Marsden Infant and Nursery School

Marsden Infant and Nursery School Inspection report

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Age group 3–7 Inspection date(s) 07–08 March 2012 Inspection number 377616 Unique Reference Number 107644 Local authority Kirklees Inspection number 377616 Inspection dates 7–8 March 2012 Lead inspector Elaine Murray HMI

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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 3–7 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 194 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Paul Hoey Headteacher Frances Swallow Date of previous school inspection 8 January 2009 School address Brougham Road Marsden Huddersfield HD7 6BN Telephone number 01484 222583 Fax number 01484 222521 Email address office.marsdeninf@edukirklees.net You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child's school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when.

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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 after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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

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Introduction

Elaine Murray Michael Wintle Her Majesty's Inspector Additional inspector

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out with two days' notice. Inspectors observed 12 lessons taught by seven teachers. Meetings were held informally with parents, carers and pupils, representatives of the governing body, and a wide range of staff. Inspectors observed the school’s work, and looked at a wide range of documentation including self-evaluation documents and development plans. Inspectors also heard a small number of pupils from Year 1 and Year 2 read individually. There were no responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) to take into account when planning the inspection. Inspectors scrutinised 92 questionnaires returned by parents and carers and those returned by staff and pupils.

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Information about the school

This is a smaller than average sized infant and nursery school. Almost all pupils are of White British heritage. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is below average. The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is above average, but the proportion with a statement of special educational needs or receiving a higher level of support is below average. There are two classes for each year group in Key Stage 1. There has been an acting deputy headteacher for the past year. The school holds Healthy School status and has an Activemark for its achievements in physical education. 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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Key Findings

 In accordance with section 13 (3) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires significant improvement, because it is performing significantly less well than in all the circumstances it could reasonably be expected to perform. The school is therefore given a notice to improve. Significant improvement is required in relation to leaders' and managers' drive to bring about improvements and to the leadership and management of teaching, pupils' achievement and of assessment.

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Key Findings

 This is not a satisfactory school because senior leaders have not been effective in securing essential improvements to pupils' achievement since the last inspection. There have been some improvements in the proportion of pupils attaining higher levels in reading. However, attainment has declined from above average to broadly average and progress has remained satisfactory. Systems to monitor and evaluate the quality of teaching and to track pupils’ progress in Key Stage 1 are not sufficiently robust. School leaders do not ensure that identified areas for improvement are acted on and reviewed, with the result that the quality of teaching remains satisfactory.

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Key Findings

 Pupils' achievement is satisfactory overall. Pupils who are disabled and those who have special educational needs make good progress because they are taught and supported well. However, most pupils in Key Stage 1 make satisfactory progress. The school has established an effective partnership with parents and carers which has a positive impact on pupils' satisfactory level of achievement.

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Key Findings

 The quality of teaching is satisfactory. Teaching is at least good in the Early Years Foundation Stage and is well matched to children’s needs. In Key Stage 1, the quality of teaching is variable. Good teaching is characterised by clear aims and effective questioning. In less effective lessons, introductions are too lengthy and lessons are predominantly adult led. Where lessons are not well matched to pupils' needs there is some low level disruption, which hampers progress in lessons.

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Key Findings

 Behaviour is satisfactory. Pupils show respect for staff and each other and behave well in most lessons. Pupils say they feel safe and enjoy school. Pupils' attendance is above average.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve leadership and management by: - developing robust systems to monitor and evaluate the quality of teaching in order to identify areas for improvement which are then regularly reviewed - improving systems to assess pupils' progress in Key Stage 1 to ensure that the school has an accurate view of the progress that pupils are making - ensuring that development plans set clear, measurable targets to enable the governing body to hold the school to account.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise pupils' achievement by: - improving the quality of teaching in Key Stage 1, to ensure that introductions to lessons are timely, activities are consistently well matched to pupils’ needs, and pupils have more opportunities to be engaged actively in their learning - ensuring that teaching consistently promotes pupils' good behaviour.

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Achievement of pupils

Inspection findings show that children enter school with skills that are broadly in line and sometimes below expectations for their age, and by the end of Key Stage 1 their attainment is broadly average overall. This represents satisfactory progress over time. Children make good progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage, but progress then slows in Years 1 and 2, where it is satisfactory. Pupils show positive attitudes to learning. Since the last inspection, although attainment in reading overall has remained broadly average, there has been an increase in the number of pupils attaining the higher levels for reading at the end of Year 2. Pupils show an enjoyment and appreciation of reading and are developing appropriate strategies, including their knowledge of sounds that letters make, to help them work out unfamiliar words. Pupils are developing satisfactory skills in independent writing and in some lessons this learning is extended. For example in a Year 1 lesson more-able

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Achievement of pupils

pupils learnt to use a thesaurus to identify different verbs. Pupils showed enjoyment and interest in practical activities in mathematics, for example, when learning the value of coins, which promoted their sound progress. Most parents and carers believe that their children make good progress at this school.

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Achievement of pupils

The school can demonstrate that it is closing the gap in attainment for groups, such as those pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, and between boys and girls. The school has made good progress in closing the attainment gap between boys and girls in mathematics. However, there is still a gap between boys' and girls' attainment in reading. The school has identified this and is at an early stage of putting measures in place to address this gap. Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs are supported well and make good progress.

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Achievement of pupils

In recent years, most children have left the Reception class with a good level of achievement. Children in the Nursery and Reception classes make enthusiastic use of the well-resourced learning environment both indoors and out. Children show a keen interest in books and stories. They show good progress in developing an understanding of stories as they enjoy retelling and acting out, for example, the story of ‘Little Red Riding Hood’.

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Quality of teaching

Inspectors found that teaching is satisfactory overall, but the quality varies widely with examples of good, outstanding and inadequate teaching across the school. Good and sometimes outstanding teaching in the Nursery and Reception classes results in good progress for children. In these classes, learning is well matched to children’s needs, interests and ways of learning. As a result, children display a high level of motivation and enthusiasm for learning. Effective questioning ensures that children are challenged to extend their learning. In outdoor play, children excitedly explored a deep puddle and developed problem solving skills as they were asked to find a container suitable for emptying some water from the puddle. Almost all parents and carers consider that their children are well taught.

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Quality of teaching

In Key Stage 1, on those occasions when teaching is good or better, lesson objectives are clear and questioning is effective in developing pupils' learning. For example, in a Year 1 lesson pupils were enthusiastically introduced to the idea of describing a setting, and questioned well to encourage them to suggest different verbs. In less effective lessons, over-long introductions and too much adult direction of learning mean that pupils' motivation and engagement are limited, their progress is only satisfactory or even inadequate, and their behaviour deteriorates. Pupils are familiar with their targets for developing learning, which are regularly discussed with them and reviewed.

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Quality of teaching

The planned skill-based curriculum has led to links between subjects enabling pupils to apply their basic skills. For example, pupils showed growing proficiency in the use of laptops and applied their reading skills as they created a poster about the importance of recycling. Pupils learn to reflect during assembly times, and develop an awareness of other cultures through, for example, African dance sessions and learning about different cultural festivals.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Most parents and carers who replied to the inspection questionnaire consider that behaviour and safety are good, although a few noted concerns. Inspectors found that behaviour and safety are satisfactory. In the Early Years Foundation Stage, children’s behaviour is good and at times exemplary, as teaching is well matched to their interests and ways of learning. In Key Stage 1 in most lessons behaviour is good, but in a minority of lessons there is low level disruption, such as pupils distracting others or calling out, which has a negative effect on the quality of learning. Pupils respond to staff’s generally positive approach to managing behaviour, but at times this approach is not consistent. They are clear about routines and the school rules relating to behaviour. Pupils show an understanding of what is meant by bullying and report that it is rare in school. They refer to anti-bullying posters around school

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

which were designed by the school council. Pupils know that if there is unacceptable behaviour that staff will deal with it appropriately.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils’ satisfactory moral and social development is shown by their positive relationships with staff and each other. For example, more fluent readers in Year 1 happily read books to their ‘reading buddy’. Pupils say that they feel safe in school and explain that this is because strangers cannot come into school due to the secure fencing, security cameras and locked doors. Attendance has improved since the last inspection and is now above average. Pupils respond positively to the termly reward certificates for good attendance.

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Leadership and management

Despite some improvements to attendance, the curriculum, and in closing the attainment gap for some groups of pupils, leaders and managers have not made sufficient progress in addressing some of the key areas for improvement identified at the previous inspection.

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Leadership and management

Effective improvements have not been secured in raising achievement, improving the overall quality of teaching through effective monitoring, or in the use of assessment. Leaders and managers, therefore, do not demonstrate the capacity for sustained improvement. There is a commitment to improvement but actions to bring about improvement are over-dependent on the headteacher. Self-evaluation is not sufficiently accurate to ensure that key areas of weakness are addressed in a timely way. Improvement planning identifies appropriate priorities for development, but lacks clear measurable targets against which progress can be measured. The governing body is supportive, and committed, to helping the school to improve but it has not held school leaders sufficiently to account for improving teaching and achievement. Safeguarding arrangements are satisfactory and meet statutory requirements.

