Setting

Cambridge Education Demeter House Station Road Cambridge CB1 2RS T 01223 463956 F 01223 578501 Inspections_1@camb-ed.com Ofsted helpline 0845 640 4045

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Mrs Marcia Puckey Acting headteacher Haydn Primary School Sherwood Nottingham Nottinghamshire NG5 2JU

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Introduction

Following my visit with John Francis, Additional Inspector and Sean Harford HMI to your school on 6 – 7 July 2006, I write on behalf of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector to confirm the inspection findings.

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Introduction

The visit was the first monitoring inspection since the school became subject to special measures in February 2006.

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Introduction

This letter will be posted on the Ofsted website. Please inform the Regional Inspection Service Provider of any factual inaccuracies within 24 hours of the receipt of this letter.

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Evidence

Inspectors observed the school’s work, scrutinised documents and pupils’ work and met with the headteacher, pupils informally in classes, the subject leaders for English, mathematics and science, a group of parents, the chair of governors and a representative from the local authority (LA).

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Context

During the monitoring visit, four classes were taught by supply teachers and the deputy headteacher was absent.

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Achievement and standards

Children make good progress from entry into school until the end of the Reception year. Progress is particularly good in their personal and social development. This progress is built on through Years 1 and 2, but it is not significantly accelerated and as a result, at the end of Year 2, overall standards are close to those expected nationally. However, the proportion of pupils attaining higher than average standards is low in reading, writing and mathematics. It is particularly low in writing.

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Achievement and standards

With the additional focus over the last year on improving pupils’ progress, current standards in Year 6 are better than in the previous two years. They are now broadly in line with the nationally expected standards in English, mathematics and science. The proportion of pupils working at the higher level 5 is average in English and above average in science. In mathematics this is well above average as a result of some very skilful teaching. The school has successfully halted the decline in standards seen over the last two years.

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Achievement and standards

Appropriate support is provided for those pupils who have learning difficulties.

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Personal development and well-being

Pupils enjoy school and most show good attitudes to work. Older pupils concentrate well for long periods. However, pupils in some classes have poorer attention and chatter to those around them, even when others are speaking. Where this happens it is due to the inconsistent way teachers apply the school’s behaviour policy. Pupils’ behaviour in and around school is satisfactory. They are generally polite and helpful to each other which reflects their good social and moral development. In lessons, teachers provide many opportunities for pupils to work in pairs or small groups and they generally respond well to these. The youngest children in school show good social skills when involved in activities in Reception and Nursery.

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Personal development and well-being

Recent developments in recording pupils’ attainments are giving the school a clearer picture of standards generally across all year groups in English and mathematics, but not in science. However, information is not used to help teachers set individual pupils targets for improvement or for year group targets. Pupils’ progress between points in time is not recorded. Where teachers tell pupils about the National Curriculum levels they are working at and targets related to these, pupils have a clearer idea of what is expected of them and what they need to do to make faster progress. Attendance is above average. There have been five exclusions since the last inspection, but since the acting headteacher joined the school two months ago, there have been no exclusions.

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Quality of provision

The quality of teaching continues to be variable. The proportion of inadequate teaching has decreased, but there is still too little teaching of a high enough quality to raise standards consistently across the school. The teaching is generally well organised, including well defined introductions that set out an agenda for the lesson, main tasks and concluding sessions. However, too much of the planning for lessons concentrates on teaching, and too little on how the pupils will learn most effectively in each session.

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Quality of provision

Most of the teaching demonstrates a number of notable strengths, including: questioning that targeted individual pupils and expected extended responses from them; clear explanations of tasks and ideas; effective use of teaching assistants to support pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities; and strong relationships between the pupils and teachers that helped to foster a good working atmosphere in lessons. The weaker aspects of teaching, mainly found in lessons judged satisfactory or inadequate, were: a slow pace; lesson planning that did not cater for the pupils’ full range of abilities; inconsistent application of the school’s behaviour policy, including too much tolerance of pupils’ chatter; and concluding plenary sessions that failed to help teachers, or pupils, evaluate the learning.

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Quality of provision

The school has reviewed the time it allocates to the different subjects on the timetable. As a result, the acting headteacher is formulating sensible plans for the timings of the core subjects of English and mathematics from September to ensure the curriculum is broad and balanced. Following changes made by the deputy headteacher, pupils now spend a reduced, but reasonable proportion of their time in school on silent reading. Since the inspection in February, the afternoon break for pupils in Years 3 to 6 has been used to allow for more teaching time. The timetable now includes approximately 24 hours teaching time per week; this is in line with the national average and recommended levels.

