Holland Haven Primary School

Holland Haven Primary School Inspection report

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115256 Unique Reference Number ESSEX Local Authority 298557 Inspection number 27 °28 June 2007 Inspection dates Gulshanbir Kayembe 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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Primary Type of school Foundation School category 4 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 311 School

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The local authority Appropriate authority Mrs Sharon Sciachettano Headteacher 16 May 2006 Date of previous school inspection Primrose Road School address Holland-on-sea Clacton-on-sea Essex CO15 5PP

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01255 813704 Telephone number 01255 812641 Fax number

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4 °11 Age group 27 °28 June 2007 Inspection dates 298557 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 three Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

The large majority of pupils are drawn from the local area. Pupils come from backgrounds that are broadly similar to pupils nationally though the proportion eligible for a free school meal is below average. Attainment on entry is below average and an above average proportion of pupils have learning difficulties or disabilities. These pupils are not evenly spread across the school and some year groups have a particularly high proportion. Only a small number of pupils are from minority ethnic backgrounds and very few speak English as an additional language. The school has the Healthy Schools and Activemark awards.

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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: Holland Haven Primary School, 27 °28 June 2007

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Grade: 3

The school has made good progress since its last inspection in 2006 and now provides a satisfactory education for its pupils. When last inspected, standards were found to be too low and teaching and achievement unsatisfactory. Pupils now reach acceptable standards and teaching and achievement are both now satisfactory. In accordance with section 13 (5) of the Education Act 2005, HMCI is of the opinion that the school no longer requires significant improvement. The quality of provision in the Foundation Stage is satisfactory with some good features. Pupils in the Reception classes enjoy learning and make satisfactory progress overall with good progress evident in aspects of literacy and numeracy. There is an increasing amount of good and outstanding teaching and some groups of pupils, especially those in Key Stage 1, are beginning to show signs of good progress, especially in mathematics. The improvements secured are down

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Grade: 3

to the good leadership of the headteacher. She has successfully established a 'can do' culture where staff are willing to try new approaches and to review their work critically in order to improve it. However, as the school has identified, further work remains to be done to improve standards in writing which remain lower across the school than in other aspects of literacy. In mathematics, there continues to be some underachievement in Key Stage 2. Some of this is historic in that older pupils are still making up for lost ground and inadequate progress in the past due to previous weaknesses in the teaching of mathematics. Much work has been done to improve teachers' knowledge in this area and to establish consistent methods of teaching basic arithmetic skills. This places the school in a good position to further improve pupils' mathematical competence. The school has concentrated on developing the roles of subject

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Grade: 3

leaders in English, mathematics and science but has yet to develop others. Many governors are relatively new to their roles but are providing satisfactory oversight of the school's work. The overall quality of leadership and management is satisfactory. The curriculum is satisfactory with good provision for enrichment and extra-curricular activities. Creative approaches to teaching subjects are being developed though these have yet to be fully embedded. Pupils' personal development and well-being are good. They enjoy school and participate enthusiastically in lessons and extra-curricular activities. Attendance is satisfactory and behaviour good. Pupils know about healthy eating and take regular exercise. An active school council and good community links enable pupils to make a good contribution to the school and wider community. Whilst pupils' social and moral development is strong, their understanding of other cultures, though better than at the time of the last inspection, remains

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Grade: 3

somewhat superficial. This is because there are limited opportunities for them to learn through first hand experiences. Care, guidance and support are good. Pupils are well cared for and looked after and, hence, feel safe. Support for pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities is good enabling them to make at least satisfactory progress and, more recently, good progress against short-term targets. The school has established good use of targets to help teachers assess progress and pupils to understand what they need to do next to improve. However, teachers do not consistently use assessment information to tailor work to meet individual needs nor always plan activities that stimulate and engage pupils' interests, especially in the case of boys. Good systems for evaluating its effectiveness mean the school is aware of the issues it continues to face and is actively engaged in resolving them. There are good systems

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Grade: 3

in place to support day-to-day management and longer term improvement. In particular, the school has established rigorous systems to track and monitor pupils' on-going progress. 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Holland Haven Primary School, 27 °28 June 2007 Additional support is swiftly secured where pupils show signs of underachievement. The school is well placed to improve further.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Raise standards of writing across the school and improve achievement in mathematics for pupils in Key Stage 2. • Ensure that teachers make consistent use of assessment information to tailor work to the needs of individual pupils and ensure work is interesting especially for boys. • Provide pupils with more first hand opportunities to learn about the different cultures represented in British society. A small proportion of 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

Standards are broadly average signalling significant improvement from the time of the last inspection. Standards for the current group of pupils in the Reception classes are below average though they are a marked improvement on those of last year. Progress is satisfactory given the large proportion of children with learning difficulties or disabilities in the Foundation Stage. Achievement is satisfactory in Key Stages 1 and 2. However, writing standards are relatively low compared to pupils' speaking and reading skills. Many pupils, especially boys in Key Stage 1, struggle with writing activities. Nonetheless, most pupils are now enthusiastic about writing and are beginning to use, for example, more adventurous and sophisticated language in Year 6. Whilst pupils do well in mathematics at the end of Key Stage 1, their progress through Key Stage 2 is a little erratic due to some gaps in learning as a result of past weaknesses in provision,

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Grade: 3

especially in Years 3 and 4. Pupils make good progress in developing their skills in information and communication technology and art is an area of strength across the school. Pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities make satisfactory progress overall and are beginning to show signs of good progress due to significantly improved provision.

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Grade: 2

Pupils' personal development and well-being including their overall spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Behaviour in lessons and around the school is good. Pupils are happy coming to school and are very positive in their attitudes to learning. Pupils and their parents trust the school to help them. One parent commented that, 'once I have spoken to a teacher; the problems do get sorted out'. Pupils are polite and helpful to adults and even those in the Reception classes work exceptionally well in collaboration with one another. Whilst pupils learn about different cultures, their limited personal experiences of these mean they do not always develop deeper insights about people whose way of life might be different from theirs. Pupils show good understanding of healthy lifestyles and participate enthusiastically in sporting activities. The impressive school council plays an active part in the life of the school and has

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Grade: 2

raised funds to improve playground equipment and drinking water facilities. Pupils are satisfactorily prepared for the next step in education and future life. 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Holland Haven Primary School, 27 °28 June 2007

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Grade: 3

Teachers plan their lessons with care and, in the best examples, there is good match of work to the needs of individual pupils. Questioning is used well to support learning and to probe pupils' understanding. Teaching assistants provide good support but, in some lessons, are not used to the best effect. In the Foundation Stage, pupils have good opportunities to be actively involved though some tasks are not as well structured as they could be. Teachers assess pupils' work well and use this information successfully to provide clear targets for improvement. However, teachers do not always take sufficient account of such information to plan work which enables individual pupils to take the next steps in learning. Sometimes, teaching methods are not varied, nor activities interesting, enough to meet the full range of needs especially those of boys.

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Grade: 3

The curriculum makes satisfactory provision for the range of pupils' individual needs. It is being successfully developed to provide more stimulating and creative approaches to teaching and learning. This is having a positive effect on stimulating interest in the arts especially for boys. New initiatives to develop writing and investigative and enquiry skills are making a difference to pupils' learning but the full benefit has yet to be achieved. A comprehensive programme of personal, health and social education contributes well to pupils' understanding of healthy lifestyles as do the wide range of out-of-hours sporting activities such as football and netball clubs. The school provides ample opportunities through instrumental tuition, arts clubs, visits and visitors to enrich pupils' learning. The curriculum for the Foundation Stage is satisfactory and provides sound opportunities for practical activities.

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Grade: 2

The quality of care, guidance and support is good. The school provides a friendly environment where pupils are happy and feel secure. As a result the overwhelming majority of parents agree that their children are safe and well cared for. The school is good at identifying and dealing with the particular needs of pupils, for example through the anger management arrangements, art therapy sessions and brain gym. This makes an important contribution to their all-round development and led to one parent saying, 'This is a well balanced school that has each child's best interests at heart.' Pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities have clear educational plans that provide them with good support as well as helpful advice for teachers and teaching assistants. Targets in literacy and numeracy are shared with parents and ensure that most pupils understand what they have achieved and what they need to do next in order to improve. The

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Grade: 2

impact of teachers' marking and oral feedback in lessons is less consistent. 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Holland Haven Primary School, 27 °28 June 2007

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Grade: 3

The headteacher has provided good leadership to improve the school's effectiveness. The establishment of phase coordinators has made a good contribution to team work and enabled class teachers across phases to work collaboratively on planning, assessment and target setting as well as to share good practice. As a result there is a more consistent approach to curricular planning and teaching. The headteacher is well supported by her senior leadership team and governors. Governors, many of whom are new to their roles, are beginning to be more challenging and questioning about the school's performance. Whilst coordinators in core subjects have developed their roles effectively, other leaders have yet to develop their roles to the same standards. Some of the key achievements of the leadership include the development of a robust system for monitoring and tracking pupils' progress and a culture of high expectations. The

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Grade: 3

school provides satisfactory value for money. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Holland Haven Primary 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: Holland Haven Primary 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 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

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?

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. 9 of 11 Inspection Report: Holland Haven Primary 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: Holland Haven Primary 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 Holland Haven Primary School, Holland-on-sea, Essex. CO15 5PP We enjoyed our time at your school very much and we particularly liked visiting your classrooms and talking to you. We would like to thank you very much for making us feel welcome. The school is providing you with a satisfactory education. We saw a number of things that were good including ways in which you help to make the school a better place: • You get on very well with one another and your behaviour is good. • Pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities receive good support in and out of lessons. • You are well cared for and looked after and, as a result, you feel safe and happy at school. • Teachers assess your work well and help you to understand what you need to do to improve it. • Your headteacher leads the school well and makes sure that it keeps improving. There are some things that could be better. These include:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

• Improving your writing across the school and the progress you make in numeracy in Years 3 to 6. • Ensuring that all lessons are planned so that they focus well on your individual needs and work is interesting. • Providing more opportunities for you to learn from first hand experiences about the different kinds of people living in Britain today, for example by making links with a school where there are a lot more pupils from different cultures. You can certainly help to improve the school by continuing to work hard and, in particular, focusing on developing your writing. Older pupils can help by learning to understand how to solve problems in mathematics. We wish you all well in the future. Gulshan Kayembe Lead inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Holland Haven Primary School, 27 °28 June 2007

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