Hindringham Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Increase pupils’ progress in reading by ensuring that:
  • there is a consistent approach to the teaching of systematic, synthetic phonics
  • reading books are organised in the same phonic sequence as the teaching of sounds
  • there is a clear purpose for pupils’ reading record books from Reception to Year 6
  • pupils know what to do when they come across words they do not understand in their reading.
• Continue to raise standards in reading, writing and mathematics in the early years by ensuring that children have frequent opportunities to practise using their early reading, writing and number skills and knowledge in the activities that they choose for themselves.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The executive headteacher and the federation deputy headteacher work together as a strong, effective team. Their determination, clear vision and high expectations for staff and pupils have ensured that recent changes in staff and pupil numbers have not affected the quality of education. For example, pupils’ outcomes have improved this year.
• The recently appointed senior teacher is rapidly learning the requirements of her new role. She is beginning to have an impact on developing the staff team, ensuring that the school is well managed when the executive headteacher and federation deputy headteacher are not in school.
• Teachers and teaching assistants say that they have regular, high-quality training that helps them to improve their practice. They particularly value the joint training with staff in the other three schools in the federation, which enables them to check that their expectations of what pupils can achieve are high enough.
• The SENCo has highly effective systems in place to identify and support those pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities. She talks with teachers weekly about any concerns they have and checks pupils’ individual education plans to make sure that any additional learning support is working. In addition to their general training, most teaching assistants have a specialism in one aspect of special educational needs, for example autism spectrum disorder. Consequently, they are confident in supporting pupils with this particular need, helping them to make good progress in their learning. The SENCo ensures that the school works effectively with external experts and specialist provision. For example, pupils are able to attend a specialist unit for speech and language difficulties.
• The curriculum is broad, balanced and each topic theme has a specific subject focus. Pupils have good opportunities to use their learning in mathematics and English within each topic theme. Pupils talk knowledgeably and enthusiastically about the subjects they study, for example, older pupils are fascinated by the many gods of the Anglo-Saxons. Pupils enjoy the wide range of visits and visitors that teachers arrange for them. During the inspection Year 6 were taking part in a live radio broadcast about a coastal project they have been helping with.
• Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain and for the next stage in their education. They take part in a wide range of community projects, including federation art exhibitions and concerts. These events enable pupils to mix with a larger number of pupils and build their confidence. One parent said, ‘I am amazed that my son was able to play a piano solo in front of all those people.’ Pupils move on to several different high schools. Senior leaders make sure that all pupils get sufficient induction days to enable them to feel happy about moving to a new and much larger school.
• Most parents who responded to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire for parents, and who met with the inspector are happy with the school and say that their children make good progress. A small minority of parents expressed concerns about leadership and management, bullying and the progress their children make. Inspection evidence does not support these concerns.
• Senior leaders have recognised that the teaching of phonics and reading is an issue for the school. It is clear in the school improvement plan that this is a priority. However, the actions to improve standards are not sufficiently sharply focused to increase pupils’ progress from their starting points.

Governance of the school

• Governance of the school is extremely effective.
• Governors have an exceptional knowledge and understanding of the quality of education offered by the school. They make regular and sharply focused visits to the school to check that they have an accurate picture of standards and behaviour.
• They keep a close eye on pupil premium and SEN spending. They provide robust, evidence-based reasons for why they use a high proportion of these funds to employ teaching assistants. They ensure that leaders use sports funding well to broaden pupils’ experience of a range of sports.
• Governors share the same high expectations for all pupils as the senior leaders. They talk knowledgably about the good progress pupils make from their starting points.
• Governors have a strong understanding of the potential risks to small schools. Consequently, they have recently given effective support to leaders in making and implementing difficult decisions about the staffing structure and reduction in the number of classes from the current three, to two classes from September 2018.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• All policies and procedures meet requirements.
• The school has robust and rigorous systems in place to ensure that pupils are safe. The federation deputy headteacher works with the senior teacher to make sure that any concerns are documented effectively.
• Staff receive regular and effective training. They all know precisely what to do if a pupil raises a concern and are confident to complete the required paperwork.
• Leaders work particularly well with external agencies and are tenacious in following up referrals to children’s social care.
• The school uses the ‘cluster parent support professional’ well to provide additional help to the most vulnerable families.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teachers plan interesting and engaging lessons that pupils enjoy. They have high expectations for what pupils can achieve by the end of a lesson and for how pupils present their written work in their books. Presentation was an issue at the last inspection and it is clear that pupils currently take a much greater pride in their work.
• The teaching of mathematics has improved this year due to the effective training teachers and teaching assistants have had. Standards are improving rapidly because of consistently good teaching.
• Teaching assistants give effective support to learning because they are well briefed regarding what pupils are expected to learn during lessons. They work well with a range of pupils, including those who have SEN and/or disabilities.
• The teaching of reading is not as effective because the school does not have a consistently systematic approach to the teaching of phonics. For example, the order in which sounds are taught does not correspond with the vocabulary that pupils come across in the reading books available to them.
• Leaders’ rationale for the use of reading record books is unclear. The books do not have a distinct purpose.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.
• Pupils love their school because, as one pupil said: ‘It’s small and I get on with everyone. There are lots of people to play with at break and there’s hardly any arguments.’
• Pupils show respect to each other and to adults throughout the school day. They say that there is no bullying of any kind and they are confident to talk to an adult if they have any concerns.
• There are exceptionally strong systems in place to enable pupils to talk about how they feel and why. Staff have daily ‘check-ins’ with identified pupils to ensure that they start the day well. They also ask them how well the day has gone at the end of the day.
• Attendance has improved this year due to the robust approach senior leaders and governors have taken to this issue, which has dogged the school for a number of years. There are still families who find getting their children to school on time every day difficult. Leaders have worked with these families consistently and effectively, with examples of considerable improvements in attendance over the last year.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Pupils’ behaviour is good in lessons because they find their work interesting and challenging.
• Pupils have lots of different equipment to play with during lunch and breaktimes. Most pupils are very active throughout and play well together. Teaching assistants and teachers often take part in pupils’ games and encourage them, for example, with the new balance balls, which were proving popular with older pupils during the inspection.
• There are strong systems in place to support pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties. Staff are trained in how to support these pupils and any incident of difficult behaviour is managed effectively with the least possible impact on other pupils.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• This is a very small school so making comparisons with national standards for all pupils must be treated with caution. Small schools may see a wide variation in their results over time due to the effect that one or two pupils can have on the school average. However, it is possible to evaluate the progress pupils make from their starting points.
• Pupils in both key stages 1 and 2 make good progress in writing, spelling, punctuation, grammar and mathematics. Progress is better this year due to consistently good teaching. The school’s own data indicates that in 2018, more pupils in Year 2 will achieve greater depth in writing and mathematics and, in Year 6, more pupils will achieve the higher standard in writing, spelling, punctuation, grammar and mathematics than in 2017.
• Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities and disadvantaged pupils make good and sometimes accelerated progress because of the good provision they receive.
• Due to the lack of a consistently systematic approach to how reading is taught, fewer pupils are achieving at or above the expected standard in key stages 1 and 2 than in other subjects.

