Hutton Cranswick Community Primary School

Hutton Cranswick Community Primary School Inspection report

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117855 Unique Reference Number East Riding of Yorkshire Local Authority 326699 Inspection number 18 September 2008 Inspection date Carole Cressey 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 0 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 Mrs Janet Minns Chair Mr Paul Beeston Headteacher 1 October 2005 Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous funded early education inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous childcare inspection The Green School address Hutton Cranswick East Riding of Yorkshire YO25 9PD 01377 270482 Telephone number

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4–11 Age group 18 September 2008 Inspection date 326699 Inspection number 01377 271626 Fax number

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4–11 Age group 18 September 2008 Inspection date 326699 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. 3 of 11 Inspection Report: Hutton Cranswick Community Primary School, 18 September 2008

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Introduction

This was a reduced tariff inspection carried out by one Additional Inspector. The inspector evaluated the overall effectiveness of the school and investigated the following issues:

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Introduction

■ whether strategies to improve standards in writing are effective in accelerating learning and ensuring that all pupils do well enough ■ whether pupils know precisely how to improve their writing.

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Introduction

Evidence was gathered from the school’s own assessment data and other school documentation, observations of teaching and learning, the way that pupils interact with each other and their response to what is provided for them, parents’ questionnaires and discussions with staff. Other aspects of the school's work were not investigated in detail. The inspector found that the judgements made in the school’s self-evaluation form were justified and these have been included where appropriate in this report.

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Description of the school

This small village school serves the village of Hutton Cranswick and the surrounding rural area. The school has Early Years Foundation Stage provision. Most pupils are from White British heritage. The proportion of pupils entitled to free school meals is well below average. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is below average; the number of pupils with a statement of special educational need is above average.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Hutton Cranswick Community Primary School, 18 September 2008

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Grade: 2

This is a good school. The headteacher’s exceptional leadership and management have ensured that the school has made very good improvement since the last inspection. As a result, some aspects of the school’s work are now outstanding. The headteacher’s commitment, energy and determination to provide the best education possible are shared by an effective governing body. Together, they accurately judge the school’s strengths and weaknesses and know what needs to be done to ensure continued improvement. The success of these actions also shows that the school has an excellent potential to make further improvements. The school’s success can be seen by its popularity in the local community, the number of pupils who attend the school from outside the immediate catchment area and the warm way the school welcomes all pupils, including pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. An overwhelming majority of parents speak very highly of the school and the following comment

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Grade: 2

is typical of many: ‘My daughter loves school, her needs and talents are recognised and supported so that she has the room to flourish in a caring school community. We are very lucky to have this school with its outstanding staff in our village.’ Leadership rigorously monitors the quality of the different aspects of the school’s work. This ensures that teaching is consistently good and often outstanding. It also results in a very stimulating and rich curriculum and very high quality care. Procedures for safeguarding pupils’ welfare and health and safety are in line with statutory requirements. As a result, the majority of pupils consistently reach the standards expected of them and a significant number exceed them. In this rich environment, pupils also develop a love of learning and an exceptionally mature understanding of their responsibility for themselves, each other, their village and the wider community.

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Grade: 2

Achievement is good. Children start school with levels of development which are broadly typical for their ages and abilities. Progress is good in the Reception class and by the time children move into Year 1 the majority are reaching the expected level in their learning goals. They continue to progress well in Key Stage 1, where standards by the end of Year 2 are above average. The school has worked hard to ensure that the momentum is maintained in Key Stage 2 and, consequently, pupils continue to work hard and achieve well especially in reading, mathematics, and science. In the 2007 national tests at the end of Year 6, standards in these subjects were well above average and the school exceeded its challenging targets. The majority of pupils reached the expected levels and over half reached the higher levels. Standards in writing were not as high as in other subjects and pupils did not achieve well enough. Provisional

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Grade: 2

results for 2008 indicate a similar picture. Senior staff have worked hard alongside colleagues to raise the quality of the teaching and learning in writing. As a result, although this is not yet reflected in the latest provisional 2008 test results, standards in writing are beginning to improve across the school and more pupils are reaching the expected and higher levels for their ages. Staff have skilfully implemented a wide range of very effective strategies to accelerate progress. For example, every classroom has a range of prompts and ideas to enable pupils to be successful writers. Opportunities to write in other subjects, interesting topics such as ‘Born in the USA’, the use of drama, information and communication technology (ICT), and ‘memorable visits’ are all used to motivate both boys and girls to want to write. Teachers carefully model new learning, provide opportunities for pupils to practise new skills, and set tasks which are varied, fun and

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Grade: 2

interesting. However, the school does not yet have an effective enough system to provide pupils with clear guidance on how they can improve their writing, move onto the next steps in 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Hutton Cranswick Community Primary School, 18 September 2008 their learning or reach the targets their teachers have set for them. Staff do not always use opportunities to assess pupils’ writing in other subjects, to help spot underachievement or provide additional challenge. Pupils’ personal development, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding. They respond extremely well to the wealth of opportunities the school provides. These include learning two European languages, gaining a music qualification, studying wildlife at first hand, in addition to the emphasis on the basic skills of literacy, numeracy, and ICT. This ensures that, by the time pupils leave the school, they have all the necessary tools to be

