Hanslope Primary School

Hanslope Primary School Inspection report

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110230 Unique Reference Number Milton Keynes Local Authority 310228 Inspection number 31 October 2007 Inspection date John Earish 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 224 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Frances Duck Chair Mrs Debbie Doherty Headteacher 14 January 2002 Date of previous school inspection Long Street Road School address Hanslope Milton Keynes MK19 7BL 01908 510245 Telephone number 01908 511804 Fax number

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4-11 Age group 31 October 2007 Inspection date 310228 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, achievement and standards, teaching and learning, curriculum and leadership and management gathering evidence from lesson observations, scrutiny of pupils' work and documents. Parents' questionnaires and discussions with parents, children, governors and staff also contributed to the judgements. 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

This averaged sized primary school admits pupils from a wide variety of social backgrounds. An additional intake of pupils in Year 3 from a nearby first school accounts for the higher than average mobility. Most pupils are of White British heritage with a very small number from different minority ethnic groups. When children start school, their skills and abilities are similar to those expected of four year olds. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties is below that found nationally. The school is being lead by a new headteacher, in post since the beginning of the year, and senior management team.

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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: Hanslope Primary School, 31 October 2007

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Grade: 3

Hanslope Primary School provides its pupils with a satisfactory standard of education. It has a number of strengths, mostly relating to pastoral care and pupils' personal development and well-being, which are of good quality. Parents agree and say it is a 'very friendly school with very approachable staff. Pupils treat each other with great respect, behave well and genuinely want to learn. They feel safe, are safety conscious without being fearful, and are very knowledgeable about how to live healthily and adopt healthy lifestyles. The school council take their responsibilities very seriously and represent the pupils' views well. Attendance is above the national average. This is further evidence that pupils enjoy coming to school. Pupils attain above average standards by the time they leave at the end of Year 6 but their achievement is only satisfactory overall. Pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities make good progress

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Grade: 3

against their targets because they are given good quality help and support. Under the very good leadership of the new headteacher, managers are working with determination to increase pupils' achievement so that it is consistently good in all classes. They are already doing more to accelerate pupils' progress and to bring consistency in teaching through rigorous monitoring and evaluation. Teachers have begun work to standardise teachers' assessments of pupils' standards at the end of Year 2 with colleagues from the neighbouring first school to ensure consistency across the two schools. Teachers relate well to their pupils and help promote the family atmosphere of which the school is justly proud. They know their pupils very well, and make detailed assessments of their day-to-day social and academic development. This information is used well to plan work that is suitably challenging at all levels, and teachers explain clearly to pupils what they are expected

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Grade: 3

to achieve by the end of each lesson. In addition, there are satisfactory opportunities for pupils to work independently and to explore their own ideas. Inspection evidence confirms the school's evaluation that teaching is satisfactory overall and often good. However, it is not yet consistently good across all classes. Some teachers do not use higher-order questioning skills well enough to consistently challenge the higher-attainers and develop pupils' own critical skills. In addition, there are inconsistencies in quality of marking. Teachers do not always clearly indicate the next steps in pupils' learning. The satisfactory curriculum is enriched through a good range of out of class activities. It provides well for pupils' personal, social and health education and makes a positive contribution to their good personal development. Planning in the core subjects of English, mathematics and science has been adapted to reflect the mixed-age class groupings and includes a good support

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Grade: 3

programmes to boost the progress of pupils who need extra help. The school is successfully increasing the opportunities for pupils to practise and develop their writing skills across a range of subjects such as geography and history. The leadership and management of the school are satisfactory overall. The new headteacher and management team have acted decisively to accelerate pupils' progress. The checks carried out by the school show that pupils are achieving the challenging targets set for them. School review is both searching and rigorous and results in actions that are accelerating achievement and sustaining improvement. This confirms the school's good capacity to improve further. A small, but significant number of the pupils interviewed during the course of the inspection provided further confirmation. They were particularly anxious to explain how much the school had changed for the better. Pupils were adamant that teachers are now good at making work

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Grade: 3

4 of 9 Inspection Report: Hanslope Primary School, 31 October 2007 challenging and enjoyable. They added that 'teachers really stretch you and make you think about your work without making it too difficult so you become discouraged'. They agreed that lessons are enjoyable and teachers are really helping them improve their grades.

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Grade: 3

The quality of education is satisfactory overall. Children make satisfactory progress in developing their skills in the early stages of reading, writing and mathematics, and in learning to work cooperatively and to share with one another. By the time that they transfer to Year 1, most children achieve the goals expected for their age and a number exceed them. Induction procedures are good and help the children settle quickly into routines and to play with others. However, the lack of a covered outdoor area restricts the range of activities offered for outdoor learning. The school is aware of this and has plans to develop the accommodation for the children in the Reception year group.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Develop the higher-order questioning skills of teachers.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Ensure that teachers' marking consistently give pupils a clear idea of what they need to do to improve their work. ■ Improve provision for outdoor learning in the Foundation Stage.

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What the school should do to improve further

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. 5 of 9 Inspection Report: Hanslope Primary School, 31 October 2007 .

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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: Hanslope Primary School, 31 October 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? 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? 3 The effectiveness of the Foundation Stage 2 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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Achievement and standards

3 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?

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 2 How well learners enjoy their education 2 The attendance of learners 2 The behaviour of learners 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. 7 of 9 Inspection Report: Hanslope Primary School, 31 October 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 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: Hanslope Primary School, 31 October 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

9 November 2007 Dear Pupils Inspection of Hanslope Primary School,Milton Keynes,MK19 7BL Thank you for being so welcoming and helpful when I came to inspect your school. I was impressed with your friendliness and your sensible and helpful attitudes towards each other. I think that your school is satisfactory overall, with some things that are good. Here are some of the things I liked best about your school.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You behave well, and you told me that you enjoy school and have many interesting and challenging things to do. ■ You are knowledgeable about how to live healthily and stay safe.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ All of the adults in your school make sure that you are safe and well looked after.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Whenever you need help, there is always someone there for you.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

All of the other people who help run your school want it to be even better. Here are some things I have suggested that they should do.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ I would like your teachers to make sure they build even more challenge into their questioning so they really make you think hard before you answer! I am certain you are ready for this challenge. ■ I would like your teachers to give you a clearer idea of what you need to do to improve your work when they mark your books. ■ I would like the youngest children to have a better outdoor area.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

You can all help by continuing to work hard to meet the targets set for you. Yours sincerely, John EarishLead Inspector 9 of 9 Inspection Report: Hanslope Primary School, 31 October 2007

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