Hornby St Margaret’s Church of England Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Main findings

This is a good school.

The headteacher, well supported by the governing body, leads the successful drive for improvement and generates strong ambition. Thorough reviews of performance are completed by managers and the school sets itself challenging targets. This system of self-evaluation is successful in providing a comprehensive and accurate view of the school's strengths and weaknesses and provides the basis for development planning.

In turn, this has led to improved attainment in reading and more pupils now working at the higher level in mathematics at Key Stage 2. The capacity for sustained improvement is therefore good. Over recent years attainment in English and mathematics has been bro...adly average, but is rising swiftly as pupils achieve the challenging targets set for them.

Children in the Reception year make good progress and are well prepared for their National Curriculum work. Improvements to the programme for teaching letters and sounds means that children are beginning to read, spell and write at an earlier stage; those in the Reception year and Key Stage 1 often make very good progress in these areas. This work is consolidated in English lessons well as pupils move through school, but there are insufficient opportunities for pupils to practise and enhance their writing skills when studying other subjects.

An increased focus on applying mathematical skills to solve problems is successfully boosting learning in this subject. Overall, pupils' progress in Key Stages 1 and 2 is good. Teaching is good overall and some is outstanding.

Pupils' progress is constantly assessed and, at Key Stage 1 and for English and mathematics at Key Stage 2, work is provided at different levels of difficulty so it caters well for the mixed ages and abilities in each class. However, in some other subjects in Key Stage 2, teaching is satisfactory rather than good. This is because the pace of learning is slower and expectations set by the different teachers who share this class are variable.

In English good quality marking and helpful learning targets for pupils provide advice so they know how to improve their work. Both are less effective in mathematics and pupils are not as clear about the next steps in this subject. The curriculum is satisfactory.

It includes a good emphasis on personal development and this is enhanced further through strong links with the church. However, planning does not consistently link subjects together in order to create opportunities for pupils to practise and consolidate their learning. The school offers a good quality of care.

Pupils' attendance is high; they enjoy school, are happy and feel safe. Their good behaviour ensures that lessons run smoothly and creates a calm, positive atmosphere for learning.

Information about the school

This school is much smaller than most primary schools, and pupils are taught in two mixed-aged classes.

It is situated in a rural area and some pupils attend from outside the immediate locality. All pupils are of White British heritage and none are known to be eligible for free school meals. The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is below average.

The school is accredited through Healthy Schools status and the Activemark award. It is also part of the Lancaster Inclusion Charter. An executive headteacher is in post, who shares his time between this and another local school.

There have been many changes in staff recently; the majority of teachers have been appointed over the last year. The Key Stage 2 class is taught by one teacher in the mornings and two other teachers share the afternoon sessions. The school offers a daily breakfast club on the premises.

Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms