Long Row Primary School

Age group 3–11 Inspection date(s) 9–10 November 2011 Inspection number 378559 Long Row Primary School Inspection report

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Unique Reference Number 112785 Local Authority Derbyshire Inspection number 378559 Inspection dates 9–10 November 2011 Reporting inspector Christopher Parker

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

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Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 316 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Shirley Harvey Headteacher Cheryl Lodge Date of previous school inspection 24 September 2008 School address Long Row Belper DE56 1DR Telephone number 01773 823319 Fax number 01773 828835 Email address info@longrow.derbyshire.sch.uk achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked

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after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report 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. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out by three additional inspectors, who observed 18 lessons, taught by 12 teachers, and made several focused visits to the Early Years Foundation Stage. Meetings were held with pupils, the headteacher, senior and subject leaders, and the Chair of the Governing Body. The inspectors looked at a range of documentation and a sample of pupils’ work. Questionnaire responses from pupils, staff and 103 parents and carers were analysed.

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Introduction

The inspection team reviewed many aspects of the school’s work. It looked in detail at a number of key areas.

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Introduction

 To what extent do teaching and the curriculum provide interesting and challenging opportunities for girls to make good progress in mathematics?

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Introduction

 How effective have leaders and managers been in securing improvement in teaching in order to accelerate pupils’ progress?

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Introduction

 To what extent is provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage improving, and what impact is it having?

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Information about the school

The school is larger than average. There are more girls than boys. All of the pupils speak English as their first language. There are fewer pupils from minority ethnic groups than in most schools of this size. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is much lower than the national average, while that of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities is broadly average. 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

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Main findings

The school provides a satisfactory education for its pupils. The headteacher, senior leaders and governing body are all keen to improve the school’s performance. They have been successful in making a number of positive changes which have resulted in, for example, better provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage. This illustrates the school’s satisfactory capacity to make further improvements. However, the school’s plans do not have a sufficiently sharp focus to enable further improvements to be made rapidly. Progress is getting better, but not at a fast enough rate. Consequently, achievement remains satisfactory, and attainment in English and mathematics broadly average, because too few pupils make good progress and reach the higher levels of attainment. In addition, some girls do not do as well as boys in mathematics. While some of the teaching is good, much is satisfactory. Many lessons get off to a bright start by grabbing pupils’ interest, but in too many instances these

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Main findings

lessons do not realise their potential, which results in pupils making satisfactory rather than good progress. This is either because the work the teachers set for pupils is not based accurately on what they already know and are able to do, or the purpose of the lesson and the steps that pupils have to take to succeed are not sufficiently clear.

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Main findings

The school has made notable strides forward in improving the effectiveness of marking, which pupils appreciate, but these improvements have not been established consistently throughout the school. This illustrates well the challenge that the school has faced in the recent past. Many changes to the teaching staff have made it difficult to establish consistently high expectations and to implement whole-school approaches, and then build on them further.

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Main findings

The care, guidance and support for pupils are good, and create an atmosphere in which they develop their personal qualities well. The pupils enjoy school, and talk animatedly about the lessons that have interested them. They say they feel very safe at school, and their parents and carers agree. The school’s arrangements for keeping pupils as safe as possible meet requirements well, and are frequently checked by the governing body.

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Main findings

The school provides a satisfactory curriculum that interests and engages pupils. It has recently been reorganised around a range of topics and themes to increase coherence, and now provides more opportunities for pupils to develop their literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology skills in a range of contexts. The pupils value the clubs and extra-curricular activities they attend. Many 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

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Main findings

of these activities are made possible through the effective partnerships which the school has with a number of organisations.

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Main findings

The self-evaluation of the school’s performance reflects the headteacher’s and governing body’s accurate knowledge of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. The senior leaders frequently monitor the quality of teaching, but currently their observations are not focused sufficiently sharply on the impact of teaching on pupils’ learning and their progress in lessons.

