Lambley Primary School

Age group 4–11 Inspection date(s) 23–24 May 2012 Inspection number 380507 Lambley Primary School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 122654 Local authority Nottinghamshire Inspection number 380507 Inspection dates 23–24 May 2012 Lead inspector Christopher Moodie

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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 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 111 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Diane Bathgate Headteacher Christine Drewry Date of previous school inspection 22 September 2008 School address Catfoot Lane Lambley Nottingham NG4 4QF Telephone number 0115 9313515 Fax number 0115 9313515 Email address office@lambley.notts.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 inspector observed 7 lessons for half an hour or longer, taught by five different teachers. In addition he observed the teaching of phonics (letters and the sounds they make) to small groups of pupils. The inspector listened to pupils reading in several year groups and looked in detail at their written work. Meetings were held with pupils, staff, and members of the governing body. The inspector took account of the responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) in planning the inspection. He observed the work of the school and looked at the school’s data on attainment, progress, attendance and behaviour. The inspector examined the school’s planning and self-evaluation documents, including how the school evaluates the quality of teaching. The inspector also looked at the evaluation reports from the local authority. He scrutinised the school’s systems for safeguarding pupils. Responses of 67 parents and carers to

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Introduction

Ofsted’s questionnaire were taken into account, along with 10 from staff and 49 from pupils.

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Information about the school

Lambley Primary School is smaller than the average primary school. It shares some of its accomodation, such as the school hall, with the local community. The overwhelming majority of pupils are White British. The proportion of pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals is below average. The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is also low. Their needs include behaviour, social and emotional difficulties, autistic spectrum disorder and physical disability. The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum standards expected for attainment and progress in English and mathematics in Year 6. All pupils in the school are taught in mixed age-range classes. The school has experienced a period of staffing instability since the previous inspection. The headteacher was appointed in January 2010. A permanent deputy

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Information about the school

headteacher has been appointed recently.

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Information about the school

The privately-run, registered pre-school childcare is subject to separate inspection arrangements.

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Key findings

 This is a satisfactory school. It is not yet good because, although achievement has much improved, teaching is not consistently good, the curriculum does not meet all learners’ needs and some leadership roles are underdeveloped. 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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Key findings

 Achievement declined following the previous inspection, during a period of considerable staffing turbulence and change. Actions taken by school leaders over the last year have halted this decline and pupils’ achievement has improved. All pupils are making at least satisfactory progress and in some classes most pupils are making good progress. Pupils in Year 6 are on track to achieve better than their national counterparts in reading and mathematics. Achievement in writing is average.  All teaching is at least satisfactory and some is good or outstanding. The leadership of teaching has improved and is effective. Better teaching has led to increased levels of enthusiasm and enjoyment in learning among pupils, and to their improved rate of progress.

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Key findings

 Pupils’ behaviour is satisfactory. Most pupils are polite and have positive attitudes to learning. Good relationships between staff and pupils help to create a secure and supportive learning environment for much of the time. However, low-level disruption to lessons occurs occasionally and diverts teachers’ attention from other pupils.

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Key findings

 Leadership and management are satisfactory. School performance is satisfactorily managed, as shown by pupils’ improved achievement. The headteacher has successfully managed a series of staffing changes since her appointment, restricting the development of a leadership team. The situation is now stable. A permanent deputy headteacher is in post and other leadership responsibilities are being allocated.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching so that it is all at least good by May 2013, in order that:  pupils’ achievement in writing accelerates  the different needs of all groups of pupils are met in every lesson  all pupils have a clear understanding of what they need to do to improve their own work.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Review and adapt the curriculum so that it:  more effectively meets the needs and the interests of the pupils  promotes writing and numeracy in a range of subjects by creating cross- curricular links.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Establish and develop leadership roles across the school so that:  identified leadership exists for all key aspects of the school’s work  time and training are provided that enable all leaders to improve their performance.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils’ achievement is improving. Children start school with the skills and abilities that are expected for their age. By the end of the Reception Year, most children have made good progress in reading and mathematics. Progress in writing is satisfactory, but is improving because a stronger link is being made between the sounds in reading and the words in writing.