Early years provision Good

• Children start the early years with a range of different abilities. They settle in rapidly and make good progress due to good teaching and the good curriculum. Consequently, children are ready to start Year 1.
• The federation early years leader provides good leadership and support to the early years teacher. There is a federation early years curriculum, based on a four-year cycle of different themes, that ensures that all the areas of learning are covered. The early years teacher can vary the themes if children have a particular interest they would like to follow. For example, this year, cats are a great favourite.
• Children behave well inside and outside the classroom because they enjoy the learning activities planned by the teacher. There is excellent provision for their personal development and welfare. The classroom and outside area are safe and children feel safe to learn and play with their friends in Years 1 and 2.
• The federation early years leader has strong systems in place to liaise with early years providers and parents so children are confident to start school. For example, home visits take place before children start Reception and there are several opportunities for parents and children to visit the classroom.
• Teaching is consistently good in the early years. The teacher ensures that there is an effective balance between teacher-led, direct teaching of key knowledge and skills, such as number skills, and giving children opportunities to choose from a wide range of learning activities inside and outside the classroom.
• The federation early years leader has recently suggested that teachers monitor the impact of child-selected activities on their learning in reading, writing and mathematics. She has recognised that there are not sufficient opportunities for children to apply the skills they have learned in these areas of learning when they choose their own activities. This is at an early stage of implementation and remains an area for improvement.
• There are some useful videos on the school website illustrating how sounds are taught. However, because there is not a consistent approach to the teaching of phonics with reading books aligned to each phonic stage, children do not make sufficiently rapid progress in learning to read.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 121086 Norfolk 10053884 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 Voluntary controlled 5 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 43 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Executive headteacher Telephone number Website Email address John Burrows Mary Dolan 01328 878323 www.hindringham.norfolk.sch.uk head@hindringham.norfolk.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 17−18 September 2014

Information about this school

• The school is a very small primary school.
• The school is part of a four-school federation, The Pilgrim Federation. There is an executive headteacher and a federation deputy headteacher who work across all four schools. There is a senior teacher who manages each school when the executive headteacher and deputy headteacher are not in the school. There is one governing body for the federation.
• There has been considerable turbulence in staffing over the past two years.
• The school does not have enough pupils in Year 6 to generate national data on whether or not the school meets the current government floor standards, which set minimum requirements for attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.
• Most pupils are of White British heritage.
• A lower-than-average proportion of pupils are eligible for free school meals and pupil premium funding.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is above average. A lower- than-average proportion of pupils have a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care plan.

Information about this inspection

• Meetings were held with the executive headteacher, the federation’s deputy headteacher, SENCo and early years leader, groups of pupils, parents, teachers, support staff, members of the federation governing body, a representative of the local authority and the diocesan education adviser.
• The inspector scrutinised pupils’ written work in mathematics, English and foundation subjects in key stages 1 and 2, and learning journals in Reception.
• A wide range of documentation was examined, including safeguarding procedures, attendance records, the school’s own assessment information, the most recent school self-evaluation document and the current school improvement plan.
• The inspector observed teaching in all classes. All visits to classrooms were made jointly with the executive headteacher or federation deputy headteacher.
• The inspector scrutinised 14 responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire, and nine text messages from parents. There were 10 responses to the staff questionnaire. There were no responses to the pupil questionnaire.

Inspection team

Julie Winyard, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector