Hazelbury Bryan Primary School

Hazelbury Bryan Primary School Inspection report

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113669 Unique Reference Number Dorset Local Authority 311332 Inspection number 11–12 November 2008 Inspection dates David Townsend HMI Reporting inspector

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. The registered childcare, managed by the governing body, was inspected under section 49 of the Childcare Act 2006.

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Primary Type of school Community School category 3–11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 90 School (total) 17 Government funded early education provision for children aged 3 to the end of the EYFS 0 Childcare provision for children aged 0 to 3 years The governing body Appropriate authority Valerie Jackson Chair Julie Sharpe Headteacher 10 January 2005 Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous funded early education inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous childcare inspection Droop School address Sturminster Newton DT10 2ED 01258 817492 Telephone number 01258 817175 Fax number

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3–11 Age group 11–12 November 2008 Inspection dates 311332 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. 2 of 11 Inspection Report: Hazelbury Bryan Primary School, 11–12 November 2008

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by one of Her Majesty's Inspectors.

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Description of the school

Hazelbury Bryan is a smaller than average primary school in a rural village setting. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provision is for children in Nursery and Reception. This is an extended school, offering before- and after-school childcare. There has been a significant turnover in staff during the last year. The headteacher took up post in September 2008. The proportions of pupils eligible for free school meals and from minority ethnic groups are well below average. The percentage of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is broadly average. The numbers of pupils joining or leaving the school other than at the usual times of admission or transfer have been higher than seen nationally for several years. Attainment on entry is usually around the levels expected nationally, although more recently it has been below expectations in key areas of learning.

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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: Hazelbury Bryan Primary School, 11–12 November 2008

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Grade: 3

Hazelbury Bryan Primary is an improving school that provides a satisfactory level of education. After an extended period of staffing upheaval, the new headteacher has united the new staff team, raised expectations of what pupils can achieve and started to put in place the systems needed to raise further the quality of provision and, in turn, standards. The school is caring. There is a shared ethos based on the rights and responsibilities of all. Consequently, pupils' personal development, including behaviour, is good. Parents value the school dearly, especially as communication links with its families are strong. Children make satisfactory progress in the EYFS, which is continued in Key Stages 1 and 2. When pupils leave Year 6, their standards are average overall in English, mathematics and science, an improvement since 2007 when English standards were below average. However, across the school, too few pupils are reaching the

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Grade: 3

higher levels in English, especially writing, and in science. Standards in writing did improve in 2008 in terms of the proportions of pupils reaching at least expected levels, due to better support programmes and teaching for less confident writers. Consequently, achievement overall is now satisfactory. Teaching is satisfactory, although the proportion of good lessons is rising. Teachers and teaching assistants work effectively in partnership to ensure pupils behave well and to offer interesting learning opportunities for all. Assessment practices are developing well but the resulting information does not always lead to planning that closely matches the needs of differing ability groups. The curriculum covers all the subjects it should and offers pupils good opportunities to develop personal skills. They are now regularly applying their literacy and numeracy skills to learning in other subjects. Pupils enjoy coming to school and value the family atmosphere evident in the breakfast club

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Grade: 3

and after-school care. They demonstrate good attitudes to learning and make positive contributions to their community. Attendance is above average and bullying and exclusions are rare. Pupils feel safe because of the good personal care provided. However, academic guidance is underdeveloped. The use of marking and the setting of targets, so that each pupil knows what they do well and how to improve their work, are not yet supporting good progress well enough. The headteacher has taken quick steps to foster teamwork and a sharper focus on raising standards. Through her own accurate analysis and effective support from key postholders and the local authority, she has made a good evaluation of key strengths and weaknesses. This analysis has not yet led to a comprehensive set of challenging targets for all pupils, linked to planned improvements to teaching and learning. The school development plan does not focus

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Grade: 3

sharply enough on the priorities that have been identified. However, the school is aware of this and knows what it needs to do to make further advances. Leaders and governors alike are committed to the school's future at the heart of the local community and to raising standards. This purposeful sense of direction means the school is set to improve further.

