Deykin Avenue Junior and Infant School

Deykin Avenue Junior and Infant School Deykin Avenue, Witton, Birmingham, B6 7BU

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Requires improvement 3 This inspection: Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Early years provision Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The headteacher leads the school caringly and positively. Together with a skilful deputy headteacher and a strong team of thoughtful and determined middle leaders, governors and staff, she has improved teaching and raised achievement significantly throughout the school.  The governing body is led effectively and has improved its effectiveness considerably since the last inspection. Governors are well trained and regularly challenge leaders about pupils’ performance.  The school’s procedures for safeguarding pupils are outstanding. Pupils behave well, are energetic, competitive and positive towards their learning and are eager to do well. As a result they feel safe and are very well cared for.  Pupils are well prepared for their future lives. Their attendance and punctuality are good.  Teaching has improved and is now good across the school. Teachers ensure that pupils are challenged in line with their abilities and interests, and are

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

enjoying a rich and stimulating new curriculum.  Teaching assistants make an effective contribution to learning, particular for pupils who need extra help.  All groups of pupils achieve well and make good progress in reading, writing and especially mathematics.  Disadvantaged pupils achieve particularly well. They reach at least similar standards to other pupils in the school, and often higher.  Children have a good start to their education in the Reception class. They learn quickly and become confident learners because of good teaching and leadership of the class.  The school benefits from its cooperation with St Mary’s Teaching School, which has helped to raise teachers’ skills.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Leaders’ plans for sustaining and building on the improvements in teaching and learning are not sufficiently clear or precise to be helpful in ensuring success.  Pupils do not achieve quite as well in writing as in reading or mathematics. Teachers do not always expect pupils to present their written work neatly and accurately in all subjects. Handwriting styles vary across the school.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed pupils learning in 21 lessons or part-lessons, 12 of which were seen jointly with the headteacher or deputy headteacher.  Meetings were held with pupils, the headteacher, other staff with leadership responsibilities and two governors. An inspector also spoke with two improvement advisers from the local authority.  Inspectors discussed teaching and pupils’ progress with class teachers and teaching assistants. Pupils’ books and records of their progress were examined.  Inspectors listened to pupils read and talked with them about their reading experiences.  There were too few responses to Parent View, the online questionnaire for parents, for this to be taken into consideration. Inspectors examined 36 responses to the school’s own survey of parental views from September 2014. They also spoke to a number of parents in the playgrounds.  Inspectors considered 32 responses to the Ofsted staff questionnaire.

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Information about this inspection

 A range of documentation was examined, including the school’s self-evaluation and development plans, analyses of pupils’ achievement and progress, safeguarding arrangements, school policies, and records of checks made by leaders on the quality of teaching and pupils’ learning.

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Inspection team

Rodney Braithwaite, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is smaller than the average-sized primary school.  Almost all pupils come from a range of ethnic heritages, the largest group being from Pakistani backgrounds. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is well above average.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is well above average.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported by the pupil premium is well above average. The pupil premium is additional government funding for pupils who are looked after by the local authority or known to be eligible for free school meals.  Children in the Reception Year attend the school full-time. There are six single-aged classes for pupils in Years 1 to 6.  The school does not meet the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress by the end of Year 6.  A privately run nursery is located on the school site, but it is inspected separately. Its inspection reports

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Information about this school

can be found at reports.ofsted.gov.uk.  The school has extensive links to St Mary’s Teaching School, a school in Handsworth.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Build on the current improvements in attainment and progress by ensuring that leaders’ checks on the school’s work and their plans for further development focus clearly and precisely on improving pupils’ teaching and learning.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise standards in writing by developing pupils’ handwriting and presentation skills in all subjects and all year groups.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school has rapidly developed a good capacity for improvement. This is because leaders have not only maintained high levels of care, behaviour and relationships in a multicultural community, but have also improved teaching and the academic performance of the pupils.

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The leadership and management are good

 The caring and determined headteacher and deputy headteacher have led the school calmly and with great resilience through a difficult time. In 2014, the standards of pupils leaving the school at the end of Year 6 were disappointingly low. Although there were already signs of improvement in attainment in other years, this had not yet led to consistently better progress by all pupils. However, strong leadership and decisive action have led to a transformation in the attainment and progress of pupils throughout the school in the last year.

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The leadership and management are good

 The improvements are showing in many ways, not least the standards now being reached in Year 6, which are in line with those expected nationally in reading and writing, and above in mathematics. Pupils in all years are now making good progress.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher and deputy headteacher have developed a strong and effective team of middle leaders such as those in charge of subjects. They have played an increasingly effective part in the development of a new curriculum specifically for the school’s pupils, and are already fully implementing new assessment procedures in response to the changing National Curriculum.

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The leadership and management are good

 All leaders join regularly in accurate and detailed monitoring of teaching, pupils’ work in books and classroom displays, and teachers’ planning. This has led to improvements to the quality and consistency of teaching, and the successful training and induction of new teachers.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders realise that for the school to become outstanding, pupils’ current progress and attainment must be maintained and then raised even more over time. The school’s evaluation of its strengths and weaknesses is detailed and accurate, but the resulting improvement planning is not yet sharp enough in setting specific and challenging targets to improve pupils’ achievement.

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The leadership and management are good

 The revised curriculum has had a positive impact upon pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, which is emphasised by the many colourful and fascinating displays of pupils’ work throughout the school, especially in the old school hall.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders place a strong emphasis on promoting British values and preparing pupils for their future lives in modern Britain. Pupils are made very aware of this through many displays and frequent opportunities to learn about British institutions and history.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school has used additional funding for physical education and sports well to encourage pupils’ interest in sport and competition with other schools. It has also raised their understanding of how to lead a healthy lifestyle. Leaders have provided good quality training for teachers through the King Edward’s School (Aston) Partnership, and a number of new clubs such as badminton and archery. Pupils are also getting more opportunities to learn to swim as a result of the funding.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school promotes equality of opportunity effectively, and does not tolerate discrimination. Relationships throughout the school are excellent, and pupils have equal access to all activities, including those after school. Leaders have suitable strategies to deal with any extremism or radicalisation should they arise, and are vigilant in the attention they give to this aspect of pupils’ education.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school has worked very closely during the last year with the local authority improvement adviser and the headteacher of the St Mary’s Teaching School. This has proved beneficial in supporting the schools’ teachers in improving their skills and has played a significant part in the raising of pupils’ achievement.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders, including governors, ensure that safeguarding arrangements are highly effective and meet national requirements. They constantly review the safety and security of pupils, and reminders of responsibilities are widely displayed throughout the school. A high number of staff have received regular training and many have specific safeguarding responsibilities.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders and governors pay great attention to the spending of the funding for disadvantaged pupils, and regularly compare their progress with that of other pupils. This has been successful in ensuring that by the time pupils leave the school, the disadvantaged pupils are progressing and attaining at least as well as, and often better than, other pupils in the school.

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The leadership and management are good

 Parents say they believe leadership and management to be good, and almost all would recommend the school to others. A number of parents with children approaching school age told inspectors of their determination to get places in the school for their children, even though they were told initially that there was no places available.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  Governors have improved their contributions to the school since the last inspection. They are led well by the knowledgeable Chair of the Governing Body, who works closely with the school’s leaders. Governors visit regularly, make ‘learning walks’ and report on class observations and pupils’ work. The governors have a good working knowledge of pupils’ performance and the effectiveness of teaching and learning. This is because they have undertaken a wide range of training in order to make informed judgements.  The Chair of the Governing Body, especially, is ready to challenge leaders, having been very active in determining the causes of the school’s disappointing performance in 2014. Governors also keep a very tight control of the school budget and allocation of scarce resources.  Governors are particularly concerned that they interact well with parents. For example, they send out a

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The leadership and management are good

termly newsletter, ensuring parents know who they can approach if necessary.  Governors have a detailed knowledge of teaching quality, and use this effectively to guide decisions on pay increases for teachers. These are based on performance targets set for them to reach, linked to pupils’ progress and attainment. The governing body is not prepared to sanction rises in pay to teachers who fail to reach their performance targets.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils have highly positive attitudes to learning in all year groups. They listen carefully to instructions, are eager to join in learning activities at all times, and work confidently on their own, in pairs and in larger groups. Their determination to learn is having a marked effect on improving their standards.

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Behaviour

 Pupils enjoy coming to school because they have a stimulating curriculum, and are provided with a large range of extra learning opportunities both during and after school.

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Behaviour

 Pupils move quietly around the school and play happily outside in the two well-equipped and spacious playgrounds. They always mix very sociably together and many are seen talking with great enthusiasm about what they have been learning. They enjoy eating lunch and chatting with some of the staff and wait patiently for their turn to be served.

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Behaviour

 The pupils are proud of the responsibilities they are given. In particular, older pupils enjoy being ‘peer mediators’ who can help solve disputes between other pupils. They comment that behaviour is good and is ‘handled well by staff’.

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Behaviour

 Few incidents of bad behaviour or racialism have been recorded in recent years, and exclusions of pupils from school are rare. Occasionally a few pupils can lose concentration in lessons if they are waiting to start an activity. This can lead to minor disruption but the great majority of pupils ignore such distractions.

