The Hall School

The Hall School Inspection report - amended

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120070 Unique Reference Number Leicestershire Local Authority 313501 Inspection number 6 February 2008 Inspection date Arnalena Bee 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 414 School The governing body Appropriate authority Lee Breckon Chair Keith Culverwell Headteacher 9 June 2003 Date of previous school inspection Glenfield Frith Drive School address Glenfield Leicester LE3 8PQ 01162 873582 Telephone number 01162 322516 Fax number

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4-11 Age group 6 February 2008 Inspection date 313501 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 Additional Inspector. The inspector evaluated the overall effectiveness of the school and investigated the following issues: whether pupils make good progress in all areas of the school; whether some pupils in Key Stage 2 receive teaching that is satisfactory rather than good; whether pupils make better progress in mathematics and science than in English in Key Stage 2; and whether teaching is better in mathematics than English as pupils move through Years 3 to 6. Evidence was gathered from the school’s self-evaluation, nationally published assessment data, the school’s own assessment and tracking data and other school documentation. Observations of the school at work, interviews with the central leadership team, governors and pupils, and parent questionnaires also provided evidence. Other aspects of the school’s work such as the curriculum were not investigated in detail but

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Introduction

the inspector found no evidence to suggest that the school’s own assessments, as given in its self-evaluation, were not justified. Whilst carrying out the activities mentioned above, a few outstanding judgements were identified and these have been included in the report where appropriate.

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Description of the school

The Hall is larger than most primary schools. Most pupils come from White British backgrounds. A small minority of pupils come from other minority ethnic groups. The proportion of pupils who are identified as having learning difficulties and/or disabilities is below average. A small number of pupils are learning to speak English. The number of pupils who leave or join the school during the school year is sometimes higher than average. Children enter school with levels of attainment that are below those expected for their ages. Elements of their language and literacy and mathematical development are particularly low.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 10 Inspection Report: The Hall School, 6 February 2008

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Grade: 2

The Hall is a good school with a number of outstanding features. It is very welcoming to all who pass through its doors. Parents said how all adults are approachable and helpful. One parent wrote, 'My child is always eager to see what is on the board in the morning. Then on the way home, there is always a lot of happy chatter about the day and all the interesting, challenging work that has been done.' The headteacher leads the school very well and has a very clear idea of the strengths and what needs improving. He is passionate that staff as well as pupils have a happy time in school and most importantly, that pupils do their very best in everything. As a result, parents are overwhelmingly supportive of all that the school does, particularly the good progress that their children make. The whole-school focus on the teaching of writing has resulted in pupils throughout the school now achieving well as they develop writing skills. Activities are now

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Grade: 2

more interesting and, as a result, pupils enjoy writing more. Standards are above average in English and mathematics at the end of Years 2 and 6. This is a good improvement since the previous inspection. The main reason for the school's success and the good achievement that pupils make is that everyone has their bit to do, and teamwork is strong. An outstanding strength in the good leadership and management is the way that all teachers are well focused on how pupils achieve in every subject. Expectations are high and the school is working well to reach the challenging targets set for pupils. All subjects of the national curriculum have high status in this school. Teachers play a very important part in regularly checking the amount of progress pupils make within their classes. Subject leaders then collate this information and clearly identify what is needed to improve as they develop the areas they are responsible for. In addition, a learning

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Grade: 2

support assistant and a governor are attached to all subject areas, supporting the subject leaders in their work. As a result, the school has a very clear idea of how well it is doing. The monitoring of teaching is thorough and concentrates on areas for improvement. Governors support and challenge the school well. They are effectively involved in the work of the school. Consequently, the school has good capacity to improve further. The school does very well in developing a good balance between promoting pupils' personal development and their academic achievements. This is because all adults who work with the pupils have very high expectations regarding both their behaviour and how well they do in lessons. Teaching is good. In parts of Key Stage 2 there are elements of outstanding practice. Learning is consistently good in English, mathematics and science in all parts of the school. Lessons are interesting and very well planned to suit all abilities. As a result, from an early age,

