St Laurence Church Junior School

ST. LAURENCE CHURCH JUNIOR SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 03/04/00 - 05/04/00

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ST. LAURENCE CHURCH JUNIOR SCHOOL

Inspection carried out under section 10 of the School Inspections Act 1996 This report may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that all extracts quoted are reproduced verbatim without adaptation and on condition that the source and date thereof are stated.

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ST. LAURENCE CHURCH JUNIOR SCHOOL

Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the School Inspections Act 1996, the school must provide a copy of this report and/or its summary 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. St. Laurence Church Junior School - 3

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Bunbury Road Northfield Birmingham

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: The governing body

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Name of chair of governors: Mrs V Arnold

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: 20/05/1996 St. Laurence Church Junior School - 4

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Team members

Mr A C Matthews Registered inspector Mr W Cook Lay inspector Ms N Bee Team inspector Ms P Walker Team inspector

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Team members

CEA Demeter House Station Road Cambridge CB1 2RS

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Team members

Any concerns or complaints about the inspection or the report should be raised with the inspection contractor. Complaints that are not satisfactorily resolved by the contractor should be raised with OFSTED by writing to:

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Team members

The Registrar Inspection Quality Division

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Team members

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE St. Laurence Church Junior School - 5

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 6

Information about the school How good the school is What the school does well What could be improved How the school has improved since its last inspection Standards Pupils’ attitudes and values Teaching and learning Other aspects of the school How well the school is led and managed Parents’ and carers’ views of the school

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL 10

The headteacher provides excellent leadership to the school and is well supported by governors and staff. Pupils make good progress and standards of attainment in English, mathematics and science are above average. Teaching is consistently good and successfully challenges the great majority of pupils. Pupils work hard, behave very well and form very good relationships. The school has very good relationships with parents who give good support to its activities and are extremely happy with the education it provides. The school provides very good opportunities for pupils to work together in a range of extra-curricular and other activities.

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13

The teaching and use of information technology to further support pupils’ learning across the curriculum. The role of governors in monitoring developments and providing a strategic overview of where the school is going. The provision for pupils’ cultural development.

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

St. Laurence Church Junior School was founded in 1714. It is a voluntary aided school and has a strong Christian tradition. The school is bigger than other primary schools with 360 children on roll – 178 girls and 182 boys – aged between seven and 11. The school, which is situated in the Northfield ward of Birmingham, has a very stable roll and is oversubscribed. Pupils come from a wide variety of socio-economic backgrounds, with some pupils coming from an area of high social deprivation. Nine per cent of the pupils come from ethnic minorities and the percentage of pupils speaking English as an additional language is higher than in most schools. The percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals is 13 per cent, which is broadly in line with national averages. There are 124 pupils on the school’s register of special educational needs and this is well above the national average. Pupils’ attainment on entry to the school is well above average.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

St. Laurence Junior is a very good school where pupils make good progress and achieve well. Attainment by the age of 11 in English, mathematics and science is above average. There are, however, weaknesses in the information technology curriculum, which is resulting in unsatisfactory standards in some elements of the subject. Teaching is good overall and often very good. Pupils have excellent attitudes to school, are well motivated by their teachers and work hard. The leadership and management of the school are very good and there is a clear understanding of the school’s strengths and of areas that need to be developed. However, more needs to be done in evaluating the effectiveness of these developments. The school manages its budget well and applies good principles in obtaining the best value for its expenditure. The school provides good value for money.

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What the school does well

 The headteacher provides excellent leadership and is well supported by governors and staff.  Pupils make good progress and standards of attainment in English, mathematics and science are above average.  Teaching is consistently good and successfully challenges the great majority of pupils.  Pupils work hard, behave very well and form very good relationships.  The school has very good relationships with parents, who give good support to its activities and are extremely happy with the education it provides.  The school provides very good opportunities for pupils to work together in a range of extra-curricular and other activities.

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What could be improved

 The teaching and use of information technology to further support pupils’ learning across the curriculum.  The role of governors in monitoring developments and providing a strategic overview of where the school is going.  The provision for pupils’ cultural development. The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan.

