Setting

CfBT Inspection Services Suite 22 West Lancs Investment Centre Maple View Skelmersdale WN8 9TG T 0300 1231231 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk Direct T 01695 566934 Direct F 01695 729320 gtunnicliffe@cfbt.com www.cfbt-inspections.com

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Mr Anthony Sheldon Parkin Headteacher Eastborough Junior Infant and Nursery School Rockley Street Dewsbury West Yorkshire WF13 1NS

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Junior Infant and Nursery School

Thank you for the help which you and your staff gave when I inspected your school on 12 April 2011, for the time you gave to our phone discussions and for the information which you provided before and during the inspection. Please also pass on my thanks to the members of the Governing Body, staff, the local authority representative and the pupils who gave up their time to meet with me.

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Junior Infant and Nursery School

Since the previous inspection, the literacy coordinator, who was a member of the senior leadership team, left the school and a replacement started in January 2011. The Chair and Vice Chair of the Governing Body have swapped roles. The responsibility for coordinating special educational needs is currently shared by two senior members of staff as part of a plan for one of them to take sole responsibility of this area of work.

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Junior Infant and Nursery School

As a result of the inspection on 24 and 25 February 2010, the school was asked to address the most important areas for improvement which are set out in the annex to this letter. Having considered all the evidence, I am of the opinion that at this time the school has made satisfactory progress in making improvements and satisfactory progress in demonstrating a better capacity for sustained improvement.

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Junior Infant and Nursery School

Attainment at the end of Year 2 has been low for the past 5 years and the 2010 results confirm that this largely continues to be the case. Although there were some improvements in the results in mathematics, pupils’ attainment overall was well below average, particularly in reading and writing and particularly for boys. At Key Stage 2, teacher assessments, moderated with other local schools, indicate that attainment in Year 6 at the end of 2010 showed improvements in the proportion of pupils reaching Level 4 or above in English. The proportions of pupils who are working at levels below age-related expectations varies but tends to increase as groups of pupils move from one year to the next. Inspection evidence and the school’s own data indicate that rates of progress, although variable, are improving. January 2011

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Junior Infant and Nursery School

Page2 The overall quality of teaching has improved. Stable staffing in Year 6 has ensured that the quality of teaching is more consistent. Assessment information is being used more effectively to identify pupils who need extra support from teaching assistants or who need their work modifying. As a consequence, pupils say that their work offers them just the right amount of challenge. A range of new interventions and support programmes have been introduced to provide individual pupils and small groups with extra help. The school’s own assessment data confirms the value of these programmes. Coaching and ongoing support for individual teachers has helped improve classroom practice, including the quality of lesson planning. Although planned learning activities usually meet the needs of all pupils, on a small number of occasions opportunities are missed to extend the learning and hence the attainment of the most able pupils. Improved deployment of teaching assistants means that

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Junior Infant and Nursery School

they work effectively with small groups of pupils, to deliver planned programmes, away from the classroom. Pupils’ behaviour, along with their very positive attitudes to learning, continue to be strengths at the school, reflecting positive relationships and clear expectations. Pupils listen well to their teachers, however, on a small number of occasions, are not always given enough time on their tasks. A clear success has been in improving the quality of marking provided by teachers. Many pupils state that they value their teachers’ comments and inspection evidence shows that this is helping pupils to improve their work. Pupils have whole-class and individual targets in literacy and numeracy and pupils are generally aware that these are intended to help them to improve their work. However, the use of targets across the school is not fully developed.

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Junior Infant and Nursery School

Plans to redesign the curriculum have led to the development of a long-term plan based on a topic approach, which links subjects in order to develop pupils' basic skills. However, the detail that currently exists is variable. Although the topic approach has been trialled in some classes, it has yet to be fully implemented and its impact is, therefore, limited. Nevertheless, pupils are provided with more opportunities to practise their basic skills in a range of subjects. The nature and support provided to pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities has been reviewed and pupil tracking is used more effectively to identify pupils who need extra support. Consequently, the range of support provided by teaching assistants has widened. Although this is largely effective there are a very small number of instances where an extended focus on talk and the lack of a task means that pupils lose interest and

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Junior Infant and Nursery School

their learning slows, particularly for those who are learning English as an additional language.

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Junior Infant and Nursery School

Improvements to procedures for dealing with absence, ongoing work with parents and carers along with an increase in rewards and incentives for good attendance has brought about improvements to the school's overall attendance rate. However, opportunities are missed to use the pupils’ annual reports to make the connection between attendance and rates of progress.

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Junior Infant and Nursery School

There have been clear improvements in the arrangements for tracking the attainment and progress of all pupils. Termly pupil progress reviews are holding teachers to account for the progress of pupils in their care. Although a recent development, these are improving the way in which pupils are identified for additional support. School improvement plans are January 2011

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Junior Infant and Nursery School

Page3 sound and subject leaders have recently begun to develop annual development plans. However, some plans do not always identify how improvements are to be checked and evaluated. Although there have been clear improvements in the role of subject leaders, these developments are recent and are not yet fully established. The governing body is committed to supporting the work of the school and governors have had recent training on how to understand and evaluate the performance of the school. Although they are aware of the school's strengths and areas for improvement they are not yet provided with all relevant information, such as the outcomes of work scrutiny, lesson observations and pupil tracking.

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Junior Infant and Nursery School

I hope that you have found the inspection helpful in promoting improvement in your school. This letter will be posted on the Ofsted website.

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Junior Infant and Nursery School

Mr Amraz Ali Her Majesty's Inspector January 2011

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24 and 25 February 2010

 Improve attainment in Year 6 by: - using assessment information to give pupils work which closely matches their needs and helps them improve - providing carefully targeted support for pupils who have gaps in their skills and understanding.

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24 and 25 February 2010

 Raise attainment and improve the progress of all by: - ensuring that all teachers' marking gives pupils clear indications of what they need to do next to improve - consistently giving support to help pupils make those improvements.

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24 and 25 February 2010

 Ensure the curriculum better meets the needs of all by: - providing more opportunities to develop basic skills across a range of subjects - enriching the experience of those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who need support in developing fluency in English.

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24 and 25 February 2010

 Improve attendance by: - working closely with the governing body to consider the effectiveness of current strategies - forging stronger links with parents and carers so that they appreciate the importance of attendance and work with the school to improve it.

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