Arno Vale Junior School

Arno Vale Junior School Saville Road, Woodthorpe, Nottingham, NG5 4JF

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 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

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  Almost all pupils, make good progress and achieve well in reading, writing and mathematics.  In the large majority of lessons teaching is good and some is outstanding. This is having a positive impact on pupils’ learning.  Over recent years, attainment in English and mathematics has been above the national average.  Every pupil is equally valued and cared for well. Pupils say they feel very safe in school and parents overwhelmingly support this view.  The behaviour of pupils and their attitudes to learning are often exemplary. Pupils are very polite and well mannered.  Attendance is well above the national average.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Pupils enjoy an interesting range of subjects and topics that contribute to their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and prepare them well for the next stage of their education.  Senior leaders and the governing body know the school well and provide effective leadership. As a result, they have been successful in improving teaching and raising pupils’ achievement.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Teachers do not always match work to the different abilities of pupils or adapt tasks in lessons to help them to make as much progress as they can.  Teachers do not give pupils enough opportunity to develop their literacy and numeracy skills by applying them across all subjects.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed 11 lessons taught by eight teachers. Two observations were conducted jointly with members of the senior leadership team.  The inspectors looked closely at the school’s work, including the school’s analysis of its performance, the improvement plan, documents relating to behaviour and safeguarding, minutes of governing body meetings, the school’s data on pupils’ progress and work in pupils’ books.  The inspectors met with school staff, eight members of the governing body and had a telephone conversation with a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors held meetings with two groups of pupils and listened to some pupils from Year 3 and Year 4 reading.  The inspectors took account of the 53 responses from parents recorded in the online questionnaire (Parent View), together with letters received from parents. Questionnaires completed by 22 members of staff were also taken into account.

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Inspection team

Alan Parkinson, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Thelma McIntosh-Clark Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Arno Vale Junior School is slightly smaller than the average-sized primary school.  Most pupils are White British. The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds is slightly below the national average.  The proportion of pupils eligible for the pupil premium is below the national average. The pupil premium is additional funding for those pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals and children who are looked after by the local authority.  The proportion of students who speak English as an additional language is below the national average.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported through school action is below the national average. The proportion supported through school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is well below average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations

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Information about this school