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

The school has improved well since the previous inspection in May 1996 and has the capacity and enthusiasm to continue this improvement. The overall standards in English, mathematics and science have risen well throughout the school. However, attainment in information technology has not improved sufficiently and is unsatisfactory overall, although some elements of the subject are above average. The quality of teaching has improved and there is now no unsatisfactory teaching. Good quality staff training has developed teachers’ subject knowledge and the sharing of good practice in literacy and numeracy is resulting in improved pupil attainment. The school has made good progress in ensuring that the curriculum is broad and balanced and that an appropriate amount of time is now given to each subject. This has led to significant improvements in pupils’ achievements in science and a far better balance of work in design and technology. The school has good procedures for assessing

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

pupils’ progress and for setting challenging targets to ensure that pupils achieve well in their time at the school. St. Laurence Church Junior School - 7

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STANDARDS

The table shows the standards achieved by 11 year olds based on average point scores in National Curriculum tests.

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Key

Science A A* A A Very high well above average above average average below average well below average A * A B C D E

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Key

Since the previous inspection, the results achieved by 11 year olds in the national tests have improved considerably. Taking the three subjects together, attainment over the last three years has been well above average, with pupils making good and often very good progress through the school. The school has identified that standards in writing need to be raised, particularly for boys, and this development is being successfully implemented. Inspection evidence shows that the present Year 6, which has a higher than average proportion of pupils with special educational needs, is achieving well and attaining above average standards in English, mathematics and science. The school has set sufficiently challenging targets for these pupils and the careful monitoring of their attainment is helping the school to ensure that these targets are met. However, standards in information technology are unsatisfactory overall. Pupils’ instrumental playing and singing are very good and

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Key

make a very positive contribution to the life of the school.

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Aspect Comment

Attitudes to the school Pupils are very enthusiastic about school and have very positive attitudes to work.

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Aspect Comment

Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Very good at all times.

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Aspect Comment

Personal development and relationships Very good; pupils take responsibility seriously, get on very well together and show increasing confidence as they become older.

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Aspect Comment

Attendance Good. Pupils attend school punctually and lessons begin on time.

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Aspect Comment

Throughout the school very good behaviour and politeness are the norms, with pupils showing good understanding and consideration for each other. Pupils are confident, have very good attitudes to work and respond positively in lessons. They take part enthusiastically in the very large number of extra-curricular activities and benefit from the other opportunities they are given to demonstrate initiative. St. Laurence Church Junior School - 8

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Teaching of pupils: Aged 7-11 years

Lessons seen overall Good Inspectors make judgements about teaching in the range: excellent; very good; good; satisfactory; unsatisfactory; poor; very poor. ‘Satisfactory’ means that the teaching is adequate and strengths outweigh weaknesses.

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Teaching of pupils: Aged 7-11 years

Overall the quality of teaching is good and makes a very positive impact on pupils’ learning. All lessons observed were satisfactory or better: 85% were good or better and 30% very good. Teaching is particularly good in numeracy and literacy. Teachers have very good subject knowledge and teach the basic skills in English and mathematics very well. Their enthusiasm for these two subjects is reflected in lively presentation and good questioning, which challenges and develops pupils’ understanding. As a result, pupils achieve well. Teachers’ planning ensures that pupils of all abilities are well challenged, although occasionally the work set for pupils with special educational needs is too difficult. Teachers manage the pupils effectively and most lessons proceed at a good pace. Specialist teachers from outside the school give regular music and swimming tuition and also work with pupils on the special educational needs register; all have a positive impact on pupils’ achievement.

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Teaching of pupils: Aged 7-11 years

This is particularly the case in music and swimming, where the standards are high. However, the majority of teachers do not, at present, have the necessary skills to teach all aspects of information technology to a satisfactory standard.

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Aspect Comment

The quality and range of the curriculum Good, although not all the required elements are included in the curriculum for information technology. The school provides a large number of extra- curricular clubs.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils with special educational needs Good. Pupils with individual education plans have clear targets set for them, receive good support from teachers and support staff and make good overall progress towards meeting these targets.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Good overall. Satisfactory provision for pupils’ spiritual development, very good for their social and moral development but unsatisfactory for their cultural development.