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Leadership and management

Developing systems to monitor and evaluate the quality of teaching and the assessment of pupils’ learning are not sufficiently well embedded to drive substantial improvement. There have been some improvements to the quality of teaching in the Early Years Foundation Stage, but the quality of teaching in Key Stage 1 is variable and the quality of teaching overall remains satisfactory. Assessment of children’s learning in the Early Years Foundation Stage is robust and informs an accurate picture of progress; it is used well to promote further learning. In Key Stage 1, there have been improvements to the use of assessment to set targets for pupils so that they know how to improve their work. However, assessments of pupils' skill levels on entry to Year 1 and subsequent progress are not sufficiently robust. As a result, the school does not have an accurate picture of pupils' progress through Key Stage 1.

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Leadership and management

Since the last inspection, leaders and managers have introduced a more relevant, skills- based curriculum, although it is too early for clear impact to be seen on pupils’ achievement. The curriculum promotes pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development appropriately. The curriculum is satisfactory because it adequately meets the needs of different groups of pupils and promotes pupils’ satisfactory level of achievement. Leaders satisfactorily promote equality of opportunity and celebrate diversity.

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Leadership and management

Leaders and managers have established a positive partnership with parents and carers. The vast majority of parents and carers are supportive of school. They praise the quality of communication and the openness of staff and report that staff value their views and positively encourage them to develop their children’s learning at home.

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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 46 46 8 0 Primary schools 8 47 40 5 Secondary schools 14 38 40 8 Special schools 28 48 20 4 Pupil referral units 15 50 29 5 All schools 11 46 38 6

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

New school inspection arrangements have been introduced from 1 January 2012. This means that inspectors make 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 31 August 2011 and represent judgements that were made under the school inspection arrangements that were introduced on 1 September 2009. These data 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

Primary schools include primary academy converters. Secondary schools include secondary academy converters, sponsor-led academies and city technology colleges. Special schools include special academy converters and non-maintained special schools.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Percentages are rounded and do not always add exactly to 100.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Achievement: the progress and success of a pupil in their learning and development taking account of their attainment.

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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

Behaviour how well pupils behave in lessons, with emphasis on their attitude to learning. Pupils' punctuality to lessons and their conduct around the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Capacity to improve: the proven ability of the school to continue improving based on its self-evaluation and 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 governors and 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.

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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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Common terminology used by inspectors

Safety how safe pupils are in school, including in lessons; and their understanding of risks. Pupils' freedom from bullying and harassment. How well the school promotes safety, for example e-learning.

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to share with their children. It describes Ofsted's main

findings from the inspection of their school.

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Inspection of Marsden Infant and Nursery School, Huddersfield, HD7 6BN

Thank you very much for making the inspectors so welcome when we visited your school recently. We enjoyed talking to you and listening to your ideas. Thank you for reading to us, for talking about your work and what it is like to be a pupil at your school. This letter is to tell you what we found out.

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Inspection of Marsden Infant and Nursery School, Huddersfield, HD7 6BN

These are the things we like about your school.

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Inspection of Marsden Infant and Nursery School, Huddersfield, HD7 6BN

 You feel safe and trust adults to help you if you need it.  Your parents and carers are happy with the school and say that you feel safe and enjoy school.  You get on well with your teachers and each other.  Children in the Nursery and Reception class and those of you with particular learning needs make good progress.  Your attendance is good.

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Inspection of Marsden Infant and Nursery School, Huddersfield, HD7 6BN

However, your school is not doing as well as it should and so we have given your school a notice to improve. This means that there are important things that the school must take action to improve and an inspector will visit to see how well the school is improving. These are the things we have asked the school to do to make it better:

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Inspection of Marsden Infant and Nursery School, Huddersfield, HD7 6BN

 to make sure that your teachers always help you to learn in the best possible way, and make sure that you can always take an active part in your learning  to make sure that the school’s leaders and managers know more about how well you are learning and get better at improving the school  to make sure that teachers help you to always behave at your best.

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Inspection of Marsden Infant and Nursery School, Huddersfield, HD7 6BN

You can help by doing your best and behaving very well all the time.

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Inspection of Marsden Infant and Nursery School, Huddersfield, HD7 6BN

Elaine Murray Her Majesty's Inspector procedures set out in the guidance 'Complaining about inspections', wh ich 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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