Sir Edmund Hillary Primary and Nursery School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment in order to accelerate the progress pupils make by ensuring that teachers:
  • have the highest expectations of what all pupils can achieve, making their expectations clear so that pupils of all abilities know how to succeed
  • make better use of assessment information to intervene quickly when pupils need additional support or when they are ready to move on to more difficult work
  • provide more challenging tasks so that the most able pupils deepen their knowledge, skills and understanding in a range of subjects
  • make effective use of resources to enable pupils to understand the ideas being taught
  • fully implement the school’s strategy for improving pupils’ comprehension and inference skills.
• Improve the quality of leadership and management by:
  • further developing the curriculum so that pupils have the opportunity to excel
  • making even better use of the pupil premium funding to improve disadvantaged pupils’ attendance and to support those disadvantaged pupils who are capable of reaching the higher standards
  • ensuring that the website provides parents with all the information they require.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The headteacher, very ably supported by the deputy headteacher, has an accurate view of the strengths of the school and what needs to be done to improve it further. They have ensured that the school’s ethos of caring for pupils has remained at the heart of their work, while focusing sharply on improving the quality of provision because this had declined since the previous inspection.
• The headteacher has a clear vision for improving the work of the school. He has been systematic in his approach. He is aspirational for pupils to do well and for staff to provide a high-quality education. He readily acknowledges that there have been significant improvements in teaching and outcomes since his arrival, but there is still work to do to ensure consistency of provision across the school.
• The headteacher has restructured the leadership team. He has provided training for middle leaders so that they are able to undertake their responsibilities well. They are having an impact on improving the quality of teaching and ensuring that teachers are held to account for the progress pupils make.
• The coordinator for the provision for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities has been well supported by the deputy headteacher as she has become familiar with her role. She has ensured that any additional funding for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities has been carefully spent to enable staff to meet pupils’ different needs.
• Leaders are systematic in their management of teachers’ performance. Regular reviews are linked to teachers’ appraisal. Leaders provide teachers with training to improve their practice according to their individual needs.
• The curriculum is broad and balanced. Pupils study a range of subjects and enjoy trips to enhance their learning. Nevertheless, pupils’ books show that teachers are not adapting the curriculum content well enough for the most able pupils to enable them to excel across the curriculum.
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is a strength of the school. Leaders ensure that pupils learn about a range of cultures and religions. Pupils can learn to play an instrument or sing in the choir. During assembly, pupils were respectful as they reflected on how they would respond to unfamiliar situations.
• Leaders promote British values well. Pupils vote for classmates to represent them on the school council or as class representatives in the parent teacher association. They understand about the rule of law through having school rules. Pupils who spoke with inspectors demonstrated an understanding of equality that reflects the inclusive nature of the school. They are well prepared for life in modern Britain.
• The primary physical education (PE) and sport funding is used well to provide additional sporting opportunities for pupils and training for teachers.
• Leaders consider carefully the barriers to learning for disadvantaged pupils entitled to the pupil premium funding. This enables them to provide additional support for this group of pupils. They have not, however, made effective use of this funding to improve the rates of attendance of this group of pupils, nor to provide opportunities for the most able pupils in this group to excel. The attendance of disadvantaged pupils has been below the national average for three years and outcomes for the most able disadvantaged pupils remain low compared with those of other pupils.
• At the time of the inspection, the headteacher was in the process of creating a new website for the school. Several aspects of the original website had not been updated for some time.

