Newhey Community Primary School

Newhey Community Primary School Inspection report

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Age group 3–11 Inspection date(s) 15–16 May 2012 Inspection number 377298 Unique Reference Number 105789 Local authority Rochdale Inspection number 377298 Inspection dates 15–16 May 2012 Lead inspector Alan Parkinson

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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 241 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Coral Aspinall Headteacher Clair Gooding Date of previous school inspection 17 January 2007 School address Hawthorn Lane Newhey Rochdale OL16 4JX Telephone number 01706 847658 Fax number 01706 882830 Email address head@newhey.rochdale.sch.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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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

Alan Parkinson David Law Additional inspector Additional inspector

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out with two days' notice. The inspectors looked at the school’s self-evaluation evidence, the school development plan, internal and external pupil progress data, documentation relating to safeguarding, work in pupils’ books and observed the school’s work. The inspectors observed 14 lessons taught by eight teachers. Meetings were held with staff, two groups of pupils and four members of the governing body. They analysed 69 questionnaires returned by parents and carers, as well as those returned by pupils and staff.

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Information about the school

This is an average size primary school. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is below average. The vast majority of pupils is from White British backgrounds. The proportion of pupils supported by school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is broadly average. The school meets the current floor standards, which are the minimum standards for attainment and progress expected by the government. The school has received several awards including Healthy School status, the ICAN (Speech and Language) Award and the ECO Schools Silver Award. 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

■ This is a good school. It is not yet outstanding because while teaching is good and pupils make good progress, the pupils’ attainment and progress in mathematics lag a little behind that seen in reading and writing. This is a very inclusive school where all pupils are encouraged to do their best and take a full and active part in school life.

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Key Findings

■ Pupils’ achievement is good. Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage make good progress across all areas of learning. This good progress continues throughout the school and by the end of Year 6 pupils’ attainment is above the national average with particular strengths in reading and writing. Attainment is well above average in writing and above average in reading.

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Key Findings

■ Teaching is good because teachers have high expectations, motivate pupils and provide opportunities for them to succeed. The marking of pupils’ work is not always consistent enough, particularly in mathematics and does not always help them to improve their work further to make the best possible progress. Teachers do not always plan enough opportunities for pupils to apply their mathematical skills and knowledge in different contexts both in lessons and in different subjects to improve their attainment in mathematics further.

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Key Findings

■ Pupils’ outstanding behaviour and attitudes have a very positive impact on their learning. Pupils are kind and very respectful to each other and to staff and visitors. They say they feel very safe in school. Attendance is above average and reflects pupils’ enjoyment of school.

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Key Findings

■ Leadership and management are good. The senior leaders are well supported by a proactive governing body and dedicated team of staff. The curriculum is well planned to engage pupils and promote positive attitudes towards learning so effectively supports their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. The leadership of teaching is effective and teachers receive regular feedback on their performance together with advice on how they can improve their practice further. This has a positive effect on improving the quality of teaching.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

■ Improve progress and raise the attainment in mathematics further by: - creating more opportunities for pupils to develop and apply their mathematical skills and knowledge in a range of contexts, both in mathematics lessons and in other subjects - improving the consistency of marking to show pupils their next steps on how to improve their work - ensuring that activities are always highly focused to meet individual needs.

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Achievement of pupils

Children enter the Early Years Foundation Stage with skills and knowledge that, while variable, are typical for their age in all areas of development. Good provision in all areas of learning enables them to progress well in both Nursery and Reception classes from their starting points. This good progress continues through Key Stage 1. In recent years, the school has given a strong focus to developing reading and writing skills and ensuring that pupils have many opportunities for developing these skills across different subjects. As a result, all groups of pupils, including disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, make at least consistently good progress in these areas by the end of Year 6. Attainment in writing has improved significantly and is now well above average. Although progress in mathematics across the school is good and attainment above average, pupils’ overall performance in this subject is not as consistently strong as in reading and writing.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils are not always provided with enough opportunities to apply and develop their mathematical skills in lessons and in a range of subjects to raise their attainment in mathematics further.

