Hawthorns Primary School, Durrington Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve leadership and management by ensuring that:
  • leaders look more closely at what is being taught and learned in subjects other than English and mathematics
  • governors have the information and knowledge they need to fully hold leaders to account for the quality of pupils’ education
  • additional funding to improve outcomes for disadvantaged pupils and those who have SEN and/or disabilities is used more effectively.
• Improve the quality of teaching and pupils’ outcomes by ensuring that:
  • more key stage 2 pupils are writing at the expected standard
  • reading books are better suited to the needs of pupils, so they are not too easy or too difficult
  • a more balanced curriculum enables subjects such as science, history and geography to be taught more often
  • disadvantaged pupils, the most able, and those pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities make good or better progress.
• Improve pupils’ personal development and welfare by ensuring that attendance levels for all pupils improve and fewer pupils are persistently absent. An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved. An external review of the school’s use of the pupil premium should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management

Requires improvement

• Standards at the end of key stage 1 in reading, writing and mathematics have been declining for the last three years. Leaders have not taken decisive or quick enough action to raise standards, particularly in English.
• The curriculum is not as balanced as it should be. Leaders, over time, have not looked at the quality of teaching and learning in subjects other than English and mathematics. Subjects such as science, history and geography are not taught often enough.
• Leaders have some understanding of what the school does well and what it does not. However, leaders have taken a long time to get a system for tracking pupils’ progress in English and mathematics that they can understand and use effectively. As a result, leaders have not systematically or accurately evaluated the progress that groups of pupils, such as the most able, are making. Leaders’ information to governors for significant periods of time was not helpful, timely or accurate.
• Pupil premium funding is not used well enough. Leaders do not systematically evaluate the difference the additional funding is making to disadvantaged pupils’ progress. Leaders have only recently got a clear picture about the differences between the standards reached by disadvantaged pupils and their peers.
• Additional funding to improve outcomes for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is not spent consistently well. Some pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities thrive in the nurture provision. However, pupils make inconsistent progress, and exclusion rates for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities are too high.
• Extra-curricular activities have a positive impact on pupils’ personal development and welfare. Whole-school art events enable pupils to work with local artists, and for the oldest and youngest pupils to get opportunities to work together.
• Staff enjoy working at Hawthorns. They value the support of leaders and are aware of the current priorities in the school. Effective training and professional development have led to rising standards in mathematics.
• Parents are overwhelmingly supportive of the warm and friendly ethos in the school. Staff and the local authority value the inclusive culture that the headteacher has created. Hawthorns welcomes pupils who have not coped well in their previous schools.
• The local authority has a clear understanding about the quality of education currently provided by the school.

Governance of the school

• Governors, over time, have not been challenging enough. They have too readily accepted leaders’ answers to their questions and not focused enough attention on the progress that groups of pupils are making. Governors have not looked closely enough at pupils’ levels of attendance, including those who are persistently absent. They do not utilise national performance information to question and probe leaders regarding pupils’ outcomes and attendance.
• Current governors recognise that governance has not been effective over time. New governors have valued local authority training and have a clear view about what governors need to do better.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Staff are well trained to listen to pupils and look for changes in their moods or behaviours. As a result, staff carefully record when they have concerns about pupils’ safety or well-being. Leaders have created a strong culture of information sharing. Concerns regarding the most vulnerable pupils are diligently recorded and communicated with other professionals. Leaders are tenacious in referring and re-asserting their concerns regarding pupils’ well-being to other professionals. Leaders are strong advocates for the most vulnerable pupils and their families.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• Leaders and staff are still only developing their understanding and use of assessment information. As a result, planned learning over time has not built well enough on what pupils know and understand.
• Subjects such as science, history and geography are not taught often enough. Consequently, pupils do not systematically acquire the skills, knowledge and

understanding they need to make good progress. Leaders have recently changed the approach to the teaching of science in key stage 2 to rectify this. It is too soon to see the impact of leaders’ actions.

• Pupils’ reading books are not consistently well matched to pupils’ levels of knowledge and understanding. As a result, the books pupils read in school and at home can be too easy or difficult. Pupils in key stage 1 who do not have good phonic knowledge are not well served by books that constantly require them to guess what the words say.
• Leaders’ actions have ensured that their assessment policy is consistently applied in English and mathematics. However, it is not well used in other subjects.
• The impact of teaching assistants on pupils’ progress is inconsistent. Some teaching assistants have strong subject knowledge and are clear about their role in lessons. Others are less effective.
• The teaching of mathematics has improved over time. Staff have good subject knowledge. Pupils are developing greater fluency in their work with numbers. Teachers provide pupils with a good range of problem-solving and reasoning opportunities.
• Relationships between adults and pupils are warm, respectful and courteous.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare requires improvement.
• Not enough pupils come to school regularly. Too many are persistently absent. Leaders’ actions have led to slight improvements in the attendance levels of disadvantaged pupils and those who have SEN and/or disabilities.
• Leaders have created a caring and inclusive school. Pupils who attend the nurture provision are happy and safe. Pupils who used to spend time in the nurture provision are proud of the improvements in their approach to learning.
• Pupils take pride in their work. Books are well presented.
• Pupils know how to stay safe online. They to learn how to keep themselves and their families safe, for example through the advice they get during visits from the fire service. The school actively promotes healthy eating, and pupils understand why it is important.
• Almost all pupils feel safe and happy at school. These pupils feel that adults will listen to their problems and help them. A small number of pupils are less happy. They say that pupils say unkind things about their appearance and that they do not always tell staff. They tell each other. Leaders are wholeheartedly committed to ensuring that pupils are happy and safe. Low numbers of reported racist incidents are recorded diligently and dealt with swiftly.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• The vast majority of pupils behave well. Pupils’ behaviour in lessons is good.
• Pupils move around the school in a calm and orderly manner. They play well together at break- and lunchtimes, taking turns in games, playing cooperatively and talking with friends over food.
• Leaders are committed to the well-being of all staff and pupils. As a result, a small number of pupils are excluded when their behaviour puts the safety of others at risk. The nurture provision does improve the behaviour of some of the most vulnerable pupils, but this is not consistent. No pupils are permanently excluded.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• For the last three years, standards in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of key stage 1 have been below those found nationally.
• The proportion of Year 1 pupils meeting the expected standard in the phonic screening check has, for five years running, been below that found nationally.
• Current pupils are making inconsistent progress, including the most able and those who have SEN and/or disabilities.
• Standards in writing across key stage 2 are too low. Leaders recognise that historic ineffective phonics teaching has meant that too many pupils are not well enough equipped to spell.
• Differences between the standards that disadvantaged pupils are working at compared with their peers are not diminishing quickly enough. Differences are too big in reading and writing. Disadvantaged pupils make inconsistent progress.
• Pupils do not make good progress in subjects such as science, history and geography. They do not develop the subject-specific knowledge and understanding they should.
• Standards in mathematics are rising. Pupils make good progress and as a result, a greater proportion are now working at the expected standard.

Early years provision Good

• Children in Nursery, including those who are disadvantaged and those who have SEN and/or disabilities, make good progress. Staff work well to identify any children who may require additional help and support. They work well with other professionals such as speech and language therapists.
• Children in Reception make good progress, including those who do not quite reach a good level of development and those who start Reception with limited vocabulary or underdeveloped social skills. As a result, children are well prepared for Year 1.
• Leadership of early years is good. The curriculum is broad and balanced. Children are presented with learning experiences that interest and excite them. During this inspection, inspectors saw the tangible excitement of the Reception children who were ‘saving the planet’ by finding and sorting recyclable materials.
• Teaching is good. Staff working with the youngest children provide positive role models to develop children’s speaking and listening skills. Relationships between adults and children are warm. Adults use questioning skills effectively. However, some of the recorded next steps in learning are not always well thought through.
• Children’s behaviour is good. They concentrate on the task in hand and play together well. Children are confident and curious.
• Parents play an active role in their children’s early education. They make regular and helpful contributions to their children’s learning journeys. Parents are positive about the start to school life that the Nursery and/or Reception Year provide.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 125950 West Sussex 10046538 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 Maintained 2 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 198 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Kevin Hawkes Kathy Offer 01903 268174 www.hawthorns.w-sussex.sch.uk office@hawthorns.w-sussex.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 15–16 September 2011

Information about this school

• At the time of the last inspection, the school was a first school. Hawthorns is now a one-form-entry primary school. This is the first year that the school has had Year 6 pupils.
• The long-serving headteacher is retiring at the end of the academic year.
• The early years provision consists of a Reception class and Little Owls Nursery. The nursery is a separate building on the school grounds that provides places for two- and three-year-olds.
• Hawthorns Primary is smaller than the average-sized primary school.
• The proportion of pupils eligible for pupil premium funding is just above the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities and an education, health and care plan is more than twice the national average.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors visited all classrooms, sometimes with senior leaders.
• Inspectors looked at pupils’ work during lessons and spoke to pupils about their learning. Inspectors, together with senior leaders, evaluated pupils’ work in books.
• Meetings were held with senior leaders and subject leaders, representatives of the governing body and a representative from the local authority. Documents relating to governance were reviewed.
• Parents’ views were considered through conversations at the beginning of the school day, 61 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View, and free-text comments.
• The views of staff were considered through the 30 responses to Ofsted’s staff survey and by meeting a group of teachers.
• Pupils’ views were heard through talking with pupils during lessons and around the school.
• Inspectors considered a wide range of documents, including leaders’ evaluations of the school’s effectiveness. Inspectors also evaluated information relating to pupils’ progress, behaviour and attendance.
• Inspectors reviewed safeguarding records, case files, concern forms and the central record of recruitment checks on staff.

Inspection team

Mark Cole, lead inspector Harry Ingham

Her Majesty’s Inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector