Attleborough Primary School

Attleborough Junior School Besthorpe Road, Attleborough, NR17 2NA

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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 Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  Pupils make good progress in Years 3 to 6 in English and mathematics from their broadly average starting points.  Pupils in Year 6 are on track to reach above average attainment in English and mathematics.  Teaching is good and some is outstanding. Teachers make good use of skilful questioning and have high expectations for pupils’ learning. They make good use of well- chosen activities to stimulate learning.  Pupils’ behaviour and safety are good. Pupils have good attitudes to learning and their attendance is above average.  The school is led and managed well. Governors provide good support for senior leaders and year group leaders.  Since the last inspection, all leaders have been successful in raising achievement by strengthening the quality of teaching. Consequently, the school is well placed to improve further.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Not enough teaching is outstanding.  Pupils are not always informed of how to improve their learning when their work is marked.  Teachers sometimes spend too much time on whole-class teaching. This restricts the time for pupils to learn independently.  The skills of literacy and numeracy are not always promoted well enough in other subjects.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors visited 30 lessons and observed all teachers teaching. Nearly all of the lessons were observed jointly with the headteacher or deputy headteacher.  Inspectors heard a number of pupils read in Year 3 and looked at their reading records. They also listened to other pupils reading their own writing in lessons.  Inspectors held meetings with a group of 12 pupils, three governors, and senior and Year leaders. Informal discussions took place with six parents and with pupils at play time and lunchtime. A telephone discussion was held with a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors took account of the 38 responses to Parent View (the online questionnaire for parents) and of the questionnaires returned by staff.  Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a range of documentation, including the summary self-evaluation and school improvement plan, minutes of governing body meetings,

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Information about this inspection

information about pupils’ progress, safeguarding policies, attendance figures and records of incidents of inappropriate behaviour, bullying or harassment.

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Inspection team

Declan McCarthy, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Judith Harrison Additional Inspector John Mason Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Attleborough Junior is larger than the average-sized primary school.  Most pupils are from White British backgrounds. A small number of pupils speak English as an additional language.  The proportion of pupils for whom the school receives the pupil premium (additional funding for pupils known to eligible for free school meals or those in local authority care) is below average. Currently, a small number of pupils are in local authority care.  The proportion of pupils supported at school action, school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is below average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.  A new Chair of the Governing Body has taken up post since the last inspection.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the proportion of outstanding teaching by:  ensuring that teachers always inform pupils of how to improve their learning when marking their books  always providing sufficient time for pupils to learn independently in lessons  consistently developing pupils’ literacy and numeracy skills in different subjects.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils join the school with broadly average attainment. They have made good progress, and this is an improvement since the last inspection, when achievement was judged as satisfactory. Robust and accurate school data, lesson observations and pupils’ work show that standards are rising and all groups of pupils are making good progress, especially in English.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Although standards were below average in English and average in mathematics at the end of Year 6 in 2012, pupils made good progress in Years 5 and 6 following the last inspection. Overall progress for these pupils from Year 3 to Year 6 was, however, lower than in most schools because of the slow progress made in Years 3 and 4. The school responded well to the issues for improvement set out in the last inspection report, and pupils’ progress has improved throughout the school as a result.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Standards are higher in the current Year 6 than in previous years, and the majority of pupils are on course to attain the higher levels in English and mathematics. There are no significant differences between the progress of boys and girls. Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make similar progress to their classmates.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils for whom the school receives pupil premium funding were approximately a year behind their classmates in English in 2012, and just over half a year behind in mathematics. The better performance in mathematics was mainly due to the effectiveness of the additional support they received after progress in mathematics had been identified as an area for improvement at the last inspection. The school’s records show that these pupils are now making faster progress in English and are on course to do almost as well as their classmates in both English and mathematics.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Parents and carers are pleased with the progress their children are making.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The teaching has improved since the last inspection. The teaching is good throughout the school and some is outstanding. Teachers have high expectations of what pupils can achieve.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers use questioning skilfully in lessons to ensure that pupils try hard. In an English lesson in Year 5, for example, the teacher’s questioning challenged pupils to improve the text they had read by using powerful words and varying sentences in their own writing to captivate the reader.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Throughout the school, teachers use well-chosen activities to stimulate pupils’ learning. In Year 3, for example, pupils enjoyed using number lines in solving money problems using addition and subtraction. In a mathematics lesson in Year 6, pupils thoroughly enjoyed applying their mathematical skills to solve problems of calculating various breaks in the game of snooker.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The skills of literacy, numeracy and communication are taught well across the school, although, occasionally, teachers miss opportunities to develop literacy and numeracy skills in other subjects. The teaching of reading is now a particular strength; pupils take home books regularly and read widely at home and in school.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers make good use of pupils’ prior learning to build up their knowledge, skills and understanding from one year group to the next. Teachers provide good feedback on how well pupils are doing in lessons and check the progress of different pupils during group activities.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching assistants provide good support for disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs. They demonstrate examples of new learning, explaining technical words and breaking tasks down into smaller steps.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers usually vary activities so pupils learn as a whole class, in pairs and independently. Occasionally, too much time is spent on whole-class teaching, which restricts opportunities for pupils to learn independently.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers’ marking of pupils’ books is usually good, although they do not always give pupils enough guidance on how to improve their work.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Behaviour in lessons is good and sometimes, where teaching is outstanding, pupils’ behaviour is also outstanding.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils’ attitudes to learning are good. They enjoy learning and focus on their activities throughout the lesson. As a result of these good attitudes, they listen carefully, follow instructions and complete tasks to the best of their ability.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils feel safe in all areas of the school. They use the internet and handle equipment safely. They also show consideration towards others and move safely from one area of the school to another.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils have good knowledge of different types of bullying and are aware of how to prevent it. They believe that staff deal with such incidents effectively. Staff ensure that any discrimination is tackled effectively and they promote good relationships throughout the school.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Most parents who expressed their views believe that pupils’ behaviour is good and their children are safe in school.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils’ above-average attendance reflects their good attitudes to school and their engagement in school activities.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher and senior leaders focus sharply on the continuous improvement of the school to ensure that all pupils are given the same opportunities to succeed. They closely check the school’s work to arrive at accurate self-evaluation and set well-chosen priorities for raising achievement by improving teaching and learning.

