Hady Primary School

112665 Unique Reference Number Derbyshire Local Authority 310971 Inspection number 15 May 2008 Inspection date Gill Broadbent 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 237 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Ian Jenkins Chair Mr David Lambie Headteacher 30 November 2004 Date of previous school inspection Hady Lane School address Hady Chesterfield Derbyshire S41 0DF 01246279254 Telephone number 01246 273296 Fax number

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3-11 Age group 15 May 2008 Inspection date 310971 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 an Additional Inspector. The inspection evaluated the overall effectiveness of the school and investigated the following issues:

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Introduction

■ standards and achievement of pupils and especially of boys' writing and that of gifted or talented pupils ■ the quality of provision for Foundation Stage children

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Introduction

■ the effectiveness and rigour of monitoring by leaders and managers to bring about school improvement. Evidence was gathered from discussions with staff, a governor, pupils and parents, lesson observations, school documentation, school improvement plan, samples of pupils' work and records of their progress. 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 were not justified, and these have been included, where appropriate in the report.

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Description of the school

This average sized school has fewer pupils than at the time of the last inspection because of demographic changes. Most pupils come from White British backgrounds with below average proportions from minority ethnic groups and few who learn to speak English as an additional language. Children enter the school with the skills expected for their age. The number of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is below average but increasing and varies significantly in each year group. A new headteacher joined the school after its last inspection. The school has a Basic Skills, Eco Schools and Derbyshire Quality Music Mark awards.

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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: Hady Primary School, 15 May 2008

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Grade: 2

This is a good school. A long period of staffing turbulence and budgetary difficulties, which hindered the school's development, has been successfully overcome, largely as a result of the effectiveness and the clear vision of the new headteacher. With the support of governors and senior staff, his determination, strong leadership, and rigorous monitoring of the school's work have brought about rapid improvement. The majority of parents are delighted with the good quality of their children's education. As one parent wrote, 'The school is improving and moving fast in terms of teaching and extra-curricular activities.' Most children enter the Foundation Stage with the skills expected of three- and four-year olds. They make satisfactory progress and enter Year 1 having reached the targets expected for their age, although some do better than this. Pupils make consistently good progress in Years 1 and 2 to reach above average standards in reading, writing and mathematics. Standards are also

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Grade: 2

above average, and progress good, in Years 3 to 6 in English, mathematics and science. The progress of the current Years 5 and 6 was limited in previous years because of inconsistent teaching and frequent changes of staff. However, pupils have made exceptional progress over the last two years and are on track to meet their challenging targets. The school's focus on writing has proved to be particularly successful so that standards and achievement are rising throughout the school. Boys especially, are doing equally as well as girls and say how much they enjoy writing because teachers make it interesting and fun. The most able and gifted pupils are writing with the maturity and skills expected of much older pupils. The school promotes pupils' personal development well. Pupils are polite, courteous and delightful young people. They enjoy learning and especially opportunities to play a wide variety of musical instruments. Their behaviour and attitudes are excellent and there is no evidence

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Grade: 2

of any systematic or unresolved bullying. Pupils appreciate and take part in the many sports on offer because they understand the importance of leading healthy lives. They make a good contribution to the school community through the school council and undertake tasks, such as 'playground pals', with evident pride. The personal development and well-being of pupils is good. Pupil's independent learning skills are not as effectively developed as they could be however, and for this reason, the inspector was unable to concur with the school's view that pupils' personal development is excellent. Similarly, the curriculum, although good overall, provides too few opportunities for pupils to use their initiative or to work collaboratively in projects to help them develop good independent learning skills throughout the school. Teaching and learning are good and have been significantly improved through rigorous

