Highcliffe Primary School

Inspection Report Highcliffe Primary School

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131457 Unique Reference Number Redcar and Cleveland Local Authority 293759 Inspection number 11 °12 January 2007 Inspection dates Ann Wallis 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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Hutton Lane School address Primary Type of school Guisborough Community School category TS14 8AA 3 °11 Age range of pupils 01287 632293 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01287 636273 Fax number 415 Number on roll (school) Mr Howard Bean Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Jackie Woodhead Headteacher 1 March 2001 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 293759 11 °12 January 2007 3°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 three Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

Highcliffe is a larger than average primary school with a 39 place Nursery. It mainly serves an area of mixed socio-economic conditions within the market town of Guisborough, although approximately a third of pupils travel from further afield. There are small numbers of pupils from minority ethnic groups, but no pupil speaks English as an additional language. The numbers of pupils eligible for free school meals and of those who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities are slightly below average. Attainment on entry to the school is average.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Highcliffe Primary School, 11 °12 January 2007

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Grade: 2

Highcliffe Primary is a good school where all pupils achieve well. Children enter the Nursery with skills that are, overall, average for their age. They make consistently good progress throughout the Foundation Stage and as they move through the school. Pupils attain above average standards when they leave at the end of Year 6. Pupils achieve well because teaching and learning are good. Teachers are knowledgeable and enthusiastic and their clear explanations enable pupils to progress rapidly. Teachers use a wide range of attractive teaching resources, which capture pupils’ interest so that they enjoy their learning. All teachers mark work thoroughly and some are now using a greater variety of successful ways to assess pupils’ progress and plan their future learning. The school recognises the need to share this good practice more widely and is in the process of starting to do so. Teaching assistants make a major contribution

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Grade: 2

to pupils’ progress because they give constructive individual support to those who need it. They are skilled, committed and well deployed. Pupils’ personal development is promoted well and the care and guidance they are given are good. All staff know their pupils very well and the individual well-being, enjoyment, safety and achievement of each child are at the heart of the school’s work. Pupils know about eating sensibly and appreciate the way they are rewarded by sitting at a special dinner table if they choose healthy food and behave well. An efficient new tracking system to monitor pupils’ progress is now in place but has yet to be fully used to provide detailed guidance for all pupils. Pupils enjoy coming to school and attend regularly. They are proud of their school and were very anxious to make sure that inspectors really understood all the good things they did at Highcliffe Primary. They described enthusiastically many of the outstanding range of enrichment activities that

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Grade: 2

make such a major contribution to their enjoyment of school. The well-developed curriculum meets the needs of most pupils well. The school has begun to provide a high quality outdoor learning area for pupils in the Reception class but is aware that this needs to be developed further to ensure consistently good quality learning in and out of the classroom. The school has excellent links with the local community and with parents. For example, the ‘Friends of Highcliffe’ are generous in giving both their time and expertise to support the school. Parents are overwhelmingly positive in their views of the school. Their comments included, ‘Highcliffe is an excellent school, which has offered both of my children marvellous opportunities to learn and develop’, ‘The teaching takes into account the different needs of the children,’ and ‘My son is happy, settled and progressing quickly.’ Leadership and management are good. The school knows itself well and its

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Grade: 2

self-evaluation is accurate. The recently appointed headteacher provides strong and effective leadership. She and the senior leadership team have built on the school’s existing success well and have clear priorities for further development. They have created a climate where staff feel valued and work well as a team. The school has good capacity for further improvement. 2 Inspection Report: Highcliffe Primary School, 11 °12 January 2007

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What the school should do to improve further

• Improve the provision for outdoor learning in the Reception class. • Ensure teachers share good practice in assessing pupils’ progress. • Consistently make best use of assessment data in tracking pupils’ progress to help them do as well as they can.

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Grade: 2

Standards are above average and pupils achieve well. In the Foundation Stage, children make good progress, particularly in speaking and listening and in their social development. By the end of Reception, the majority exceed the goals set for their learning. In 2005 and 2006, pupils in Key Stage 1 achieved well. They reached above average standards in teacher assessments in reading, writing and mathematics as they have done for the last five years. This good progress continues in Key Stage 2 where pupils again reached above average standards in the 2005 and 2006 national tests in English, mathematics and science. In the national tests in 2006, over half of pupils reached the above average Level 5 in English, mathematics and science and the school’s challenging targets were exceeded. All groups of pupils perform equally well. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities achieve well because they receive very

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Grade: 2

good support from teachers and teaching assistants.

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Grade: 2

Pupils’ personal development and well-being are good. Attendance is above average. Pupils enjoy coming to school; they like most subjects and particularly enjoy using the new playtime equipment. They behave well and have positive attitudes to learning. There is a calm atmosphere around the school and pupils are polite, friendly and welcoming. Pupils are aware that their work and good behaviour are valued because they are celebrated through the weekly Good Work Assembly. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. They know about and discuss other faiths and cultures. Pupils are knowledgeable about how to keep safe and healthy. They feel safe in school and know where to seek help if troubled. This is because they are well cared for by the staff. They understand the need for regular exercise and are increasingly choosing healthy eating options, such as those available at the school salad bar. Pupils’ views are heard through the school council which, with

