activities. Pupils enjoy numeracy lessons. In literacy, achievement is also improving. Standards are broadly average in speaking and listening, but there are still weaknesses in spelling, punctuation and sentence writing. Increased opportunities for investigations in science are leading to better progress and higher standards here too.

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Grade: 3

Pupils' improved achievement benefits from the effective classroom assistants. They work well with pupils of all abilities, focusing on helping them meet their targets or settling in if they have newly joined the school. Despite improving achievement, a small number of higher-attaining pupils still underachieve, mainly because work is not challenging or interesting enough.

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Grade: 2

Pupils have good attitudes to learning. They work well independently and collaborate effectively with others. Most pupils enjoy school, behave well and attend regularly. However, a small number, especially boys, waste time when lessons do not fully catch their interest. Pupils eat healthily and stay fit because of the good guidance the school provides ° and the single-option school lunch! They work and play safely. Occasional incidents of bullying and racism are dealt with swiftly and effectively. Pupils feel there is always someone to talk to when they feel upset, including other children who are trained to help them. They take their responsibilities seriously because the school values their views and acts on them. For example, the school council is proud to have designed the 'Jungle Gym' in the school grounds. They perform confidently in assemblies for parents and in school shows like 'Gel', which are attended by the wider community.

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Grade: 2

Social, moral, spiritual and cultural development is good. Pupils have a fairly sophisticated understanding of the range of cultures and religions within Britain and carefully distinguish between 'religion' and 'culture'. Good social skills and satisfactory basic skills are a sound preparation for progression to secondary school.

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Grade: 3

Sound teaching contributes to pupils' enjoyment of learning. Relationships with pupils are good, so they confidently 'have a go', even when they may be wrong. Teachers are particularly good at planning opportunities for pupils to work independently. However, occasionally, a few boys do not concentrate as hard as they could when they are not sufficiently interested in the 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Hollinswood Junior School, 27 °28 June 2007 work. Effective use is made of teaching assistants to work with groups of pupils who have specific needs, including the most able, and this has helped to raise standards, especially in mathematics. Good opportunities for group work ensure that pupils collaborate well. Increasingly, teachers motivate pupils to improve their work through getting them to aim for clearly explained targets, but this is not yet consistent across the school. A few lessons present pupils with a

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Grade: 3

demanding level of challenge, which they respond to with enthusiasm. By contrast, the slow pace of a small number of lessons does not motivate all pupils to do their best.

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Grade: 3

The curriculum provides a wide range of activities to challenge and interest all pupils, although occasionally not the most able pupils. Good use of information and communication technology (ICT), mathematics problem solving, science investigations and opportunities for independent learning contribute well to pupils' learning. However, in subjects other than English, there are not enough opportunities for pupils to write at length or independently. Personal, social and health education effectively helps pupils to deal with drugs and relationships issues. There is a wide range of visits, visitors and activities that makes the curriculum interesting. For example, pupils visited Ludlow and used photographs successfully to develop their mapping skills. There is also a wide range of extra activities for gifted and talented pupils to extend their experiences and interests. The range of out-of-school clubs, sports, tournaments and cultural

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Grade: 3

activities is good and levels of participation are satisfactory.

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Grade: 3

Sound procedures are in place to ensure most aspects of pupils' health and safety. The school works well with a range of agencies and with parents and carers to promote the well-being of all pupils, but especially those who are vulnerable or troubled. There is a good range of procedures to improve the attendance of the few pupils who are frequently absent. The school provides sound support for pupils with learning difficulties, which helps them to achieve as well as their peers. Support for pupils joining the school during the year is good. It ensures that they settle quickly and make satisfactory progress. Academic progress is accurately tracked across the school and pupils are set realistic targets. However, in a small number of lessons, they do not fully understand their targets, because they are not clearly explained. Marking does not consistently provide guidance on how to improve. Poor spelling, which is a particular weakness within the school, is too frequently left uncorrected.

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Grade: 3

The headteacher provides very good direction for the school's improvement. He is well supported by committed and enthusiastic staff. The school accurately evaluates its performance and has a clear view of how to raise standards and has gone some way towards doing this. The full impact of changes has yet to be seen and this has been slowed down by the changes and disruption in staffing. While leadership and management at the senior level are good, elsewhere they are variable. However, staff are rapidly gaining the skills they need to bring about the 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Hollinswood Junior School, 27 °28 June 2007 necessary improvements in their own subjects. Improvement since the last inspection has been satisfactory and the capacity for further improvement is sound. Governors fulfil most of their statutory obligations. They are aware of security issues that need to be addressed and are taking appropriate action. They support the school well and provide

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Grade: 3

a sound level of challenge for the headteacher. They try hard to be well informed about the school's work but recognise that without a complete governing body this is difficult. The school has good links with support agencies, the local community and the local authority. It communicates effectively with parents and rightly takes their concerns and those of pupils into account when planning improvements. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Hollinswood Junior School, 27 °28 June 2007 .

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Grade: 3

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: Hollinswood Junior School, 27 °28 June 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 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?

2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2 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 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?

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. 9 of 11 Inspection Report: Hollinswood Junior School, 27 °28 June 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? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: Hollinswood Junior School, 27 °28 June 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

29 June 2007 Dear Pupils Inspection of Hollinswood Junior School, Telford, Shropshire TF2 3EP We really enjoyed being at your school. You made us feel very welcome and you were friendly, polite and very helpful to us while we were there. We spoke to quite a number of you and you helped us to gain a clear view of your school. These are the main things we found out about your school: • The school gives you a satisfactory and improving education. • Your progress is satisfactory and there are good signs that it is improving. Even so, standards could be higher. • The headteacher and other staff are working really hard to make sure this becomes a good school. • Teaching is satisfactory and much of it is good. Teachers make you work hard and make sure the work will help you do better. • Most of you behave well. You enjoy school and your attendance is satisfactory. You eat healthily and take part in physical exercise. Most of you work well by yourselves and with

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

other people. • The school takes satisfactory care of you and gives you sound advice and support. • Many of you enjoy all the extra activities and trips the school organises. To improve things further, we have asked the school to: • help you improve your writing by making sure you spell and punctuate your written work well. Also, the school should give you more opportunities to write in all subjects • make sure the most able among you, especially able boys, are given interesting work of the right difficulty so that you do as well as you can • make sure that you understand your targets and that marking always gives you good advice on how to improve your work. With best wishes T Wheatley Lead Inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Hollinswood Junior School, 27 °28 June 2007

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