Haddenham Community Infant School

Inspection Report Haddenham Infant School

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110229 Unique Reference Number Buckinghamshire Local Authority 296532 Inspection number 2 °3 October 2006 Inspection dates Christopher Scola 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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Woodways School address Infant Type of school Haddenham Community School category Aylesbury HP17 8DS 4 °7 Age range of pupils 01844 291207 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01844 299261 Fax number 84 Number on roll (school) Mr Chris Brownlee Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Nicola Windeler Headteacher 17 March 2003 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 296532 2 °3 October 2006 4°7 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 an Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

Haddenham Community Infant School is a small school serving a large village in Buckinghamshire where socio-economic conditions are favourable. It is a smaller than average infant school. Almost all pupils are from white British backgrounds. Attainment on entry is generally average. When they start school the children's skills and abilities range from well above to well below those expected for their age. The number of pupils with learning difficulties is slightly above average. There is a range of facilities available beyond the school day.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Haddenham Infant School, 2 °3 October 2006

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Grade: 1

Haddenham Community Infant School is an outstanding school. It is inclusive and very popular. It values, nurtures and develops pupils of all abilities and backgrounds. It reaches out into the wider community to build links that enhance and support their learning. As one of the many parents full of praise for the school said, 'This is an excellent school where children receive a very broad education and parents' skills are fully taken advantage of.' Achievement is outstanding and standards are exceptionally high because the teaching is consistently excellent. All staff have very high expectations. They set challenging and relevant work for each pupil. Pupils have excellent attitudes towards learning and often set their own goals. They receive excellent support from their parents and other adults. One of the many reasons why pupils enjoy their learning is the excellent and rich curriculum. It offers a wide range of opportunities in, for example, music, arts and

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Grade: 1

physical education. Events such as 'On Safari,' 'Team Time,' concerts and performances all provide pupils with a range of exciting, enjoyable and memorable experiences. These are recorded in stimulating displays that add to the warm, welcoming and purposeful atmosphere the school creates. The curriculum in the Foundation Stage is exciting and enjoyable, as a result the children make an excellent start to school life. The unusually large proportion of boys at the school is extremely well motivated. The school has very successfully adapted the curriculum to suit their ways of learning. An astute choice of topics to appeal to boys and many physical and challenging activities captivate their interest. For example, a great emphasis is placed on problem solving in mathematics. As a result, many boys say they particularly enjoy this subject. The inspirational leadership of the headteacher is at the heart of the school's success.

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Grade: 1

She has a very clear vision and high aspirations for the school. She involves all staff who work very closely, as a highly motivated team, striving to constantly improve. Incisive self-evaluation ensures that the school is constantly seeking to add further strengths to its provision such as increasing its effectiveness in using the new ICT resources. The governing body is extremely well informed, knowledgeable and totally committed. The successful and highly effective leadership has an outstanding capacity to add further strengths to the school's excellent provision.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Use specialist expertise within the school to ensure that all staff are able to take full advantage of the new ICT resources. 2 Inspection Report: Haddenham Infant School, 2 °3 October 2006

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Grade: 1

Achievement is outstanding. Standards are very high. Children enter Reception with standards that are broadly average. They make excellent progress through the Foundation Stage and enter Year 1 with above average standards particularly in mathematics. The pupils continue to make outstanding progress in Years 1 and 2 because of high expectations and challenging targets. Pupils' performance in national tests shows that they achieve very well in relation to their starting points with much greater than average numbers of pupils achieving at the higher levels. In the most recent Year 2 class, for example, over half of the pupils achieved at the higher levels in reading and, almost all achieved at the expected level. The school has maintained high standards for a number of years.

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Grade: 1

The pupils' personal development and well-being is exceptional. Pupils thrive and flourish. Their behaviour is exemplary. They know how to keep safe and understand the importance of a healthy lifestyle. They grow their own fruit and vegetables. They run the school shop. They enjoy lots of physical education. They constantly say how much they enjoy the school's exceptionally rich curriculum. As one Year 2 pupil said, 'This is a fantastic school where we get to do lots of interesting things.' Their parents overwhelmingly agree. The pupils develop very high levels of self-confidence because of the excellent relationships they enjoy with adults and one another. The opportunities they get to undertake and achieve across a wide variety of activities ensure they are very well prepared for the next stage in their education and for their later lives. They are highly motivated by the many innovative approaches used by the school to support and

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Grade: 1

develop their learning. They rapidly develop the early skills of citizenship, take part in fund raising and contribute to the wider community. Their spiritual, moral, cultural development is excellent. Their enthusiasm and love for the school are reflected in very high levels of attendance.