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Aspect Comment

How well the school cares for its pupils There are good procedures for looking after pupils’ personal welfare and monitoring their academic performance.

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Aspect Comment

The numeracy and literacy strategies are well established and lead to pupils’ improved achievement. This is particularly so in the improved quality of boys’ writing. The curriculum for information technology is not yet fully implemented but further development of the subject is included in the school improvement plan. Parents give good support to their children in the regular homework that is set and some give valuable help in school and also volunteer to accompany trips and residential visits. Very good opportunities exist for pupils’ personal development, particularly the Lenten project, where pupils’ initiative, organisation and enthusiasm help to raise large amounts of money for charity. The development of pupils’ speaking and listening skills is good and teachers use these skills well to consolidate and extend pupils’ learning. The school is a caring environment where pupils are valued, challenged and flourish. More needs to be done to give pupils a greater say in the life

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Aspect Comment

of the school. St. Laurence Church Junior School - 9

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Aspect Comment

Leadership and manage-ment by the headteacher and other key staff The headteacher provides excellent leadership and has a very supportive and hardworking staff who are committed to raising standards. At present not enough responsibility is delegated to year and subject leaders.

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Aspect Comment

How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities The governors are very supportive of the school and visit regularly but are not sufficiently involved in strategic planning or in monitoring developments.

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Aspect Comment

The school’s evaluation of its performance Test results are carefully analysed and challenging targets set. The monitoring of teaching is good and the sharing of good practice in literacy and numeracy has helped to raise standards to a high level. The strategic use of resources Good. Support staff work effectively with pupils. The school has made good use of funds available to improve resources, particularly in English, mathematics and information technology. However, there are still insufficient computer programs to teach all aspects of the National Curriculum.

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Aspect Comment

Leadership and management are a strength of the school and have helped the school maintain high standards. The school’s reflective approach is helping it to improve even more. Good use is made of the expertise of teachers responsible for aspects of the school’s work but not enough responsibility is delegated to them for the quality of teaching and learning in the school. The school has developed good links with a local teacher training college and specialist teachers from the authority, all of whom play an important role in the pupils’ education. Older pupils are encouraged to reflect on the quality of their own work and to take increasing responsibility for meeting their own targets. The school applies the principle of best value well, particularly in consultation with parents, when buying resources and in the monitoring of its results. Governors are, at present, too dependent on the headteacher for information about the school’s performance in meeting the targets on the school

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

 The school is very well managed and very approachable.  The quality of information received from the school.  The school promotes good values and attitudes.  The teaching is good and children behave and achieve well.  Children enjoy coming to school and make good progress.  The school has good relationships with parents and works closely with them in the education of their children.  The very good range of extra-curricular activities and music tuition.  More non-sport extra-curricular activities.  The behaviour of some children at play times.  The quantity of homework for Year 6 children.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

The inspectors fully endorse all the parents’ positive comments about the school. There is a most impressive number of extra-curricular activities but there are relatively few opportunities for activities other than sport. Despite the snow and wet weather during the inspection, pupils’ behaviour was very good both inside and outside the classroom. Sufficient homework is regularly set, with pupils clearly understanding the importance and relevance of this work. St. Laurence Church Junior School - 10

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

The headteacher provides excellent leadership and is very well supported by governors and staff.

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

1. The headteacher provides excellent leadership and is very well supported by his deputy. He has a breadth of understanding and a wealth of ideas that have helped the school to develop and maintain its high standards. He leads from the front, is keenly aware of his own strengths and capabilities and uses the skills of others to increasing effect. However, at present, he does not delegate enough responsibility to year and subject leaders so that they can assume more responsibility for the quality of teaching and learning in school. The headteacher inspires great confidence in the staff, governing body and parents and sets challenging targets for staff and pupils. Parents are “amazed” at his vitality and energy. The headteacher has worked hard and successfully to build a strong, unified team whose main goal is to seek improvements in the standards and the quality of education. Central to his philosophy is the great

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

importance given to the raising of self-esteem amongst the staff and pupils. As a result, there is a great feeling of confidence and activity through the school, best summed up by a pupil: “The best thing about this school is the friendly atmosphere and the way it is so lively. We do so much”.

