Avenue Primary School

Age group 3–11 Inspection date(s) 13–14 March 2012 Inspection number 381290 Avenue Primary School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 131002 Local authority Leicester Inspection number 381290 Inspection dates 13–14 March 2012 Lead inspector Nina Bee

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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 516 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Cathy Brown Headteacher Stephanie Tate Date of previous school inspection 4 February 2009 School address Avenue Road Extension Leicester LE2 3EJ Telephone number 0116 2708326 Fax number 0116 2708326 Email address office@avenue.leicester.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 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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You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk , or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out with two days’ notice. The inspection team visited 17 lessons of 25 minutes or longer, observing 14 teachers and two nursery nurses. Nine lessons were jointly observed with the headteacher or one of the senior leaders. The inspectors scrutinised pupils’ work and some of their reading records and undertook other activities in order to observe the pupils’ learning. Meetings were held with groups of pupils, staff, members of the governing body and a representative from the local authority. Inspectors took account of the responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) in planning the inspection, observed the school’s work and looked at the school’s self-evaluation and planning documents, policies and procedures as well as information on pupils’ performance. A total of 143 questionnaires completed by parents and carers were received and analysed as well as questionnaires completed by pupils and staff.

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Information about the school

Avenue Primary is much larger than the average sized primary school. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is below average. Approximately half of the pupils come from White British backgrounds. The rest of the school population is made up of small numbers from a wide range of different minority ethnic groups. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is above average. The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is below average. Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage are taught in four classes,which contain children of nursery and reception age. Nursery children attend part-time. The school meets the current floor standard set by the government, which determines the minimum expectations for attainment and progress. Since the previous inspection the school has been awarded the Leading Parent Partnership Award, the Active Sports Award and Healthy Schools Status.

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Key findings

 In accordance with section 13 (3) of the Education Act 2995, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires special measures because it is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the persons responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure necessary improvements.

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Key findings

 This is not a satisfactory school because the children do not make enough progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage and Year 2. Consequently, attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 is declining. Leaders and managers have not done enough to prevent this or taken enough effective action to improve the teaching.

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Key findings

 Achievement is inadequate in the Early Years Foundation Stage; adults do not focus effectively on the next steps of learning when they interact with individuals and small groups. Achievement for pupils in Year 2 is inadequate because teaching is ineffective and does not meet pupils’ needs. This includes pupils with special educational needs and those who speak English as an additional language. Achievement in other year groups is satisfactory and in Year 6 it is good.

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Key findings

 The quality of teaching is inadequate overall. There is too little good teaching. Teachers do not consistently use assessment data to plan challenging activities for all groups of pupils or check that pupils understand what they are doing. Teaching assistants do not contribute fully to pupils’ learning and teachers’ marking does not sufficiently inform pupils of what they need to do to improve.

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Key findings

 Pupils’ behaviour is satisfactory. During break times, however, a few pupils are not always kind towards each other. In lessons the pupils show good attitudes to learning, follow teachers’ instructions and behave well. They understand how to keep themselves safe. Attendance is below average.

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Key findings

 Leadership and management are inadequate. The quality of education has not improved enough since the previous inspection. Senior leaders and managers do not have an accurate picture of the school’s effectiveness. The performance of teaching is not managed or monitored rigorously and pupils’ progress is not tracked in sufficient detail to avoid underachievement.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching and accelerate the progress made by all pupils, but particularly for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage and pupils in Year 2, by:  making effective use of assessment data to set suitably challenging targets and activities for all groups of pupils  checking on pupils’ learning more frequently during lessons so that activities can be adapted to their individual needs  ensuring that teachers’ marking clearly shows pupils what they need to do to improve their work and meet their targets  ensuring that teaching assistants contribute to pupils’ learning in lessons.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure leaders and managers at all levels, including members of the governing body, accurately evaluate and rapidly improve the quality of education pupils receive and their achievement by:  urgently improving the systems used to manage and monitor teaching and learning so that more teaching becomes good or better and underachievement is eradicated  collating and analysing information about pupils’ attainment and progress more effectively so that any underachievement is quickly identified and addressed  improving teachers’ understanding of pupils’ performance data so that they identify the most important areas for improvement and use assessment information confidently to plan the next step in learning for individuals.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that attendance improves further by carefully monitoring and promoting the attendance of all pupil groups.

