Lydgate Infant School

Lydgate Infant School

Dates of inspection: 31 st January 2000 - 2 nd February 2000

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Lydgate Infant 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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Lydgate Infant 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. Lydgate Infant School - 3

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Lydgate Lane Crosspool Sheffield South Yorkshire Postcode: S10 5FQ

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: 14 th October 1996 Lydgate Infant School - 4

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Team members

Jeffrey White Registered inspector Susanne Stevens Lay inspector Graham Bate Team inspector Daphne Crow Team inspector

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Team members

6 Star Corner Barby Rugby Warwickshire CV23 8UD

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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 Lydgate Infant 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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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

The school is a larger than average infant school and draws pupils from a reasonably wide range of socio-economic backgrounds. It is popular with parents and about 10 percent of pupils live outside the immediate catchment area. The number on roll has increased since the last inspection and is now 337 (163 girls, 174 boys). At the time of the current inspection 70 pupils were under five years of age. Approximately 12 percent of pupils are of minority ethnic heritage and the vast majority speak English well. Nineteen pupils are on the school’s register for special educational needs including two pupils who have statements. About three percent of pupils are eligible for free school meals and this number is below the national average. Pupils’ attainment on entry to the school is broadly average.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

Lydgate Infant School is a well ordered, cohesive community in which pupils achieve high standards in reading, writing and mathematics. Pupils are very well cared for and their behaviour, attitudes and relationships are very good. Management is strong and leadership is effective. The headteacher and staff work well as a team and are well supported by governors. The quality of teaching is good. The school provides good value for money.

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What the school does well

• High standards are attained in reading, writing and mathematics. • The quality of teaching is good and helps pupils to make good progress. • Pupils’ attitudes and relationships are very positive; they behave very well. • The headteacher provides effective leadership and is well supported by staff and governors

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What could be improved

• The monitoring of teaching and learning. • The school’s annual evaluation of its performance. 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 was last inspected in October 1996 and was found to be effective. However, the school has continued to improve. The quality of teaching is better and this has contributed to sustaining the overall high standards in reading, writing, mathematics and pupils’ attitudes and behaviour. Group work is better organised and high attaining pupils are now given more challenging work. Assessment has improved and pupils’ work is well matched to their needs. The teachers have undertaken more inservice training to improve their expertise in design and technology. The quality of information provided for parents is now good. Although there has been some progress in monitoring and evaluating standards, teaching and learning there is still scope for further improvement. Lydgate Infant School - 7

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STANDARDS

The table shows the standards achieved by 7 year olds based on National Curriculum test results.

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Key

reading A A A* B well above average above average A B writing A A* A* B average below average C D mathematics A A A A well below average E

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The school exceeded its targets for 1999 and compared with all schools has sustained very

high standards over the period 1996-9. Standards are high compared with similar schools.

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Pupils throughout the school achieve well. The current pupils in Year 2 are not yet at the end

of the key stage and are already attaining above average standards in literacy and numeracy.

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Pupils under five years of age are making good progress in language, literacy and

mathematics and most are well on course to meet or exceed expectations for pupils aged five.

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Aspect Comment

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

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Aspect Comment

Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Behaviour is very good and pupils co-operate very well with each other.

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Aspect Comment

Personal development and relationships Pupils develop harmonious relationships and value and respect others.

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Teaching of pupils: aged up to 5 years aged 5-7 years

Lessons seen overall Good 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 up to 5 years aged 5-7 years

The overall quality of teaching is good and in about 30 percent of lessons it is very good. Teachers organise lessons well and they provide work that is suitable for all pupils. Reading, writing and numeracy are taught effectively and this helps pupils to make good progress. Teachers capture pupils’ interest well and they make good use of questions and discussion to extend their learning. Pupils respond very positively to the good teaching. Lydgate Infant School - 8

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Aspect Comment

The quality and range of the curriculum The curriculum is suitably broad and meets statutory requirements. It meets the needs of pupils with different abilities.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils with special educational needs Provision is good and pupils make good progress.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Overall provision is good. Standards in art are good and contribute well to pupils’ cultural development.

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Aspect Comment

How well the school cares for its pupils The headteacher and staff provide a high level of care. High standards of behaviour are promoted consistently.

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Aspect Comment

Leadership and manage- ment by the headteacher and other key staff The headteacher, team leaders and subject leaders work well together to provide effective leadership. The school is very well organised.

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Aspect Comment

How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities Governors fulfil their statutory responsibilities and give good support to the school.