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

2. All staff work very hard. New initiatives, such as the literacy and numeracy strategies, are enthusiastically embraced and have been very successfully introduced, through good planning, teamwork and a shared desire to succeed. An encouragement to reflect helps the school to look carefully at the impact of its work. This openness by all staff has resulted in improvements in the quality of the curriculum and in teaching.

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

3. Governors are very supportive of the school, with many visiting on a regular basis. The literacy and special educational needs governors have worked particularly hard in aspects of their responsibility. They have monitored teaching and learning in the classroom and fed back their findings to teachers. The success of their work is indicative of the very good relationships that exist in school. Governors have a sound understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the school but do not have enough information on the progress of each year group to help ensure that the targets set for Year 6 pupils are met.

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

4. The school aims are very well integrated into its daily life. Pupils are secure, happy and confident and develop a mature tolerance and caring attitude towards all members of the school community. In accordance with the principles and teaching of the Church, the school provides a rich environment for its pupils’ education and development and works closely with the parents in the education of their children.

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Pupils make good progress and standards of attainment in the three core subjects of English,

mathematics and science are above average.

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Pupils make good progress and standards of attainment in the three core subjects of English,

5. Compared to similar schools, the 1999 National Curriculum test results were a credit to the pupils and their teachers: they were well above average in mathematics and science and above average in English. Since the last inspection, the planning for all three subjects has been developed and strengthened. The school has carefully integrated elements of its previous curriculum into the new government guidelines. In this way, it has built on the strengths of its previous work and this is having a positive effect on pupils’ attainment. This is clearly evident in the improvement of the quality of writing, particularly that of boys, through the school. The plenary sessions at the end of lessons are used very effectively to consolidate and extend pupils’ understanding, with the result that pupils make good learning gains.

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Pupils make good progress and standards of attainment in the three core subjects of English,

6. The literacy and numeracy strategies have been carefully introduced; through good quality in-service training, teachers have gained a thorough understanding of the new strategies and share a common school approach to the teaching of these two subjects. The consistently good teaching in literacy and numeracy is a result of this thorough preparation and the monitoring of teaching and learning in the classrooms by the headteacher and the two teachers responsible for literacy and numeracy. The discussion of good practice in year group meetings and teachers’ observation of each other’s work in the classroom, have all had a positive effect on the quality of teaching for the pupils. As a result, the teaching of basic skills in literacy and numeracy is very good. The organisation of year groups into ability sets makes the teaching St. Laurence Church Junior School - 11 even more effective. The sharing of targets with the older pupils encourages them to take a more

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Pupils make good progress and standards of attainment in the three core subjects of English,

proactive part in their learning and in ensuring these targets are met.

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Pupils make good progress and standards of attainment in the three core subjects of English,

7. Pupils have good speaking and listening skills that are used well by teachers in literacy lessons to consolidate and extend the pupils’ learning. Pupils enjoy reading and draw well on their reading experiences in their written work, where they write in a good range of styles. They use a wide range of vocabulary both in discussion and written work. Pupils’ work is well presented, appropriately paragraphed and carefully spelt. Particularly impressive were the Year 6 pupils’ pieces of persuasive writing on the subject of adoption. These pieces of work were further enhanced through the good use of an appropriate word processing program.

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Pupils make good progress and standards of attainment in the three core subjects of English,

8. Pupils are very confident using number and use their good knowledge of number bonds and multiplication tables well in mental mathematics situations. They have a very good understanding of place value and use this knowledge well in their decimal work. Pupils have above average skills in handling data and there are some good links with information technology in this work.

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Pupils make good progress and standards of attainment in the three core subjects of English,

9. The quality of pupils’ work in science has improved considerably since the last inspection. Teaching is consistently good, with pupils’ knowledge and understanding being particularly well developed through the very good use of questioning and discussion.

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Pupils make good progress and standards of attainment in the three core subjects of English,

Teaching is consistently good and successfully challenges the great majority of pupils.

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Pupils make good progress and standards of attainment in the three core subjects of English,

10. There is a strong rapport between teachers and pupils and the high quality relationships that are evident throughout the school are most apparent in the classrooms. Pupils thrive in this atmosphere of care and trust and have the confidence to talk openly about their difficulties. As a result, teachers are able to focus their planning more accurately and, in so doing, successfully challenge pupils of all abilities. In most subjects, teachers have good subject knowledge and use this well in good quality questioning that characterises most lessons. Pupils respond well to this mental challenge; for example, when Year 5 pupils used their good scientific knowledge to debate whether a cut flower was living or dead. Good questioning is also used well at the beginning of lessons: in a Year 3 art lesson, discussion helped pupils to focus more clearly on the choice of materials they would need to work in the style of Klimt. The

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Pupils make good progress and standards of attainment in the three core subjects of English,

quality of teachers’ planning is now generally very good and pupils are fully involved when teachers clearly explain to them what they are to learn in lessons. However, occasionally the planned work for pupils with special educational needs is not appropriate. This was the case in a Year 3 science lesson when pupils copied work that they could not read. Teachers benefit greatly from sharing their skills to support one another, such as in staff meetings, and are constantly looking for innovative ways to improve their effectiveness and raise standards. This was clearly evident in the reorganisation of the setting for English and mathematics in Years 4, 5 and 6. Teachers make good use of visits to places such as Lickey Hill Country Park and to the Birmingham museum and art galleries. The Year 4 and Year 6 residential visits are greatly looked forward to, well planned and broaden the pupils’ learning in interesting and

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Pupils make good progress and standards of attainment in the three core subjects of English,

innovative ways. Central to the school’s teaching is the high quality marking which clearly identifies the next area of pupils’ learning. This is particularly so in the Year 6 numeracy and literacy work, where pupils have a clear understanding of the quality of their work and what they need to do to improve. However, pupils have too few opportunities to assess their own work.

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Pupils make good progress and standards of attainment in the three core subjects of English,

11. The school makes good use of specialist teachers in music, swimming and in supporting pupils with special educational needs. As a result of the high quality input, pupils have well advanced swimming skills and their instrumental playing and singing are of a high standard and considerably enrich the life of the school. Good quality support from the special educational needs co-ordinator has a significant and positive influence on the achievement of the lower-attaining pupils in the Year 3 numeracy and literacy groups. However, when pupils are withdrawn from lessons for music tuition and special educational needs support, they regularly miss the same subjects and this disrupts the learning for some pupils.

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Pupils make good progress and standards of attainment in the three core subjects of English,

Pupils work hard, behave very well and form very good relationships.

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Pupils make good progress and standards of attainment in the three core subjects of English,

12. Pupils’ behaviour is very good, both in classes and during playtimes. They respond very well to the established routines, as they believe them to be fair. Pupils have a very good understanding of the well- thought-out hierarchy of sanctions that successfully underpin the very good behaviour. Boys and girls work well with each other in the classroom and mix freely and easily at playtimes. The relationships are St. Laurence Church Junior School - 12 happy and harmonious and pupils benefit significantly from growing up and learning in this supportive environment. The very good relationships were clearly evident during the lunchtime activities centring round the school’s Lenten project, which is a pupil-organised charity event. Pupils are expected to work hard and are encouraged to achieve as well as they are able. These principles underpin the whole ethos of the school, making it a very happy and effective workplace. Pupils have an appetite for hard work and a

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Pupils make good progress and standards of attainment in the three core subjects of English,

zest for learning and their interests and enthusiasms are well harnessed by the teachers who provide interesting and challenging work for pupils of all abilities. The pupils respond by producing good quality work and by taking pride in its presentation.

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The school has very good relationships with parents who give good support to its activities and are

extremely happy with the education it provides.

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The school has very good relationships with parents who give good support to its activities and are

13. The school regards its relationship with parents as central to its work. The school has the confidence of its pupils, the parents and the community. Parents are highly supportive of the school, very happy about all aspects of its work and are confident that, whenever there are difficulties, the school will listen to their concerns and act in the best interests of their children.

