Hollywood Primary School

Hollywood Primary School Inspection report

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103314 Unique Reference Number Birmingham Local Authority 308278 Inspection number 8 July 2008 Inspection date Christine Field 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 Community School category 4 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 370 School The governing body Appropriate authority Michael Kelly Chair David Waller Headteacher 21 February 2005 Date of previous school inspection Pickenham Road School address Hollywood Birmingham B14 4TG 0121 675 7711 Telephone number 0121 675 6299 Fax number

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4-11 Age group 8 July 2008 Inspection date 308278 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 one Additional Inspector. The inspector evaluated the overall effectiveness of the school and investigated the following issues. The quality of teaching and learning, and standards reached by learners in Key Stage 1. The rigour of assessment and quality of academic guidance. The effectiveness of the school's monitoring and evaluation. Evidence was gathered from observations of pupils at work and play, discussion with staff, governors and pupils, scrutiny of documentation and an analysis of parents' views. Other aspects of the school's work were not investigated in detail, but the inspector found no evidence to suggest that the school's own assessments, as given in its self-evaluation, were not justified, and these have been included where appropriate in this report.

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Description of the school

The school, which is a little larger than most, serves a diverse local community. Most pupils are from White British or mixed Black and White backgrounds, but there are also a few pupils with Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi or Black Caribbean heritage. An average proportion of pupils have learning difficulties, mostly moderate learning needs or behavioural, emotional and social needs. The school completed a total rebuilding programme following the last inspection. There have been a number of staff changes in recent years.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 9 Inspection Report: Hollywood Primary School, 8 July 2008

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Grade: 2

Hollywood is a good school in which pupils achieve well academically and develop good personal qualities. Their behaviour and spiritual, moral, social and cultural development are outstanding. Pastoral care is of a high quality and results in pupils feeling valued and recognised for who they are and safe in the knowledge that all staff do their best for them. Safeguarding checks and child protection arrangements are robust. Pupils flag the 'brilliant teachers who always listen to us' and the 'strong friendships with one another' as two of the things they like most about school. The school's welcoming and purposeful ethos is highly valued by parents. The written comments of one parent sum up the views expressed by many: 'a lovely school turning out lovely children'. From a typically below average start in Reception, most pupils achieve well during their time in school to attain standards that are consistently above the national average in English,

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Grade: 2

mathematics and science by the end of Year 6. The school generally exceeds the challenging targets it sets at the average level but sometimes falls short at the higher levels. This is because not all teachers are setting sufficiently challenging work for more able pupils or expecting them to work at full pace during independent group work and this limits the progress they make. There are good systems in place to assess the standard of pupils' work with close tracking of progress and good use of focus groups to support those in danger of underachieving to catch up quickly. However, the information from monitoring and assessment is not being used precisely enough to target more able pupils in all years, to enable them to reach the standards of which they are capable. Teaching is good across the school and results in pupils learning successfully. From Reception to Year 6, pupils are motivated learners who enjoy school because lessons are interesting.

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Grade: 2

Teachers provide effective academic guidance to pupils through oral feedback or written comments when pupils have finished their work. Year 5 pupils spoke enthusiastically about the 'greens' that teachers put on their work which successfully focus on an aspect of their work that they need to improve. Classrooms are attractive and extremely well equipped with a wide range of resources that enhance the quality of lessons. Occasionally, pupils do not access resources quickly for themselves and this holds back otherwise good progress. The school has well forged links with parents and a wide range of other agencies that support pupils' good well-being. A breakfast club operates each morning to help get the day off to an upbeat and healthy start. 'Wake up with Hollywood' enables all learners to take part in physical activity prior to the start of the school day and this promotes effectively the value of physical

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Grade: 2

exercise. 'Growing Gains' is a project involving Year 1 pupils in growing their own vegetables and turning them into healthy food choices. The Year 6 residential outdoor and adventurous weekend helps to develop confidence, independence and self-esteem prior to transfer to high school. Pupils gain a sense of belonging in their community, for example through house teams and charitable endeavour. The school council members are very good ambassadors for their school and say their 'voice' is listened to very carefully in school decision-making. Relationships are racially harmonious, and this is supported by the very positive work of peer mediators and junior play leaders. The school's good curricular provision is helping pupils build good basic skills that are supporting their successful future economic well-being. The curricular provision made for pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is good and leads to these pupils making good progress

