Hart Plain Infant School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment in mathematics so that all groups of pupils, including girls and disadvantaged pupils, make rapid progress by ensuring that:
  • existing good classroom practice is shared consistently across school
  • misconceptions are addressed quickly to make the most of pupils’ learning
  • all teachers have high expectations of pupils’ work, including its presentation.
• Improve attendance by reducing lateness and persistent absence among disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• Improve the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in phonics so that it is line with others nationally.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The headteacher and other senior leaders provide a clear vision and direction for the school. They identify the school’s priorities accurately and are very focused on checking that improvements have been made. This demonstrates the school’s strong capacity to secure further improvements.
• Leaders provide regular training for teachers, which is closely linked to their performance management targets. They monitor teachers’ performance rigorously, using the teachers’ standards as well as the school’s priorities for improving pupils’ progress.
• The skills of middle leaders, some of whom are new, have been enhanced through effective support from the local authority. As a result, middle leaders monitor pupils’ progress skilfully to put in place support for those falling behind in their learning.
• Leaders use the allocated pupil premium funding wisely. Consequently, the gaps between the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and that of others are diminishing rapidly. However, some disadvantaged pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities do not achieve as well as others. The additional support put in place for them is having a positive impact on their progress.
• The curriculum is well adapted for different groups of pupils. It effectively prepares pupils for life in modern Britain. The school’s values of courage, happiness, aspirations, integrity and respect (‘chair’) promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. For example, the whole-school assembly on ‘marvellous manners’ reinforced the value of being respectful and polite to others.
• The physical education and sports funding is used to promote pupils’ physical health and well-being and to coach teachers to lead sports activities.

Governance of the school

• Members of the governing body know the school’s strengths and have a clear and accurate view of what the school needs to do to improve. They share the headteacher’s vision and high expectations for pupils and want all pupils to succeed.
• Governors provide strong challenge and appropriate support to the headteacher and senior leaders to hold them to account for improving the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement. They keep themselves up to date with national changes in education.
• Governors fulfil their role in managing performance well. An effective system of performance management is in place and there are effective links between the school’s priorities and performance-related pay.
• Governors are knowledgeable about the use of pupil premium funding and the impact it is having on pupils’ achievement.
• The governing body ensures that statutory duties are met, including those relating to safeguarding. The governor responsible for health and safety makes regular monitoring visits to ensure that the procedures for safeguarding pupils are fully implemented.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. The headteacher is the designated safeguarding person and ensures that all confidential information is stored safely.
• Staff have a very good awareness of the signs and symptoms of abuse and the child protection procedures to be followed in the event of an incident. They know that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility and make sure to discuss any children causing concern in their meetings.
• The single central record is compliant and all records relating to safeguarding are fully up to date.
• Children learn how to keep themselves safe from danger and learn about online safety. They know that they can approach any adult working in school if they need help.
• The mid-day supervisors are clear about safeguarding procedures and see health and safety as a priority.
• The attendance officer works closely with families and pursues any absences, especially of vulnerable pupils, routinely to ensure that they are safe.
• One parent commented, ‘I feel my child is safe and secure in the school’.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teaching is now good, representing an improvement since the school’s last inspection. As a result, a higher proportion of pupils are on track to reach the expected standards and some to exceed them in reading and writing and mathematics. However, some less-able disadvantaged pupils are not making rapid progress by the time they leave Year 2.
• Classrooms are well organised with displays and prompts to support pupils’ learning, particularly in spelling and vocabulary.
• The teaching of reading is good. The school’s arrangements to ‘adopt a reader’ means all pupils get a chance to read to an adult even if they have not been heard at home. The success of this is evident in the way pupils demonstrate a love for reading and are keen to read. They use a range of methods to work out the meaning of unfamiliar words. For example, during a small-group reading session, a Year 1 pupil read the word ‘brilliant’ by sounding out letters and blending them together.
• Lessons are well planned and teachers set clear tasks for various ability groups.
• Teaching assistants effectively support those pupils who start to fall behind and help them to improve their learning.
• The proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard and those working at greater depth in writing is rising. This is the result of a focus by the leadership team on ensuring that pupils know how to make improvements in their written work. Most-able pupils use a thesaurus to look for alternative expressions while editing their own work. As pupils make progress, they are able to use increasingly sophisticated language. However, not all pupils take pride in their work by improving its presentation consistently. Leaders are aware of this area of development and have identified this as a priority.
• The teaching of mathematics is improving and teachers show pupils how they should approach and solve problems. For example, pupils are taught how to break down a problem into small stages and this contributes to good progress in mathematics. However, in some lessons teachers are not quick to spot and address misconceptions. This results in slower progress for some pupils.
• Lower-ability disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities receive additional support from the special educational needs coordinator and from teaching assistants. These pupils are given carefully planned tasks that are designed to meet their specific learning needs. As a result, they approach learning activities with increased confidence. The coordinator monitors their progress carefully to check what is working well.
• Teachers use visits to enrich learning. In Year 2, following a visit to the historic dockyard in Portsmouth, a pupil wrote, ‘HMS Warrior was the largest ship but it never went to war.’ He went on to describe vividly the plight of workers and the squalid conditions for men who sailed in the ship in 1860.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Pupils are friendly and express themselves clearly and confidently. They care about their school and about each other. Special helpers take responsibility for stacking chairs after attending the assembly to make the area safe for themselves and to help others in moving around safely.
• Pupils’ emotional well-being is developed successfully through the nurture groups which support them in managing changes in their lives by developing their trust and self-esteem.
• Pupils learn from a young age to share and take turns through the range of activities provided indoors and outdoors. For example, in one lesson pupils shared their feelings about which place is special to them. They valued others’ opinions as one child said, ‘my house’, whereas another pupil said, ‘a vet’s surgery’. Their positive attitudes to learning make a strong contribution to the good progress they make.
• Pupils are clear about different kinds of bullying and know how to keep themselves safe online. They say that there have been some incidents of bullying, but they know how to report this as such incidents are firmly dealt with by adults in the school.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils help and encourage one another as they play outside during breaks and lunchtimes.
• The calm environment supports the good behaviour and learning of all pupils. For example, pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities have a very good relationship with the adults, who know them well. Adults provide short-term focused support to help them sustain their levels of concentration and make good progress.
• Levels of attendance, although improving for some groups, are below average and some pupils are persistently late for school in the morning. ‘Timekeeping Ted’, who visits the playground at the beginning of the session to meet and greet children, and weekly rewards for pupils who win the attendance challenge are beginning to have a positive impact on pupils’ attendance and punctuality. However, more work needs to be done to engage the families of some disadvantaged pupils and those pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities to improve their attendance.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Leaders have put in place a robust system of tracking pupils’ progress from their starting points. They regularly identify the strengths, weaknesses and next steps to improve outcomes for all pupils. The school’s assessment information and the work in pupils’ books show that pupils currently at the school are making good progress in a range of subjects.
• In 2016, the proportion of pupils in Year 2 achieving the expected standard in reading, writing and science was in line with the national average. However, their overall attainment was weaker in mathematics than in any other subject.
• This year, the school’s own assessment information shows a significant improvement in the standards achieved by pupils in reading, writing, mathematics and science. The proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard and those reaching greater depth is higher than last year’s national average in these subjects. However, in mathematics girls and lower-ability disadvantaged pupils do not do as well. Teachers are aware of this and track small steps in these pupils’ progress carefully.
• In 2016, in Year 1, the proportion of pupils achieving the expected standard in phonics was broadly in line with the national average. This year, the attainment of pupils is affected by higher proportion of pupils entering the school other than at normal times in Year 1 and a higher proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Leaders are aware of this and have put in place additional support to make the most of pupils’ learning. Consequently, these pupils are beginning to use their phonic skills more effectively when reading.
• The most able pupils, including the most able disadvantaged, make good progress. The proportion of pupils on track to achieve greater depth by the end of Year 2 is above last year’s national average in combined reading, writing and mathematics.
• Disadvantaged pupils make good progress across the year groups in reading, writing and science. In reading, their progress is sometimes better than that of their classmates. However, in mathematics the proportion of disadvantaged pupils on track to achieve the expected standard and greater depth is below that seen for other pupils nationally. As a result of careful tracking of their progress, leaders have put additional support in place to help pupils understand mathematical vocabulary. As a result, pupils are making gains in their learning.
• The strong provision for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities ensures that they make good progress from their starting points.

Early years provision Good

• Most children start school in the Reception class with knowledge and skills below those typical for their age. They make good, and sometimes better, progress from their starting points, including those who are disadvantaged and the most able. Consequently, children are well prepared for Year 1.
• At the end of Reception, the proportion of pupils achieving a good level of development over the last three years has been above the national average. This year, too, the current cohort of pupils is on track to do well.
• The leadership of the early years is effective. Standards in the early years have remained above average because adults share high expectations of what children can achieve, particularly those starting with limited skills.
• The attendance officer plays a significant role in engaging with families of vulnerable children to ensure that they attend school regularly and on time. This is having a positive impact on parents’ involvement in the education of their children right from the start. Parents said that their children are settled and are making good progress by attending the school regularly.
• Teachers plan a rich variety of interesting learning activities both indoors and outdoors to develop children’s skills in all areas of learning and to promote the rapid acquisition of writing and number skills. For example, in one lesson children made a list of things a pirate should have. They wrote words such as ‘eye-patch’, written as ‘I pach’, by using their growing knowledge of sounds. Some children looked for individual letters from the letters card to use them. For example, a child looked for ‘d’ to use at the end of ‘beard’.
• Adults engage well with children, asking relevant questions and providing suitable challenge. While reading a story about pirates, the teacher asked children the meaning of the word ‘cutlass’. A child said, ‘It is like a sword.’ The teacher extended the knowledge of all children by asking them how they can find the meaning of the word using an electronic tablet. Children were able to use a well-known search engine and smiled happily when they actually saw a cutlass on the screen, looking like a sword.
• Children behave well and treat each other with respect. For example, outside they readily shared tools while pouring water over the water wheel or while looking for the ‘hidden treasure’.
• Additional funding to support children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is used effectively. During the inspection, a teaching assistant managed to sustain a child’s concentration by talking to him about the discarded electric switches he was opening with a screwdriver. She had due regard for the child’s safety by making sure he held the screwdriver properly and did not walk away to another activity holding it in his hand.

School details

Unique reference number 115966 Local authority Hampshire Inspection number 10024526 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Infant School category Community Age range of pupils 4 to 7 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 153 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Steve Furby Headteacher Ruth Kenny Telephone number 02392 262511 Website www.hartplaininfants.co.uk Email address adminoffice@hartplain-inf.hants.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 10–11 December 2014

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• Hart Plain is an average-sized school.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is below the national average.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported by the pupil premium is above the national average, which is a change from the previous inspection.
• There have been significant changes in staffing since the previous inspection.

Information about this inspection

• The inspectors met with the headteacher, senior leadership team, members of the governing body, including the chair, and had a telephone conversation with the adviser from the local authority.
• The inspectors also had informal discussions with parents to seek their views of the school.
• The inspectors carried out joint observations on teaching and learning both indoors and outside and looked at examples of pupils’ work.
• Inspectors spoke to the children and heard them read.
• Inspectors also reviewed a range of documentation including the single central record, the school’s self-evaluation and records of progress that children make.
• The inspectors also took account of 26 responses to the Ofsted questionnaire completed by parents, the school’s own survey of parents’ views and 19 questionnaires completed by staff.

Inspection team

Kusum Trikha, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector Jon Hills Ofsted Inspector