Hose Church of England Primary School

Hose Church of England Primary School Inspection report

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120135 Unique Reference Number Leicestershire Local Authority 313526 Inspection number 18 March 2008 Inspection date Pat Walsh 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 controlled School category 4 °10 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 39 School The governing body Appropriate authority Carol O'Connor Chair Matthew Brookes Headteacher 25 November 2003 Date of previous school inspection Bolton Lane School address Hose Melton Mowbray LE14 4JE 01949 860312 Telephone number 01949 860312 Fax number

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4-10 Age group 18 March 2008 Inspection date 313526 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, who evaluated the overall effectiveness of the school and investigated the following issues: the impact of the school’s strategies to improve achievement in mathematics in Years 3 to 5, the impact on school performance of the recent changes to the leadership team and how effectively the school is using its monitoring and evaluation systems to further strengthen provision. Evidence was gathered from lesson observations, the scrutiny of pupils’ work, parents’ questionnaires, interviews with staff, pupils and the chair of governors and extensive school documentation, including its self-evaluation. 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 detailed in its self-evaluation, were not justified and these have been included where appropriate in

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Description of the school

This is a very small village school. No pupils are eligible for free school meals and all are of White British heritage. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is very low. Children enter the school with levels of skill, knowledge and understanding that are broadly as expected nationally, although with such small numbers, this varies from year to year. Until this year pupils have left at the end of Year 5 but from September 2008 they will stay until the end of Year 6. The school has recently achieved the International School Award and the Healthy School Award. The headteacher and senior teacher are newly appointed.

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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: Hose Church of England Primary School, 18 March 2008

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Grade: 2

This is a good school with some outstanding features which provides its pupils with a high level of care and good opportunities to learn and succeed. The school is successful because all staff strive to fulfil the school's motto - 'excellence for everyone' - and this is evident in the pupils' consistently high standards, good achievement and excellent personal development. Parents are overwhelmingly supportive of the school and are very positive about their children's experiences. They appreciate the warm and caring ethos that is a result of the very strong teamwork and attention to the needs of individual pupils. One delighted parent, whose views were echoed by many others, commented: 'An exceptional school with exceptional staff, my children love going to school and enjoy all aspects of learning.' The children in the Foundation Stage make an excellent start because of the teacher's detailed knowledge about how young children learn. Consequently, by the time they start Year 1,

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Grade: 2

standards are already high. This good progress continues, and in Year 2 standards in reading, writing and mathematics are consistently high. This is because teaching is effective and the excellent curriculum interests and motivates pupils. By the time they leave the school, the pupils have made good progress overall and reach standards that are significantly above those expected by the end of Year 5. However, their achievement is consistently better in reading and writing than it is in mathematics. The school has recently introduced a range of measures to improve pupils' skills in solving mathematical problems, and although early indications are that these are bearing fruit, the impact is not yet fully evident in pupils' learning and achievement. The few pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make good progress because the support for them in lessons is matched well to their needs. Teaching is often good, and at times outstanding. Teachers have high expectations of pupils'

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Grade: 2

behaviour and academic progress, and this promotes good achievement. A common feature in all classes is the warmth of the relationships that motivate the pupils to do their best. Interactive whiteboards are used successfully to support the pupils' learning and the teachers focus and build effectively on the pupils' previous work. Teachers and classroom assistants work well together. Learning is fun because the work set is planned carefully to interest pupils of all levels of ability. This has led to the pupils, particularly the boys, making better progress in writing. The school is quite rightly focusing on extending this approach to improve the teaching in mathematics. One pupil commented, 'I didn't like maths last year but this year teachers make it fun and do it in a different way.' The pupils' work is marked conscientiously, but does not always clearly show pupils how to achieve the next steps in their learning.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is outstanding. The school has an imaginative approach to planning that helps pupils to make strong links across subject areas. The school personalises the curriculum very effectively and this results in lessons which are tailored to meet the needs of all pupils. A range of exciting opportunities beyond the classroom, including sports clubs and residential visits, extends the curriculum very well and supports pupils' good learning. The school takes full advantage of its small community by making whole-school visits to enrich pupils' cultural experiences. An example of this was the recent visit to the World Book Day in Birmingham, where pupils had the opportunity to see dramatic interpretations of stories from around the world. High quality care, guidance and support are evident in pupils' good achievement, very positive attitudes and excellent personal development. Pupils thrive in the school's extremely positive

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Grade: 2

4 of 9 Inspection Report: Hose Church of England Primary School, 18 March 2008 atmosphere. The school offers excellent levels of personal support for pupils through a strong partnership with parents. The arrangements for child protection and the safeguarding of pupils are robust and the transition arrangements are exemplary. The school provides good academic guidance. Individual pupils' progress is tracked carefully, and there is effective intervention to support pupils' learning through targets for improvement. These high levels of care result in outstanding personal development. The pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is excellent. Their grasp of cultural diversity is strengthened by the exciting range of opportunities available to them, such as links with a school in Sri Lanka and visits to the local Sikh temple. Pupils enjoy school and speak enthusiastically about the fun they have. This is