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Quality of provision

The school’s provision for information and communication technology (ICT) is inadequate. The number of personal and laptop computers is insufficient to allow ready access for the pupils and to raise pupils’ standards of work in ICT. This weak provision is frustrating the attempts of some teachers to include meaningful opportunities to use ICT to accelerate the pupils’ learning. Progress on the areas for improvement identified by the inspection in February 2006:

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Quality of provision

 Raise standards in English, mathematics and science by improving the quality of teaching and learning in the core subjects - satisfactory progress.

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Quality of provision

 Improve the breadth and balance of the curriculum and ensure teaching time at Key Stage 2 meets recommended levels - satisfactory progress, although ICT provision now needs to be considered part of this area for improvement.

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Leadership and management

Since the acting headteacher joined the school two months ago, the progress the school has made towards tackling the areas for improvement has quickened. The acting headteacher has a wealth of experience, good ideas and the capacity to organise the staff efficiently to meet the challenges ahead. The newly appointed chair of governors, governing body and staff are equally determined to see that the school improves and reaches its target of being removed from special measures by July 2007.

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Leadership and management

The school’s capacity to evaluate its work has improved. The school is well aware that the facilities for ICT are too limited. There are not enough modern computers for pupils to use. Teachers are aware that records of pupils’ work tell teachers little about how much progress they make. Staff have taken on board the issues raised during the last inspection, but the school has yet to fully evaluate progress towards the areas for development.

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Leadership and management

There is a realistic understanding of the strengths and weaknesses in the school’s provision. The acting headteacher has begun to address the deficit budget effectively. She and the staff are updating the school’s policies and there is, for example, a new whole school policy to improve the consistency of teachers’ marking of pupils’ work.

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Leadership and management

The school improvement plan is satisfactory. It is sensibly linked to the local authority’s support plan. Most areas for development have targets that show how the school is going to achieve them. There is not enough detail about curricular developments. Most of the targets are dated to be achieved over the year; there are too few milestones covering shorter periods that would support the achievement of the overall targets. The target for teaching standards for the next year is challenging but achievable. However, there are no termly milestones so that the school can keep a close check on progress towards the target. The school is coming to the end of the stage of identifying how it will make changes and has put in place a range of suitable ways to meet the areas for development from September 2006. The school is working steadily towards the goal of greater consistency in how it works, such as in the teaching and how

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Leadership and management

well pupils achieve each year. The progress the school has made with tracking pupils’ attainment means that teachers now have an adequate record of where each pupil is in the National Curriculum.

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Leadership and management

Subject leaders have been grouped into teams recently so that they can develop better continuity for the curriculum across the school. Subject leaders are benefiting from close contacts with the local authority’s consultants to improve their expertise in subjects.

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Leadership and management

The subject leaders for English and mathematics have well written plans to improve their subjects and a clear understanding of priorities. The leadership of science is not as advanced. The new systems for improving the school, such as checks on teaching and learning have yet to make a positive effect on the standards of pupils’ work because they have not been in place long enough.

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Leadership and management

Progress on the areas for improvement identified by the inspection in February 2006:  Improve the quality of self-evaluation by focussing on the impact of the initiatives taken to raise standards - satisfactory progress.

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Leadership and management

 Improve leadership and management so that the work of the school is monitored rigorously and action taken to bring about necessary improvement - satisfactory progress.

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External support

The quality of the external support provided for the school is satisfactory. The school has linked the support plan written by the LA closely to its school improvement plan. The school has begun to make links with schools where there is good practice.

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External support

The LA’s statement of action considers all the areas for development identified in February 2006, but there are too few milestones to help the school monitor its progress each term. There are quantifiable targets for teaching quality and standards which are challenging but achievable. The plan is fully costed and it is mostly clear who will do what and when. The plan has been reviewed appropriately last month.

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Main Judgements

Progress since being subject to special measures - satisfactory.

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Main Judgements

Quality of LA’s statement of action - satisfactory.

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Main Judgements

Newly qualified teachers may be appointed.

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Priorities for further improvement

I am copying this letter to the Secretary of State, the chair of governors and the Director of Education for Nottingham City.

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