Holme Valley Primary School

Holme Valley Primary School Inspection report

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117811 Unique Reference Number North Lincolnshire Local Authority 326688 Inspection number 23–24 September 2008 Inspection dates Amraz Ali 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 4–11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 283 School (total) 0 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 Mr Edward McCabe Chair Mrs Judith Moorhouse Headteacher 1 February 2006 Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous funded early education inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous childcare inspection Timberland School address Bottesford Scunthorpe North Lincolnshire DN16 3SL 01724 842152 Telephone number 01724 842152 Fax number

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4–11 Age group 23–24 September 2008 Inspection dates 326688 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: Holme Valley Primary School, 23–24 September 2008

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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

This school has grown rapidly over recent years and is now larger than average. It serves the community of Bottesford which is to the south east of Scunthorpe. The area has both owner occupied and local authority housing. Almost all pupils are White British and around 5% are from minority ethnic groups and speak English as an additional language. The number with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is below average as is the proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals. Many pupils leave and join the school at times other than that normally expected. This is mainly the consequence of new housing that has been built close to the school. The school has an enviable list of awards including the National Healthy Schools Award, Activemark, Artsmark Gold, Basic Skills Agency Quality Mark, Inclusion Quality Award, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Mark and the International School Award.

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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: Holme Valley Primary School, 23–24 September 2008

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Grade: 2

Holme Valley Primary is a good school where pupils make outstanding progress in their personal development and well-being. This has helped to make this a very cohesive and inclusive school community. The school provides a good quality of education and good value for money. Pupils’ achievement is good. Their skills and knowledge when they enter the school at age 4 are varied but are generally in line with what is typically expected. However, up to a third of pupils join the school at other times and their attainment on entry to the school is often below that of their peers. A similar number leave the school before the end of Key Stage 2. By the end of Year 2, although standards are broadly average, few reach the higher Level 3, particularly in writing. Teachers’ assessments for Year 6 pupils in 2008 and provisional test results indicate a marked improvement, particularly in mathematics, where an impressive number reached the

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Grade: 2

higher Level 5. Progress is particularly rapid for those pupils who have recently joined the school, those who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities and for the small number who have English as an additional language. For the majority of pupils this represents good achievement from their starting points. The quality of teaching and learning is good overall but it ranges from satisfactory to outstanding. Some is of high quality and effectively accelerates the progress pupils make and they achieve well. Work is well planned to meet the full range of pupils’ abilities. However, this is not the always the case. In some lessons tasks do not always match closely enough to the needs of all learners with the result that on occasions some pupils are not challenged enough. Good relationships between staff and pupils along with pupils’ very good attitudes enhance learning and their progress. Pupils enjoy learning and are proud of their work and achievements.

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Grade: 2

Strong teamwork and good care, guidance and support help pupils to achieve high levels of personal success and develop as very well motivated, confident, and caring individuals. The curriculum is good and is enriched by an excellent range of visits, music, sports and after-school activities. The school has recently reorganised the curriculum to include a topic based approach. This is already providing meaningful links between subjects and pupils say they enjoy this. A particularly strong feature is the use of ICT. Interactive whiteboards are used to make learning interesting and good use is made of the computer suite where pupils practise their ICT skills in different subjects. There are good relationships with parents, who are very supportive of the school. Leadership and management are good. Through a period of staff change and increasing pupil numbers, the headteacher has provided particularly strong leadership, in order to enhance provision and

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Grade: 3

The quality of provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage is satisfactory. Children are happy, settled and enjoy coming to school and their parents are overwhelmingly supportive. They enter the Reception class from a variety of settings with skills and knowledge which are generally in line with expectations. They make satisfactory progress and most are working at the expected level by the time they are ready to join Year 1. A strength of the teaching can be seen in the good progress which children make in their personal, social and emotional development, where their behaviour and attitudes to learning are good. Children are involved in a variety of 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Holme Valley Primary School, 23–24 September 2008 appropriate indoor and outdoor activities and confidently work and play together. For example, when investigating fruit as part of ‘British Food Fortnight’, children used their senses to describe

