Hordle CofE (VA) Primary School

Hordle CofE Primary School Inspection report

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116486 Unique Reference Number Hampshire Local Authority 312335 Inspection number 28 °29 November 2007 Inspection dates Gehane Gordelier 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 Voluntary aided School category 4 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 323 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Karen Richards Chair Mrs Fiona Adams Headteacher 17 May 2004 Date of previous school inspection Hordle Lane School address Hordle Lymington SO41 0FB 01425 611657 Telephone number 01425 616935 Fax number

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4-11 Age group 28 °29 November 2007 Inspection dates 312335 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 of Her Majesty's Inspectors and two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

Hordle Church of England School is larger than most other primary schools. The percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals is much lower than the national average. The vast majority of pupils are of White British heritage and all speak English as their first language. The proportion of pupils with special education needs, including those with statements, is below national averages. The school was awarded Healthy Schools status in 2006 as well as an Active Mark Award. The school provides support to Southampton and Winchester Universities by offering school-centred initial teacher training.

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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: Hordle CofE Primary School, 28 °29 November 2007

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Grade: 3

Hordle Primary is a satisfactory school with good features. The school benefits from having a dedicated team of staff and governors and supportive parents. The outside play and learning environment is enchanting and the school is well resourced. The school is proud of its Christian ethos and cares for its pupils well. Following a period of instability the school appointed a new headteacher who took up her post in September 2007. In a short period of time, the new headteacher has had a significant impact on the school and has won the confidence and respect of staff and governors. In a matter of weeks, she has empowered staff to help turn around the legacy of declining standards at Key Stage 1 and accelerate the rate of progress for older pupils at Key Stage 2. The test results of pupils in 2007 show that standards are broadly average. These should have been better given pupils' starting point. Nevertheless, standards are already

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Grade: 3

improving and at a faster pace than has previously been the case; test results for 2008 are set to rise if the rate of progress, made since the beginning of the school year, is maintained. Teaching and support staff ensure that pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities are supported effectively and this enables these pupils to progress adequately. Teaching is now satisfactory and pockets of good practice are evident for the youngest and oldest pupils as well as for pupils in Year 2. There is also some particularly good teaching of science for older pupils; the use of specialist teaching in some areas has proved beneficial. A good example is the use of specialist sports coaches to teach physical education. However, some weaknesses in teaching remain. Where this is the case, planning for lessons lacks detail, including information about what pupils are expected to learn. Furthermore, some teachers have yet to make effective

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Grade: 3

use of assessment strategies to ensure that teaching and learning and the pupils' performance and progress are consistently good throughout the school. Pupils get a good start to their education in the Foundation Stage and this helps them to develop as independent and well-motivated learners from an early age. There is a satisfactory curriculum for pupils in both subsequent key stages. This is enriched by a wide range of extra-curricular activities and clubs; these include football, sailing, gardening and music as well as information and communication technology (ICT). The school has correctly identified the need to develop a more creative curriculum and increased links between subjects. The school works well with parents and outside agencies and this, together with a good programme of personal, social and health education, is leading to pupils' good personal development. As a result, pupils are well behaved; they know how to keep themselves safe and

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Grade: 3

healthy. They contribute to making the school a nice place to work and learn, and they get involved with activities at school and within the local community. Pupils enjoy their visits to the local church, for example for the annual harvest and Christmas services. Under the new leadership of the headteacher, the overall quality of leadership and management of the school is improving well. Staff now contribute more fully to whole school self-evaluation and are putting systems in place that are helping pupils to become more successful in their learning. However, the roles and responsibilities of some leaders and managers remain underdeveloped and this is reducing their ability to contribute as effectively as they might to accelerating the progress made by all groups of pupils. The quality of governance is satisfactory, but governors have yet to ensure that statutory duties, which relate to the school's policies

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Grade: 3

about race and equality are met in full. Furthermore, while the school ensures that pupils are safe, some administrative procedures are not fully in place in line with government requirements. 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Hordle CofE Primary School, 28 °29 November 2007