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Aspect Comment

The school’s evaluation of its performance Monitoring and evaluation of the school’s work are satisfactory but there is scope for further improvement.

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Aspect Comment

The strategic use of resources Finances are controlled carefully and matched closely to the school’s educational priorities. Good value for money is provided.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

• Their children like school. • Behaviour, attitudes and relationships are very good. • Teaching is good. • The school is well led and managed. • Standards are high. • Some parents would like more information on how their children are getting on. • A significant minority of parents would like more recognition to be given to children’s completed homework.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

The inspection team strongly endorses parents’ positive views. The school already provides parents with a good degree of information and has plans to improve this even further. Although the homework provided is optional the headteacher and staff should consider how children’s efforts could be given more recognition. Many parents strongly express their dissatisfaction with the Education Authority’s policy to reduce admissions to the local junior school and consider that the infant children’s well being has been affected. Despite this unresolved issue the inspection found the school to be operating as an orderly and harmonious community. Lydgate Infant School - 9

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

High standards are attained in reading, writing and mathematics.

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

1. Pupils in the reception year are enthusiastic, keen to read and enjoy talking about books. They are developing a good knowledge of letter sounds and are encouraged to identify key words and phrases when sharing books with their teachers. Most accurately spell simple three letter words such as “sun” and many make good attempts to spell longer words such as “sport”. After sharing a “big book” high attaining pupils accurately read a range of simple sentences they had written including “I like the wind”. This good foundation in the reception year is built on well as children become older.

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

2. Pupils in Year 1 develop knowledge and understanding of phonics skills further. In a very effective lesson they made very good progress in identifying consonant clusters in a text and in dictionaries. They successfully made their own lists of words with a variety of endings including “ick”, and “ack”. Year 1 pupils participate eagerly in shared reading and most read the texts accurately. The teachers’ well- focused questions ensure that pupils when talking about books use the appropriate vocabulary such as “contents page” and “non fiction”.

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

3. Pupils in Year 2 are developing a wide range of reading strategies. They look for clues to help them understand the meaning of texts and many show good awareness of punctuation when reading aloud. Pupils’ understanding is improved by teachers’ thoughtful questions such as “why is this part of the text in bold print?” and “why is a comma used here?” The teachers expect the pupils to concentrate and listen carefully. In a good lesson pupils’ close attention helped them to make good attempts at a precis of the shared story.

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

4. Writing is taught well throughout the school. Pupils in the reception year make good progress in the use of words and simple phrases. They try hard to form their letters accurately. Many of the youngest pupils write their names with appropriate upper and lower case letters and those who are high attainers write simple sentences. Pupils in Year 1 make good progress in the use of full stops and capital letters and spell many familiar words correctly. They take care in their handwriting and presentation of work. The teachers’ high expectations help the pupils to achieve well. In a very effective literacy lesson Year 1 pupils worked diligently on a very well organised range of linked reading and writing activities including writing alternative endings to a familiar story. These activities challenged the pupils well and ensured they made very good progress.

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

5. Pupils in Year 2 write for a good range of purposes and in different forms including, stories, descriptions and factual accounts. Spelling is usually accurate and pupils make good attempts at spelling unfamiliar words, for example “drafty damp sellar” and “spechial”. Often pupils make good use of vocabulary, such as “spooky bug- eyed monster”. A significant minority of pupils uses speech marks and exclamation marks accurately. Most pupils’ handwriting is legible and joined.

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

6. Pupils in the reception year are developing good knowledge and understanding of numeracy. Many of the pupils count easily forwards and backwards to 10 and beyond and identify the numbers involved. The also write numbers with increasing Lydgate Infant School - 10 accuracy. Good progress is also made in shape recognition. In a good lesson pupils accurately named squares, circles, triangles, and rectangles and talked about their properties using appropriate words such as “corner, and “side”. In Year 1 pupils recognise odd and even numbers, are beginning to accurately order numbers to 100 and solve simple addition and subtraction problems especially involving money.

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

7. Good progress continues in Year 2. Pupils solve whole number problems using accurate mental recall of addition and subtraction facts. High attaining pupils recall multiplication facts when they correctly work out 5x10 and 4x4. Many can also calculate a quarter and a half of large numbers such as 800 or 1000. In a very effective lesson all pupils made good progress in sequencing and ordering numbers. The teacher’s very clear exposition and careful use of a number line captured pupils’ interest and the associated tasks challenged them. Several high attaining pupils began to use decimal notation accurately, for example writing 100.5 as a number between 100 and 101. Pupils were also taught the word “consecutive”. Pupils’ work since September 1999 indicates good progress in knowledge of shapes and measures. Throughout the school the teachers’ focus on mental calculations is contributing significantly to pupils’ good achievement.

