Lostock Primary School

Lostock Primary School Glengarth Drive, Lostock, Bolton, BL6 4PS

p.1

Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Leadership and management Good 2

p.1

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  Pupils make good progress and attain much higher than average standards by the time they leave at the end of Year 6.  Reading is a strength; over a half of pupils make better than expected progress before they leave.  The Reception class provides particularly well for children and as a result, they make exceptional progress.  Pupils behave exceptionally well in, and out, of class; they are polite, personable and it is very clear that they are happy, feel safe and enjoy school; attendance is well above average.  Teaching and learning are good; some lessons are outstandingly well taught; inadequate teaching is unheard of.  Most parents and carers express delight at the way the school has improved since its last inspection; particularly in the way it listens to their concerns and informs them about their children’s learning and progress.  Leadership and management are good and ensure the school continues to improve.

p.1

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

Leaders and managers manage the performance of staff particularly well and ensure that all have access to good training opportunities.  The governing body is good at holding leaders and managers to account and ensuring that finances are kept in order.

p.1

It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Progress in mathematics, although good, does not match that in English.  There is some teaching that still requires improvement and there is not enough that is outstanding.

p.1

Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed parts of 14 lessons; all teachers were observed at least once.  Meetings were held with senior staff, representatives of the governing body, a representative of the local authority, and a small group of parents and carers.  Many informal discussions took place with staff and pupils.  Inspectors took into account the views of 26 parents or carers who responded to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) and also the responses of parents and carers to a paper questionnaire circulated by the school towards the end of last year.  Inspectors looked at pupils’ work and school data about their past and current progress.  Documents relating to behaviour, safeguarding, attendance and school improvement were looked at alongside those relating to self-evaluation.

p.2

Inspection team

Alastair Younger, Lead inspector Additional inspector Maureen Hints Additional inspector

p.2

Information about this school

 This is a smaller than average size primary school.  The proportions of pupils supported through school action, school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs are smaller than average.  Many fewer pupils than average are known to be eligible for the pupil premium.  There are currently no looked after children.  The large majority of pupils are White British; the main minority ethnic groups are small numbers of of Indian and Pakistani heritage pupils.  The school comfortably exceeds the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.

p.3

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Help pupils to make better progress in mathematics by: - making sure that all teachers take notice of existing assesssment information to make sure that all pupils are equally challenged in lessons - paying particular attention to the progress of average and lower attaining pupils to help them exceed national expectations for progress - focusing school improvement planning and staff training to emphasise the priority of improving progress in mathematics and ensure that all teachers are as confident when teaching mathematics as they are when teaching English.  Ensure all teaching is at least good and a greater proportion is outstanding by: - ensuring that when teachers recognise that what they have planned is either too easy, or too hard for different groups of pupils, they make changes straight away rather than taking note and changing plans for the next lesson - ensuring that all teachers take care to take heed of the school’s marking policy.

p.3

The achievement of pupils is good

 Children join the Reception class with broadly average levels of learning and development; by the time they leave at the end of Year 6, most are attaining higher than average standards. This is indicative of good progress.  Children make particularly good progress in the Reception class; they are exceptionally well taught in an outstanding facility that is particularly well suited to meeting their learning and development needs. By the time they leave the Reception class most children have comfortably exceeded their early learning goals; they have made great strides in improving their reading skills but lesser progress in improving their writing.  Nearly all pupils make good progress throughout Key Stage 1. Many more pupils than would be expected exceed national expectations to gain Level 3 in reading, writing and mathematics. Progress in reading is exceptional; in tests towards the end of the last school year, nearly nine

p.4

The achievement of pupils is good

out of ten Year 1 pupils passed the national phonics screening test, when the average nationally was fewer than six out of ten.  Progress throughout Key Stage 2 is good. It is outstanding in reading but not as rapid in mathematics. Although attainment in writing by the end of Year 6 is lower than in either reading or mathematics this can be traced to a lower starting point. In actual fact, pupils make good progress in writing.  The school has spectacular success in helping middle and lower attainers to exceed their expected progress in reading and writing, but less in helping them to exceed expectations in mathematics.  No group of pupils consistently achieves differently to any other. There are minor differences in the achievement of boys and girls, with boys outperforming girls in mathematics but underperforming them in English. The school is monitoring this closely and has implemented several initiatives to help to close the gaps.

p.4

The achievement of pupils is good

 Good support is given to pupils with special educational needs and those who attract the pupil premium; these pupils achieve just as well as all others. The small minority of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds achieve at least in line with others and in the case of Indian heritage pupils, even better.