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Behaviour

 Pupils are especially keen to talk about their learning of British values in lessons and assemblies when they discuss, for example, kindness, happiness and respect. This helps them in preparing for the next stages of their education. It also has a positive impact on pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural education.

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Behaviour

 Parents say they are very pleased with the behaviour of pupils in the school. These views are shared by the whole staff.

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Behaviour

 Attendance has been above average for the last two years and pupils’ punctuality is good. The school reminds pupils and their families on a daily basis of the importance of attendance and uses a variety of methods, often rewards, very effectively to promote good attendance.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is outstanding. Safeguarding procedures are maintained to high standards and are promoted strongly from the moment adults or pupils enter the school reception area. Leaders and governors are trained exceptionally well. They are very quick to raise concerns about pupils with external agencies, such as the Birmingham multi-agency safeguarding hub, if necessary.

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Safety

 Pupils express great confidence in their safety in school. They say they have many knowledgeable and sympathetic adults they can turn to in times of difficulty, including the family support worker, the learning mentor and the leader of inclusion.

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Safety

 Pupils have a good understanding of all types of bullying, including homophobic bullying and cyber- bullying through the internet. Leaders have been active in ensuring that parents understand the school’s approach to these safety aspects, and have given parents opportunities to discuss any concerns they may have. Leaders ensure that the school provides equally for all ethnicities, faiths and beliefs.

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Safety

 The responses from parents, carers and staff, both written and verbal, were unanimous in stating that pupils are safe in school.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Learning is consistently good throughout the school, including the early years. Teaching has markedly improved since the last inspection, especially during the last year. This has resulted in a rapid rise in pupils’ progress and attainment.

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The quality of teaching is good

 With the regular support and guidance of school leaders, teachers consistently develop their skills and understand that they are accountable for the progress of their pupils.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The introduction of regular and detailed checks on pupils’ progress has led to a better understanding by teachers of the individual abilities and needs of their pupils. This has been a major factor in the good progress made by disadvantaged pupils and those who speak English as an additional language.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Although improved teaching has led to good progress by pupils in all subjects, it has been particularly effective in mathematics. Teachers have encouraged pupils’ enthusiasm for challenge so that their learning is frequently based upon solving problems. In Year 6, for example, pupils were completely absorbed by trying to solve a Sherlock Holmes murder mystery by working out a series of codes, including one relating the Morse code to punctuation in texts.

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The quality of teaching is good

 More effective teaching of phonics (letters and the sounds they represent) throughout the school is enabling many pupils to reach at least expected levels in writing, reading and grammar. Speaking skills, especially those of pupils at the early stages of learning English, are now developing quickly because teachers question pupils in a way that encourages them to give full explanations for their answers.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The broader curriculum is helping the good development of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural education, which leaders rightly regard as vitally important in such a diverse multicultural community. Examples of this abound, such as: the ‘values versus violence’ project; the raising of money for very specific charities and people in need; a visit from an author of childrens’ books; and the opportunities to learn French and play musical instruments.  Teaching assistants make valuable and sensitive contributions to the learning of pupils in all years. They are especially effective when teaching phonics to small groups, and in supporting disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers have excellent relationships with pupils and increasingly high expectations of them. As a result of the guidance the teachers provide, pupils have a good understanding of what is expected of them, and the new levels of ‘ready’, ‘emerging’ and ‘securing’. Pupils know how they can make progress and are clear about their learning targets.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The new curriculum was implemented in September 2014. It is leading to good gains in learning, especially in the development of pupils’ literacy and numeracy skills across a broad range of subjects. Much of the new themed work introduced by teachers is designed to appeal to the interests of pupils in new learning, such as gardening with the guidance of the Royal Horticultural Society.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The school promotes British values strongly, particularly in encouraging pupils to help others through charitable works. Assemblies regularly emphasise pupils’ roles in a modern society. Parents are informed of the themes of their childrens’ learning on a regular basis, so that when possible they can further help their child’s learning.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers’ marking of work is greatly improved and is consistent across the school. Pupils understand the marking system, and sometimes respond to teachers’ comments. Leaders have started to promote more consistent handwriting skills, although accepting that more work has still to be done to make handwriting consistently good. Similarly, pupils’ presentation of their work is variable, because teachers have been inconsistent in their guidance.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Parents’ responses are unanimous in their view that teaching is good, enabling their children to make good progress. Parents respect the school staff and are grateful for their support.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The long-term strategies put in place by leaders following the last inspection have led to the attainment of most pupils rising sharply, particularly in the last year. Achievement is now good throughout the school. Many pupils are making good progress and reaching at least nationally expected levels by the time they leave. Also, more pupils than in the past are exceeding expected levels, especially in mathematics.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children enter the early years with skills and understanding well below the levels typical for their age and make good progress in the Reception class. Pupils continue this good progress in Key Stage 1. Pupils who speak English as an additional language make particularly good progress in developing their communication skills, helped by the school’s intense focus on the teaching of phonics. The effect has been to accelerate pupils’ achievement in reading and writing.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Until last year, attainment has been variable in writing, reading and mathematics. In 2014 it was significantly lower than average by the end of Year 6. Progress for some pupils was less than expected, and too few pupils exceeded expected standards.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The school’s accurate checks on progress and pupils’ work now show much better progress taking place throughout Key Stage 2. As a result, most pupils leaving this year are reaching the levels expected for their age in English and mathematics. Far more pupils than in the past in Key Stage 2 are now working at or above expected levels for their age, which is a considerable improvement.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Achievement is consistently good for all groups of pupils across a range of subjects. Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs have rapidly improved their progress, which now matches that of other pupils in the school. This is because their learning is very specific to their needs and they are well supported, frequently by very effective teaching assistants.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The school is particularly successful in helping the many pupils who learn English as an additional language. This includes pupils from a wide range of ethnicities who arrive partway through their primary school education. Some have little previous experience of education, even those entering Key Stage 2.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The most able pupils achieve well. Throughout the school they welcome the opportunities to take part in challenging activities, especially if they involve competition. The improvements in teachers’ expectations and planning for their needs have benefited their progress.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disadvantaged pupils have, since the last inspection, made better progress than other pupils in the school. However, in 2014 they did not make as much progress as other pupils nationally in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6. Their attainment was similar to that of other pupils in the school in mathematics, and about half a term above other pupils in both reading and writing. Disadvantaged pupils were about two terms behind other pupils nationally in reading and writing, and over a year behind in mathematics. Disadvantaged pupils at present are still attaining higher than other pupils in the school and are working at least at expected national levels.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils are enthusiastic readers. Many read accurately and with meaning. They are able to explain the meaning of texts, and why authors write the way they do in their stories. They are encouraged to use diaries to record their reading, and frequently use the spacious new school library. In addition they are encouraged to visit public and mobile libraries. Pupils enjoy opportunities to read with their parents and families. Teachers are encouraging pupils to read more widely and more often, in order that as many of them as possible develop a love of reading.