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Grade: 3

Children make satisfactory progress in their learning and development in the Nursery and Reception class. Recently, they have started pre-school with below expected communication, social and calculation skills. By the time they enter Year 1, attainment in these areas has been 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Hazelbury Bryan Primary School, 11–12 November 2008 below average but is now beginning to rise. In all other areas of learning, they reach expected levels from their average starting points. This year, through close support from local authority consultants, leaders have begun developing the quality of provision and raising attainment. Improved planning means there is now an appropriate balance of adult- and child-led learning both indoors and outdoors. This is adapted to the needs of both the pre-school age and older children, but less so to the needs of the more able. Children are encouraged to learn both independently and cooperatively and they

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Grade: 3

know the routines of the base well. Their personal skills are developing well as a result. The school has had support for putting in place a daily phonics teaching programme that works well, but opportunities are sometimes missed to extend children's language when they are initiating play. Children are cared for well in a safe and secure environment in which health and safety are strongly emphasised.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Link assessment and planning more closely so that teachers challenge all pupils in their learning, including the more able. ■ Set and share challenging targets with pupils and their parents, and provide regular feedback to individuals about their progress towards them. ■ Ensure that the school development plan defines key improvement aims, targets, strategies and evaluation methods. 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 the next section 5 inspection.

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Grade: 3

Achievement is satisfactory and standards are now broadly average, with English results having risen in 2008 from well below average. Some pupils made slow progress during the period of staffing upheaval last year. The school has stemmed this underachievement for most pupils. It identifies those pupils at risk of failing to reach expected levels much earlier and is putting more effective support programmes in place, which staff are monitoring closely. These pupils, including those who join the school late, are making satisfactory progress now, as are pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. Consequently, the number of pupils reaching age-expected levels has risen from below average to average, including in writing, where results were too low in 2007. Support from local authority consultants has helped teachers focus more effectively on teaching pupils the key features of each type of written text. However, in writing

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Grade: 3

and science, too few able pupils reach the standards of which they are capable. These pupils are not provided with specific targets that set out expectations of what they can achieve.

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Grade: 2

Personal development and well-being are good. Attendance is above average and pupils enjoy school. Behaviour is good. Relationships are positive and most pupils act sensibly both in lessons and around school. Racist and bullying incidents are rare. Pupils know how to keep safe and are confident to ask for help if they feel unhappy. They take regular exercise through both the 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Hazelbury Bryan Primary School, 11–12 November 2008 school's physical education programme and range of after-school sports clubs. However, a number of pupils are not yet regularly eating healthy snacks at playtimes. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good overall and they develop a good understanding of right and wrong. There are good opportunities for spiritual reflection. For example, during collective worship pupils recognised the particular significance of Remembrance Sunday for the local villages. However, pupils have yet to develop a realistic understanding of

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Grade: 2

the multicultural nature of modern British society. They generally make a good contribution to the school community, taking on roles as assembly monitors and peer mediators who assist others to resolve disputes. The school is active in supporting local charity causes. Pupils make satisfactory progress in literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology (ICT), and with their teamwork skills this ensures that they are prepared satisfactorily for the next stage of their education and later life.

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Grade: 3

Children are well behaved and keen to learn in lessons because staff model positive learning and behaviour well in class. There are good levels of support from the team of teaching assistants, who lead small group work and help to assess learning with confidence and skill. There are increased opportunities in class for pupils to engage in first-hand practical learning and to discuss ideas, especially before written recording is undertaken. Assessment practices across the school are developing well; there is good evidence of observational assessment of younger children's learning and effective questioning to assess understanding. However, the use of assessment to inform subsequent planning remains variable, as does the quality of marking and feedback to pupils about their work. Teaching is satisfactory rather than good because the expectations of what pupils, especially the more able, can achieve are not always

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Grade: 3

The curriculum provides well for pupils' personal development, but only supports satisfactory progress academically, despite being reviewed regularly and adapted to try to match the complex needs of some pupils. Teachers have started to adapt their planning to reflect the renewed literacy and numeracy frameworks but, as yet, the match between the curriculum on offer and pupils' different starting points is imprecise. This is also true of some planning in wider subjects such as history. Links to support the application of numeracy and literacy skills in other subjects across the curriculum are satisfactory. ICT skills are taught regularly and computing resources are much improved. The wide range of extra-curricular clubs, which are popular with pupils, helps to ensure they enjoy school as much as they do.

