Wolsey House Primary School

WOLSEY HOUSE PRIMARY SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 5 th – 6 th June 2000

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WOLSEY HOUSE PRIMARY 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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WOLSEY HOUSE PRIMARY 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. Wolsey House Primary School - 3

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Beaumont Leys Lane Leicester Leicestershire

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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: Elizabeth Mapletoft

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: 28 October 1996

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Team members

Joyce Taylor Registered inspector Jane Chesterfield Lay inspector Mike Brogden Team inspector Sylvia Oultram Team inspector

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Team members

Mike Brogden Ferndale Shipton Much Wenlock Shropshire TF13 6LB

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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 Wolsey House Primary School - 4

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 5 - 8

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 9 - 11

The children’s progress is good, especially in relation to their attainments on entry to the Nursery. The leadership by the headteacher is very good. There is good and very good teaching in all parts of the school and as a result the learning is good. The provision for the children’s personal development and relationships is very good. Their behaviour is good. The provision for the children with special educational needs is good and they learn well as a result of the good teaching.

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WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED 11 - 12

The monitoring and evaluation of the teaching and learning by the headteacher and senior staff is not developed enough. This is partly because the roles and responsibilities of the key stage leaders and the curriculum coordinators are not clarified. The senior staff have insufficient opportunity to take part in the leadership and management of the school. The governors do not take enough responsibility in shaping the direction of the school, the governors do not meet all their statutory requirements. Sometimes there is too much guidance from teachers and this restricts the children’s opportunities to apply their knowledge and skills. In literacy and numeracy lessons the children are not given sufficiently different work to match their capabilities.

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Wolsey House Primary school caters for 474 pupils aged 3 to 11 years and is much larger than average. It includes a large nursery where there are 20 full time children and an additional 80 children attend part-time. The school serves part of the Abbey and Belgrave electoral wards for which the census data shows a range of economic circumstances with many disadvantaged families. 36% of pupils attend from outside the school's catchment area. The number of pupils who claim free school meals (32%) is well above the national average of 20.3%. The number of pupils on the school’s special needs register (87) and the number with statements of special educational needs (3) are broadly in line with the national averages. Almost 13% of the pupils use English as an additional language. This is a high percentage. The attainment of pupils on entry to the school, as measured by the baseline assessment scheme in the Reception classes, has consistently been very low when

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

This is a good school and is justifiably popular in the community. The leadership by the headteacher is very strong and the quality of the teaching is good and often very good. This ensures that the children make very good progress during their time in the school and almost all of them achieve satisfactory standards by the time they leave. The children’s behaviour is good. The school is a friendly and caring community where good relationships are quickly established. The school provides very good value for money.

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What the school does well

• The children make good progress in the Nursery and in the rest of the school. Overall the progress made by the children during their time in the school is very good. • The leadership by the headteacher is very strong, purposeful and caring. • There is good and very good teaching in all parts of the school and the children respond by concentrating well and working hard. • The provision for the children’s personal development and relationships is very good and their behaviour is good. • The provision for the children with special educational needs is good and they learn well as a result of the good teaching.

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What could be improved

• The monitoring and evaluation of the teaching and learning by the headteacher and senior staff are not developed enough, partly because the roles and responsibilities of the key stage managers and the curriculum coordinators are not clarified. • The senior staff have insufficient opportunity to contribute to the leadership and management of the school and the governors do not take enough responsibility in shaping the direction of the school. The governors do not meet all of their statutory requirements. • Sometimes there is too much guidance from teachers and this restricts the children’s opportunities to apply their knowledge and skills. • In literacy and numeracy lessons the children are sometimes not given different work according to their capabilities. 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 previously inspected in October 1996. The developments made since then have been good and the school’s high standards and strengths have been maintained and further aspects have been improved. The quality of the teaching is still a strength of the school and the children’s attitudes and relationships continue to be very good. The support for the children with special educational needs has improved and in Key Stage 2 the standards in science have risen. The previous report criticised the planning and assessment of the curriculum. A considerable amount of work has made these aspects much better but there is still a lack of clarity about how assessments are used to identify the learning needs of the children in lessons. There is still an occasional lack of opportunity for the children to organise some aspects of their learning for themselves, for example, designing grids to enter information in science, mathematics and geography, redrafting their writing or freely expressing

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

themselves in art. This aspect was also criticised in the previous inspection report. Similarly, some of the statutory responsibilities of the governors are still not met, including the provision for an act of worship. Wolsey House Primary School - 6

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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

1997 1998 1999 1999 very high A* English C D C B well above average above average A B Mathematics B B C B average below average C D Science C B B A well below average very low E E*

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Key

The children’s standards by the end of Key Stage 2 are average in the national tests for English and mathematics and above average for science. The test results for the pupils who are seven years old are consistently well below average but still show that they have made good progress during their time in the early years and infant classes. The results in Key Stage 2 have steadily risen over the past four years in line with the national improvements. In Key Stage 1 the results in reading are improving each year and are drawing close to the national expectations. The results in writing and mathematics are rising at the same pace as the improvements nationally but are still well below the national average. When the children enter the Nursery the attainment of many of them is very low, particularly in speaking and listening and in personal development. The Nursery and Reception classes provide good learning opportunities for the children and this helps them to make good progress.

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Key

Inspection evidence shows that the children are beginning to catch up during their time in the Nursery and Reception classes and further good progress is made in the infant classes and in Years 3 and 4. The children are attaining average standards during their time in Years 5 and 6. The targets set by the school are appropriate and the standards are likely to meet the targets set for 2000.

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Aspect Comment

Attitudes to the school The children are willing to work hard and are keen to do well. They like school and have good relationships with their teachers. They are pleased to help and like to be useful.

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Aspect Comment

Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Behaviour in lessons is usually good although occasionally one or two children are distracted from their work. Generally they are obedient and courteous and move around the school quietly and carefully.

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Aspect Comment

Personal development and relationships The children’s personal development is very good. The children have learned to talk about their own feelings and they listen with interest to each other. Many pupils start at the school with very poor personal skills but they make very good progress. They need increased opportunities to make decisions about some of their work.

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Aspect Comment

Attendance Unsatisfactory; despite the efforts made by the school some children stay at home without good reason.

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Teaching of pupils: aged up to 5 years aged 5-7 years aged 7-11 years

Lessons seen overall Good 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. Good means better than in most schools.

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Teaching of pupils: aged up to 5 years aged 5-7 years aged 7-11 years

The quality of teaching is good throughout the school, with many instances of very good and occasional excellent teaching observed. During the inspection 95% of the teaching seen was satisfactory or better and only 5% was unsatisfactory. 3% was excellent, 16% was very good and 45% was good. The teachers have implemented the national literacy strategy very effectively and have made a good start in implementing the numeracy strategy. These are having a positive effect on the children’s learning. The staff work together very well and their team work is a strong feature in the school. The teachers are Wolsey House Primary School - 7 well qualified and they have good knowledge of the subjects they teach. Their management of the children is particularly good and this enables the pupils to develop good concentration and set a good pace to the way they work. The children use earlier learning very effectively and work hard. The support for the children with special educational needs is good and these children

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Teaching of pupils: aged up to 5 years aged 5-7 years aged 7-11 years

are able to work well and make good progress. To improve standards further, the teachers need to identify more accurately what the children need to learn next and plan different work for children with different levels of achievement.

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Aspect Comment

The quality and range of the curriculum The pupils are taught a broad and relevant curriculum which they enjoy. In the Nursery the opportunities for the children are very good. There is no opportunity for the children to learn to swim which is contrary to National Curriculum requirements.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils with special educational needs There is good special educational needs provision. The children are identified promptly and they are taught the skills they need so they can make good progress.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils with English as an additional language Most of the pupils who speak another language at home also speak English well. They are given good support in school and make good progress.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development The children have good opportunities to develop their social skills and their moral understanding through the direct teaching and the good examples of the teachers. There are clear codes of behaviour which help the pupils develop a mature understanding of right and wrong. They are learning to appreciate a variety of cultural traditions and this aspect is satisfactory. The provision for spiritual development is unsatisfactory as there are few opportunities for the children to reflect on their spiritual experiences.