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

The quality of teaching is good and helps pupils to make good progress.

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

8. Literacy and numeracy are taught well. Lessons are well structured with clear objectives and planned to meet pupils’ different needs. Usually they include effective teaching of the whole class in addition to good teaching of groups organised according to pupils’ prior attainment. Relationships with pupils are very good and contribute significantly to the positive atmosphere for learning.

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

9. Teachers ask thoughtful and often probing questions that challenge pupils’ thinking. Pupils in Year 2, sharing a book with the teacher, were asked, “why do you think this word is in Italics?” Pupils in Year 1 whilst reading the story of “The Three Little Pigs” were asked, “what does stay firm mean?” These demanding questions helped pupils to improve their comprehension and vocabulary. Similarly, at the beginning of numeracy lessons well-focused questions keep pupils on their toes and are often varied to suit their different abilities. In Year 1 the most able pupils were asked to identify “before and after” numbers up to 100 whilst lower attaining pupils worked with numbers up to 20. Teachers also intervene well once activities are underway and often gather groups of pupils together to extend or re-inforce their learning. Plenary sessions are used well to ensure that pupils have understood the key

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

objectives of literacy and numeracy lessons and to enable them to talk about their work. In a lesson in Year 2 the teacher checked that particular pupils had thoroughly understood the use of commas and asked others to share their lists of compound words.

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

10. The consistently good teaching of literacy and numeracy is contributing strongly to pupils’ high standards. It ensures that pupils usually work at a brisk pace and enables pupils to sustain their interest and concentration. The national strategies have been implemented well. Lydgate Infant School - 11 Pupils’ attitudes and relationships are very positive; they behave very well.

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

11. Pupils throughout the school work with sustained interest and concentration. They are enthusiastic learners. They have very positive attitudes towards their work and co-operate well with each other. In discussion pupils indicated how much they enjoyed school, liked the lessons and were proud of their work. Behaviour is very good in lessons and in communal areas of the school. Pupils cope well with a large building, which has several potential hazards for pupils of infant age.

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

11. Pupils’ very positive attitudes, relationships and behaviour contribute strongly to their achievements. They value and respect others in the way in which they listen carefully in lessons and assemblies. In the reception year pupils listen quietly and carefully and are encouraged to begin to take some responsibility, for example counting the numbers for school dinners or packed lunches. Their confidence is helped considerably by the clearly established classroom routines. In all years pupils settle quickly to work and they make productive use of the available time. In a numeracy lesson in Year 2 the pupils worked quickly but accurately on challenging tasks and made rapid progress in their understanding of numbers. In a good literacy lesson Year 2 pupils had the confidence to volunteer their own opinions about a shared book. In all years pupils co-operate well in whole-class discussions and can also be trusted to work quietly and purposefully on their own.

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The headteacher provides effective leadership and is well supported by staff and

12. The headteacher provides calm and purposeful leadership and with the support of staff and governors is committed to maintaining high standards. Targets for pupils’ performance in the 1999 SATs were exceeded. A very positive ethos has been established that values the pupils and ensures their well being. The headteacher is regarded highly by parents. The school is very well organised with clear administration procedures.

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The headteacher provides effective leadership and is well supported by staff and

13. Strong teamwork has been promoted. Senior members of staff who are members of the senior management team lead each year group and subject leaders have clearly defined roles. Staff perform their duties well. The headteacher enables them to exercise initiative but keeps a close eye on developments to ensure they remain in line with the school’s priorities. Each subject leader through discussion with the headteacher is also responsible for expenditure in their subject. In addition to leading a year group, the deputy headteacher has oversight of the curriculum and checks it is broad and balanced by evaluating teachers’ planning.

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The headteacher provides effective leadership and is well supported by staff and

14. The headteacher has given good support to staff in the implementation of the national literacy and numeracy strategies. She accompanied the staff on their literacy training and enabled them to visit other schools. She visited all classes to monitor the literacy hour and taught some of the guided reading sessions. The numeracy strategy has also been monitored in Year 1 and Year 2.

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The headteacher provides effective leadership and is well supported by staff and

15. The school’s commitment to maintaining high standards is illustrated well by developments in assessment. SATs results are analysed regularly and the results inform the school’s targets. For example, a programme to improve spelling was introduced in Year 2 and attainment rose by about five percent. The assessment co-ordinators have also been “tracking” pupils’ progress from their initial assessment in the reception year, in order to ensure that targets for their performance are Lydgate Infant School - 12 appropriate. A week in each term is set aside for assessment and pupils are assessed against specific learning objectives.

