Reevy Hill Primary School

Reevy Hill Primary School Inspection report - amended

p.1

107217 Unique Reference Number Bradford Local Authority 287747 Inspection number 20 °21 June 2007 Inspection dates Roger Gill Reporting inspector

p.1

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

p.1

Primary Type of school Community School category 3 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 234 School

p.1

The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Tony Long Chair Mrs Anne Plunkett Headteacher 13 January 2003 Date of previous school inspection Bedale Drive School address Buttershaw Bradford West Yorkshire BD6 3ST

p.1

01274 677549 Telephone number 01274 778944 Fax number

p.1

3 °11 Age group 20 °21 June 2007 Inspection dates 287747 Inspection number

p.1

Amended Report Addendum

This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

p.2

Amended Report Addendum

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.

p.2

Introduction

The inspection was carried out by two Additional Inspectors.

p.3

Description of the school

This school is situated in an area of economic disadvantage. The vast majority of pupils are from White British backgrounds. There are a few from minority ethnic heritages, some of whom are at an early stage of learning English, mainly Eastern European. The proportion of pupils who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities is above average, and these include a group with severe behavioural disorders. A high proportion of pupils join the school during the year. The governors receive additional funding to provide a pupil development centre (PDC) for the most vulnerable pupils. A small group of pupils are looked after in public care. There has not been a substantive deputy headteacher for a few years. A permanent appointment was made in May 2007. The school achieved a Drugs Charter award in 2005.

p.3

Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 11 Inspection Report: Reevy Hill Primary School, 20 °21 June 2007

p.3

Grade: 3

Reevy Hill is a satisfactory school because it has improved significantly this year. In 2006, results in national tests at the end of Year 6 were exceptionally low and pupils were not doing well enough. Past weaknesses were the result of key staff absences and the high incidence of behavioural difficulties in Year 6. This inadequate situation has been retrieved and the school provides satisfactory value for money. The overall effectiveness is satisfactory, but not yet good, because the promise shown by some pupils at the end of Year 2 is not fulfilled well enough in Years 3 to 6. The situation is made more complicated because a significant proportion of the many pupils who join the school after Year 2 find it hard to behave well and therefore need a lot of extra support and encouragement. Standards in Year 6 are currently below average, but nowhere near as low as before. Pupils have achieved satisfactorily to reach this level. They have not done better because initiatives

p.4

Grade: 3

designed to increase their rate of progress have not had time to take full hold. Personal development is rightly prized by the school. There are many stimulating things for pupils to do and these add to their enjoyment, making personal development good. Specialist teaching in subjects such as music has a strong bearing on pupils' well-being. For example, they are elated when raising the roof with their singing. 'I am proud that my children are part of this school' is a typical view held by parents. The way in which the school delivers the right sort of care is good. For some pupils, the school is a sanctuary. In the ultra-supportive environment of the PDC (Footsteppers), consideration for pupils' needs is first-rate. 'They are always there for you' is the way that they describe this support. Teaching and the curriculum are organised successfully to promote pupils' personal development but are less consistently effective at improving achievement. Measures to raise standards have

p.4

Grade: 3

been implemented, but have lacked precision. It is only in the last two years, with the help of the local authority, that teaching has really begun to tackle past shortfalls in reading, writing and mathematics. These efforts are now paying off, but teachers' skills in ensuring good progress are not consistent from class to class. Evaluations of teaching have not concentrated sufficiently well on what pupils have actually learned in the lesson. Therefore, the pace of improvement in teaching has been slower than necessary. The lack of a permanent deputy headteacher, up until now, has left the senior management team depleted. Its influence on teaching was diminished. By contrast, there are now enough senior leaders with an understanding about the quality of teaching. The headteacher has done well to maintain the school's strengths in the interim. The management of difficult behaviour and the links with various groups within the community continue to be successful