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Grade: 3

The school is vigilant about health and safety and child protection matters and provides good quality day-to-day care for the pupils, both within and beyond the school day. Provision for vulnerable pupils, including those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, is coordinated well by the inclusion manager. Effective small group support is in place for pupils with speech 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Hazelbury Bryan Primary School, 11–12 November 2008 and language needs and there is good one-to-one care for each pupil with emotional and behavioural needs through the learning mentors scheme. Links between home and school are close and positive and are enhanced by initiatives such as the family SEAL programme, through which individual pupils and parents learn new skills together. The school recognises that the quality of academic guidance provided for pupils is not yet strong enough to promote good progress. Its systems for setting challenging targets for each

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Grade: 3

individual to achieve are underdeveloped, as are processes for giving effective feedback on progress to pupils and their parents.

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Grade: 3

The headteacher provides effective and positive leadership and a sharp focus on raising standards. This, coupled with good support from staff with leadership roles and external consultants, has led to recent improvements in areas such as phonics teaching and the programmes of support for pupils who are less confident in their learning. The headteacher has analysed a range of evidence about the school's performance, including her own accurate assessments of teaching, to determine a good picture of the school's strengths and weaknesses. After a period when subject leadership stalled, a renewed monitoring cycle is in place. Middle leaders are once again playing an active role in auditing standards and supporting colleagues in their areas of responsibility. The school development plan is not yet an effective tool for helping to raise standards because it does not provide sufficient focus on the key priorities for improvement. Furthermore, the

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Grade: 3

use of challenging targets is underdeveloped. With improved monitoring of pupils' progress in place, ambitious targets are set now for Years 2 and 6 but not for all other year and pupil groups. Therefore, targets are not fully utilised as a driver for improvement and as a measure of how well strategies for improvement are working. Governors provide satisfactory support to the school's leadership. They are rightly proud of their school and recent improvements. Together with the headteacher and staff, they are committed to promoting community cohesion through the school's links with its locality and beyond, and to raising standards. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Hazelbury Bryan Primary School, 11–12 November 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: Hazelbury Bryan Primary School, 11–12 November 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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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 capacity to make any necessary improvements

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EYFS?

3 How well do children in the EYFS achieve? How good are the overall personal development and well-being of the children in the EYFS? 3 How effectively are children in the EYFS helped to learn and develop? 2 How effectively is the welfare of children in the EYFS promoted? 3 How effectively is provision in the EYFS led and managed?

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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/or disabilities make progress

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Achievement and standards

1 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: Hazelbury Bryan Primary School, 11–12 November 2008

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learners?

2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 3 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 The extent to which 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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learners' needs?

How well do the curriculum and other activities meet the range of needs and interests of learners? 3 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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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 3 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination eliminated 3 How well does the school contribute to community cohesion? 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: Hazelbury Bryan Primary School, 11–12 November 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

13 November 2008 Dear Pupils Inspection of Hazelbury Bryan Primary School, Sturminster Newton, DT10 2ED Thank you for being so welcoming when I visited your school recently. I appreciate the effort you took to tell me all about life at school. Hazelbury Bryan Primary provides you with a satisfactory education and it is clearly improving thanks to your hard work and that of all the adults who work with you. I have written a report to explain the school's successes and identify its areas for improvement. Here are the good things about your school.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Standards are rising as a result of all the recent improvements.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Your behaviour is good. You get on well with each other and are respectful towards adults.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ The teaching team works well together to provide interesting things for you to do in lessons and to support your learning. ■ You enjoy school and join in with the many clubs on offer very enthusiastically.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ All of the staff look after you well and keep you safe and healthy.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Your parents are very supportive of the school and links with your families are strong.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Your new headteacher, Mrs Sharpe, is doing a good job in leading the school.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

To help Mrs Sharpe and your teachers make the necessary improvements, I have asked them to do three things.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Make sure your work is always hard enough.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Set targets with you to show you how to improve further, and discuss with you how well you are progressing towards these goals. ■ Develop a plan of action for the school that focuses on helping you progress at a faster rate in your learning and reach higher standards. I wish you all every success in the future. Yours faithfully David Townsend Her Majesty's Inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Hazelbury Bryan Primary School, 11–12 November 2008

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