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Grade: 2

reflected in the consistently high level of attendance. They are polite, courteous and helpful and their behaviour is exemplary around school and in lessons. They are particularly knowledgeable about the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle, for example, eating healthy snacks and taking part in a wide range of sporting activities. The school is the hub of the village community and the pupils make a significant contribution to village life through, for instance, their musical concerts and contributions to the local church. Their good levels of literacy, numeracy and ICT prepare them very well for the next stage of their learning and later life. Leadership and management of the school are good. The newly appointed headteacher has spent useful time developing positive relationships and considering school improvement strategies with his staff team. He provides very focused, enthusiastic and determined leadership.

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Grade: 2

Staff and governors share his vision for the future of the school and work successfully as an energetic and committed team to provide the best possible opportunities for the pupils in their care. The new leadership team has accurately pinpointed that mathematics is the main priority for development and the new subject leader has a clear plan of action to improve pupils' learning and raise achievement in this subject. Governance is good. The governors provide a high level of support, and have devised a range of strategies to gauge the school's effectiveness and successfully measure its performance. The school gives good value for money and has demonstrated its good capacity to improve further.

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Grade: 1

The effectiveness of the Foundation Stage is outstanding because the creative curriculum effectively promotes links between different areas of learning and successfully engages the children's interest. For example, in a numeracy lesson, the teacher used the theme of Little Red Riding Hood to link activities to support children in their learning about odd and even numbers. The children play very well together and help each other, and this results in their excellent personal and social development. The Foundation Stage leader tracks their progress in detail, and this enables her to identify any areas of underachievement and take robust action to meet children's individual needs. Ably supported by the learning support assistant, she carefully designs and implements activities to promote children's learning through play-based activities. This approach is balanced very effectively with more structured activities. Consequently, the

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Grade: 1

children are confident and enquiring, and make very good progress overall. There are very positive partnerships with parents and they are fully engaged with their children's early development.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Raise standards in mathematics in Years 3 to 5 to more closely match those secured in reading and writing. 5 of 9 Inspection Report: Hose Church of England Primary School, 18 March 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: Hose Church of England Primary School, 18 March 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? 1 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? 1 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 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 1 How well learners enjoy their education 1 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?

1 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: Hose Church of England Primary School, 18 March 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: Hose Church of England Primary School, 18 March 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

19 March 2008 Dear Children Inspection of Hose CE Primary School, Hose, Leicestershire LE14 4JE Thank you for welcoming me to your school and showing me your work. You told me you really enjoy school, particularly working with your friends and taking part in all the clubs and activities. I can tell that you had a great time visiting Snibston recently and that you enjoyed taking your teddies 'on tour'. You told me that you get lots of help with your work and that you feel safe and happy in school. I was particularly impressed by your excellent behaviour and by how sensibly you treat one another. You know a lot about staying fit and healthy. I know you are keen to find out how families live in other communities and welcome the school's links with children in Sri Lanka. You go to a good school. All the staff work hard to help you learn as much as you can, and I think the targets that are set with you, particularly in literacy, are helping you to improve your

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

work. I would like to see you work just as hard to achieve your numeracy targets, so that by the time you leave the school you are even better mathematicians. I have asked your headteacher, the teachers and the governors to help you to do this by continuing to make sure that the teaching is as good in numeracy as it is in literacy. I am sure you will help by continuing to behave outstandingly and always doing your best. I wish you well for the future. Yours sincerely Pat Walsh Her Majesty's Inspector 9 of 9 Inspection Report: Hose Church of England Primary School, 18 March 2008

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Annex B

Inspection of Hose CE Primary School, Hose, Leicestershire LE14 4JE

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Annex B

Thank you for welcoming me to your school and showing me your work. You told me you really enjoy school, particularly working with your friends and taking part in all the clubs and activities. I can tell that you had a great time visiting Snibston recently and that you enjoyed taking your teddies ‘on tour’. You told me that you get lots of help with your work and that you feel safe and happy in school. I was particularly impressed by your excellent behaviour and by how sensibly you treat one another. You know a lot about staying fit and healthy. I know you are keen to find out how families live in other communities and welcome the school’s links with children in Sri Lanka.

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Annex B

You go to a good school. All the staff work hard to help you learn as much as you can, and I think the targets that are set with you, particularly in literacy, are helping you to improve your work. I would like to see you work just as hard to achieve your numeracy targets, so that by the time you leave the school you are even better mathematicians. I have asked your headteacher, the teachers and the governors to help you to do this by continuing to make sure that the teaching is as good in numeracy as it is in literacy.

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Annex B

I am sure you will help by continuing to behave outstandingly and always doing your best. I wish you well for the future.

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