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Grade: 1

Teaching and learning are outstanding. This is one of the main reasons for such high standards. Most lessons have real flair and are excellent because of the high levels of challenge for different groups. This is achieved because excellent systems of tracking and assessment ensure teachers know the pupils so well. Planning is excellent and ensures that lessons include a wide variety of learning styles, are enjoyable, highly 3 Inspection Report: Haddenham Infant School, 2 °3 October 2006 motivating and stretch every pupil to achieve their best. Highly skilled teaching assistants and a whole army of volunteers provide excellent support to varying ability groups and are particularly effective as they enable small groups of pupils to work together. Children make excellent progress in the Foundation Stage because their learning is so well managed. This ensures that there is a well-judged balance of activities

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Grade: 1

initiated by children and those led by adults. There is also excellent use of the outdoor environment with a huge range of resources that enable pupils to take on many challenging activities, which particularly motivates and interests boys.

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Grade: 1

The curriculum is outstanding. The breadth, variety and enjoyment of the curriculum are central to the school's success. There is an excellent and very well planned and integrated curriculum which links learning across subjects in the Foundation Stage. In Key Stage 1 a huge range of trips and visits to places such as, Shortenills, Newbury Rainforest and more local visits to churches and museums and visits from Zoolab, Science Shows, dancers, artists and musicians bring the curriculum to life. Provision in music is outstanding because of specialist expertise and many opportunities to take part in musical productions and school performances. The school has added to and greatly improved its provision in ICT and now needs to ensure that staff have the necessary skills to develop this.

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Grade: 1

The quality of care, guidance and support are outstanding. Pupils feel very safe in school and form trusting relationships with adults and one another. The excellent knowledge of pupils' individual needs enables staff to provide sharply targeted and sensitive support. The support for pupils with learning difficulties is outstanding; not only do they make excellent progress in their learning, but they are highly valued members of the school community who are given opportunities to achieve and develop high levels of self-esteem. The school has initiated and worked closely with local providers such as 'WASPS' to put in place high quality provision for the extended day to support working parents.

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Grade: 1

The leadership and management of the school are outstanding. The head teacher's clear vision and innovative thinking are shared by a dedicated, hardworking and talented team. They are constantly seeking ways to raise standards whilst maintaining a caring and creative environment in which all pupils can achieve their very best. 4 Inspection Report: Haddenham Infant School, 2 °3 October 2006 A highly committed and well-informed team of governors hold the school to account, to ensure that it continues to seek excellence in all aspects of its work. The school has made many good improvements since the last inspection. Rigorous self-evaluation, analysis of data and monitoring of teaching and learning has clearly identified areas where improvements can be made. These include raising standards of speaking and listening, developing further problem solving in mathematics and ensuring all staff have the expertise to take full advantage of the opportunities offered by the

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Grade: 1

increased resources in information technology. The school regularly consults both parents and pupils and takes their views into account in its future planning. 5 Inspection Report: Haddenham Infant School, 2 °3 October 2006 .

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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: Haddenham Infant School, 2 °3 October 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? 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 1 The attendance of learners 1 How well learners enjoy their education 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 1 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?

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: Haddenham Infant School, 2 °3 October 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: Haddenham Infant School, 2 °3 October 2006

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you very much for your friendliness and help during my visit to your school. You certainly let me know how many exciting and interesting things go on at your school and why you like it so much. Thank you for telling me about them. Everyone I spoke to said what a fantastic school it was, and I agree. There were many things that were really good about your school, but I would like to tell you what impressed me most. • You all really enjoy school and like your teachers. • You learn lots of interesting things and enjoy exciting activities. • You try very hard and do really well with your work. • You behave very well and are friendly and kind to one another. • All the adults who work in your school work very hard to keep you safe and healthy. • You have lots of ways to tell the adults who run your school how you think it could be improved, and they listen to you! The headteacher and the governors in charge of your school run it really well. They know how

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

to make it better. They have interesting plans to make even better use of the Interactive Whiteboards and all those new computers. Thank you for helping me with my work. Yours sincerely Chris Scola. Lead Inspector. 9 Inspection Report: Haddenham Infant School, 2 °3 October 2006

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