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Grade: 3

taste and texture with words such as ‘prickly’, ‘sour’ and ‘red ones are spicy’. However there are insufficient opportunities to allow children to develop their independence, curiosity and imagination because many activities and discussions are adult led, and children sometimes sit for too long. Some planned activities lack focus and do not always challenge. Opportunities for the development of mathematical ideas are underdeveloped and as a consequence pupils are not making as much progress as they could in this area of their learning. The Early Years Foundation Stage is led and managed satisfactorily by a team of teachers and teaching assistants who work closely together to ensure that children get off to a secure start.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Improve the provision for and progress of pupils in mathematical development in the Early Years Foundation Stage. ■ Improve the standards of more able pupils in Key Stage 1, particularly in writing.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Improve the quality of teaching so that more of it is consistently good or better particularly in providing greater challenge for pupils of all levels.

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Grade: 2

Pupils’ achievement is good. Although children’s skills on entry to the school are broadly in line with expectation, a significant number of pupils join the school at other times with skill levels that are below expectation. From their starting points the majority of pupils achieve well and standards are rising. By the end of Year 2 pupils reach standards that are broadly average in reading, writing and mathematics, although few reach the higher Level 3, particularly in writing. In the 2007 National Curriculum tests at the end of Year 6, pupils performed well in English and mathematics, with good results in science which were above average. The 2008 Key Stage 2 unvalidated test results, pupils’ work and teachers’ assessments indicate that standards are continuing to improve, with good progress evident. Almost all pupils met or exceeded their challenging targets and for all groups this represents good achievement overall.

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Grade: 2

The school is particularly effective in securing good progress for pupils who join the school other than at the usual times and for the small number who have English as an additional language. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities receive effective support and make good progress.

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Grade: 1

Pupils thoroughly enjoy school and they work and play with great enthusiasm and confidence. They relish the many different sporting opportunities and extra-curricular clubs such as first aid, athletics and recorders. Most tellingly, they appreciate the link between hard work and success when some say ‘In the juniors you realise you need to work hard at school so you can do well at High School’. They behave very well and demonstrate empathy towards new children in school, encouraging them to do their best. Lunchtimes are especially pleasant occasions where pupils enjoy a range of healthy eating options. The school council’s outstanding contribution fully represents pupils’ views and has been very effective by, for example, organising collections for charity and suggesting new extra-curricular clubs. They articulate their ideas clearly and are fully aware of their responsibilities to the whole school community. Pupils’

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Grade: 1

5 of 11 Inspection Report: Holme Valley Primary School, 23–24 September 2008 spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding. Pupils have a sensitive appreciation of other cultures and countries, studying a range of languages including Mandarin, and they have a strong sense of human rights, social justice and the importance of health. Pupils say that they enjoy school and everything that it has to offer and this is reflected in the well above average attendance rates. Children at Holme Valley are well prepared for their future lives.

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Grade: 2

The quality of teaching and learning is good overall. In the very best lessons, pupils are fully engaged and their achievement is outstanding. Pupils are given opportunities for collaboration, cooperation and independent work. Tasks are varied to enable all learners to succeed. Skilful work by teaching assistants often supports the learning well. In these lessons there is a genuine buzz from pupils who exude enthusiasm for learning. For example in a history lesson children were valued for asking interesting questions, and thinking logically about work related to the Second World War. In a Year 1 physical education lesson, the teacher engaged the children with an exciting and innovative approach to dance from another culture, whilst ensuring that children were made aware of links to other subjects. In some lessons however, learning is not the dominant feature, and teaching assistants are not always used to best effect. Tasks

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Grade: 2

sometimes lack appropriate challenge thus limiting progress. Homework is used effectively to promote good achievement. Pupils agree that the homework given is useful and helps them to progress in their learning.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is broad and balanced and enables pupils to study a good range of subjects and themes. Cross-curricular activities enhance their learning and make links between subjects. Pupils say that they enjoy this topic approach. For example Year 6 pupils stated that they had enjoyed finding out and writing about the Vikings. The curriculum also makes an excellent contribution to pupils’ awareness of staying safe and adopting healthy lifestyles. For example all pupils are taught pedestrian road safety skills and cycling skills are taught in Year 6. The provision for ICT has continued to improve since the previous inspection and remains a significant strength of the school. It is used widely in many subjects, adding interest and excitement to lessons. There is also an exceptional range of educational outings and extra-curricular activities, which the pupils support with enthusiasm. Pupils generally achieve well in subjects across the curriculum and have good opportunities to

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Grade: 2

practise and improve their literacy, mathematical and ICT skills across the curriculum.