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Main findings

Up to 40% of the schools whose overall effectiveness is judged satisfactory may receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Accelerate pupils’ progress, paying particular attention to raising attainment for girls in mathematics, by:  establishing consistently high expectations of what pupils can achieve  making sure that the purpose of every lesson is clear and that pupils know what they have to do to succeed  ensuring that all tasks are well matched to pupils’ needs and that they build on what pupils already know and are able to do  implementing improvements in marking consistently throughout the school.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Monitor the quality of teaching with greater rigour by:  placing a much sharper focus on the impact of teaching on pupils’ learning and progress  ensuring that suggested improvements are implemented effectively by making robust follow-up visits to lessons.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that the school improvement plan has more detailed criteria against which success can be measured, and more demanding timescales against which the governing body and senior leaders can evaluate the impact of the plan on the school’s performance.

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils 3

While pupils make good progress in some lessons, progress in others is satisfactory. The pupils say that they enjoy lessons. However, in conversation, a few say they sometimes find their work ‘easy’, and on the other hand there are occasions when they do not have the range of skills they need to successfully complete a task. In lessons, pupils work effectively, concentrate on the tasks they are set, and behave well. 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

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils 3

Pupils made good progress, in a well focused literacy lesson, when the teacher grabbed their attention by reading a story about the dark – she questioned them carefully and then prepared them well for the task of writing a description of a hedgehog. In a less successful mathematics lesson, some of the more-able pupils had to sit through the introduction to activities that they were already able to do before getting onto more challenging activities. As a result, in the reduced time available they made satisfactory rather than the good progress. The inconsistencies reflected by these two lessons are mirrored throughout the school. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are making secure progress at the pace expected of them because of the good care and support they receive.

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils 3

The school’s tracking of pupils’ performance shows that progress is improving. However, pupils are not yet making consistently good progress in both English and mathematics in all year groups. The information which the teachers collect, together with pupil progress meetings are both being used to identify additional support for those who may potentially fall behind. One-to-one support in mathematics was provided last year for a number of girls. This helped some of them, but not all, to reach the expected level by the end of Year 6.

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils 3

Almost all pupils behave well, but some are concerned about the occasional misbehaviour of a very few of their classmates. Nevertheless, they enjoy school and the many sporting and other extra-curricular opportunities that the school provides which promote their good understanding of staying healthy. Attendance levels are above average. The pupils make a good contribution to the school community and willingly take on responsibilities within the school, for example as members of the school council. Pupils show a good understanding of world faiths and talk confidently about world events. In an art lesson some of the older pupils showed a mature appreciation of the way that movement is created by Giacomo Balla in his paintings, illustrating their good spiritual development.

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils 3

These are the grades for pupils’ outcomes Pupils’ achievement and the extent to which they enjoy their learning Taking into account: Pupils’ attainment 1 The quality of pupils’ learning and their progress The quality of learning for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and their progress The extent to which pupils feel safe 2 Pupils’ behaviour 2 The extent to which pupils adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which pupils contribute to the school and wider community 2

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils 3

1 The grades for attainment and attendance are: 1 is high; 2 is above average; 3 is broadly average; and 4 is low 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

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils 3

The extent to which pupils develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being Taking into account: Pupils’ attendance 1 The extent of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2

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How effective is the provision?

The teaching is satisfactory. Although it is good in some respects, there are inconsistencies that result in pupils making satisfactory rather than good progress. A positive feature of many lessons is the captivating introductions that the teachers plan – for example, in a mathematics lesson where pupils received a letter from Harry Potter containing a series of problems to solve in order to find the magic code. However, in this and other lessons, the momentum is sometimes lost because the tasks are not consistently well matched to pupils’ needs. Many of the inconsistencies in lessons emanate from planning that does not take sufficient account of what pupils already know and are able to do.

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How effective is the provision?

In some classes, pupils present their work to a high standard, but expectations of pupils’ presentation and handwriting are not always high enough. Pupils have targets which set out very clearly the next steps in learning in both English and mathematics, but these are not routinely referred to when their work is marked, or when it is planned. As a result, the link between assessment, target setting and planning, although improving, is not as effective as it should be.

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How effective is the provision?

