INSPECTION REPORT Hyde Heath Infant School. Amersham LEA area: Buckinghamshire Unique reference number: 110237 Headteacher: Mrs Anne Brown Reporting inspector: Mrs Christine Huard 27290 Dates of inspection: 22-24 May 2000 Inspection number: 218274 Inspection carried out under section 10 of the School Inspections Act 1996 © Crown copyright 2000 This report may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that all extracts quoted are reproduced verbatim without adaptation and on condition that the source and date thereof are stated. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the School Inspections Act 1996, the school must provide a copy of this report and/or its summary free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL Type of school: Infant School category: Community Age range of pupils: 4-7 Gender of pupils: Mixed School address: Weedon Hill Hyde Heath, Amersham, Bucks. Postcode: HP6 5RW Telephone number: 01494 783835 Fax number: 01494 783835 Appropriate authority: The governing body Name of chair of governors: Mr Rob Bauling Date of previous inspection: June 2nd 1998. Hyde Heath Infant School - 3 INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM Subject Aspect Team members responsibilities responsibilities Mrs Christine Huard Registered inspector English. What sort of school is it. Religious education. How high are standards? Art. a)The school’s results Music and achievements. Physical education. How well are pupils taught. Equal opportunities How well is the school led and managed Special educational needs Mrs Vivienne Phillips Lay inspector How high are standards? b)pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development. How well does the school care for its pupils? How well does the school work in partnership with parents. Mrs Judy Morris Team inspector Under fives. How good are the curricular and other Mathematics opportunities offered to Science pupils? Information technology Design and technology History Geography The inspection contractor was: Qualitas Education Consultants Ltd Wickham Court Layhams Road West Wycombe Kent. BR4 9HH Any concerns or complaints about the inspection or the report should be raised with the inspection contractor. Complaints that are not satisfactorily resolved by the contractor should be raised with OFSTED by writing to: The Registrar Inspection Quality Division The Office for Standards in Education Alexandra House 33 Kingsway, London WC2B 6SE Hyde Heath Infant School - 4 REPORT CONTENTS Page PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 6 Information about the school How good the school is What the school does well What could be improved How the school has improved since its last inspection Standards Pupils’ attitudes and values Teaching and learning Other aspects of the school How well the school is led and managed Parents’ and carers’ views of the school PART B: COMMENTARY HOW HIGH ARE STANDARDS? 10 The school’s results and achievements Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT? 13 HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS? 14 HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS? 16 HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS 17 HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED? 17 WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER? 21 PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS 22 PART D: THE STANDARDS AND QUALITY OF TEACHING IN AREAS OF THE CURRICULUM, SUBJECTS AND COURSES 26 Hyde Heath Infant School - 5 PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL Hyde Heath Infant School is situated in an attractive commuter village near Amersham. It has 24 pupils on roll aged between 4 and 7 years. It is much smaller than most infant schools. Numbers have declined significantly since the last inspection due to re-organisation within the county which has changed the age of transfer to the next stage of education. Thus Year 3 pupils are no longer educated at Hyde Heath. There is one class although pupils are divided into 2 groups (Reception / Year 1, and Year 2) in the mornings for the teaching of numeracy and literacy and one class during the afternoons. No pupils come from ethnic minorities and English is the first language of all pupils. Nearly all pupils have pre-school experience and a pre-school is held on the school site. Attainment on entry is above average. No pupils are eligible for free school meals. This is well below the national average. There are 4 pupils (16.6%) on the school’s register of pupils with special educational needs. This is about average. There are no pupils with statements of special educational need. HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS At the last inspection, and on a visit from Her Majesty’s Inspectors last summer, the school was identified as having serious weaknesses. This is no longer so. The school has improved significantly in the last twelve months with the appointment of a new headteacher and a greatly reformed governing body. The leadership of the headteacher is highly effective and has enabled the school to improve its work considerably in the last year. Standards in reading, writing and mathematics are above average and that of higher attaining pupils is well above average. Pupils’ progress overall is good in these subjects. Standards in science are also above average. The school ensures that pupils’ academic achievements are maintained by a rigorous system of setting targets, regularly reviewing these and amending them as appropriate. Pupils’ work is assessed well and teachers use this information effectively in planning the next steps of pupils’ learning. The quality of teaching in the school is good overall. No unsatisfactory teaching was observed during the inspection. The governors support the school well, are committed and are taking a much greater part in its development than previously. The school provides sound value for money. What the school does well · Standards in reading are above average, and those in writing, mathematics and science well above average. · All pupils make at least sound progress and the progress of higher attaining pupils and those with special educational needs is particularly good. · The school cares for its pupils very effectively. · The school’s links with parents are very good. · The leadership of the headteacher is good and provides clear direction for the school. What could be improved · The over exuberant behaviour of pupils, particularly during teacher directed sessions at the start and end of lessons. · Pupils’ listening skills. · Pupils’ presentation of work. · The quality of support provided in the classroom in some lessons. The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan. HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION The school was last inspected in June 1998. It was judged have serious weaknesses at this time. When Her Majesty’s Inspectors visited the school in June 1999 weaknesses were still found in several areas. The school has made significant improvements in the last year and has good capacity to make further improvements. The inspection team finds that the school no longer has serious weaknesses. The key issues from the last inspection have been successfully addressed. Teaching has significantly improved. There has been a substantial change in staffing since the last inspection but despite this, provision has been made for all staff to receive appropriate training in key areas such as literacy and numeracy in order to improve teaching skills and confidence. The quality of planning has improved. Medium term plans are in place for all subjects based on nationally produced Hyde Heath Infant School - 6 documentation. This has been adapted appropriately for the school’s needs. The planning for English and literacy is particularly effective. Plans are monitored and annotated as they are being used in order to highlight strengths and weaknesses and create an ideas bank of tasks. Assessment Systems have been put into place to allow pupils to be tracked as they move through the school both as individuals and as part of a year group. Targets are set and these are effective in raising standards in key areas such as literacy and numeracy. Standards in mathematics have risen throughout the school. The evidence is seen in the results of national tests and pupils’ work and confidence in this subject. The governors added a further key issue after the inspection which was, To improve the leadership and management of the school. The new headteacher provides strong leadership and is giving the school clear direction. She is well supported by the governors who, although inexperienced, take their responsibilities very seriously and are very supportive of the school. STANDARDS The table shows the standards achieved by 7 year olds based on average point scores in National Curriculum tests. Compared with Performance in: All schools similar Key schools 1997 1998 1999 1999 Reading A E B C well above average A above average B Writing A B A B Average C below average D Mathematics D E A* A well below average E There was a relatively small number of pupils taking the tests which means results have to be considered cautiously. Trends over time show that standards overall had been dropping until 1999 in reading and writing, and following the national trend of improvement in mathematics. Results in small schools vary considerably from year to year reflecting the particular make up of the class. Standards of work in science are well above the national average. The school has set very challenging targets for this year’s tests which it is likely to attain. Standards of work in information technology, religious education, art, design and technology, geography, history are average and pupils have appropriate experience of all areas of study.