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Aspect Comment

How well the school cares for its pupils The school provides good care and consideration for the most part although there are weaknesses. The staff are attentive, supervise the children well and provide a caring and supportive environment.

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Aspect Comment

The staff have decided to keep a broad curriculum which has not been reduced by the priority given to literacy and numeracy lessons. This is very effective and provides the children with many interesting and lively learning opportunities, particularly in science. In Key Stage 1 particular emphasis is placed on developing the children’s personal skills so that they can learn to concentrate and work hard. The basic skills required for literacy and numeracy are also priorities. In Key Stage 2 the curriculum is well designed to build on the children’s earlier learning and increase the rate of progress. There is no provision to meet the requirement to teach swimming as the pool is a considerable distance away and much time was used in travelling. There are good links with the parents and they are well informed about the work of the school.

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Aspect Comment

The school cares for the children well overall but some further attention is required to improve security.

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Aspect Comment

Leadership and management by the headteacher and other key staff The leadership of the headteacher is very strong, purposeful and caring. It contributes very effectively to raising the pupils’ achievements. The leadership and management roles of other staff are unclear.

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Aspect Comment

How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities The governors are committed to the well-being of the school but their role in shaping the direction of the school is insufficiently developed and some of their statutory duties are not fulfilled.

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Aspect Comment

The school’s evaluation of its performance The school has a clear view of its work based on the analysis of much assessment data and has identified appropriate targets for improvement in the children’s standards. There is too little monitoring and evaluation of the quality of teaching and learning in the classrooms. Wolsey House Primary School - 8 The strategic use of resources The skills of the staff are used well in preparing the curriculum and supporting the teams of teachers. Routines are efficient and time is used well. Teaching materials are looked after carefully.

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Aspect Comment

This is a strongly led school and the headteacher has a very clear view of all aspects of school life. She has high expectations of the children and staff and quickly identifies ways for improvements to develop. Other staff and the governors have less influence on the developments of the school. The senior staff monitor the work of the teachers through staff appraisal but do not review or check on the success of new developments. There is no act of worship in the school and no swimming takes place. These statutory requirements of the governors are not met. The school applies the principles of best value by ensuring money is spent wisely.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

• The school expects the children to work hard and do their best. • The children like school. • The teaching is good. • The children make good progress. • The school is approachable. • The range of activities outside lessons. • The amount of homework.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

The inspection team agrees with the parents’ positive views: the children are expected to work hard and they make good progress. This is due to the good teaching which also makes school enjoyable for the children. The school is available to parents who have concerns and questions. The inspectors do not agree with parents’ criticisms of the range of activities outside lessons or of the amount of homework. In both areas the school’s provision is typical of primary schools generally. Wolsey House Primary School - 9

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The children make good progress in the Nursery and in the rest of the school. Overall the progress made by

the children during their time in the school is very good.

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The children make good progress in the Nursery and in the rest of the school. Overall the progress made by

1. When the children enter the Nursery, the standards of attainment of the majority are very low in all areas of learning. The assessment records show that during their Nursery year the children make good progress but many do not achieve the nationally recommended Desirable Learning Outcomes by the time they reach statutory school age. The Nursery children are able to play alongside each other and take turns with equipment but they do not play together and they rarely talk together about the work they are doing. They listen obediently to the staff in group sessions but many still need individual reminders following a group instruction. For example, the children were asked to put their books on the table as they went outside and although all of them carried their book away from the group area, many needed to be told to put it down on the table as they passed. The children responded well to members of the inspection team although they found it very difficult to answer any comments and none could be

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The children make good progress in the Nursery and in the rest of the school. Overall the progress made by

engaged in conversation. When talking with adults they reply with very brief statements and their sentence structure is poor.

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The children make good progress in the Nursery and in the rest of the school. Overall the progress made by

2. In the Reception and Key Stage 1 classes the children continue to make good progress. Their standards of achievement in English and mathematics are still well below average by the time they take their national tests at the age of seven but these show a good improvement on their achievements recorded earlier in the baseline assessment scheme used. The baseline data shows that the children’s standards are among the lowest in Leicester city and for the past two years have not risen above ninth from the bottom of this list. This is despite the good work in the Nursery. The vast majority of the children in Year 2 reach Level 1 in the National Curriculum and more than half of them achieve Level 2 in English and mathematics. The school has included personal development and speaking skills among the priorities for development in the Early Years and Key Stage 1 and these are appropriate targets for

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The children make good progress in the Nursery and in the rest of the school. Overall the progress made by

improvement. As a result the curriculum includes learning through play activities, investigation and exploration for all the children up to the end of Key Stage 1.