The curriculum has been redesigned to ensure that there are frequent opportunities for pupils to develop and apply their skills in all subjects. Teachers are making effective links between subjects in order to create more coherent learning opportunities for pupils, through themes such as the work on the Second World War being pursued with great interest by the oldest pupils. This topic has generated considerable enthusiasm among boys, for example, to write wartime diaries. The school is also trying to create more activities to stimulate girls’ interest in mathematics. Information and communication technology is used well in lessons.

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How effective is the provision?

There are well-organised arrangements to care for all pupils. Support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities is appropriately deployed. The school makes particularly effective use of a range of agencies, and can point to striking examples of guidance and support that have led to improved attendance and behaviour that have subsequently resulted in improved academic performance. There is a very caring and supportive ethos throughout the school.

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How effective is the provision?

These are the grades for the quality of provision

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How effective is the provision?

The quality of teaching 3 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

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How effective is the provision?

Taking into account: The use of assessment to support learning The extent to which the curriculum meets pupils’ needs, including, where relevant, through partnerships The effectiveness of care, guidance and support 2

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How effective are leadership and management?

The headteacher and senior leaders are keen to make improvements. They work together to monitor the quality of teaching. However, many of the records of the monitoring of teaching show that their observations are not sufficiently focused on the impact of the teaching on pupils’ learning and progress. Where areas for improvement have been highlighted for teachers, they are not followed up with sufficient rigour to bring meaningful benefits.

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How effective are leadership and management?

The English and mathematics subject leaders are engaged in activities to bring improvements. For example, the mathematics leader is using her expertise to better engage girls and is closely monitoring their progress through pupil progress meetings. This, along with the careful tracking of all pupils’ progress, illustrates very well the school’s commitment to providing equality of opportunity, and to removing barriers to learning faced by both groups and individual pupils.

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How effective are leadership and management?

Although the school improvement plan sets out an appropriate agenda for improvement, it lacks detail about exactly what must improve and by when. Consequently, it is difficult for senior leaders and the governing body to evaluate the impact of the school’s investment in time and resources on pupils’ progress. Nevertheless, the governing body provides effective support for the school, and its members are increasingly involved in activities that allow them to find out for themselves how well the school is performing.

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How effective are leadership and management?

The good partnerships with parents and carers ensure that they are kept well informed, and are involved in the school and in pupils’ learning. The school website has information about how parents and carers can help their children. Year 6 pupils also write a blog that gives a good flavour of the range of activities that they are involved in. Safeguarding procedures are comprehensive. Arrangements for safe recruitment of staff, child protection and site security are all robust.

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How effective are leadership and management?

The school has analysed its local context and, as a result, makes good provision to develop pupils’ understanding of the religious, ethnic and socio-economic characteristics of the local, national and world community. This contributes well to the good development of their personal qualities.

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How effective are leadership and management?

These are the grades for leadership and management 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

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How effective are leadership and management?

The effectiveness of leadership and management in embedding ambition and driving improvement Taking into account: The leadership and management of teaching and learning The effectiveness of the governing body in challenging and supporting the school so that weaknesses are tackled decisively and statutory responsibilities met The effectiveness of the school’s engagement with parents and carers 2 The effectiveness of partnerships in promoting learning and well-being 3 The effectiveness with which the school promotes equality of opportunity and tackles discrimination The effectiveness of safeguarding procedures 2 The effectiveness with which the school promotes community cohesion 2 The effectiveness with which the school deploys resources to achieve value for money

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Early Years Foundation Stage

The children enter the Early Years Foundation Stage with the skills and abilities expected for their age. They make satisfactory progress and reach a secure level of development by the end of the Reception Year. They approach the activities provided for them with growing confidence and obvious enjoyment. At a relatively early stage in the school year, the youngest children have settled well and are already familiar with the daily routines. The school provides a wide range of interesting activities, some of which are led or guided by the adults and others which the children choose themselves. The children respond well to these opportunities. The adults routinely note the progress made by the children. Productive links with parents and carers are fostered through ‘stay and play’ sessions, along with useful guidance about how to promote learning at home.