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Grade: 2

pupils develop very good attitudes to learning. Teachers expertly question their pupils to reinforce and develop learning further. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities learn as well as their classmates, as do those few pupils who are learning to speak English. This is because these pupils are effectively catered for in all that they do. Teachers use information and communication technology (ICT) well to support learning. One parent endorsed this by saying, 'Our children show a keen interest in ICT and have often come home and been able to teach us a thing or two.' The outstanding curriculum is another factor that contributes to pupils' good achievement. Pupils' personal, social and health education is very well promoted in all pupils do. Exciting activities arranged through visits out, including residential opportunities, as well as interesting visitors invited into school, enhance learning in many curriculum areas.

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Grade: 2

Themed days for the whole school, such as a recent one that focused on French, reinforce and 4 of 10 Inspection Report: The Hall School, 6 February 2008 develop skills and knowledge taught in French lessons, which are part of the everyday curriculum. Pupils speak very enthusiastically about all of these as well as of the many out-of-school activities, particularly the sporting ones. Provision for literacy, numeracy and ICT is good. Links with other institutions, such as the local library and local schools, are very good and contribute to the pupils' achievements both academically and socially. All pupils are very well cared for and looked after. The school works well with external agencies, for example, to support those pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. The attention the school pays to health and safeguarding arrangements in and around school is outstanding. Pupils say they feel safe in school and know that if they have any problems a member of staff

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Grade: 2

will deal with it very quickly. There is very good provision for pupils to develop personal and social skills. Academic support is good. Much of the teachers' marking is good but at times teachers do not effectively inform pupils, particularly those who are lower attainers, about what they need to do to improve. All pupils have targets for literacy and mathematics but teachers do not always successfully link these targets with the comments they make when marking pupils' work. Some pupils, as a result, are unsure of what they need to do to reach their targets. All pupils are treated as special individuals in this school. They have outstanding opportunities to develop personal and social skills, which enables them to become very confident and polite young people who respect themselves, each other and the adults who help them to learn. Their behaviour is exemplary. Almost all of them thoroughly enjoy coming to school. As one parent

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Grade: 2

wrote, 'My daughter loves school so much she even wants to come when she is ill.' Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding. Pupils work and play alongside each other amicably. They sensibly take on responsibilities around the school such as being trained as a 'super leader' to help with games during lunchtime breaks. The work of the school council is very impressive. Councillors, along with support from the Hall Association, have recently instigated the building of a sensory garden and an outdoor classroom. Older pupils speak very sensibly about raising money for people who are less fortunate than themselves. They speak maturely about how they support local and world charities and how at Christmas they filled lots of shoeboxes to send to Eastern Europe. Even the youngest children in the Reception classes are proud of their healthy school. During lunch, one Reception-age child enthusiastically held up his ham sandwich and said, 'This is a

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Grade: 2

very healthy sandwich.' As they get older, pupils show a very good awareness of the need to eat healthily and take regular exercise. As they talk, they listen carefully when others speak and show much kindness and support towards each other. For example, as one girl spoke about the fact that 'too much fat clogs up the tubes inside your body', another of her classmates sensitively replied, 'I think the tubes are called arteries.' Similarly, pupils show a very good understanding of why it is important to keep themselves safe at all times. Visitors such as the police and fire service bring learning to life as knowledge is developed and reinforced in this area. Pupils speak maturely about learning and why it is important. They know they get a good deal in school and say that learning is fun. The very good personal and social skills they develop, along with the good achievement they make academically, prepare them well for their next

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Grade: 2

school. 5 of 10 Inspection Report: The Hall School, 6 February 2008

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Grade: 2

The Foundation Stage is well led and managed. The good progress that the children make is carefully and regularly tracked during their year in Reception. Most children reach the levels expected of them by the time they start in Year 1, although a minority of children do not reach the expected levels in writing. Parents are pleased with the good progress their children make and how much they enjoy attending school. Induction procedures are very good and enable children to settle in quickly and easily. One parent said it all when she wrote, 'Since my daughter started last term, I have found the school to be very welcoming, nurturing and a caring environment in which to learn.' Whilst in school, all children are very well looked after and cared for. Teaching is good. Activities are effectively planned to promote learning in all areas. Children have good opportunities to use ICT as they learn. They listened carefully and followed

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Grade: 2

instructions well during a lesson in the computer studio. Learning was good as they developed basic computer skills whilst they composed music and then printed it out. There was no doubt that all of them worked with much enjoyment and considerable independence as they completed this activity.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Ensure that marking enables all pupils, particularly those who are lower attainers, to be sure about what they need to do to improve and achieve their targets. 6 of 10 Inspection Report: The Hall School, 6 February 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. 7 of 10 Inspection Report: The Hall School, 6 February 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 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?

1 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 1 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 1 How well learners enjoy their education 2 The attendance of learners 1 The behaviour of learners 1 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. 8 of 10 Inspection Report: The Hall School, 6 February 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? 9 of 10 Inspection Report: The Hall School, 6 February 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

7 February 2008 Dear Pupils Inspection of The Hall Primary School, Glenfield LE3 8PQ Thank you so much for making me so welcome when I came to visit your lovely school. I was very pleased to see how hard you work and how kind and respectful you were to each other and the adults who help you learn. I particularly enjoyed listening to you sing 'The Earth it keeps turning' during assembly. I could see that you really enjoyed singing and you did it very well. I was very impressed with how the school council have worked to improve your delightful playground area even further. That outside classroom is really going to be a lovely place in which to learn. You play outside together very sensibly and I think your behaviour is excellent. I am writing to let you know what I liked best about your school.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You are all very well looked after and cared for.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Teaching is good and because of this, you all make good progress as you move through the school. Your parents are pleased about this too. ■ Very interesting activities are planned for you that help you learn in an exciting way.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You have learnt lots about why it is important to keep yourselves safe, take regular exercise and eat healthily. Your school lunches smell delicious and look very healthy and so do the packed lunches that some of you bring each day. ■ I am impressed with how you consider others who are less fortunate than you. You raise lots of money to try and make their lives a little better. ■ Your headteacher and staff check very carefully that you all make at least good progress in everything you do. ■ By the time you leave in Year 6 you reach standards that are above those expected for your ages. I have asked the school to do one thing to make it even better.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Make sure that when teachers mark your work, you all know what you have to do to improve and reach your targets. Keep working hard, smiling and having fun as you learn. Best wishes Nina Bee Lead inspector 10 of 10 Inspection Report: The Hall School, 6 February 2008

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Annex B

Inspection of The Hall Primary School, Glenfield LE3 8PQ

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Annex B

Thank you so much for making me so welcome when I came to visit your lovely school. I was very pleased to see how hard you work and how kind and respectful you were to each other and the adults who help you learn. I particularly enjoyed listening to you sing ‘The Earth it keeps turning’ during assembly. I could see that you really enjoyed singing and you did it very well. I was very impressed with how the school council have worked to improve your delightful playground area even further. That outside classroom is really going to be a lovely place in which to learn. You play outside together very sensibly and I think your behaviour is excellent.

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Annex B

I am writing to let you know what I liked best about your school.

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Annex B

☺ Your school is a good one. ☺ You are all very well looked after and cared for. ☺ Teaching is good and because of this, you all make good progress as you move through the school. Your parents are pleased about this too. ☺ Very interesting activities are planned for you that help you learn in an exciting way. ☺ You have learnt lots about why it is important to keep yourselves safe, take regular exercise and eat healthily. Your school lunches smell delicious and look very healthy and so do the packed lunches that some of you bring each day. ☺ I am impressed with how you consider others who are less fortunate than you. You raise lots of money to try and make their lives a little better. ☺ Your headteacher and staff check very carefully that you all make at least good progress in everything you do. ☺ By the time you leave in Year 6 you reach standards that are above those expected for your ages.

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Annex B

I have asked the school to do one thing to make it even better.

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Annex B

• Make sure that when teachers mark your work, you all know what you have to do to improve and reach your targets.

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Annex B

Keep working hard, smiling and having fun as you learn.

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