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Achievement of pupils

Children join the school with skills, knowledge and understanding that are broadly expected for their age. The school’s data show that too many children underachieve in all areas of learning as they move through the Early Years Foundation Stage. By the end of the last Reception Year, half of children now in the current Year 1 had underachieved in elements of basic numeracy, while over a fifth made too little progress in writing. A quarter made inadequate progress in developing language, communication and thinking skills and half of the cohort underachieved in creative development.

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Achievement of pupils

Children happily and confidently take part in activities which they choose themselves or are adult-led. However, adults’ interactions with children do not focus sufficiently on developing learning and consequently, not all children reach their potential. Progress is broadly satisfactory in Year 1 but in Year 2 it is inadequate. As a result of weaknesses in teaching, pupils in Year 2 are not on course to reach their targets. The school’s assessment information for the current Year 2 shows that attainment is below average in reading, writing and mathematics and declining when compared with the previous inspection.

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Achievement of pupils

Achievement is satisfactory at Key Stage 2. In Year 6, teaching is good and pupils learn well in English and mathematics. As a result, Year 6 pupils are on track to reach levels which are broadly average in reading, writing and mathematics. Parents and carers feel that their children make good progress. While this is true in Year 6, it is not the case in other year groups. The pace of learning is slow in inadequate lessons and often slow in parts of satisfactory lessons. Despite this, pupils generally display positive attitudes to learning and behaviour is often good, even in less successful lessons. Inspection findings show that a few pupils who are identified as needing additional help to develop language or basic skills in reading, writing and mathematics make satisfactory progress when working with support in smaller groups. The achievement of disabled pupils and those who have special educational

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Achievement of pupils

needs varies across year groups and is dependent on the quality of teaching and support they receive. In the Early Years Foundation Stage and Year 2 their progress is inadequate. They achieve well in Year 6 and in other year groups they make satisfactory progress. It is the same picture for those pupils who speak English as an additional language.

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Quality of teaching

In the Early Years Foundation Stage, teaching is inadequate because adults do not use assessment information effectively to check the rate of individual children’s progress and to take steps to avoid underachievement. They do not ensure that children’s learning is developing when they take part in adult-led activities or those which children choose for themselves. Adults’ interactions with children are always caring and supportive but do not focus sufficiently on learning and moving children onto the next level. In Year 2, teaching is weak because there is not enough challenge for many pupils and it does not focus effectively on pupils’ individual needs. Throughout the school, support staff do not make sufficiently effective contributions to pupils’ learning.

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Quality of teaching

In Year 6, lessons are well planned and activities are effectively organised to offer suitable challenge and to enable pupils of all abilities to learn well. Teachers always have high expectations, and individual targets are identified during the lessons to enable pupils to make better progress. Teachers use their good subject knowledge, for example as they talk about writing poetry, to enthuse pupils. Time is used well and pupils’ progress is carefully monitored throughout the lessons so that the teachers can ensure that all pupils are learning effectively.

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Quality of teaching

Relationships between staff and pupils are good. In lessons from an early age, the importance of getting on with everyone, whatever their backgrounds, cultures and beliefs, is promoted satisfactorily. There are clear procedures for assessing pupils’ performance but this information is not used effectively to set suitably challenging activities for pupils to learn well, apart from in Year 6. Although there are regular meetings to check pupils’ progress, too many pupils are slipping through the net and underachieving, especially in the Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1.

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Quality of teaching

The curriculum is not enabling pupils to achieve well because of weaknesses in the quality of teachers’ planning, the delivery of lessons and the use of assessment information. Nevertheless, there are some strengths, including a focus on pupils’ personal and social development and improving reading skills for those who are not fluent readers by the time they reach Year 3. Pupils receive satisfactory support to enable them to develop basic reading skills. Comments in reading records are supportive but not always informative enough to enable pupils to see what they need to do to improve.