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Achievement of pupils

An emphasis on improving pupils’ reading skills is successfully enabling pupils to make at least good progress in reading. Attainment at the end of Year 2 is average and above average at the end of Year 6. Pupils enjoy their learning and are very keen to do well. Pupils in a Year 1 class clearly enjoyed their history lesson learning about what the Queen does. They worked extremely well together and eagerly put the most important events in the Queen’s life in chronological order. In a Year 5 lesson pupils evaluated their own and each other’s performance in dance. Pupils listened very carefully and shared each other’s ideas to improve their performance. Their very positive attitudes underpin the good progress in their learning. The vast majority of parents and carers agree that their children make good progress.

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Quality of teaching

In the best lessons where sometimes outstanding teaching was seen, teaching is organised and planned very well with a clear purpose that is shared with pupils. Teachers have high expectations, use questioning techniques skilfully to extend pupils’ learning and maintain a brisk pace. As a result, learning takes place at a good rate, pupils are actively engaged and are challenged effectively through a variety of tasks and activities. Throughout the school the curriculum is well-planned and typically lessons are usually well-paced, making good use of time.

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Quality of teaching

In a Nursery lesson, children enjoyed a lively physical activity to start the lesson and then settled quickly, listening carefully and taking turns promoting good development of social skills. In the Reception class excellent organisation enables smooth transition between activities and promotes brisk learning. The small outdoor area is used effectively and promotes purposeful learning. The school adopts some very good practice for meeting individual needs and promoting very effective learning. For example, across Key Stage 1 phonics (letters and the sounds they make) sessions are organised effectively by ability groups with tasks that are very well focused to match individual needs. This enables pupils to acquire good knowledge of letters and sounds and successfully develop their reading and writing skills. Similarly, spelling sessions are organised by ability groups across Key Stage 2 where highly focused activities and tasks that meet pupils’ needs enable rapid progress to

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Quality of teaching

be made. Very effective methods of ensuring that work is highly-focused to meet individual needs in reading and writing are not always applied to the teaching in mathematics. Pupils make particularly good progress in writing because teachers provide them with many interesting opportunities to write in different styles which are linked to the current topic.

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Quality of teaching

Teaching assistants form good relationships with teachers and their pupils. They make a significant contribution to the learning of pupils including those with special educational needs and those identified by the school for additional support. A dedicated staff team provides consistently good teaching to enable these pupils to make good progress. Teachers provide good feedback to pupils during lessons and this enables them to see how well they are doing. Marking of pupils’ work is most effective when it is helpful and supports the next steps in pupils’ learning but this good practice is not consistent across all areas and particularly in mathematics. Staff keep good records of pupils’ progress and act on this information quickly to provide additional support when needed.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils have a very good understanding of how to keep themselves safe. They are taught not to talk to strangers and have a very good awareness of the issues around social networking sites and cyber-bullying. In the different year groups they have a variety of opportunities to learn about keeping safe, for example, road safety, swimming safety, with all pupils learning how to swim, and fire safety. The vast majority of pupils say they feel very safe in school because adults take care of them and they know they will help them if they have a problem. Pupils say that there is very little bullying and if it occurs it is dealt with quickly and effectively. Parents and carers reflect the pupils’ very positive views and almost all say that their children are kept safe in school and inspection evidence supports this.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Weekly award assemblies, attended by parents, carers and governors, are valued by the pupils and focus their attention on achievement, celebrate their success and motivate them to work hard. The pupils’ excellent attitudes to learning are demonstrated by their high levels of engagement in lessons. They support each other’s learning through very effective collaboration and co-operation. This enables lessons to proceed without interruption. The school engages well with parents and carers and as such enables them to support their children’s learning at home.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils are given ample opportunities to help the school community through the school council or Eco Council. Year 6 pupils run a healthy tuck shop to encourage healthy eating. The school takes full account of pupils’ views through the work of the school council. For example, following pupil requests more equipment has been provided on the junior playground to improve the quality of playtimes. Pupils are very polite and courteous around the school. Relationships between pupils and with adults are excellent and lead to a calm, friendly environment. Pupils play very well together and develop very good social skills through various co-operative activities. Pupils are very good ambassadors for the school and receive frequent comments about their excellent behaviour from members of the public, particularly when on school visits such as travelling on public transport or watching a ballet performance at a theatre. Attendance is above average and punctuality is good.