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The school has very good relationships with parents who give good support to its activities and are

14. The high number of returned questionnaires and the wide-ranging debate at the parents’ meeting with inspectors, clearly demonstrate the support and trust that parents have in the school. Parents feel there is a very close partnership between school and home and that this has a positive effect on their children’s progress. The negotiated homework policy is felt to be working well and gives opportunities for parents to work closely with the school in their children’s education. The parents appreciate the “open door” policy of the school and the good quality information they receive through school and year group newsletters as well as the new home-school booklet. The reading diary provides an effective means of home-school communication, whilst the friends of St. Laurence, as well as being a highly active parents’ association, is also an effective barometer of parental views.

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The school has very good relationships with parents who give good support to its activities and are

15. The school has a striking community spirit. There is a very effective partnership between the school, the home and the parish with shared aims for all the pupils. The school, staff and governors have worked hard and successfully to develop this community. As a result, St. Laurence is a popular school whose strong Christian principles underpin its life and work. Courtesy and mutual respect is evident in all aspects of school life. New pupils are well cared for, quickly settle into the school and flourish within its caring environment. The new school and parish initiative of the monthly “School Sunday” has been particularly effective and is further strengthening the links between the church and the school. The very large number of parents and pupils who attended the Mothering Day service, organised by Year 3, is a testimony to the success of this initiative.

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The school provides very good opportunities for pupils to work together in a large number of

16. Pupils are very happy at St. Laurence School and one of the principal reasons for their very positive attitudes towards the school is the numerous activities that the school provides for pupils to participate in outside the teaching day. The very popular clubs are for enjoyment but also provide opportunities for pupils to improve their personal performance. They also offer invaluable opportunities for boys and girls of different ages to work and play together. Many of the clubs have a sporting focus and have helped the school to compete successfully in inter-school sports events. Pupils who show real talent are encouraged to develop their skills further by joining outside sporting clubs.

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The school provides very good opportunities for pupils to work together in a large number of

17. The school’s Lenten project is an excellent example of pupils working together for a good cause. This year all the money raised will support a local charity. The excitement and buzz at lunchtime reflects the wonderful enthusiasm that pupils have for organising and taking part in the very wide variety of activities. Budding magicians and silver service waitresses hone their skills, whilst other pupils organise a wide and innovative range of competitions, such as identifying different parts of Pharoah’s body in a feely bag.

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The teaching and use of information technology to further support pupils’ learning across the

curriculum. St. Laurence Church Junior School - 13 18. The school has made good use of its specific grant for improving its information technology resources. A computer suite of 15 computers has been established and is networked to a personal computer in each classroom. The school, this year, decided to develop two aspects of the information technology curriculum, namely communications and data handling. In both these areas pupils reach at least satisfactory standards with a significant number exceeding them.

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The teaching and use of information technology to further support pupils’ learning across the

19. With the emphasis on communications and data handling, the school has not yet allocated time for the development of teachers’ skills in the modelling, monitoring and control elements of the subject. As a result, these statutory elements are rarely taught and pupils’ attainment in these areas is unsatisfactory. However, the school improvement plan for the next two years clearly outlines how this weakness is going to be addressed.

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The role of governors in monitoring developments and providing a strategic overview of where the

20. Most governors visit the school on a regular basis to observe its work. However, governors do not have a schedule to help them systematically monitor school developments. As a result, they are too reliant on information from the headteacher. As such, they do not have enough first-hand knowledge to act as critical friends to the school or to provide a sense of direction for its work.

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The role of governors in monitoring developments and providing a strategic overview of where the

The provision for pupils’ cultural development.