p.4

The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is usually good. Teachers’ standards are well met by an ambitious, conscientious and professional staff.  Outstanding teaching was seen in the Reception class and good or outstanding teaching was observed in most English and mathematics lessons; this is a central factor in the good progress that pupils make and the high standards they achieve.  Teaching in English is consistently good and occasionally outstanding; teaching in mathematics is slightly weaker because it is less consistent; although there are instances of good and outstanding teaching, there are also a few lessons where teaching requires improvement.  Planning for most lessons is good; what pupils are expected to learn is clearly stated and shared with pupils at the start of each lesson; the best lessons start with the teacher checking what pupils have remembered from previous ones. Occasionally, especially in mathematics

p.4

The quality of teaching is good

lessons, not enough attention is paid to assessment data when setting tasks and this results in too much being expected of some pupils and not enough of others.  The assessment and marking of pupils’ work is usually good, it often involves pupils in talking about what they have done and correcting their mistakes; occasionally, marking neglects to pick up on fundamental errors in pupils’ writing, such as the correct use of capital letters and repeated mis-spelling of simple words.  A characteristic of the strongest teaching is the way those teachers adapt lessons as they unfold, to maintain challenge for the highest attaining pupils or give more opportunity to reinforce learning for those who are struggling; where teaching is weaker, teachers take account of this but only to adjust planning for future lessons.  Teaching assistants are usually well deployed and are given good instructions about how they

p.4

The quality of teaching is good

are expected to support pupils’ learning.  Teachers are good at questioning pupils to check that they understand what is being taught; taking great care to involve pupils of all abilities in this process.  Teachers take great care to create a stimulating environment for learning in their classrooms; there are many vivid and informative displays and some good examples of pupils’ best work, but not enough that celebrate their best writing.

p.5

The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils behave exceptionally well in nearly all situations; they are personable, polite and inquisitive.  Pupils show great enthusiasm for learning, they are attentive in lessons and work hard.  Parents, carers and the pupils themselves are almost unanimous in saying that behaviour in school is good and that there is no reason for anyone to feel unsafe because supervision at break and lunchtimes is vigilant and behaviour in class very well managed by staff.  Exclusion is all but unheard of and attendance is well in excess of the national average; punctuality is particularly good; as a result, very little learning time is lost and this contributes significantly to the good progress pupils make.  Instances of serious misbehaviour are very rare. Perceived bullying is carefully recorded and always dealt with to the satisfaction of parents and carers, perpetrators and victims. The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds is rising but there is virtually no evidence

p.5

The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

of racism.  Pupils show a particularly good understanding of what could constitute unsafe situations. They look after each other particularly well through systems such as playground buddies and ‘Lostock Listeners’, where older, more confident, pupils can lend a comforting ear to younger and more vulnerable children.

p.5

The leadership and management are good

 Leaders and managers have moved the school on well since the last inspection. At the time it was judged to be satisfactory but it is now providing a good standard of education for pupils. A part of this is due to the increased rigour of self-evaluation and the account it pays to the views of all concerned parties.  Parents and carers are particularly pleased with the improvements; they voice considerable support for the headteacher and the way she has managed change and improvement. The last inspection criticised relationships between the school and parents and carers. The school took heed and parents and carers now say that communication between the school and themselves has been transformed for the better; they particularly appreciate the ‘Parents’ Forum’ through which they feel empowered to influence decision making in the school.  Senior staff with teaching commitments show they have the skills to model professional

p.5

The leadership and management are good

standards to other staff but are not always given the opportunity to do so.  Teaching has improved since the last inspection; this improvement has been punctuated and slowed by unavoidable circumstances but there has been a good programme of continuous professional development for all staff, linked to the school’s plan for improvement and complementing rigorous procedures for the performance management of teachers. The excellent attention to promoting reading throughout the school has ensured that pupils make at least good progress in improving their literacy. Equal opportunities are promoted well and there is no evidence of discrimination.  The local authority has closely monitored the school over the past five years; from a position where it was considered to be underperforming, the local authority now recognises this to be a good school which has an increasing capacity to look after itself; as such support has been

p.5

The leadership and management are good

appropriately scaled back.  What is preventing this aspect from being outstanding is that leaders and managers have not sufficiently prioritised progress in mathematics as a priority for improvement. This has happened because attainment in mathematics is better than in writing and this has masked the fact that progress in writing is actually better than in mathematics. As a result, teachers have received far more training in promoting literacy than numeracy and a few express the view that they feel less confident when teaching mathematics than they do when teaching English.  The governance of the school:  governors systematically challenge senior leaders and show an increasingly beneficial awareness of the boundaries between leadership and management and governance  governors show a good awareness of finance and pay a keen awareness of how the pupil premium is spent and to what end. They stand firm in ensuring that all promotion is on merit

p.6

The leadership and management are good

and in the best interest of the school. The governance of the school is good.

p.6

Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 2 Good A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils’ needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 3 Requires improvement A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school

p.7

Grade Judgement Description

is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

p.7

School details

Unique reference number 105174 Local authority Bolton Inspection number 404970

p.8

School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

p.8

School details

Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 4-11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 200 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Carol Greenhalgh Headteacher Gill Smith Date of previous school inspection 4-5 November 2010 Telephone number 01204 333733 Fax number 01204 333734 Email address office@lostock.bolton.sch.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', 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 .

p.8

School details

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 and as part of the inspection.

p.9

School details

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

p.9

School details

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. 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,

p.9

School details

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’.

p.9

School details

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

p.9