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Grade: 2

4 of 9 Inspection Report: Hollywood Primary School, 8 July 2008 against their specific targets. Particularly vulnerable pupils are extremely well supported by teaching assistants and learning mentors and this helps them do well. Sound attention is given to meeting the aspirations of pupils with specific gifts and/or talents. However, the school recognises the need to sharpen the criteria teachers use for identifying individuals in different year groups. Good leadership and management have been sustained since the last inspection despite significant staff turnover, particularly at the senior management level. The headteacher sets clear direction to the work of the school and is committed to further raising the level of effectiveness. The deputy headteacher and senior team share in the vision for moving the school forward and have led essential school improvement initiatives, for example improving standards of writing. Through a range of monitoring activities, the senior team have a firm

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Grade: 2

grasp on the school's strengths and weaknesses and have a well prioritised plan for making the required improvements. They recognise that the next step is to sharpen their focus when monitoring, so that evaluations are more precisely linked to accelerating progress and further raising standards. The governing body provides a realistic level of challenge and asks constructive and critical questions to ensure the school performs well. The school's robust self-review processes coupled with a good track record of improvement since the last inspection demonstrate its good capacity for continuing improvement.

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Grade: 2

Children start in Reception with skills and knowledge a little below the levels expected for their age. They settle quickly into school and do well developing their personal and social skills. It is noticeable how mature, confident and friendly the children are. This provides a strong foundation before they transfer to Year 1. They also make good progress in their early reading, writing and mathematics and the school has been particularly successful recently in the teaching of sounds and letters. Activities are well organised with a good balance of adult-led learning and children working independently. During the inspection, children worked well by themselves in the outdoor area as 'archaeologists' finding fossilised sharks' teeth buried in sand. Others enjoyed making up a story together, talking with a partner about the imaginary creatures who might live deep in the forest. There have been some staff changes in Reception this year and

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Grade: 2

the new reception leader does not take up post until September. The deputy headteacher has taken on board the interim oversight of Reception and has set out plans to develop the outdoor provision so that all six areas of learning can be promoted equally well and to refine assessment procedures further.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Sharpen the focus in monitoring, and in particular lesson observations, so that evaluations can better reflect the progress being made by different learners, and the standards being reached and can inform pupil target setting. ■ Ensure that there is sufficient challenge in the work set for more able pupils in all years and that when working independently they are very clear about the standard and amount of work to be completed in the set time. 5 of 9 Inspection Report: Hollywood Primary School, 8 July 2008 .

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What the school should do to improve further

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 of 9 Inspection Report: Hollywood Primary School, 8 July 2008

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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? Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 2 The effectiveness of the Foundation Stage 2 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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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?

1 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 How well learners enjoy their education 3 The attendance of learners 1 The behaviour of learners 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 of 9 Inspection Report: Hollywood Primary School, 8 July 2008

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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 2 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 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 of 9 Inspection Report: Hollywood Primary School, 8 July 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

9 July 2008 Dear Pupils Inspection of Hollywood Primary School, Birmingham, B14 4TG Thank you for the friendly welcome you gave me when I visited your school on Tuesday. I lost count of the happy smiling faces I saw! I really enjoyed meeting you and especially Year 6 before they rushed off to enjoy their special day at Drayton Manor Park. My chat with the school council was very useful. They told me that Hollywood is a good school where the staff are really nice and everyone is helped to do their best. They are right! I found out a few other things that I would like to share with you. Here they are.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ The standards that you reach at the end of school are typically above those expected for your age and you do well to reach them from your different starting points. ■ Your behaviour and care for one another and the contribution you make to your school community are excellent. ■ The adults who look after you at school care for you really well and this helps you feel safe and confident to try new things and enjoy coming to school. ■ Because you are well taught you learn well and make good progress, although one or two of you who are high fliers could be challenged more and get more done. I would ask you to let your teachers know if you want harder work, particularly when you work on tasks in English and maths groups. ■ You benefit from lots of 'extras' such as 'Wake up with Hollywood' and a wide range of after school clubs and visits. ■ Everyone has targets in English and maths and together with teachers' 'green and pink'

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

comments in your books are there to tell what you do well and what you could improve. Some targets and comments are not as helpful as they could be and I have asked the headteacher and staff to look at this. ■ Your headteacher is a good leader and, together with all staff and governors, is working really hard to make your school an even better place to be. I have asked them to look more closely at how well you are doing in lessons and set you even higher targets when necessary. I am sure you will always try your best and aim as high as you can. I wish you every success for the future. Christine Field Lead inspector 9 of 9 Inspection Report: Hollywood Primary School, 8 July 2008

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