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Grade: 2

successful young citizens capable of taking full advantage of the next stages in their education. Pupils speak with confidence about the importance of personal safety and show a very good understanding of healthy lifestyles. They say they feel safe in school and state that they enjoy their lessons. This contributes to their good attendance. The school council takes its role very seriously. Pupils appreciate that tasks like maintaining the school garden, and buying resources such as the ‘bear bin’ for the pupils’ rubbish are important responsibilities. As one proud pupil said, ‘The look of the school is very important, especially if a new child is visiting!’. The superb range of enrichment activities adds significantly to pupils’ levels of confidence, self-esteem and enjoyment. They talk excitedly of visits where they have become archaeologists or evacuees. These visits have helped them with their lessons once they have returned to school. Pupils have

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Grade: 2

a very good understanding of cultures and faiths different from their own and recognise the importance of having respect and tolerance for everyone. The care of pupils is second to none. Staff are exceptionally supportive of those pupils who come to school with complex learning difficulties. This is greatly valued by the parents and carers of these pupils. They are delighted with the ease with which their children settle into school, the excellent progress they make towards their targets and the way they are able to take a full part in all the school has to offer. The headteacher, staff and governors are determined to continue to ensure that the school equips all pupils well for the challenges of the future. It offers good value for money.

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Grade: 2

Children start school with levels of development which are typical for their ages. Most children make good progress towards the learning goals expected for them. As a result, by the time children move into Year 1 the majority achieve the levels expected and a significant number exceed them. Parents are delighted that after only a short time their children have settled so quickly into school. They believe, rightly, that this is due to the well-planned visits in the summer term and the care and support that staff provide. The indoor and outdoor environments support and extend children’s spontaneous play well and promote their personal and social development extremely well. However, some of the resources, especially those which children choose for themselves, are in need of replacing. They are old and lacking in challenge and interest. The basic skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing and number are given a high

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Grade: 2

priority. After only three weeks in school, children confidently recognise letters and sounds, write their own names, label their pictures and enjoy counting and ordering numbers and shapes. Staff use the information from observations to pinpoint each child's progress and carefully identify the next steps in learning. As a result, children are well launched into reading, writing and number by the time they move into Year 1. Children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities are quickly identified and receive exceptionally sensitive support. This enables them to take a full a part as possible in the school community. 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Hutton Cranswick Community Primary School, 18 September 2008

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Provide more effective systems to ensure that pupils know how to improve their writing and also know how well they are doing in relation to their long term targets. ■ Assess pupils’ writing in other subjects to spot underachievement and the need for extra challenge to improve their writing. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Hutton Cranswick Community Primary School, 18 September 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. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: Hutton Cranswick Community Primary School, 18 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? 1 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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EYFS?

2 How well do children in the EYFS achieve? How good are the overall personal development and well-being of the children in the EYFS? 2 How effectively are children in the EYFS helped to learn and develop? 1 How effectively is the welfare of children in the EYFS promoted? 2 How effectively is provision in the EYFS led and managed?

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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 1 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: Hutton Cranswick Community Primary School, 18 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 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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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 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 2 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination eliminated 1 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: Hutton Cranswick Community Primary School, 18 September 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

19 September 2008 Dear Pupils Inspection of Hutton Cranswick Community Primary School, East Riding of Yorkshire, YO25 9PD Thank you so much for being so friendly and welcoming when I inspected your school a short while ago. I really enjoyed talking to you, especially the school council. I was so pleased to see how well behaved you are, how much you enjoy school and your learning, particularly when you visit all the very interesting places your teachers plan for you. Your school is making sure that you are all being very well prepared to be good citizens. I was impressed by how much you know about the many cultures, religions and traditions there are in our country and around the world. You also know how important it is that we all should respect each other’s way of life. You have an excellent understanding of aspects such as the importance of conserving the world’s resources. You are very sensible, caring and tolerant

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

young people. You all know the importance of eating sensible food and taking lots of exercise. Do keep that up because it is so important to staying healthy and fit. I could see by the work in your books and displays around the school that you are all working hard in your lessons and reaching high standards especially in reading, mathematics and science. Although you are all getting much better at writing you are not as good at this as you are at other subjects. In order to help you improve in writing, you need more help to know how well you are doing and what you need to do to improve your work further. This is not only in literacy lessons, but also when you write in other subjects such as history, geography or design technology. So try hard to understand what your teachers are telling you about how to improve your writing and then work hard to reach your new targets. You go to a good school where there are some excellent things happening and where your

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

headteacher and teachers make lessons fun and help you learn such a lot. I hope you will continue to enjoy school as much as you do now and that it will help you to become happy and successful adults. Yours sincerely Carole Cressey Lead inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Hutton Cranswick Community Primary School, 18 September 2008

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