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Early Years Foundation Stage

Teaching is satisfactory, and helps the children to learn in well-managed surroundings. Their knowledge of the world around them is developed by the adults, who encourage and question. Activities flow freely and effectively from indoors to outside. The outdoor area has a good range of resources that encourage the children to work and play together – for example, when they made a bus and used it to transport a wheelbarrow! The outdoor area is used well to support all areas of learning, but some of the resources do not provide the children with sufficient challenge, particularly to extend their physical development.

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Early Years Foundation Stage

The headteacher takes on the role of leading the Early Years Foundation Stage. While she has brought about some improvements, the many other demands on her time have meant that she is not able to provide the model of day-to-day good practice that would bring further and rapid improvement. Leadership and management of the Early Years Foundation Stage are satisfactory. 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

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Early Years Foundation Stage

These are the grades for the Early Years Foundation Stage Overall effectiveness of the Early Years Foundation Stage Taking into account: Outcomes for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage The quality of provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage The effectiveness of leadership and management of the Early Years Foundation Stage

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Views of parents and carers

The vast majority of parents and carers are very pleased with the school and the provision that it makes for their children. All of those who responded to the questionnaire agreed that the school keeps their children safe. Some parents and carers added further comments to their responses. Many of these comments were very positive. A few expressed a degree of concern, but there were few common themes among them. A very few parents and carers thought that their children ought to be challenged to make more progress. A similarly small number felt that a few pupils who behaved inappropriately were not well managed. The inspectors found that pupils are not consistently challenged to make good progress, but in the very few instances where they observed pupils being uncooperative, they were well managed by adults. A small proportion of parents and carers also commented on the disruption caused by frequent changes of teaching staff. The inspectors found that

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Views of parents and carers

this was a factor that had limited the impact of school improvement activities in the last few years.

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Responses from parents and carers to Ofsted’s questionnaire

Ofsted invited all the registered parents and carers of pupils registered at Long Row Primary School to complete a questionnaire about their views of the school. In the questionnaire, parents and carers were asked to record how strongly they agreed with 13 statements about the school. The inspection team received 103 completed questionnaires by the end of the on-site inspection. In total, there are 316 pupils registered at the school.

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Responses from parents and carers to Ofsted’s questionnaire

Statements Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree Total % Total % Total % Total % My child enjoys school 66 64 35 34 1 1 0 0 The school keeps my child safe 74 72 29 28 0 0 0 0

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Responses from parents and carers to Ofsted’s questionnaire

The school informs me about my child’s progress 36 35 57 55 7 7 1 1

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Responses from parents and carers to Ofsted’s questionnaire

My child is making enough progress at this school 43 42 53 51 5 5 1 1

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Responses from parents and carers to Ofsted’s questionnaire

The teaching is good at this school 48 47 50 49 3 3 1 1

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Responses from parents and carers to Ofsted’s questionnaire

The school helps me to support my child’s learning 49 48 51 50 2 2 0 0 The school helps my child to have a healthy lifestyle 33 32 69 67 1 1 0 0

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Responses from parents and carers to Ofsted’s questionnaire

The school makes sure that my child is well prepared for the future (for example changing year group, changing school, and for children who are finishing school, entering further or higher education, or entering employment) 35 34 56 54 3 3 0 0

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Responses from parents and carers to Ofsted’s questionnaire

The school meets my child’s particular needs 40 39 58 56 3 3 1 1 The school deals effectively with unacceptable behaviour 35 34 50 49 7 7 3 3

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Responses from parents and carers to Ofsted’s questionnaire

The school takes account of my suggestions and concerns 36 35 50 49 11 11 0 0

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Responses from parents and carers to Ofsted’s questionnaire

The school is led and managed effectively 36 35 56 54 5 5 0 0

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Responses from parents and carers to Ofsted’s questionnaire

Overall, I am happy with my child’s experience at this school 53 51 46 45 3 3 0 0

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Responses from parents and carers to Ofsted’s questionnaire