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The early years provision is good

 Leadership and management of the early years are the responsibility of the class teacher assisted by the headteacher. They do a good job. They are sensitive to the very wide ability range when children start school, and are very accurate in their understanding of the strengths and areas for improvement in learning in the class. This, combined with the very able contributions of the classroom support assistant, is enabling children to make good progress in the Reception class.

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The early years provision is good

 Children start in the Reception class with skills and experience lower than those typically seen for their age, particularly in communication and language, and in personal development. This is because many are in the early stages of learning to speak English.

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The early years provision is good

 All groups of children make good progress during their first year, especially in their skills of understanding, listening and attention to instructions, and mathematical development. As a result, many children are ready for their transition to Year 1. This is because teaching is effective in enabling children to make good progress in all aspects of their development, though not quite so well in writing.

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The early years provision is good

 Children’s phonic skills develop rapidly because of the meticulous planning for their different needs. Many groups of children learn about letters and sounds every morning, mostly in small groups and sometimes with older pupils. This contributes strongly to their good progress in reading.

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The early years provision is good

 The adults provide the children with many exciting and challenging learning experiences in colourful and well-resourced environments inside and outside the classroom. Children are quickly developing independence and self-confidence. In their activities a constant buzz of chatter between them about their learning also accelerates improvement in their speaking skills.

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The early years provision is good

 Children’s behaviour is good, and their attitudes to learning are often excellent. They are always eager to learn, but understand very clearly what is expected of them in different learning situations. This helps them to curb their natural exuberance when listening to instructions.

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The early years provision is good

 The staff cater for children’s safety and well-being extremely well. They place high importance on this aspect of education and are rigorous in implementing a wide range of safeguarding procedures. They are highly vigilant in recognising any problems children may have so that they feel safe. As a result, staff and older pupils ensure that children are well cared for and safe. Parents are very confident that their children are safe at school.  The class teacher and support assistant make every effort to engage with parents, offering them many and regular opportunities to come in to school and discuss their children’s progress. Almost all parents are now engaged closely with staff and are gaining in confidence in helping their children to progress in their learning.

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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 failing

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Grade Judgement Description

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 103313 Local authority Birmingham Inspection number 462589

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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 Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 210 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair John Moore Headteacher Janet Edwards Date of previous school inspection 19 June 2013 Telephone number 0121 464 4460 Fax number 0121 464 4461 Email address enquiry@deykinav.bham.sch.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . 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.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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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 and 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.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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