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Achievement of pupils

In Key Stage 1, pupils continue to make good progress in reading and mathematics so that by the end of Year 2 their attainment is above average. In the recent past, attainment in writing has declined significantly so that in 2011, pupils’ attainment was below average. This situation has improved, and attainment in writing is in line with age-related expectations for pupils currently in Year 2.

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Achievement of pupils

In Key Stage 2, pupils have usually continued to build on the good start in their earlier years in school and have left Year 6 with attainment that was above average. Staffing difficulties, resulting in many pupils being taught by a range of temporary teachers, contributed to a decline in attainment in English and mathematics, which dipped to average. For more than a year, there has been a recovery in the quality of teaching, which has enabled pupils to be on track to reach above-average standards in reading and mathematics in 2012. Evidence from the school’s reliable assessment data and observation and analysis of pupils’ work endorse this evaluation. The legacy of underachievement in writing has been greater and, despite making good progress in Year 6, attainment in this subject is no higher than average. Boys have sometimes made better progress than girls in the past. The year groups are small and very

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Achievement of pupils

variable in size, and there is no consistent pattern across the school of different achievement between girls and boys. Inspection findings that achievement is satisfactory are not fully endorsed by most parents and carers who responded to the inspection questionnaire, who think their children are making good progress at this school. Inspection evidence shows considerable improvement over last year, but writing skills are not yet good. In most lessons, teaching is well planned and pupils’ interests are engaged. In such instances, pupils work very well together and exhibit important learning skills, such as resilience and independence. This was exemplified in mathematics, where Year 5 and 6 pupils used a range of mathematical strategies to crack codes and collectively solve a mystery. As one pupil commented, ‘I love this kind of maths – I am determined to crack this code!’ This excellent practice is not consistent, however,

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Achievement of pupils

and where lessons are not as effectively planned a small number of pupils’ display negative attitudes to their work and, occasionally, hinder the learning of others.

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Achievement of pupils

Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are well supported in lessons. The work that they do is generally well matched to their needs and they are, currently, making good progress.

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Quality of teaching

Teaching has improved recently as a result of effective leadership and staffing stability. Teaching is at least satisfactory and some is better. Teachers’ planning makes increasingly effective use of assessment information and, in some lessons, the activities are well matched to the different needs of pupils. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is effectively promoted by the activities that teachers plan. In other lessons, too many pupils undertake the same task and this slows the progress of the potentially higher-attaining pupils and those who need more support. Following a period when teachers lacked confidence in assessing pupil progress, the identification of what pupils need to do to make the next steps of improvement in learning has become more accurate. This guidance is being communicated well to some pupils, through marking and verbal feedback. There are, however, many pupils

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Quality of teaching

who remain unsure about exactly what their next steps in learning are. Almost all parents and carers who responded to the inspection questionnaire think that teaching is good, and there is evidence of some good teaching in all year groups. Good teaching is not yet consistent across the curriculum and, consequently, pupils experience a variable quality of learning in lessons, but nothing which is less than satisfactory. The teaching of reading is at least satisfactory and is most successful when it is highly structured and systematic.

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Quality of teaching

Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage make the most progress when they are engaged in activities which are directly led by adults. Progress slows when children choose their own activities because opportunities for adults to support and develop learning in those situations are missed.

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Quality of teaching

Teaching assistants work well alongside teachers to support pupils and promote positive attitudes to learning. They are well deployed and have developed strong and productive relationships with pupils, including those who are disabled or have special educational needs. Teaching assistants are equally effective when required to lead groups of pupils. This was typified by the good support given to a group of pupils in Years 3 and 4 as they collected data in the school’s allotment. The effective teaching and support of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs leads to their currently good progress.

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Quality of teaching

Strategies to improve the teaching of writing through a more engaging curriculum are showing positive impact. Recent curricular initiatives are popular with pupils, and their writing is improving most rapidly in classes where teachers are providing meaningful and interesting reasons for writing. For example, pupils in Years 1 and 2 enjoyed creating instructions for baking a cake having watched a home-made video of a teacher baking at home. Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage also worked enthusiastically to write accounts of their visit to a zoo. Conversely, where pupils are asked to undertake writing tasks that are repetitive and mundane, they make significantly slower progress.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

The majority of pupils behave well in lessons and around the school. They listen well to teachers, and are quick to respond. A small proportion of pupils are not as cooperative, and time is occasionally spent in addressing behaviour that distracts from learning. The school has revised its behaviour policy and this is effective for most pupils, but the policy is not meeting the needs of pupils who are regularly failing to meet the school’s expectations of good behaviour.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

A number of parents and carers who responded to the inspection questionnaire expressed concerns about behaviour in school. Talking to the inspector, the pupils said that there were times when their lessons were interrupted by poor behaviour, but that this was uncommon. Additionally, they reported that they feel safe and secure in school, and that – aside from the occasional squabble – the playground is a friendly place. Pupils appreciate the range of play equipment that is available to them, and make good use of a very attractive setting.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils are aware of the different forms that bullying can take, and all spoken to were confident that they could turn to a member of staff should they have concerns. On the rare occasions that bullying takes place, the school has been effective in addressing it. Pupils cited an example of name calling and how they were satisfied that the school’s response – which had involved the pupil’s parents – had been effective.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils’ attendance rates are higher than average. This has been a consistent feature of the school and has improved further in the last year. The school community is well integrated and pupils of all ages get along well together. The tuck shop, selling a range of fruit and vegetables, is very popular and generates much excitement as pupils try to guess what will be on sale each day.

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Leadership and management

School leaders have managed a period of instability effectively, steering the school out of a difficult period during which the quality of teaching fell, and pupil progress slowed. A clear vision of school improvement, created and driven by the headteacher, has been pivotal in securing better teaching and a recovery in achievement. The current leadership team, strengthened by the appointment of a permanent deputy headteacher, has created a detailed plan for further improvement. In support of this, the governing body has a clear understanding of the challenges that face the school, and is providing effective support for the school’s leaders. In the current climate of staffing stability, teachers are ready to take on responsibilities so that leadership can be more evenly distributed throughout the school, but have not yet had training to advance their skills. Sustained improvement in achievement over the last year has already led to above-average attainment in reading and

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Leadership and management

mathematics. Leaders’ positive action is moving behaviour and teaching towards being good. These advances, already accomplished, show the school’s capacity to secure and sustain further improvement.

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Leadership and management

Monitoring of the quality of teaching is appropriately focused on helping teachers to improve their practice. There is some very effective teaching in the school, but this has not been sufficiently drawn upon to improve all teaching. Senior leaders now check on the progress of individual pupils, and the resultant conversations with class teachers have supported recent improvements in achievement. Equal opportunities are strongly promoted. Any discrimination is firmly challenged on the rare occasion it arises. Arrangements to make sure that the pupils are as safe as possible meet current requirements.

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Leadership and management

The curriculum is under review; it is enriched by a diverse range of extra-curricular activities, trips, visitors and visits. These activities and events do much to support the school’s promotion of the pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. At its core, the curriculum is in need of change. It does not provide sufficient opportunities for pupils to use the key skills that they learn in reading, writing and mathematics in all of the other subjects that they learn.

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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. 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 ). 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

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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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 Lambley Primary School , Nottingham , NG4 4QF

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

Thank you for making me so welcome when I inspected your school recently. I would also like to thank those of you who helped me and spoke with me. I enjoyed listening to your thoughts and opinions, and seeing you in your lessons and at play in your beautiful playground. Overall, your school is satisfactory.

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

These are some of the things that you do well.

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

 Most of you behave well in lessons and around the school. Many of you are proud of your school and look after it very well.  You are all doing well with your reading. I really enjoyed listening to many of you read, using lots of good strategies to work out what the words say.  Your attendance at school is very good. This is very important and I want you to keep it up.

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

There are also things that need to be improved. Here is what I have asked your school to do.

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

 Make sure that teaching helps you to improve your writing and gives you exciting and interesting things to do in all lessons at your own learning level.  Ensure that you have more opportunity to use your literacy and numeracy skills in all subjects.  Make good use of the teaching staff to lead improvements, so that your school can continue to improve.

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

I wish you the very best of luck in the future. Please remember that you can improve your own future by always working hard at school.

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

Chris Moodie. 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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