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The role of governors in monitoring developments and providing a strategic overview of where the

21. The school draws well upon the local community to support the curriculum; this results in pupils gaining a sound understanding of their own culture. Visits to the Lickey Hills Country Park and the Birmingham Art Gallery enhance the curriculum. The residential visits to Malvern and York are popular with the pupils and further supplement their cultural development. Whilst pupils are introduced to some elements of other cultures in religious education and through some aspects of geography, there are, overall, too few opportunities for them to study and learn about other cultures. As a result few pupils appreciate the similarities and differences of the major world cultures and do not have a clear understanding of the multi-cultural society in which they live. St. Laurence Church Junior School - 14

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

22. In order to raise standards of attainment even higher the school should now:-

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

 Develop the use of information technology through the curriculum by:

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

- ensuring that all elements of the National Curriculum are taught; - improving teachers’ subject knowledge of modelling, monitoring and control through a systematic programme of training and development; - ensuring that pupils have sufficient opportunities to use information technology to further support and extend their learning across the curriculum.

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

 Involve governors more effectively in the drawing up and evaluation of the school improvement plan.

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

 Provide more planned opportunities for pupils to develop their awareness of different cultures and their understanding of the multi-cultural society in which they live.

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OTHER SPECIFIED FEATURES

23. During the inspection, some peripatetic teaching of music was observed for woodwind and keyboards. The quality of teaching was high and pupils made good progress in lessons. The great majority of pupils show a good commitment to practice and are very keen to improve their personal levels of performance. The school also provides good opportunities for the more advanced players to play in the local schools’ orchestras. Great encouragement is given by the school to pupils to share their expertise in assemblies, concerts and plays.

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OTHER SPECIFIED FEATURES

24. The school runs a large number of extra-curricular clubs that are extremely well supported by pupils. Most of the activities are of a sporting nature with only a small proportion representing the arts. St. Laurence Church Junior School - 15

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Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 20

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Poor Very Poor

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

The table gives the percentage of teaching observed in each of the seven categories used to make judgements about lessons.

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils on the school’s roll Nursery Y3 – Y7

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) n/a 360

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils eligible for free school meals n/a 48

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Information about the school’s pupils

Special educational needs Nursery Y3 – Y7

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs n/a 4

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register n/a 124

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Information about the school’s pupils

English as an additional language No of pupils

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with English as an additional language 10

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 18

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 14

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Attendance

National comparative data 5.4 National comparative data 0.5

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Attendance

Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. St. Laurence Church Junior School - 16

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 2 for the latest reporting year 1999 45 45 90

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

National Curriculum Test/Task Results English Mathematics Science

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Boys 31 37 41 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 41 42 43

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Percentage of pupils School 80 (96) 88 (95) 93 ( 93) at NC level 4 or above National 70 (65) 69 (59) 78 (69)

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Boys 31 36 41 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 42 40 42

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Percentage of pupils School 81 (97) 84 (94) 92 (93) at NC level 4 or above National 68 (65) 69 (65) 75 (72)

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year.

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – Caribbean heritage 7 Black – Caribbean heritage 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – African heritage 0 Black – African heritage 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Any other minority ethnic group 21 Other minority ethnic groups 1 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

This table refers to pupils of compulsory school age only. This table gives the number of exclusions of pupils of compulsory school age, which may be different from the number of pupils excluded. St. Laurence Church Junior School - 17

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 15 Financial year 1998/99

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 24

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: Y3 – Y7 Total expenditure 685,625

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 3 Expenditure per pupil 1,845

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 52 Balance brought forward from previous year 20,157

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Balance carried forward to next year 12,196

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Qualified teachers and support staff: nursery

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) n/a

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher n/a

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff n/a

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week n/a

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Teachers and classes Financial information

FTE means full-time equivalent. St. Laurence Church Junior School - 18

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Percentage of responses in each category

Strongly agree Tend to agree Tend to disagree Strongly disagree Don’t know

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Percentage of responses in each category

My child is making good progress in school. 57 39 2 1 1

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Percentage of responses in each category

Behaviour in the school is good. 51 47 1 0 1

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Percentage of responses in each category

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 42 48 8 1 1

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Percentage of responses in each category

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 47 48 4 1 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 67 29 3 1 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 80 19 1 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school works closely with parents. 49 48 1 1 1

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is well led and managed. 72 26 1 1 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 58 38 3 0 1

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 59 31 6 1 3

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