Governance of the school

• There have been some changes to governance over recent months. The new chair of the governing body is familiarising himself quickly with the work of the school. Governors are ambitious for the school. They are determined to support the headteacher in his drive to further improve outcomes for pupils.
• Governors ensure that they have accurate information about the work of the school. They make visits to see the school in action and ensure that they receive information well in advance of meetings. This helps them to ask challenging questions and to hold the leadership team to account.
• Governors recently worked alongside staff, supported by the local authority, to undertake a review of the use of pupil premium funding. This has improved governors’ skills and understanding of the work of the school. It has given them a platform and structure to undertake further work of this nature.
• Governors understand their statutory duties and ensure that they carry them out diligently. They undertake the headteacher’s appraisal and review the performance of staff as a whole. The governing body is not afraid to take difficult decisions about staff pay, should these be necessary.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Leaders ensure that staff receive the most up-to-date training so they know how to raise a concern about a child’s welfare, should one arise. The headteacher ensures that records relating to child protection are detailed and securely kept.
• Leaders undertake the appropriate vetting checks on new staff and volunteers before they start working at the school.
• There is a strong culture of safeguarding throughout the school. Pupils say that they are safe in school. They are taught how to keep themselves safe, telling inspectors that they have recently been reminded of the importance of cycling safely now that the dark nights are drawing in. Pupils talk knowledgeably about how to keep themselves safe when they use the internet.
• Pupils are well supervised during playtimes and lunchtimes. Staff have received appropriate training to offer first-aid to pupils if it is required.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• The quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement because it is too variable across the school.
• The headteacher and deputy headteacher have provided teachers with training to improve their practice in the classroom. This has improved several aspects of teachers’ work. In some classes, however, teachers have not fully embedded the strategies that leaders have introduced. Some teachers do not use their professional skills well enough to adapt the strategies to meet the different learning needs of the pupils.
• Some teachers do not make effective use of resources to help pupils understand the ideas being taught. For example, if they provide words for pupils to refer to when they write, the text is sometimes too small for all pupils to read.
• Too often, teachers do not make effective use of assessment to adapt their teaching during the lesson. This means that they do not successfully address pupils’ misconceptions or step in quickly enough to move pupils to more difficult work as soon as they are ready. Occasionally, teachers do not make sure that their expectations of what pupils can do are high enough. This slows the progress pupils make. Pupils, particularly the most able, told inspectors that they would ‘relish a challenge’.
• Where the quality of teaching is stronger, teachers make their expectations clear and use their assessments of what pupils can already do to plan work that is just right for their next steps in learning. In these lessons, where this is the case, pupils are fully engaged.
• Teachers develop pupils’ vocabulary well. They use their strong subject knowledge to promote effectively pupils’ understanding. For example, one teacher’s clear explanation of different types of clauses enabled pupils to improve their use of punctuation. Another teacher enabled pupils to develop their understanding of fractions because she explained the method clearly. She ensured that she, and the teaching assistant, provided an appropriate level of support so pupils could succeed.
• Teaching assistants provide useful support to pupils, including those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, to allow them to learn well alongside their classmates where possible, or in smaller groups if appropriate.
• Pupils’ books show that teachers follow the school’s marking policy.
• Teachers set homework in line with the school’s policy. They take a positive approach and celebrate the work pupils complete.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Pupils’ books and displays demonstrate that they learn about how to stay safe and healthy. Across the school, pupils’ books are neatly presented, indicating that pupils take great pride in their work.
• Pupils who spoke with inspectors were highly respectful of people whose beliefs or lifestyles may be different from their own. They are developing a real understanding of equality and a sense of right and wrong.
• Pupils say that bullying is extremely rare. Leaders have taught pupils to say, ‘Can I have a word with you, please?’ to a member of staff if they are worried. This signals to the adult that the pupil has something of importance to share that should be listened to without delay. Pupils are confident that if any bullying did happen, an adult would deal with it successfully for them.
• Pupils have strong attitudes to learning. Their attention only wanders when teachers do not provide tasks that are sufficiently clear or engaging for them.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils are a credit to the school and to themselves. They move around school sensibly and without fuss. They hold doors open for each other and adults, politely waiting while others walk by. The school has a calm and purposeful atmosphere.
• In their interactions with each other and adults, pupils listen well and courteously consider each other’s ideas.
• Rates of attendance have been below the national average for three years. There are signs of improvement in pupils’ rates of attendance this year, as a result of actions taken by leaders. Some pupils, particularly those who are disadvantaged or who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, do not attend school regularly enough.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Following the last inspection, there was a significant decline in outcomes for pupils. Progress and attainment fell below those seen nationally in several subjects for several years. For example, by the end of Year 6 in 2016, the progress that pupils made in writing was in the bottom 10% nationally. In the same year, a lower than average proportion of Year 6 pupils achieved the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics combined.
• Provisional assessment information shows that fewer pupils achieved the higher standard than was seen nationally in each of reading, writing and mathematics in Year 6 by the end of 2017. No disadvantaged pupils achieved the higher standard in reading or writing.
• By the end of Year 6 in 2017, provisional data shows that pupils made better progress in each of reading, writing and mathematics than had been seen in 2016, with broadly average progress being seen in each subject. However, progress and attainment are variable across other year groups and subjects.
• The clear approach to tracking pupils’ progress has enabled leaders to identify precisely which groups of pupils need to catch up with their peers and which pupils are not attaining the expected standard for their age. This is enabling teachers to provide increasingly appropriate interventions and support for pupils. Disadvantaged pupils are making better progress, but school assessment information shows that this is not diminishing consistently the difference compared to other pupils nationally across subjects and year groups.
• By the end of key stage 1, in 2017, the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in each of reading, writing and mathematics was higher than that seen in 2016.
• Pupils’ books show that pupils currently in the school are making progress from their different starting points. This reflects leaders’ drive to raise the staff’s expectations of what pupils can achieve. However, books also show that the most able pupils are not always provided with work that enables them to excel across a range of subjects.
• Leaders have introduced a new approach to teaching phonics. This is paying dividends. In 2017, the proportion achieving the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics check was higher than the 2016 national average. This was a significant improvement on the previous two years’ results.