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Grade: 2

the Year 5 classes, has played a very proactive role in the development of the successful school travel plan. This has allowed more pupils to cycle to school safely. Pupils enjoy the opportunities they have to take responsibility for their own community; for example, the play leaders take their role of running the Huff and Puff scheme at playtime very seriously. They also make an excellent contribution to their wider community; such as, working with the Guisborough Branch Walkway and through their generous fund raising for numerous charities. 3 Inspection Report: Highcliffe Primary School, 11 °12 January 2007

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Grade: 2

Teaching and learning are good overall. Some teaching is outstanding and none is less than satisfactory. This is because teachers have good subject knowledge and carefully plan interesting activities to motivate pupils. Well-rehearsed routines ensure that pupils move between activities without fuss. Teachers know their children well and are consistent in handling the behaviour of even the most challenging individuals in a positive way. As a result, little time is wasted and all pupils are able to concentrate on their work and achieve well. Teachers are developing good questioning skills, which challenge and extend pupils’ thinking. Interactive whiteboards and a variety of resources are used effectively to hold pupils’ interest. Work usually matches pupils’ needs well. As a result, most pupils enjoy their lessons and their learning, and make good progress. Occasionally some pupils find their work too hard. They have good ideas, but find difficulty in writing

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Grade: 2

them down and so progress is slower. Pupils are becoming more aware of how well they are doing and what to do to improve due to the advice given by teachers. Some teachers, but not yet all, make good use of assessment to match work to their pupils’ needs. Skills learned in one lesson are increasingly used to extend learning in other subjects. For example, pupils used their ICT skills to produce high quality writing for a newspaper article.

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Grade: 2

The school provides a good curriculum, which caters well for all pupils. Basic skills of literacy, numeracy and ICT are well developed and prepare pupils well for future economic well-being. Nursery children enjoy learning through play using an exciting range of resources. The provision for outdoor learning for the Reception class is an area for improvement. A recent curriculum review has ensured that work is more closely matched to pupils’ needs and reflects the local area. For example, pupils in Year 2 learn about the local man, Captain Cook, through visits to the museum. Opportunities for teaching thematic topic work have been explored and developed well. The school has made excellent use of the Primary Learning Network to develop cross-curricular resources, which can be shared across a group of schools. Art skills are well developed throughout the school using a variety of media, including stained glass. Pupils in Years

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Grade: 2

5 and 6 thoroughly enjoyed being ‘mad scientists’: launching a rocket, and seeing their teacher suspended before their very eyes on a hovercraft. Extra curricular provision is excellent. Pupils have numerous opportunities to take part in activities ranging from first aid to football and computers to gardening. Older pupils grow in confidence and maturity as they learn to fend for themselves and work in teams to solve problems on a variety of residential trips. 4 Inspection Report: Highcliffe Primary School, 11 °12 January 2007

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Grade: 2

Care, guidance and support throughout the school are good. Arrangements for child protection, safeguarding of pupils, health and safety and risk assessment are in place. Teachers know the pupils well and are alert to their needs. They give good support and guidance for pupils’ personal development. A new system has been established to track pupils’ learning, but the impact of this on the quality of academic guidance is not yet consistent. Pupils are made aware of their part in staying safe and healthy through the many visiting experts who give them advice; for example, the police, school nurse and the emergency services who visit school to work with Year 6 pupils on a search and rescue project. Arrangements for starting school and moving on to secondary school are a particular strength of Highcliffe. Parents rightly have high levels of confidence in the school's care and support for their children.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good. The school has improved the quality of teaching and learning since the last inspection and pupils now make good progress throughout the school. The headteacher is well supported by governors, a committed senior team and an enthusiastic and hardworking staff. All staff share a common purpose and morale is high. Good quality professional development ensures that their talents are nurtured and extended. A regular cycle of planning and self-review is now becoming embedded in the school’s work. Senior leaders know the school’s strengths and weaknesses well and are in a good position to make further improvements. Governance is good and governors are very well informed. Resources are effectively deployed and accommodation is continually being improved to offer a safe and welcoming learning environment. Financial management is excellent and the school provides good value for money. The school has excellent links with parents, other

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Grade: 2

schools, external agencies and the community, all of which enhance the wide range of opportunities it offers pupils. 5 Inspection Report: Highcliffe Primary School, 11 °12 January 2007 .

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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. 6 Inspection Report: Highcliffe Primary School, 11 °12 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? 2 The quality and standards in the Foundation Stage 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?

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 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. 7 Inspection Report: Highcliffe Primary School, 11 °12 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: Highcliffe Primary School, 11 °12 January 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Highcliffe Primary School Hutton Lane Guisborough TS14 8AA 13 January 2007 Dear Pupils Thank you so much for giving us such a warm welcome when we came to your school. We really enjoyed visiting lessons, looking at your work and hearing about all the things you enjoyed at school. These are some of the many good things we found out about your school during our visit. • Your behaviour is good and you are keen to take responsibility and care for others. • You enjoy school and work hard. • You make good progress in your work and reach the standards you deserve. • Your teachers and classroom helpers teach and support you well. • Your school takes good care of you and helps you to stay safe and healthy. • You are given excellent opportunities to go on trips and visits and take part in lots of extra activities. This is what we have asked your school to do now: • improve the outdoor learning area for the Reception class

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

• keep a close eye on how well you are progressing and help you to know how to continue improving your work. You can help your school by continuing to attend regularly and work hard. Best wishes. Yours sincerely Ann Wallis (Lead inspector) 9 Inspection Report: Highcliffe Primary School, 11 °12 January 2007

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