Fordbridge Community Primary School

Hatchford Community Primary School Inspection report - amended

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104121 Unique Reference Number Solihull Local Authority 308518 Inspection number 24 °25 June 2008 Inspection dates Timothy Bristow HMI 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 3 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 422 School The governing body Appropriate authority David Garthwaite Chair Charlie Barker Headteacher 19 January 2004 Date of previous school inspection Yorklea Croft School address Chelmsley Wood Birmingham B37 5EG 01217 704050 Telephone number 01217 707518 Fax number

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3-11 Age group 24 °25 June 2008 Inspection dates 308518 Inspection number

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Amended Report Addendum

Report updated to resolve formatting inconsistency

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Amended Report Addendum

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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Amended Report Addendum

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 of Her Majesty’s Inspectors and two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

Hatchford Community Primary School is above average in size. The proportions of pupils from minority ethnic groups and who speak English as an additional language are below average. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is above average. Pupils benefit from a range of extended services before and after normal school hours as well as childcare for 0-3 year olds throughout the day. The school is federated with another local primary school.

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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: Hatchford Community Primary School, 24 °25 June 2008

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Grade: 3

This is a satisfactory school in which many recent improvements in provision have ensured that pupils' achievement and their personal development and well-being are satisfactory. Children receive a good start in the Foundation Stage. In recent years pupils have made satisfactory progress, ending Year 6 with standards overall that were below average. Improvements to teaching and learning mean that standards are rising. The 2007 Year 6 results were average in English, representing a considerable improvement since the last inspection, but below average in science because the progress made by pupils was too slow, particularly in Key Stage 2. The behaviour and attitudes of pupils are satisfactory. Most pupils are considerate and caring towards each other. The school provides a nurturing environment in which most pupils are happy. The majority of pupils and parents are satisfied that incidents of bullying are dealt with

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Grade: 3

effectively and consequently most pupils feel safe in school. Attendance is still below average in spite of the school's efforts and a minority of pupils are late for school, disrupting the start of the school day. Pupils' awareness of how to live a healthy lifestyle is good, and supported well by their understanding of what constitutes a healthy diet. Pupils make a satisfactory contribution to the community. Most pupils appreciate that their views and opinions are taken into account through the class and school council system. Pupils are adequately prepared for education in secondary school and later life through their satisfactory achievement and social skills. Teaching and learning are satisfactory. Most lessons engage and motivate the pupils in interesting activities, but insufficient use is made of assessment information to pitch the work at the correct level for all pupils and as a result, more able pupils in particular sometimes find

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Grade: 3

it too easy, and others find it too hard. The curriculum is satisfactory. An adequate range of enrichment activities add to the pupils' enjoyment and interest. Good personal, social and health education has contributed significantly to pupils' good spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. The science curriculum provides insufficient opportunities for the teaching and learning of science. Consequently, pupils make less progress than they could. The care, guidance and support received by pupils are satisfactory. Good provision for vulnerable and disadvantaged pupils ensures that they are fully included in the life of the school. Following the previous inspection, the school experienced a period of considerable instability affecting the quality of teaching and learning and the progress made by pupils. However, in the last two years school leaders have led many improvements in provision. This has accelerated

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Grade: 3

the rate of progress made by pupils, ensuring achievement is satisfactory. Consequently, the school's capacity for further improvement is satisfactory.

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Grade: 2

The majority of children enter the school with skills that are below the expected level for their age. Recently the school has taken advantage of the expertise offered by the local authority to improve the provision, which is now good. Consequently, the rate of progress has accelerated so that the proportion of children achieving the expected learning goals by Year 1 in 2007 was average, and this has been sustained this year. This represents good progress. 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Hatchford Community Primary School, 24 °25 June 2008 Children make particularly good progress in personal, emotional and social development. Relationships with adults are good. They are confident and secure in the stimulating learning environment that staff have created in the Nursery and Reception classes. Teachers plan well for the wide range of children's needs and are well supported by experienced teaching assistants.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum offers many exciting opportunities that children enjoy, for example they enjoyed learning how to cook a curry as part of the themed India week.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Adopt additional strategies that will raise the level of attendance.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Ensure that work is pitched at the correct level for all groups of pupils, particularly the more able. ■ Ensure that the curriculum for science allows sufficient time for teaching and learning in order for pupils to make better progress. A small proportion of the 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

Pupils make good progress in Key Stage 1, and in 2007, Year 2 achieved average standards in reading, writing and mathematics. This year, pupils in Year 2 have made good progress and have exceeded their targets, but this has been insufficient to bridge the gap between their very low starting points and national averages. Standards overall are below average. In 2007, standards in Year 6 were average in English and below average in science and mathematics. Pupils made satisfactory progress in English and mathematics, but the progress they made in science was exceptionally slow. This year, pupils in Year 6 have made good progress but this was insufficient to overcome a legacy of underachievement experienced when they were in Years 3 and 4, and the gap between their standards in science and mathematics and national expectations has not narrowed. In 2007, the proportion of pupils who achieved the higher levels in Years 2 and 6 was below average.

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Grade: 3

School information and pupils' work show that progress made by pupils in Years 1 and 4 is satisfactory and accelerating so that standards in English and mathematics are now broadly average. In Years 3 and 5, standards are above average. The progress of pupils with moderate learning difficulties in English and mathematics is satisfactory.