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Quality of teaching

Parents and carers feel that teaching is good. Inspectors found that this view is not accurate as the quality of teaching varies and its impact overall is inadequate.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils have an accurate perception of behaviour within the school and feel that behaviour is sometimes good but generally only satisfactory, especially in the playground. Parents and carers who returned questionnaires feel that behaviour is good. Inspectors saw satisfactory behaviour outside in the playground but good behaviour in most lessons and in the Early Years Foundation Stage, even when activities were uninspiring and teaching was weak. Pupils, parents and carers did identify incidents of anti-social behaviour, which pupils say are usually suitably addressed. Most pupils say they feel safe in school and speak sensibly and maturely about different types of bullying such as cyber bullying. They say that adults generally sort out any difficulties they may have and that any incidents of bullying are dealt with satisfactorily. Almost all parents and carers who returned questionnaires feel that the school keeps their children safe.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils clearly understand and speak confidently about the ‘Good to be Green’ system for managing behaviour, which is generally followed well by teachers. The many opportunities pupils have to develop an awareness of keeping themselves safe, eating healthily and taking regular exercise are reflected in the school’s Healthy School status. Clear records are kept of any incidents of poor behaviour and there is relatively little exclusion from school. Assemblies are used to stress the importance of being friends with everyone and being respectful towards each other. They provide sound opportunities to think about social and moral issues but opportunities for spiritual development are limited. Attendance is below average. However, over the last 18 months, and particularly over the last seven months, attendance has improved.

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Leadership and management

The leaders and managers have failed to prevent the decline in the quality of education since the previous inspection. Attainment is lower at the end of Key Stage 1, pupils’ progress is slower in the Early Years Foundation Stage and in Year 2 there is too much underachievement. The headteacher knows that better teaching is needed to improve pupils’ progress, achievement and attainment but has not managed to develop a team of senior and middle leaders to work effectively with her. Responsibilities are insufficiently shared. For example, no one has a clear overview of the relative achievement of different groups of pupils although there is a wealth of data within the school. There is no designated assessment coordinator other than the headteacher. Staff are given opportunities to develop their professional knowledge and skills but many are reluctant to do so. Senior leaders have observed teaching but this has not been rigorous enough to lead to action to

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Leadership and management

eliminate underachievement. Although some areas for development have been identified, they have not been tackled successfully. Similarly, leaders are not successfully tracking pupils’ progress and identifying pupils who are not on track to reach their targets. The governing body is involved in school development planning and individual governors are linked to school priorities and curriculum areas. They have a satisfactory awareness of what is needed to improve provision, but have not made sure that measures have been put into place to bring about improvement. They have ensured that arrangements for safeguarding the well-being of pupils are secure. While leaders and managers ensure that discrimination is tackled effectively, the curriculum is not planned or outcomes monitored well enough to ensure that children and pupils of all ages have equal opportunities to achieve well.

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Leadership and management

Provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is satisfactory. The curriculum for personal, social and health education places a good emphasis on developing a sound moral framework and the importance of being respectful towards each other. Weaknesses in monitoring and evaluating the work of the school mean that senior and middle leaders, and members of the governing body, have failed to identify appropriate priorities to make the changes necessary to improve the quality of education which pupils receive. The school, therefore, has inadequate capacity for sustained improvement.

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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. 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 ). 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. 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

Attendance: the regular attendance of pupils at school and in lessons, taking into account the school’s efforts to encourage good attendance.

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

main findings from the inspection of their school.

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

Inspection of Avenue Primary School , Leicester , LE2 3EJ

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

Thank you for the kind welcome you gave us when we recently came to visit you. We enjoyed talking with you and visiting your lessons. Unfortunately we found that you were not getting a good enough education, and that the school needs ‘special measures’ to give it extra help to improve. You do not learn enough in the Early Years Foundation Stage and in Year 2. We think a great strength of your school is the way pupils from a large number of different backgrounds get on very well with each other as you work and play together.

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

These are some of the things we found out about your school.

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

 Behaviour is satisfactory in the playground and you behave well during lessons.  You all work well together in pairs and groups in classes.  We know you feel safe in school because you told us so.  You are polite and respectful towards each other and the adults who help you.  Teaching in Year 6 is good and enables you to learn well but there is not enough good teaching in your school. Some of you do not do as well as you should because of this.  By the end of Year 6 your attainment in reading, writing and mathematics is similar to other pupils of your age.

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

We have asked the school’s leaders and teachers to do the following things to improve the school.

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

 Make sure that your work is not too easy or too hard, check that you know what you are doing, and show you what you need to do to improve. Teaching assistants need more guidance so that they can help you to make better progress.  Improve the way that leaders check on teaching and learning so that you all learn well. Teachers need to use the information they collect on individuals more smartly when they plan lessons so that you all make better progress.  Keep checking carefully that you are all attending school regularly.

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

You too can all help by always doing your best and coming to school regularly.

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

Nina Bee 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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