for pupils’ attainment and progress.  The school provides a before-school and after-school childcare club for some pupils from the school and some from a local infant school.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching so that it is always at least good and much more of it is outstanding, to raise pupils’ achievement further, particularly in English and mathematics, by ensuring that:  teachers always match activities to pupils’ different abilities and check on pupils’ progress during lessons so that tasks can be adapted to help pupils to make more rapid progress  pupils have the opportunity to use and apply their literacy and numeracy skills across all subjects.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The school’s assessment of pupils’ attainment when they join the school is that it is above average. By the school’s measures, pupils join Year 3 around a term ahead of children nationally. At the end of Year 6, pupils leave the school roughly two terms ahead. This represents good progress over the course of Key Stage 2.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Over recent years, the standards reached by Year 6 pupils’ has been consistently above national averages in reading, writing and mathematics and has continued to improve. In the 2013 national tests, unvalidated data for the current Year 6 pupils indicates a further improvement with pupils making better than expected progress overall and achieving above-average standards in reading, writing and mathematics.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The whole-school reading programme is very effective and is helping to develop pupils’ literacy skills well. Some pupils make good use of their skills in phonics (linking letters to the sounds that they make) to help them read difficult words. Pupils read a wide range of fiction and non-fiction books, which support learning across a range of subjects and topics. Pupils say they enjoy reading and read regularly at home and school.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 In 2012, the attainment of Year 6 pupils known to be eligible for free school meals was above the national average in English and mathematics but it was below that of their classmates. In English, these pupils were half a term behind their classmates, and they were about six months behind them in mathematics. However, school information shows that current Year 6 pupils known to be eligible for free school meals are achieving similar to other pupils in the school in writing and better than other pupils in reading and mathematics. This is because pupil premium funding is used effectively to provide additional support, such as small-group work to support the development of literacy and numeracy skills, ensuring the progress of this group of pupils is good overall.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 There are no significant variations between the achievement of different groups of pupils over time. Pupils who speak English as an additional language, those from minority ethnic backgrounds, disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs receive effective additional help to improve their speaking, reading, writing and numeracy skills. This has enabled them to achieve well and sometimes make better progress than their classmates. This support shows the school’s commitment to offering an equal opportunity to all its pupils and ensures that they all achieve well.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Lesson observations, looking at pupils’ work in their literacy and numeracy books and hearing pupils read confirm that current pupils make good progress. However, inspectors’ checking of pupils’ work in their topic books shows that pupils’ do not always apply their literacy and numeracy skills well enough, across a range of subjects. This limits progress because work is being presented that is not of a consistently high standard.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Where teaching is most effective, learning takes place at a good rate and timed activities keep pupils focused on their work. Teachers’ good subject knowledge enables them to explain well and extend pupils’ understanding. Teachers question pupils skilfully to challenge them and check their understanding, and this encourages them to think for themselves.  Pupils say they are well taught and enjoy their lessons. The good relationships between pupils and teachers, and between pupils themselves, promote positive attitudes to learning. This enables pupils to work well together or to get on sensibly with their work by themselves.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Although many displays of pupils’ work had been taken down at the time of the inspection in preparation for the classrooms to be redecorated over the summer holidays, those remaining show how they help to stimulate pupils’ learning. They are also a celebration and reminder to pupils of what they have achieved. The display of the Ancient Greeks topic work is a good example of this.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching contributes well to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development through activities such as school assemblies, links with the local community, school trips and by encouraging cooperation and very effective group working. Teachers also encourage pupils to reflect and empathise with others. For example, in a Year 5 class, pupils developed their creativity skills when writing a diary entry after imagining what a child in Africa had done during the day.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching assistants make a significant contribution to the learning of pupils, including disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs and those identified by the school for additional support. This enables them to make progress that is consistent with and sometimes better than all other pupils.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers do not always check pupils’ progress well enough during the course of a lesson, or select well-chosen activities to match the needs of individual and groups of pupils to enable them to learn more quickly. For example, teachers will sometimes work with the whole class rather than work with smaller groups of pupils and allow other pupils to continue their work or to provide them with tasks that enable them to learn more quickly. This prevents some pupils from being able to develop their skills and make more rapid progress.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils’ work is regularly marked with written comments using praise to encourage and, in most cases, giving guidance on what they need to do to improve. However, teachers’ do not always ensure that pupils apply their literacy and numeracy skills well enough across all subjects.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils are enthusiastic to learn and work well on their own and with others.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils are extremely well behaved in lessons and around the school. They are very polite, well mannered and courteous towards each other and to adults, and are very welcoming to visitors.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Relationship among pupils and between pupils and adults are exemplary. Pupils show exceptionally caring attitudes towards each other. If they have any concerns they feel confident to talk to an adult so that they are quickly sorted out. Pupils are fully aware of the different forms of bullying and say that bullying is rare.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils say they feel very safe in school because the teachers and other adults look after them well. They understand how to keep themselves safe. For example, all pupils receive emergency first-aid training, learn about ‘stranger danger’ and how to use the internet safely.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Effective partnerships with parents and external agencies are a strong feature of the school. Children who display any cause for concern are identified early and this ensures that appropriate support is provided. The school’s support for pupils whose circumstances make them more vulnerable is very effective.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 The school provides many opportunities for pupils to develop as responsible individuals. Some pupils make a significant contribution to the school community by taking on positions of responsibility such as the school council, as ‘eco-warriors’ tackling environmental problems, or helping with duties during school assemblies.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils also successfully raise money for charities such as Children in Need and Red Nose Day, and provide support to a school in Africa. This shows the pupils’ good social, moral and cultural development and their high level of care for others.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Some pupils attend the before-school and after-school childcare club. Here, pupils are very well supported through effective supervision and a range of activities in a friendly, caring and secure setting. Their behaviour, manners and regard for each other are exemplary.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Attendance is high compared to national averages and this reflects well on pupils very positive attitudes towards their learning, enjoyment and engagement in school.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 The responses to Parent View indicate that parents overwhelmingly agree their children are very safe at school, exceptionally well looked after and that they would recommend the school to other parents.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher, senior leaders and the governing body know the school well. They have accurately identified the school’s strengths and areas for further development. Consequently, there is a strong focus on improving the quality of teaching to raise standards further.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school’s systems for regular observations of lessons to check the quality of teaching are good. This information is used well to provide training opportunities for staff and to advise the governing body about teachers’ pay awards. Teachers receive feedback that tells them how they can make their lessons even more effective and raise pupils’ achievement further. This shows the school’s and staff commitment to providing the highest quality learning experiences for all pupils.

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The leadership and management are good

 The systems to check the progress of individual pupils enables the school to quickly identify any pupils at risk of falling behind in their learning and provide additional support when required. This shows the school’s commitment to ensure that all pupils achieve well.

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The leadership and management are good

 The curriculum provides pupils with an interesting range of subjects and topics that contributes to their great enjoyment of school. A variety of school trips and visitors to the school help to enrich pupils’ learning experiences; for example, the Year 5 visit to the Holocaust Centre to help with their Second World War topic, and the Year 4 trip to the Butterfly House to help with their Rainforest topic. The Year 4 and Year 6 residential trips help to develop pupils’ social and team- building skills.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school also offers pupils an extensive range of extra-curricular activities such as drama, football, athletics, art and music. These activities help pupils to extend their academic and social skills, develop a greater understanding of the world around them and contribute significantly to their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. During the first afternoon of the inspection, the Year 6 pupils, together with the school choir, very enthusiastically sang and performed the dress rehearsal of The Wizard of Oz to a very appreciative audience of all other pupils and staff.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school has benefited from very effective and valuable support from the local authority. This support has included training for governors and advice and guidance to improve the quality of teaching and learning.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  The governing body is very well informed through the information that it receives and from regular visits to the school. Governors regularly check the school’s performance, including the quality of teaching and data regarding pupil progress. As a result, they know the strengths of the school and have a good understanding of what needs to be done to improve the school further. This enables them to effectively challenge and support school leaders at all levels. They understand the connection between the quality of work that staff do and the arrangements for pay progression. They have a good understanding of the school’s finances. This includes being aware of pupil premium spending to provide additional staffing and resources to help improve the literacy and mathematical skills of pupils who are at risk of falling behind. The governing body ensures that safeguarding procedures and policies meet

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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 122509 Local authority Nottinghamshire Inspection number 413037

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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 220 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Bruce Cameron Headteacher Chris Blount Date of previous school inspection 8 May 2010 Telephone number 0115 9536400 Fax number 0115 9536406 Email address head@arnovale.notts.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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