Early years provision Good

• Two members of staff jointly provide strong leadership of the early years provision. They work together very effectively to ensure that the setting for two-year-olds to the end of the Reception class provides a cohesive learning experience for children.
• Leaders have developed strong links with parents. They offer a home visit before children start at the setting. They provide sessions for parents to help them understand the teaching of phonics. Parents can contribute to the assessment of their child’s progress through the ‘wow’ box.
• Leaders have developed innovative ways of training the staff in early years. They learn from each other’s practice in order to improve their own.
• Adults have set clear routines for the children to follow. This helps the children to feel safe in school because they know what is expected of them. Children behave sensibly. They cooperate well with their friends, showing an interest in what each other is doing.
• Teachers plan learning that offers a wide range of stimulating activities for children. Children engage well with their learning because teachers ensure that learning links well together so that it makes sense. They provide the equipment they need to be independent. For example, the ‘autumn’ theme during the inspection saw children cutting onions for the hotdogs at a firework party, investigating pumpkins, making fire pictures from coloured tissue paper, and dressing up as fire officers with pretend hosepipes as they learned outdoors.
• Adults promote language well. As children were cutting onions, for example, the adult encouraged children to talk about the smell and the shape. Children cut their own onions, supported to use a knife in a safe environment, as they learned that they could be independent and trusted when they were careful.
• Displays promote aspiration. ‘Never give up’, ‘Who will you be?’ and ‘We are the children of the world’ greet children and visitors to early years.
• Provisional assessment shows that by the end of 2017, the proportion of children achieving a good level of development was just below that seen nationally. School information shows that children progress well from their different starting points. They are well prepared to start Year 1.

School details

Unique reference number 122605 Local authority Nottinghamshire Inspection number 10037617 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Community 2 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 472 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address David Warsop Chris Guest 01909 473982 www.siredmundhillary.notts.sch.uk head@siredmundhillary.notts.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 13 14 September 2012

Information about this school

• The school does not meet requirements on the publication of specified information on its website, for example in relation to the primary PE and sport funding and information about governors’ attendance at governing body meetings.
• This school is larger than the average-sized primary school.
• The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is much lower than the national average. Most pupils are of White British heritage.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is below average.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is below average.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations of pupils’ progress and attainment by the end of Year 6.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher, the deputy headteacher, the coordinator for the provision for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities and phase leaders, including for early years.
• Inspectors met with three members of the governing body, including the chair of the governing body, and held a telephone conversation with a representative of the local authority.
• Inspectors observed the learning in every class at least once. Some observations were undertaken jointly with the headteacher or deputy headteacher. Inspectors observed pupils during an assembly and as they moved around school between lessons.
• Inspectors spoke with parents as they brought their children to school. They spoke informally with pupils in lessons and at breaktime. They held a meeting with a group of six pupils and heard three pupils reading.
• Inspectors examined a range of pupils’ books with the deputy headteacher. They scrutinised a range of school documentation, including that relating to the school’s self-evaluation, improvement planning, outcomes for pupils and the safeguarding of pupils.
• Inspectors considered the 85 responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View. They also considered the 26 responses to the staff survey. There were no responses to the pupil survey.

Inspection team

Di Mullan, lead inspector Heather Hawkes Liz Moore

Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector