Hirst Courtney and Temple Hirst Community Primary School Main Street, Hirst Courtney, Selby North Yorkshire, YO8 8QT

School report

Inspection dates 8 November 2012

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 Overall effectiveness This inspection: Requires improvement 3 Achievement of pupils Requires improvement 3 Quality of teaching Requires improvement 3 Behaviour and safety of pupils Requires improvement 3 Leadership and management Requires improvement 3

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because  By the end of Year 6, although pupils reach  Although pupils are generally well behaved they average standards, too few reach the higher lose concentration and interest when their levels in their work. From their starting lessons do not keep them busy and involved. points, most pupils make the progress This means they do not learn as much as they expected of them but too few make better could. progress.  Subject leaders are not yet sufficiently skilled to  Teachers do not expect enough of pupils. bring about improvements in the quality of They do not always provide work that is hard teaching and pupils’ performance. They do not enough, particularly for the more-able and use information about pupils’ achievement well this prevents them from making good enough to identify strengths and weaknesses in progress. their areas.  Pupils’ work is not always neat and tidy. They do not have enough chances to improve their writing skills by doing longer pieces of writing in different subjects. The school has the following strengths  The headteacher and governing body have a  Strong partnerships with other local schools, and clear view of how successful the school can the activities offered, are helping teachers to be. They have an accurate picture of how improve their skills and having a positive impact well the school is doing and what needs to be on pupils’ learning improved. A number of well-thought-out  The school has a close partnership with parents plans have been put in place that are moving and has a welcoming atmosphere. the school forward.  Pupils attend school regularly. Thorough security  The school has detailed procedures for arrangements ensure pupils feel safe and happy checking and recording pupils’ progress. in school.  Pupils get on well with each other and are polite and courteous around school.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed five lessons, of which two were joint observations with the headteacher. In addition, the inspector heard pupils read and looked at a large sample of pupils’ work.  Discussions were held with a group of pupils, the headteacher, the Chair of the Governing Body, and a representative of the local authority.  General observations were undertaken across the school to observe pupils’ attitudes and behaviour, and the additional support provided for disabled pupils and those with special educational needs.  The inspector took account of the seven responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) and spoke individually with several parents during the course of the inspection.  The inspector observed the school’s work and looked at a number of documents, including the school’s arrangements for gaining a view of its performance, long-term plans, data on pupils’ progress since starting the school, planning and monitoring files, minutes of the meetings of the governing body, reports arising from reviews of school performance by individual governors and records relating to behaviour, attendance and safeguarding.

Inspection team

Lindsay Hall, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Full report

Information about this school

 This school is much smaller than the average-sized primary school. It has two small classes: one comprises of children in the Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1, and the second pupils in Key Stage 2.  Since the previous inspection the school has gone through considerable change, having had five headteachers over the last three years.  The current headteacher took up the permanent full-time post in January 2012.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is below average.  The proportion of pupils who are supported through school action is well below average but the proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or who have a statement of special educational needs is above average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standard, which sets the minimum expectation for pupils’ attainment and progress.

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching to be consistently good or better so that all pupils make at least good progress by: - raising teachers’ expectations of what pupils are capable of achieving in each lesson - using the information teachers have about pupils’ learning to provide activities that fully challenge all groups of pupils, especially the more able - giving pupils opportunities to increase their writing skills by ensuring they have plenty of chances to write at length in literacy lessons and in other subjects - ensuring all lessons are interesting and providing opportunities for pupils to find out things for themselves so that they are kept busy, behave well and want to learn - ensuring there is a systematic whole-school approach to teach letter formation and handwriting skills and that pupils’ work is always neatly presented.

 Improve the leadership and management of the school by: - developing the role of subject leaders so they are fully involved in using the information gathered about pupils’ learning to identify strengths and weaknesses in pupils’ progress and the quality of teaching - ensuring all teachers take responsibility for pupils’ progress and that this information is used to inform their planning.

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Inspection judgements

The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Attainment on entry to the Reception class varies considerably from year-to-year in this small school, but most children make the progress expected of them and enter Year 1 with skills, knowledge and understanding that are typical for five-year-olds nationally.  Standards over the past three years, although variable, have been broadly in line with the national average by the end of Year 2 and Year 6 in both English and mathematics. Too few pupils reach the higher levels in their work. Samples of pupils’ recent work and lesson observations show that from their starting points, all groups of pupils make expected progress and too few do better than this.  The more-able pupils across the school do not make as much progress as they are capable of because teachers do not give them work that is sufficiently demanding. Too often, these pupils are given more of the same work as others rather than tasks to extend their learning, for example, through finding things out for themselves.  Pupils acquire the skills of writing in different styles but are not given sufficient opportunity to write at length and in depth on a regular basis. The teaching of letter formation and handwriting is not sufficiently systematic and this impacts on the amount of writing pupils produce and the presentation of their work.  Pupils enjoy their reading and read regularly. The teaching of phonics (the sounds that letters make) enables them to successfully sound letters and break down words to support their reading and writing activities. From their starting points, pupils make steady progress in their reading and by the end of Year 6 consistently reach average standards; however, too few reach the higher level.  Pupils have the confidence and ability to undertake mental and written calculations and solve word problems. This is because the teaching of basic skills is secure. However, sometimes the tasks given to the more-able pupils are too easy. As a result progress in mathematics is not yet good.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make the same progress as others in the school. The additional adults in each class work closely with the class teachers, and make an effective contribution to helping these pupils to learn.  The extra funding provided to support the learning of those eligible for the pupil funding has been used to finance an additional adult to support in the classrooms. This enables these pupils to achieve as well as other groups in the school. The school ensures these pupils also have financial assistance when necessary to enable them to join in all activities.

The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching requires improvement because it does not ensure that pupils’ achievement over time is good enough. Teachers do not have high enough expectations of how much progress pupils can make in lessons. There is variability in the amount of work that teachers expect pupils to produce and also in the quality of presentation that they expect in pupils’ books.  A strength in all lessons is the high quality of relationships and the way that teachers organise their classrooms. Teachers and other adults use praise and encouragement to build pupils’ confidence and esteem.  In better lessons, where work is demanding and interests all pupils, they concentrate well, enjoy learning and make good progress. However, where activities are uninspiring and the lesson does not move along at a brisk pace, pupils lose interest and waste lesson time chatting; this limits the amount of progress they make.  Teachers use discussion and questioning well to help develop pupils’ speaking and listening skills. This broadens pupils’ language for writing but teachers miss opportunities to introduce Inspection report: Hirst Courtney and Temple Hirst Community Primary School, 8 November 2012 5 of 9

subject-specific words to extend pupils’ learning further. During the inspection pupils in Key Stage 1 went outside to re-enact the story of Guy Fawkes, in preparation for history related written work. This led pupils to produce some interesting descriptive writing which showed a real understanding of the Gunpowder Plot.  Marking is regular and consistent across the school. It is encouraging, with clear next steps to help pupils improve. However, scrutiny of pupils’ books indicates that pupils are not given time to respond to the class teachers’ advice. The use of targets that teachers expect pupils to achieve in English and mathematics is still in the early stages of development and has not had sufficient time to show a significant impact yet on accelerating pupils’ learning.

The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils are polite and courteous to adults and to one another and they are generally well behaved. However, when activities do not hold pupils’ interest, they are passive and uninvolved, appearing to ‘switch off’ from learning, wasting lesson time chatting about things not related to their work. As a result they do not learn as much as they should.  Staff teach pupils the importance of showing care and respect for each other and there is a strong sense of welcome. Daily circle time (activities where pupils reflect about their feelings and emotions) help pupils to learn about the importance of fairness and respect. In their lessons and daily assemblies they learn about the values of worldwide faiths, consider moral dilemmas and reflect on the impact of their actions on others, supporting pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well.  Recently pupils have started writing to children from a more diverse range of backgrounds and cultures both in the United Kingdom and overseas to broaden their cultural development.  Older pupils are positive role models supporting younger children in the playground, which successfully promotes social and moral development. The school records show that there is very little bullying and when incidents occur staff deal with them effectively.  Pupils explain what constitutes the different forms of bullying and racism and have a secure understanding of how to keep themselves and others safe.  Attendance is above average and pupils say they like school and feel safe. The majority of parents agree.

The leadership and management requires improvement

 The headteacher’s leadership is proving to be central to securing improvements. In the short time she has been in the school, her drive and enthusiasm are evident in the positive impact she is having in driving the school forward. Although the actions she has taken have not yet had time to raise standards for all groups of pupils.  All staff are committed to helping the school improve further. Recently, measures have been taken to train subject leaders in using information about pupils’ achievement to identify strengths and weaknesses in pupils’ learning. However, these initiatives have yet to achieve the school’s goal of ensuring consistently good progress in all subjects.  The quality of teaching is checked by leaders observing lessons frequently and rigorously. Although teaching is improving there remain variations in the quality of lesson. Nevertheless, the feedback from lesson observations is used to set challenging targets for teachers and to give professional support and training to teachers to improve their teaching skills.  The school’s newly introduced systems to check on teachers’ performance are closely linked to teachers’ targets and pay. It is being managed effectively by the headteacher with a clear focus on raising standards but has yet to have an impact on pupils’ attainment and progress.  The headteacher and governing body are realistic about the strengths and areas for development in the school. Their knowledge of the school’s performance is accurate. Clear priorities are identified in the school’s long-term plan and these match the findings of the inspection. Inspection report: Hirst Courtney and Temple Hirst Community Primary School, 8 November 2012 6 of 9

 The school is very well maintained and resourced with high quality equipment creating bright classroom areas. The planned termly topics, covering all subjects, are enriched by a number of visits and visitors, for example, the residential visit to East Barnby Outdoor Education Centre for Years 5 and 6 pupils and the recent visit to a Mosque. Pupils enjoy these visits which give them memorable experiences and strengthen their social, spiritual and cultural awareness.  Parental partnerships with the school have been strengthened and communication between home and school is better.  Parents are pleased with the quality of care and guidance provided for their children. The school is a happy community promoting equality of opportunity for pupils and tackling any form of discrimination.  Strong partnerships with the local cluster of small schools have been formed to give additional opportunities for pupils in their learning and for staff to have support in developing their skills in a drive to raise standards. Within this partnership, for example, leaders have arranged for Key Stage 2 pupils to join pupils from another local small school, each week, for shared physical education lessons to widen and enrich their learning.  The local authority is providing support to the school in its focus on raising standards and has an accurate awareness of the quality of what is provided for the pupils. They recognise the positive impact the headteacher has already made in stabilising the school and moving it forward.  The governance of the school: - The restructured governing body is active and involved in monitoring the school’s life and work and has devised new monitoring systems to support this. It is aware of the strengths and weaknesses in the quality of teaching and has a suitable working knowledge of school performance information. It was instrumental in the increased hours of classroom support using pupil-premium funding and is involved in monitoring the use of this funding and its impact on learning. It is ambitious and committed to raising achievement and supportive of the new performance-management arrangements. It ensures that statutory requirements and those to safeguard pupils are met.

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What inspection judgements mean

School Grade Judgement Description Grade 1 Outstanding An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 2 Good A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils’ needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 3 Requires A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it improvement is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

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School details

Unique reference number 121405 Local authority North Yorkshire Inspection number 406025

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 26 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Phill Clarkson Headteacher Maria Stewart Date of previous school inspection 24 November 2010 Telephone number 01757 270254 Fax number 01757 270254 Email address [email protected]

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