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Grade: 2

Most of the children who begin school in the Foundation Stage bring with them skills and a level of understanding above those expected for their age. As a result of good teaching and a good curriculum in the Reception year children make good progress and attain above average standards. Teachers and teaching assistants work well together to provide children with well-structured sessions and opportunities to choose activities for themselves. Children work and play cooperatively together enjoying their learning. Behaviour both in and out of their class is exemplary for their age. The excellent outside areas, very good teaching and resources as well as the use of a phonic reading programme all help to make learning fun. The school recognises the need to develop the use of assessment for this year group.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Develop planning and embed assessment strategies to help teaching and learning become more consistently good throughout the school. ■ Develop the roles of leaders and managers at all levels to help accelerate the progress made by all groups of pupils. ■ The governing body need to ensure that all statutory requirements are met in full.

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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.

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Grade: 3

Achievement and standards are satisfactory overall. Following a steady decline in standards in reading, writing and mathematics at Key Stage 1, standards are now beginning to rise. This is due to improvements in the quality of teaching in Years 1 and 2 and a sharper focus on pupils' learning and progress. More pupils than was the case last year are set to achieve the higher grade of Level 3 by the end of Year 2. The 2007 test results show that standards by the end of Year 6 are broadly average although they are better in English and science than in mathematics. Despite the rise in standards from 2004 to 2006, pupils did not meet their challenging targets in 2007. Some weaker teaching in the past has left pupils with gaps in their learning, particularly in English and mathematics. The lack of rigour with which assessment data was previously interrogated also contributed to a slower than expected rate of progress for some pupils,

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Grade: 3

including the more able. However, since September 2007, progress has improved and become satisfactory; staff are now making better use of data and information about pupils' performance to identify those at risk of underachieving. The school has correctly identified the need to raise standards particularly in writing throughout the school. The headteacher has helped staff to raise their expectations of what pupils can achieve and this is helping to ensure the school promotes equality of opportunity for pupils more actively and more effectively. The special educational needs co-ordinator works well with staff to ensure that pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities progress as well as their peers. 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Hordle CofE Primary School, 28 °29 November 2007

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Grade: 2

The school successfully nurtures pupils' confidence and self-esteem and this enables pupils to grow into confident and considerate young people. The behaviour of pupils is good and they enjoy coming to school, although levels of attendance are average. Pupils' social and moral development are good and their spiritual and cultural awareness are satisfactory. Pupils are developing a good understanding of different cultures around the world through specific subjects and through special visitors; however, their understanding of living in a culturally diverse Britain is limited. Pupils demonstrate a good understanding of the importance of a healthy diet and the value of exercise. They participate enthusiastically in a variety of clubs and sporting activities provided by the school. They make a good contribution to their school community through the work of school council prefects and play leaders as well as by taking responsibility around the school.

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Grade: 2

Pupils also make a valuable contribution to their local community and appreciate their links with the church. They particularly enjoyed talking to local residents when working on the World War II project. The progress pupils make in developing their interpersonal as well as academic skills prepares them satisfactorily for the future.

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Grade: 3

The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory overall. While there are pockets of good practice, a few weaknesses in teaching remain particularly in lower Key Stage 2. Teachers and pupils have access to a good range of resources and a stimulating learning environment. This, as well as the good relationship staff have with pupils contributes to pupils' enjoyment of learning. Where teaching is good the contents of lessons is matched appropriately to pupils' interests, abilities and needs. These lessons are well structured and teachers demonstrate good subject knowledge and a good understanding of how pupils learn. Teachers' good questioning skills also help to extend pupils' learning by encouraging them to think and explain their answers and views. Where there are weaknesses in teaching these stem from insufficient use of assessment strategies and weak planning. These less successful lessons do not focus sharply

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Grade: 3

enough on the different needs of pupils or the intended learning outcomes. This at times results in a lack of clarity for pupils about what they are expected to learn and limits the challenge for the most able. There are also missed opportunities for pupils to use structured discussions to support and extend their thinking and this in turn limits their progress during the course of a lesson. Teaching assistants provide pupils with satisfactory and at times good levels of support. This helps to ensure that pupils with special educational needs make at least satisfactory progress.

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Grade: 3

The curriculum is broad and balanced. The programmes of work for science and personal, social and health education are particularly good. The school is developing helpful links between literacy and numeracy and other subjects. However, opportunities for pupils to apply their ICT skills across the curriculum during lessons remain limited. The school provides good enrichment 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Hordle CofE Primary School, 28 °29 November 2007 activities such as specialist sport, French and the school's Creativity Week. These make a positive impact on pupils' personal development and well-being and contribute to pupils' enjoyment of learning. Although some curriculum planning and programmes of work provide clear information about the expected progression of skills and understanding, these documents do not share a common format. These less helpful documents do not clarify sufficiently well how units of work can be

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Grade: 3

modified to ensure that the differing needs of pupils can be met.

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Grade: 3

The level of pastoral care, guidance and support is good; however, academic guidance is less effective. The school undertakes risk assessments for all activities and provides staff with regular guidance and training in Child Protection. Support for pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities is effective and systems for tracking and monitoring pupils' progress as they move through the school are improving. However, information about what pupils need to learn to help them progress is not used sufficiently well by all teachers. The school's Jigsaw project provides good support for individual pupils and is contributing well to the school's policy on inclusion. However, the use of targets for improvement is inconsistent and the quality of marking is too variable and at times weak; this is unhelpful as it limits pupils' understanding of what they need to do to improve their work.

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Grade: 3

Under the extremely good leadership and management of the new headteacher, the overall quality of leadership and management has improved, although some weaknesses remain. Leaders and managers now have a shared vision, work as team and have an accurate view of the school's strengths and areas in need of improvement. In a short space of time, the new headteacher has helped the school to focus more sharply on progress and standards and this is already leading to a rise in standards and improvements in the quality of teaching and learning. As a result, of the headteacher's clear leadership, leaders and managers at all levels are now more empowered to contribute to whole school improvement and whole school self-evaluation. This is providing the school with good capacity to improve even though the progress made on key issues from the previous inspection has been satisfactory. As from September 2007 the school

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Grade: 3

is making better use of data to track and monitor pupils' progress and as a result staff are now making better use of information to set challenging targets and identify pupils at risk of underachieving. The school recognises the need to track the progress made by different groups of pupils and this work is already underway. The quality of governance is satisfactory. Governors are supportive of the work of the school and passionate about doing what is best for pupils. However, policies relating to equality and race have yet to be fully implemented. Furthermore, governors need to assure themselves that the school keeps detailed records about adults who work in the school. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Hordle CofE Primary School, 28 °29 November 2007 .

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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: Hordle CofE Primary School, 28 °29 November 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? 2 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? 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?

3 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 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?

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: Hordle CofE Primary School, 28 °29 November 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 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 No 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: Hordle CofE Primary School, 28 °29 November 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

11 December 2007 Dear Pupils Inspection of Hordle CofE Primary School,Lymington,SO41 0FB On behalf of the inspectors, I would like to thank you for being helpful when we visited your school recently. We really enjoyed meeting you, talking to you and looking at your work. We think that yours is a satisfactory school. Here are some of the things that we really liked about your school:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ The headteacher and the staff work very hard and look after you well.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ The youngest and oldest pupils as well as the pupils in Year 2 are doing particularly well in their work. ■ Your behaviour is good and you work and play nicely together.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You help your school to be a happy place.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You know what you should do to be healthy and how to keep yourselves safe.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You are very lucky to have such wonderful outdoors play and learning area.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You enjoy the interesting activities the school provides.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ There are lots of parents and special visitors who visit the school and help you with your learning. These are the changes we have asked your school to make to help it to become even better:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Lessons need to become equally good. In order to do this, they should be planned a bit more carefully so that your teachers can help you to improve your work. ■ Make sure those who help run the school, do this as well as they can, so that you are all able to make good progress with your work. ■ School governors need to make sure they do everything they are supposed to do.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

I am sure that you will continue to work as hard as you can and help each other to do your best. Yours sincerely, Gehane Gordelier Her Majesty's Inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Hordle CofE Primary School, 28 °29 November 2007

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