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Grade: 3

Most pupils behave well in school. However, a few pupils occasionally misbehave in lessons. The school has a range of measures in place that successfully minimise the disruption this behaviour can cause. Most pupils are respectful and polite to each other. Pupils have a good understanding of what it means to live in a multicultural society and in most lessons demonstrate good team skills and cooperation. They enjoy extra-curricular activities, especially opportunities for sport. Pupils know how to keep safe in their activities and learning. They are involved in fund raising activities for charity and enjoy taking responsibilities in the school such as the role of 'play leader' at break times. Attendance remains below average and although the school 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Hatchford Community Primary School, 24 °25 June 2008 conscientiously enforces its measures to tackle the problem, they are not yet proving effective

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Grade: 3

in raising the level. Pupils are satisfactorily prepared for their future lives.

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Grade: 3

Although teaching is satisfactory overall there are some good and outstanding elements, particularly in Year 5. In the most effective lessons, work is personalised to meet the specific needs of the pupils so that they make excellent progress. In some lessons, different groups of pupils are supported well by skilled teaching assistants, who ensure they make similar progress to that of their peers. Most lessons are well structured so that pupils understand what it is they are to be learning about. However, in many lessons, measures of success and work are not accurately pitched at the correct level for the different groups of pupils, so that some are unable to make as much progress as they could. This is particularly the case for the more able pupils, who are not challenged sufficiently.

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Grade: 3

The school provides an adequate range of enriching activities, such as educational visits, which contribute to pupils' enjoyment of school. Pupils participate in a satisfactory range of after-school clubs. They thoroughly enjoy the youth club that is part of the extended school provision. The curriculum meets statutory requirements. Recent improvements to the curriculum in Key Stage 1 that create meaningful links between different subjects have improved the attitudes of pupils to their lessons. The 'SEAL Project' provides pupils with good opportunities to learn how to stay healthy and safe and consequently the school is well placed to receive the Healthy Schools award later this year. The range of opportunities and the time provided in science lessons are insufficient for pupils to develop their investigative skills and knowledge.

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Grade: 3

Most parents are appreciative of the care their children receive and the school benefits from a good reputation for this in the local community. The school has rigorous procedures for child protection and health and safety in place, and has good links and partnerships with external specialist services, social services and local networks. These support the school's own good provision for vulnerable and disadvantaged pupils. An adequate range of extra activities is used to ensure that pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make satisfactory progress. Academic care, guidance and support are satisfactory. An effective procedure for assessment ensures that teachers are aware of the progress being made by pupils. Pupils have targets for literacy and numeracy, but are not involved sufficiently in assessing their own progress. Marking and explanations to pupils about their progress are good in mathematics and English. In science,

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Grade: 3

pupils do not get sufficient advice about the next steps they need to take to improve their work. 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Hatchford Community Primary School, 24 °25 June 2008

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Grade: 3

The headteacher offers strong leadership. He has taken steps to improve provision in the last two years based on a clear understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the school. Leadership has strengthened so that other senior leaders are well equipped to check the work of the school and to ensure that recommendations for improvement are consistently applied. Some inexperienced middle leaders are not yet having sufficient impact in the areas for which they are responsible. Satisfactory use is made of targets that have raised the expectations in the school of what pupils can achieve. Governance is good. Governors have successfully risen to the challenge of governing a federation of schools. They are well informed and knowledgeable about the work of the school. This means that as well as offering support, they are well equipped to challenge when necessary. The school offers satisfactory value for money. Parental

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Grade: 3

questionnaires show that the majority of parents support the work of the school. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Hatchford Community Primary School, 24 °25 June 2008 .

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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: Hatchford Community Primary School, 24 °25 June 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 3 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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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 extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 3 How well learners enjoy their education 4 The attendance of learners 3 The behaviour of learners 3 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?

3 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: Hatchford Community Primary School, 24 °25 June 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 3 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 3 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? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: Hatchford Community Primary School, 24 °25 June 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

26 June 2008 Dear Children Inspection of Hatchford Community Primary School, Chelmsley Wood, B37 5EG Thank you for the help you gave us when we visited your school. We felt very welcome. If you remember, we came to look at the work that you were doing and to talk to you and your teachers. We enjoyed meeting you and thought that most of you were well behaved and polite. You are now getting a good start to your education in the Nursery and Reception classes. We were impressed by the responsible way most of you work together and help each other in lessons. We agree with you when you say that you feel safe in school. Well done to all of you who arrive at school every day on time. However, we were disappointed to find that some of you are late to school or do not come at all. Your headteacher and all of the staff are working very hard to make improvements to your education. Your lessons are becoming more interesting. Members of staff work hard to take

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

care of you, ensuring that you feel happy and secure in school. Considering everything, we decided that yours is a satisfactory school. To make things even better, we have asked the school to do the following.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Ensure that you all come to school every day, and on time.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Make sure that your lessons are not too easy or too hard.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

You can help your teachers by making sure you continue to try your best in lessons. Yours sincerely Tim Bristow Her Majesty's Inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Hatchford Community Primary School, 24 °25 June 2008

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