p.4

Grade: 3

in producing good personal development. The school's view of its strengths and weaknesses is satisfactory. It knows, for example, what standards are like and broadly what needs to be done to improve them. However some evaluations have been too generous. For example, it judges the capability to improve as good, though standards have not shifted enough to warrant this judgement at the moment. Conversely, the school believes that provision in the Foundation Stage is satisfactory though children actually make good progress in Nursery and Reception. Weaknesses in self-evaluation come about because the analysis of pupils' results and assessments has lacked precision. The school's leadership possesses a lot of information, which is not yet used well enough to analyse and improve learning. 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Reevy Hill Primary School, 20 °21 June 2007

p.4

What the school should do to improve further

• Improve standards in English, mathematics and science by ensuring consistently good teaching throughout the school. • Make better use of information from assessments to speed up learning in Years 3 to 6 and to evaluate the school's overall strengths and weaknesses. • Ensure that the monitoring of teaching is linked more effectively to the rate of progress made by pupils. A small proportion of the schools whose overall effectiveness is judged satisfactory but which have areas of underperformance will receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection.

p.5

Grade: 3

Children begin in the Nursery with well below average skills and make good progress through the Foundation Stage. Good progress continues in Key Stage 1 and there is a rising trend of attainment at the end of Year 2. Up until 2006, writing improved quickly, but mathematics was slow to shift. Currently, overall standards are below average, but achievement in mathematics has improved. In Years 3 to 6, the influx of pupils from other schools and weaker past provision had caused progress to slow down over the years. The current satisfactory achievement among the older pupils is the result of recent successful initiatives. These have had an immediate effect for most pupils, but there is still some way to go to make achievement consistently good in English, mathematics and science. Pupils do well in music and physical education owing to good provision in these subjects which includes gymnastics for the talented and a very active choir.

p.5

Grade: 2

Pupils respond positively to the many wide ranging opportunities on offer. Their regular attendance and good behaviour are indications of how much they enjoy school. Their personal development is enhanced by a wide range of activities such as Breakfast club, links with other schools and a chance to experience scuba diving. Many pupils speak extremely positively about how mixing with others from minority ethnic heritages in their partner school helps them 'get to know their lives and they get to know yours'. This is one of the reasons why spiritual, social, moral and cultural development is good. Pupils lead an active, healthy life in school and possess confidence in working together. A comprehensive programme of advice about health ensures that they know a lot about wise choices, particularly in respect of drugs. There is a school council but its meetings have lapsed, so there are no formal and immediate ways in which they

p.5

Grade: 3

Although teaching is good in the Foundation Stage and Years 1 and 2, it is satisfactory overall. Generally, the new methods introduced by the school's management to raise standards are more effective among younger pupils. This is because there are fewer gaps in their learning to eradicate. Learning from Year 3 onwards has not picked up so quickly although vulnerable 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Reevy Hill Primary School, 20 °21 June 2007 pupils in Years 5 and 6 learn very well because teaching for them is outstanding. In particular, assessment systems have not provided precise analysis quickly enough to support the teaching of new entrants to the school. New approaches are now having a positive impact but even good teaching, such as that in Year 6, is taking time to have an effect. All lessons, throughout the school, contain well communicated objectives, but not all help pupils to decide how well they

p.5

Grade: 3

have done. Likewise, some teachers are skilled at using marking to point out what could be better, but elsewhere advice lacks clarity.

p.6

Grade: 3

The curriculum enables pupils' satisfactory learning in English, mathematics and science. There have been revisions to programmes for writing and reading, but improvements in mathematics have taken root more quickly. Pupils' progress has yet to benefit greatly from the very recent changes to the teaching of reading through letter sounds. Provision for science has not yet been overhauled, so progress remains satisfactory. There are many beneficial aspects of the curriculum designed to advance pupils' personal development and well-being. Small-scale activities that encourage the development of valuable life skills such as speaking socially are practised regularly. More broadly, residential visits, workshops with the West Yorkshire Playhouse and links with the local business and enterprise college have a dramatic effect on maintaining good motivation and behaviour. Pupils discover how to keep safe and healthy. They are made

p.6

Grade: 3

to feel confident about change, especially in preparing for the move to secondary school.

p.6

Grade: 2

The very strong support for pupils leads parents to make such positive comments as 'There is no better place for my child.' Parents are encouraged to be full partners in their children's education. Their appreciation of the opportunities for 'family learning' is widespread. A typical reaction to the chances for parents and pupils to learn together is: 'I love them. They help me help my child.' First class systems help pupils who are emotionally disturbed and at an individual level, there is always a listening ear. However, at a whole-school level, the lack of an active school council means opportunities are missed to give pupils a voice. Protection procedures for pupils, adult vetting and risk assessments are in place and work well. Guidance in the form of academic targets is beginning to be a regular feature of learning and is aiding learning. The degree to which pupils know and make use of them remains inconsistent across the school.

p.6

Grade: 3

The recent enhancements to leadership and management are beginning to make up for an unsettled period. Without a deputy headteacher and enough subject leaders who knew how to raise standards, the school struggled. Lately, leadership from governors and senior and middle managers has benefited from recent appointments together with training and support from the local authority. There is now a satisfactory capacity for improvement. The school shows signs of being able to capitalise on its successes in improving the effectiveness of teaching while maintaining its strengths in pupils' personal development. The checking on teaching and learning lacks rigour, but the school now possesses the expertise to do it. The same is true of its use of information from assessments. The finely tuned analysis and detailed support for 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Reevy Hill Primary School, 20 °21 June 2007 pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities was always a strong feature. Now, the school

p.6

Grade: 3

is capable of extending this to all pupils. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Reevy Hill Primary School, 20 °21 June 2007 .

p.7

Grade: 3

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: Reevy Hill Primary School, 20 °21 June 2007

p.8

Inspection judgements

School Overall Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

p.9

Overall effectiveness

How effective, efficient and inclusive is the provision of education, integrated care and any extended services in meeting the needs of learners? How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 2 The quality and standards in the Foundation Stage 3 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 3 The capacity to make any necessary improvements Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

p.9

Achievement and standards

3 How well do learners achieve? 3 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 2 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

p.9

learners?

2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2 The behaviour of learners 3 The attendance of learners 2 How well learners enjoy their education 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 3 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

p.9

and interests of learners?

2 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

p.9

and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average to below average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low. 9 of 11 Inspection Report: Reevy Hill Primary School, 20 °21 June 2007

p.9

and supporting all learners?

How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can How effectively and efficiently resources, including staff, are deployed to achieve value for money The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities Yes Do procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements? No Does this school require special measures? No Does this school require a notice to improve? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: Reevy Hill Primary School, 20 °21 June 2007

p.10

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you for your help when we inspected your school. We thoroughly enjoyed our two days with you all. You go to a satisfactory school which is on the way up. Like you, we think there are many good things to celebrate. You told us about the way that adults help you feel safe and well cared for. When some of you get angry they help to calm things down and take your mind off the troubles. Footsteppers is fantastic at this. We saw that learning is fun because you are so settled. One of you summed it all up by saying 'I feel really safe here.' Music is most enjoyable and helps you feel good. We heard some marvellous singing in assemblies. You are also lucky to have lots of other interesting things to do such as residentials and day trips to Ogden Water. As you say, 'They help you all get along well together.' We were also impressed by your confidence. Think of how the drama, dance and storytelling workshop

p.11

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

with actors from the West Yorkshire Playhouse had an effect on some older pupils. Typical comments afterwards were: 'It was real. We laughed our heads off. I look forward to using my new skills in the drama lessons at the high school.' We found that the progress you are making in Years 3 to 6 in English, mathematics and science is reasonable, but it could be a lot better. We think your school should make sure older pupils achieve as well as those lower down the school. We have asked your teachers to think even more carefully about your assessments and test results to find ways in which your learning in class can be quicker and even more successful. Also when school leaders observe your lessons, as we did, we have asked them to concentrate especially on your progress. You can help by using every chance you are given to talk about how well you are learning: what you are stuck on and what you need to do to improve.

p.11

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

We know that you will enjoy helping your school to become a good one. 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Reevy Hill Primary School, 20 °21 June 2007

p.11