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The headteacher provides effective leadership and is well supported by staff and

16. The governors are well informed about the school’s work and have set clear targets for the headteacher, one of which is to maintain high standards. The progress of the school development plan is discussed regularly in governors’ meetings. Governors accompany the headteacher on the budget profiling day held with the Education Authority and maintain close control of expenditure. The governors’ curriculum committee keeps abreast of developments by receiving reports from the school’s subject leaders. Many of the governors are, or have been, parents of pupils at the school and as a consequence they feel they know the school well. A number of the governors help regularly in the school.

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WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED

The monitoring of teaching and learning.

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WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED

17. The headteacher’s classroom visiting during the implementation of the literacy and numeracy hours enabled her to observe the teaching and pupils’ responses. Each year group leader also organised some class observations of teaching and learning in literacy in their own year groups. Additionally some subject leaders have observed lessons, talked to pupils and looked at their work. However, the observations have largely been ad hoc and not undertaken according to clear criteria. Evaluations have not been documented and any subsequent discussion by the senior management team has also not been minuted. Consequently the results of the observations have not sufficiently informed the school’s strategic planning. The inspection identified some important strengths in the teaching and learning especially in very good lessons. More systematic classroom observation is now needed to ensure that the best teaching benefits all the staff.

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WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED

The school’s annual evaluation of its performance .

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WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED

18. In the current annual development plan there is some evaluation of the previous year’s achievements. Occasionally clear improvements are identified, for example in SATs results in mathematics. In general however, the evaluations are not precise enough to inform subsequent planning. The literacy hour is described as “working very well” but there is no indication of how, or why this was the case. In some subjects such as information technology and science there is little evaluation of standards, teaching and learning. As a result it is unclear what the subsequent targets are in these key subjects. The school is especially keen to improve provision in information and communications technology. Equipment has been updated and the headteacher is rightly concerned that all staff should be suitably trained. The subject leader gives good support to staff who need help. However, the development plan does not spell out clearly how the pupils’ work will be monitored in

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WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED

order to form a comprehensive view of the standards attained. During the inspection there was not enough evidence to evaluate the impact of provision for information and communications technology on pupils’ standards of work. A strategic plan covering the period 2000-2003 has just been produced. In order to help the school’s future direction annual plans will need to ensure that targets and action plans are based on more precise evaluation of standards, teaching and learning. Lydgate Infant School - 13

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(1) Systematically identify the most effective teaching and learning and ensure the findings inform subsequent planning.

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(2) Evaluate the annual development plan more thoroughly particularly in respect of strengths and weaknesses in standards, teaching and learning. Lydgate Infant School - 14

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Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 8

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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

0 21 64 14 0 0 0 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 YR – Y2

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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 337

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils eligible for free school meals N/A 10 FTE means full-time equivalent.

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Information about the school’s pupils

Special educational needs Nursery YR – Y2

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs N/A 2

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register N/A 19

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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 23

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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 16

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 7

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Attendance

National comparative data 5.4 National comparative data 0.5 Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. Lydgate Infant School - 15

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 1 for the latest reporting year 1999 36 53 89

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

National Curriculum Test/Task Results Reading Writing Mathematics

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Boys 32 32 35 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 49 52 53

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Percentage of pupils School 91 (91]) 94 (94) 99 (94) at NC level 2 or above National 82 (80) 83 (81) 87 (84)

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Boys 32 35 34 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 52 53 53

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Percentage of pupils School 94 (95) 99 (95) 98 (97) at NC level 2 or above National 82 (81) 86 (85) 87 (86)

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year. Lydgate Infant School - 16

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – Caribbean heritage 9 Black – Caribbean heritage 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – African heritage 1 Black – African heritage 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Any other minority ethnic group 0 Other minority ethnic groups 0 0 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.

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 13 Financial year 1999

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 25.9

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: YR – Y2 Total expenditure 457,171

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 3 Expenditure per pupil 1,572

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 57 Balance brought forward from previous year 33,764

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Balance carried forward to next year 44,440 FTE means full-time equivalent. Lydgate Infant School - 17

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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. 56 41 2 0 0

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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. 33 57 6 3 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 31 46 22 0 1

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Percentage of responses in each category

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 63 30 5 1 1

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 64 34 0 0 1

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school works closely with parents. 40 51 5 1 3

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is well led and managed. 61 34 0 0 5

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 56 44 0 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 25 38 21 2 14

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