Kings Norton Junior and Infant School

Age group 4–11 Inspection date(s) 22–23 March 2012 Inspection number 376853 Kings Norton Junior and Infant School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 103222 Local authority Birmingham Inspection number 376853 Inspection dates 22–23 March 2012 Lead inspector Carolyn Carnaghan

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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 410 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Audrey Ward Headteacher Lin Reilly Date of previous school inspection 1 May 2007 School address Pershore Road South Kings Norton Birmingham B30 3EU Telephone number 0121 4642606 Fax number 0121 4642608 Email address enquiry@kngnrtn.bham.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 inspe cts 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 day’s notice. The inspectors observed 23 lessons taught by 14 teachers and held meetings with staff, pupils, parents and carers. Inspectors took account of the responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) in planning the inspection, observed the school’s work, and looked at its policies and plans. They scrutinised 164 responses to questionnaires from parents and carers, as well as those returned by staff and pupils.

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Information about the school

Kings Norton is larger than the average-sized primary school. Most pupils are White British. The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is average. There are average proportions of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs and of those who are known to be eligible for free school meals. The school meets the current government floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress. 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. Pupils make good progress, develop their personal, social, cultural and moral attitudes well and enjoy their education. The school is not outstanding because there is not enough outstanding teaching and it does not always promote pupils’ confidence and assurance in their own learning.

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Key findings

 Pupils arrive in the Early Years Foundation Stage with slightly lower than expected levels of skills and leave school having reached above average attainment. This represents good achievement. Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs and those who speak English as an additional language also achieve well.

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Key findings

 Teaching is good because lessons are interesting and all groups of pupils are well supported. Occasionally pupils are not given the chance to express their individuality through learning, however, or make choices in their work. There is not always enough stretch and challenge for pupils. Teachers sometimes spend too long setting up tasks and do not ensure their planning enables teaching assistants to help support and drive the learning.

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Key findings

 Behaviour is good. Pupils’ attitudes are highly positive and they appreciate the safe haven that is their school. They understand how to stay safe and what to do if they are worried about anything.

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Key findings

 Leadership and management are good. The headteacher leads an effective team of middle leaders who support her in her drive to improve the school further. They are well assisted by a governing body that provides essential support and challenge in equal measure. The leadership of teaching is good so that most lessons deliver good progress. Leaders and managers ensure the curriculum delivers good opportunities for all pupils and their spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding. Leaders manage school performance well and give the school a strong capacity for further improvement. 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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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise the proportion of outstanding lessons by:  ensuring teachers always provide challenge for all pupils  planning lessons so that teachers and teaching assistants consistently work together to build pace and drive learning forward  ensuring lessons provide pupils with imaginative ways to become more independent in their learning.

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Achievement of pupils

Progress is good in the Early Years Foundation Stage where children arrive with slightly below expected levels of skills in relation to their age. They leave Reception with above average attainment. Children in Reception have good opportunities to explore independently, through carefully planned activities that question and stimulate them. They also work well cooperatively in more formal sessions, for example when reading is being taught and words are being teased apart into sounds or put together and used. Pupils make good progress across the school in both English and mathematics. They leave at the end of Year 6 with attainment that is above average.

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Achievement of pupils

Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs also make good progress. They are well cared for through an extensive programme of support, often skilfully taught by teaching assistants, based on the school’s understanding of their personal and educational requirements. The few pupils who speak English as an additional language achieve well because they are given specific help with their reading and writing. Pupils’ families are regularly offered guidance on how best to help their children at home. Parents and carers rightly express their appreciation of the support and opportunities the school provides for their children’s learning. The school’s strong support ensures there are no significant gaps in learning between different groups of pupils.

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Achievement of pupils

Reading is seen as key to developing pupils’ skills in writing and in building aspirations for learning. Attainment in reading at the end of Key Stages 1 and 2 is above average. It is common to find pupils working closely outside of lessons with a specialist teaching assistant on some new and difficult words or vocabulary. This support has meant that all pupils make at least good progress in reading.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils express enjoyment in their learning, such as when some explored their feelings as a character based on a film they had been watching. Their careful questioning of the pupil in role ensured this drama exercise promoted some strong 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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Achievement of pupils

ideas for extended writing. In a science lesson, pupils explored their understanding of different food types and the consistent challenging by the teacher and teaching assistant made learning fun and well paced. Pupils are encouraged to express their feelings about, for example, words that they like to use. This helps build the habit of thinking independently. However, pupils do not consistently have the opportunity to develop learning as well as they might because what is expected of them is sometimes too limited.