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Grade: 2

The school takes very good care of its pupils. There are well developed systems to ensure their welfare, including effective partnerships with parents and outside agencies. Procedures to safeguard pupils and to ensure their safety are in place. There are effective systems in place to identify those pupils who need extra help with their work. Good support is provided for vulnerable pupils. Those who are new to the school are welcomed and well inducted into school 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Holme Valley Primary School, 23–24 September 2008 routines and settle quickly. The small number of pupils who are at the early stage of learning English are effectively supported and this ensures that they make good progress. The school has provided particularly effective guidance to parents on the value of going to school regularly and this is reflected in the impressive attendance of pupils. Academic guidance is good overall. Pupils’ progress is tracked from year-to-year and pupils

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Grade: 2

are set challenging learning targets. ‘Big Write’ targets have been introduced which are helping pupils to identify what they need to do next to improve their writing. However, the quality and detail of marking is inconsistent across the school.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management of the school at all levels are good. The headteacher’s leadership has been particularly successful in creating a shared vision where every child matters and staff work hard to do their best for the pupils. The school’s contribution to creating a cohesive community is good. Achievement has improved during a period of staffing change and increasing pupil numbers. Teaching is effective. As a result, pupils make good progress in their learning and excellent progress in their personal development. Middle leaders are effective and have worked well in partnership with others to improve the curriculum; for example the good links with a local secondary school are used well to provide Mandarin Chinese lessons. The school uses effective tracking processes to check pupils’ progress towards their challenging targets. Governors and senior leaders have an accurate knowledge of the school’s strengths and areas

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Grade: 2

for improvement. They are ambitious for the school and eager to improve outcomes for all pupils, although their evaluation of some aspects of the school’s work is overgenerous. Nevertheless, the commitment of all staff and the impact of recent improvements, such as improvements in attendance and mathematics in Key Stage 2 demonstrate that the school has good capacity to improve further. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Holme Valley Primary School, 23–24 September 2008 .

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Grade: 2

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: Holme Valley Primary School, 23–24 September 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? 2 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

2 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 2 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: Holme Valley Primary School, 23–24 September 2008

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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 The extent to which 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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learners' needs?

How well do the curriculum and other activities meet the range of needs and interests of learners? 2 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 2 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 3 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 2 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination eliminated 2 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: Holme Valley Primary School, 23–24 September 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

25 September 2008 Dear Pupils Inspection of Holme Valley Primary School, North Lincolnshire, DN16 3SL Thank you all so much for making my colleagues and me feel very welcome when we inspected your school recently. We were there to find out how well you are all learning. We talked to many of you during the two days we were at Holme Valley and you were keen to tell us all about your school. This letter is to tell you about the main things that we found. We talked to teachers, looked at your work and at your recent assessments we could see that most of you are now making good progress and that yours is a good school. You are all very well behaved and extremely good at welcoming new pupils into your school. This is a very good thing because you regularly get new pupils joining and you help them to settle very quickly. You are all very well cared for and those of you who need extra care or extra help with your work get it and this helps you to make good progress.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

The youngest pupils are very well cared for. They get lots of help with their work and get off to a sound start with their learning, but they do not always do as well as they could in their mathematical development and we have asked their teachers to improve this. The headteacher, staff and governors are determined that you will get the very best possible education. We have identified some ways in which they can make things even better for you. We have asked them to help more pupils to reach higher levels by the time they leave Year 2, especially in writing. We have asked them to make sure that some of the teaching is made even better. I know that you will want to do your bit to help. You can do this by continuing to work very hard and behave well, which I know you can do. Yours sincerely Amraz Ali Her Majesty’s Inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Holme Valley Primary School, 23–24 September 2008

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