The table above summarises the responses that parents and carers made to each statement. The percentages indicate the proportion of parents and carers giving that response out of the total number of completed questionnaires. Where one or more parents and carers chose not to answer a particular question, the percentages will not add up to 100%.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding These features are highly effective. An outstanding school provides exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. Grade 2 Good These are very positive features of a school. A school that is good is serving its pupils well. Grade 3 Satisfactory These features are of reasonable quality. A satisfactory school is providing adequately for its pupils. Grade 4 Inadequate These features are not of an acceptable standard. An inadequate school needs to make significant improvement in order to meet the needs of its pupils. Ofsted inspectors will make further visits until it improves.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Nursery schools 43 47 10 0 Primary schools 6 46 42 6 Secondary schools 14 36 41 9

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Sixth forms 15 42 41 3 Special schools 30 48 19 3 Pupil referral units 14 50 31 5

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

New school inspection arrangements were introduced on 1 September 2009. This means that inspectors now make some additional judgements that were not made previously.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

The data in the table above are for the period 1 September 2010 to 08 April 2011 and are consistent with the latest published official statistics about maintained school inspection outcomes (see www.ofsted.gov.uk ).

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

The sample of schools inspected during 2010/11 was not representative of all schools nationally, as weaker schools are inspected more frequently than good or outstanding schools.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Percentages are rounded and do not always add exactly to 100. Sixth form figures reflect the judgements made for the overall effectiveness of the sixth form in secondary schools, special schools and pupil referral units.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Achievement: the progress and success of a pupil in their learning, development or training.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attainment: the standard of the pupils’ work shown by test and examination results and in lessons.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Capacity to improve: the proven ability of the school to continue improving. Inspectors base this judgement on what the school has accomplished so far and on the quality of its systems to maintain improvement.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Leadership and management: the contribution of all the staff with responsibilities, not just the headteacher, to identifying priorities, directing and motivating staff and running the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Learning: how well pupils acquire knowledge, develop their understanding, learn and practise skills and are developing their competence as learners.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Overall effectiveness: inspectors form a judgement on a school’s overall effectiveness based on the findings from their inspection of the school. The following judgements, in particular, influence what the overall effectiveness judgement will be.  The school’s capacity for sustained improvement.  Outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils.  The quality of teaching.  The extent to which the curriculum meets pupils’ needs, including, where relevant, through partnerships.  The effectiveness of care, guidance and support.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Progress: the rate at which pupils are learning in lessons and over longer periods of time. It is often measured by comparing the pupils’ attainment at the end of a key stage with their attainment when they started.

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carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s

main findings from the inspection of their school.

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Inspection of Long Row Primary School, Belper, DE56 1DR

Thank you for making my colleagues and me welcome when we inspected your school recently. I am particularly grateful to those of you who spent some of your time talking to us about your school, and to those of you who completed questionnaires. You told us that you enjoyed school, and that improvements in the marking of your work are helping you to make better progress this year. The adults care for you well and, as a result, you feel very safe in school. You have a good understanding of how to stay healthy and keep fit, and some of you make a good contribution to the school community as school councillors.

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Inspection of Long Row Primary School, Belper, DE56 1DR

Your school gives you a satisfactory education. The headteacher and teachers are working to help you to make faster progress and reach higher standards in English and mathematics. Over the last year, they have been successful in helping more of you to make better progress, but some girls need more help to make faster progress in mathematics. I have asked the headteacher and teachers to make sure that lessons always build on what you already know, have a very clear purpose, and include steps to help you succeed so that you can make consistently good progress. I have asked the headteacher to check very carefully that you make good progress in lessons as often as possible. I have also asked that the school’s plans for improvement are checked frequently to make sure that they are making a difference.

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Inspection of Long Row Primary School, Belper, DE56 1DR

You can also help the teachers by continuing to work hard. I enjoyed being in your school, and hope that in the future it is successful in helping you to achieve as well as you possibly can.

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Inspection of Long Row Primary School, Belper, DE56 1DR

Christopher Parker Lead inspector procedures set out in the guidance 'Complaining about inspections', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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