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The leadership and management are good

 Rigorous and regular checking on the quality of teaching have led to a sharp reduction of any elements of teaching which require improvement and an increasing proportion of outstanding teaching. Teachers are set individual targets to improve their teaching. These are clearly linked to performance targets and based on the school’s priorities for development.

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The leadership and management are good

 There are rich and varied opportunities to promote pupils’ awareness of diversity and appreciation of other cultures. For example, pupils went to four museums in London and visited an Indian restaurant to sample the cuisine, as part of a project on India where they learned about different clothes, traditions, populations and climate. There are good opportunities for reflection, and pupils celebrate different world faiths. Pupils learn the difference between right and wrong. They develop good social skills through their participation in paired and group learning activities in lessons.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority appropriately provides light-touch support for the school. The school takes up training opportunities provided by the local authority and makes good links with other schools in the authority to improve the quality of teaching.

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The leadership and management are good

 The good attendance of parents at parents’ meetings and opportunities for them to help in school activities reflect good partnership between home and school. The large majority of parents who expressed a view would recommend this school to others.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school ensures that the pupil premium funding is used flexibly to good effect, for example in providing additional teaching assistant support for literacy and numeracy. This has led to the good progress of eligible pupils in these key skills.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  Governors are frequent visitors to the school to meet staff and pupils. They visit classrooms and gain first-hand experience of its work. As a result, they have an accurate view of the quality of teaching and how it continues to improve. They look at the progress of different groups of pupils and compare this with the progress that other pupils are making. Governors use this information to check that pupil premium funding is spent wisely to achieve value for money. They have a good understanding of how the performance of teachers is managed and how the best teachers are rewarded financially. They use information about the progress pupils are making to compare the school’s performance with other schools. Governors ensure that the school meets all legal requirements, particularly for safeguarding. All training in safeguarding is up to date, and vetting procedures to determine the suitability of staff and

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The leadership and management are good

visitors to work with children are rigorous.

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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 is

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Grade Judgement Description

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.

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School details

Unique reference number 120926 Local authority Norfolk Inspection number 405978

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School details

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

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School details

Type of school Junior School category Community Age range of pupils 7–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 352 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Tristan Ashby Headteacher Chris Read Date of previous school inspection 14 July 2011 Telephone number 01953 453491 Fax number 01953 452106 Email address office@attleborough-jun.norfolk.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 .

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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.

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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

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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, please

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School details

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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School details

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

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