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Grade: 2

monitoring by the headteacher, good support and guidance by senior leaders and stability in staffing. The effective use of information and communication technology, good relationships between adults and pupils and teachers' high expectations of pupils' behaviour and standards have all helped create a positive, purposeful learning environment in which pupils thrive. The well-planned curriculum and accurate use of assessment ensure learning tasks meet pupils' needs, are designed to become progressively harder and challenge pupils to really think. The headteacher checks each pupil's progress termly with their teacher and together they identify and plan to provide any additional support needed if a pupil is at risk of falling behind. As a result, all pupils, no matter what their needs, make good progress. Leadership and management are good and the school has a good capacity to improve. Senior staff and governors are all involved in diagnosing the strengths and weaknesses of the school's

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Grade: 2

4 of 9 Inspection Report: Hady Primary School, 15 May 2008 work accurately because they have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities. They share the headteacher's aspirations to improve pupils' achievement. Governors rapidly improved their roles to ensure they have tight control of the school's finances, brought it back into budget and embarked upon a much-needed building improvement programme. Senior leaders identified actions to raise standards and achievement especially in writing. and ensured that better outcomes for pupils have become central to the school's detailed improvement plan. Parents recognise this and one wrote, 'The school is trying hard to improve the surroundings for the sake of children's health and safety.' Governors seek parental views biannually, but parents are right to say that it would be helpful for this to happen each year.

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Grade: 3

The school has successfully ensured that provision for this age group is at least satisfactory. Though some developments still need to become embedded, the pastoral care of the school's youngest children is very good and parents are confident that their children are well cared for and very happy. The curriculum and teaching in the Foundation Stage are both satisfactory overall but are improving rapidly. New checks on children's learning and progress are enabling staff to plan interesting activities at the right level. They also provide a balance between teacher directed and child selected tasks, which improves children's opportunities to develop their independence. Children listen attentively as their teacher explains the tasks for the day and they quickly choose whether to learn indoors or outside. All staff use discussion well to introduce new ideas and help children to explain their understanding. Parents support staff by helping

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Grade: 3

to improve the outdoor learning environment and there are plans to improve this even more. Staff in the Nursery and Reception class plan together and share resources but the physical distance between the nursery and reception class limits their opportunities to share good practice, staff and resources efficiently.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Continue to improve the quality of provision in the Foundation Stage and ensure that the Nursery and Reception class are in close proximity to enable good practice and improved resources to be consistently available to all children. ■ Improve the independent learning skills of all pupils from the Foundation Stage to Year 6 by providing them with more opportunities to use their initiative and to work collaboratively. 5 of 9 Inspection Report: Hady Primary School, 15 May 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: Hady Primary School, 15 May 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? 3 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?

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 1 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: Hady Primary School, 15 May 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: Hady Primary School, 15 May 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

16 May 2008 Dear Pupils Inspection of Hady Primary School, Hady Lane, Chesterfield, S41 0DF Thank you for making me so welcome when I inspected your school recently. This letter is to tell you about some of the important things that I found.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Your school is good and most of your parents appreciate the good education and good care it provides. ■ The school has overcome the problems of staffing difficulties and plans to improve the building further. ■ Your behaviour and attitudes are excellent and you are very polite and thoughtful to each other and to adults. ■ You and your parents told me that there is hardly any bullying and if it happens it is dealt with quickly and stopped. ■ You appreciate teaching that makes learning more fun. You enjoy playing musical instruments and taking part in after school sports to keep healthy. ■ You make good progress and achieve above average standards in Years 1 to 6. Pupils in Years 5 and 6 made exceptional progress in the last two years and made up for slower progress in earlier years. The headteacher, staff and governors do a good job and are determined to help make your school even better. I agreed with them that they should:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ improve the Foundation Stage for younger children

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ provide more opportunities for all of you to use your initiative so that you can work independently and work together on exciting projects. You can help too by suggesting your own ideas, through the school council, about what you would like to improve. I hope that you continue to enjoy learning especially when you move to high school. Yours sincerely Mrs Gill Broadbent Lead inspector 9 of 9 Inspection Report: Hady Primary School, 15 May 2008

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