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Leadership and management

The headteacher and governing body have a clear vision for further school improvement with a strong focus on teaching and learning. The senior leaders and governing body have accurately identified the school’s strengths and areas for improvement through good self- evaluation processes. Professional development and performance management are effective. The school has successfully implemented many significant improvements over the last two years. For example, the strategies to raise attainment in writing have been highly successful in developing pupils’ writing skills. The governing body provides good support and challenge. Governors actively monitor the work of the school and evaluate progress towards its objectives. The school is now giving a strong focus to raising attainment in mathematics and has a good capacity to improve further.

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Leadership and management

The curriculum meets pupils’ needs well. It is well planned and provides opportunities for pupils to develop skills in sports, the arts and raises awareness of other cultures through its links with schools in Africa and India. This contributes positively to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Themes and topics are planned creatively to promote interest and enjoyment in lessons. For example, a Year 5 topic based on ‘The Snowman’ provided varied opportunities for pupils to develop their literacy skills in a range of subjects. In literacy, Year 6 pupils wrote to the local council and then worked closely with councillors to secure funding for a skateboarding park. Pupils are now collaborating with Year 7 pupils at the local high school to design the skateboarding park.

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Leadership and management

The school is very inclusive and its ethos promotes equality of opportunity well and ensures that there is no discrimination. The school has a rigorous system in place to monitor the progress of groups and individual pupils. It makes effective use of data to identify any areas of underachievement and implements targeted support when required. This ensures that all groups of pupils are supported and cared for well, particularly by the experienced support staff, to enable all groups of pupils to achieve equally well. Safeguarding and child protection procedures and policies meet national requirements.

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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 54 42 2 2 Primary schools 14 49 32 6 Secondary schools 20 39 34 7 Special schools 33 45 20 3 Pupil referral units 9 55 28 8 All schools 16 47 31 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 to 31 December 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 up 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

Floor standards the national minimum expectation of attainment and progression measures

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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 Newhey Community Primary School, Rochdale, OL16 4JX

On behalf of the inspection team I would like to thank you for making us feel so welcome when we inspected your school recently. We are particularly grateful to those of you who came to talk to us at lunchtime. Your comments were very valuable in helping us to find out about your school

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Inspection of Newhey Community Primary School, Rochdale, OL16 4JX

Newhey is a good school and all the staff in school work really well as a team. You told us that you enjoy coming to school. Your attitudes towards learning are outstanding and your attendance is good. You feel very safe in school because of the excellent support and care you get from the grown-ups who work with you. We were very impressed with your outstanding behaviour and how friendly you are to visitors. You take care of one another very well and work very hard. You were all very considerate and the school has helped you to be very polite and thoughtful young people.

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Inspection of Newhey Community Primary School, Rochdale, OL16 4JX

We enjoyed listening to some of you read. Teaching is good and you all enjoy your lessons. You do your best work in reading and writing. We have asked your headteacher and teachers to help you improve your progress and attainment in mathematics so that they are as consistently good as in reading and writing.

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Inspection of Newhey Community Primary School, Rochdale, OL16 4JX

I hope you keep on working hard so you can help to make your school even better. Thank you again for your contribution to the inspection and for your kindness and courtesy to us. We wish all of you the very best for your future.

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Inspection of Newhey Community Primary School, Rochdale, OL16 4JX

Alan Parkinson 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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