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Quality of teaching

Teaching is good, though sometimes teachers do not ensure their work and that of their teaching assistants is fully coordinated. Staff do not always work towards the same goals in lessons, that of developing pace and challenge for all ability groups. This slows progress and limits pupils’ opportunities to build independence, or it suppresses their creativity.

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Quality of teaching

The best lessons inspire imaginative responses from pupils who are clear about what to do, with whom they are working and understand how to make use of previous knowledge. For example, pupils wrote lively slogans about the ancient Greeks. When pupils are encouraged to reflect thoughtfully on their learning, sometimes expressing it through discussion or creative activities, progress is reinforced further. In these lessons, pupils are very clear about their targets, they understand the point of the work and it is placed in a context meaningful to them. Marking and assessment are also used to assist learning, sometimes setting up a dialogue between pupil and teacher. Where this is the case, progress is further supported.

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Quality of teaching

The curriculum is well planned to meet the needs of all pupils. Teachers are keen to encourage use of literacy and numeracy skills across topic work. It also helps develop pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural values through building leadership skills in group work in lessons, providing time to think and reflect. Children in Reception, for instance, were given time to recall previous work and determine how to tackle a problem in a numeracy session. Parents and carers are rightly very supportive of how teachers enable their children to progress well in lessons.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils express how their school ensures they are safe, whether out and about on the busy local roads or when using the internet. They support one another through becoming peer mentors, something that one pupil said needed ‘two days of intensive training’. They also said it is worth it though, because taking on the role of helping their school is seen as highly valuable and is a source of great pride. Some pupils in Year 6 make themselves visible to younger ones by wearing red caps at playtimes; they are there to help when needed. Many join the school council to help around school.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

The school provides plenty of play equipment for break and lunchtimes but activities are not always as organised as they could be. Occasionally some less confident 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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Behaviour and safety of pupils

pupils have expressed their concerns over boisterous play and the school is responding through working with the older pupils to support them. Pupils say there is very little bullying of any kind and that they understand exactly who to go to if worried.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

The school has worked consistently to maintain above-average attendance and this is well supported by parents and carers. The approach to the safety and behaviour of pupils is cooperative, involving the pupils and their families. Parents and carers report pupils’ behaviour and safety are good and they express their appreciation of their school in this regard.

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Leadership and management

The headteacher leads an able group of middle leaders who support her clear vision for the school. This has led to continued improvements over time in the outcomes for pupils, both academically and in their personal development. This gives the school a strong capacity to improve further. The continuing professional development of staff contributes to this. The school is aware that teachers need support to build their professional expertise across the range of subjects taught. The leadership team is developing its skills and understanding of pupils’ outcomes and needs. This means they hold teachers to account more effectively. Regular monitoring is rigorous but has not always ensured that all lessons provide the consistent approach to pace and challenge deemed necessary by the headteacher.

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Leadership and management

Careful monitoring of the curriculum has helped ensure interesting and meaningful experiences for pupils, meeting their personal and academic needs. The curriculum delivers good opportunities for spiritual, moral, social and cultural development in lessons and through the extensive programme of formal assemblies and weekly celebrations of success. These support the ethos of the school’s intolerance of any form of discrimination. Equality of opportunity is a key thrust of the curriculum and leaders and managers work towards this through every initiative.

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Leadership and management

The safeguarding of pupils is carefully assured by all staff and through the auspices of the governing body. Its members are highly visible around school at all events. They regularly help monitor lessons, scrutinise the results of pupil testing and often challenge the school, holding its leaders to account for pupil outcomes.

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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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Inspection of Kings Norton Junior and Infant School, Birmingham, B30 3EU

Thank you for making the inspection team so welcome when we recently came to your school. It was interesting to meet so many of you and to hear your opinions and views about your school. We agree that your school is good and that you make good progress. We found that you are developing your independence well and that many of you are making excellent leaders and mentors for other pupils in the school.

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Inspection of Kings Norton Junior and Infant School, Birmingham, B30 3EU

In order for your school to become even better I have asked leaders to:

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Inspection of Kings Norton Junior and Infant School, Birmingham, B30 3EU

 make sure all lessons really challenge you  plan lessons better so teachers and teaching assistants work more closely together as a team  provide you with imaginative ways to use your learning and help you become more independent in lessons.

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Inspection of Kings Norton Junior and Infant School, Birmingham, B30 3EU

You can help by always doing your best in every lesson and continue telling your teachers what you enjoy about your learning.

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Inspection of Kings Norton Junior and Infant School, Birmingham, B30 3EU

Carolyn Carnaghan 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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