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The children make good progress in the Nursery and in the rest of the school. Overall the progress made by

3. The children in Years 1 and 2 follow the national strategies for literacy and numeracy and work from the school’s detailed scheme, based on the National Curriculum, for science. Their writing shows a slight improvement on previous years with good presentation and good handwriting. There are frequent and effective opportunities for writing and the children are expected to record their own ideas. The basic skills are taught well and the children use these skills appropriately. The children are taught reading and spelling systematically and make good progress. The standards in mathematics are also well below average overall according to the test results for 1999. Inspection findings indicate that the standards have improved since last year and more of the children are working at a level close to the national expectations. During their time in Key Stage 1 the children learn the basic skills of number successfully and are able to add and subtract using a range of methods but they still tend to use

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The children make good progress in the Nursery and in the rest of the school. Overall the progress made by

fingers and count on rather than recalling simple number facts. The numeracy strategy is strongly influencing the children’s progress by ensuring the teachers have clear expectations of what should be learned. In science the teachers assess the children’s standards and the results show several strengths for the higher attaining children although most of the others achieve standards which are well below average.

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The children make good progress in the Nursery and in the rest of the school. Overall the progress made by

4. In Key Stage 2 the children make faster progress, particularly in Years 5 and 6. Their attainment rises from well below average in all three subjects in Key Stage 1 to average for English and mathematics and above average for science. This is very good progress. In Years 3 and 4 the children are combined to work in sets for English and mathematics and they begin to make good gains in their learning and in their ability to use what they have learned in new situations. Their standards are still below average overall but more of the children are working at the expected level than in Key Stage 1. There are some weaknesses in this arrangement, particularly in the lack of different work within each set for the children of different abilities. In Years 5 and 6 the children also work in ability sets but they are separate for each year group. The children reach average standards and make more than

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The children make good progress in the Nursery and in the rest of the school. Overall the progress made by

two years progress during this time. In science the children make even greater progress during Key Stage 2. They are supported well in both key stages and they gain in knowledge, skills and understanding as they work through the science activities. Wolsey House Primary School - 10 The leadership by the headteacher is very strong, purposeful and caring.

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The children make good progress in the Nursery and in the rest of the school. Overall the progress made by

5. The headteacher is committed to giving the best opportunities to all of the pupils. The parents appreciate this and know the school expects the children to work hard and do their best. The headteacher places a high emphasis on the children receiving a broad curriculum. She ensures the younger pupils are provided with the opportunity to learn to work together and enjoy being at school as well as following the National Curriculum and the Agreed Syllabus for religious education. She communicates this vision well to the rest of the staff and there is a shared commitment to improve and succeed in the aims of the school. As a result all the staff work hard and with enthusiasm.

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The children make good progress in the Nursery and in the rest of the school. Overall the progress made by

6. The headteacher has a very clear view of the strengths of the school. She has also identified the weaker areas and writes the school improvement plan to target these for development. She has thoroughly analysed the results of the national tests for seven and eleven-year-olds and has set targets for improvement, for the higher attaining children for example, which are followed throughout the school. Her strength of leadership contributes very effectively to the levels of the children’s achievement and to the progress they make as they move from year to year through the school.

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The children make good progress in the Nursery and in the rest of the school. Overall the progress made by

7. The daily organisation of the school is very clear and detailed and the routines that support the teachers’ work make sure that no time is wasted. The school’s curriculum schemes are based on blocks of work which develop the children’s skills very well and are easy for the teachers to use when planning the activities. The headteacher has introduced national initiatives very promptly and has ensured that the training needed by the staff has been provided.

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There is good and very good teaching in all parts of the school and the children respond by concentrating

8. The teaching is very effective and ensures the children make good progress. Three per cent of the teaching seen was excellent, sixteen per cent was very good, forty five per cent was good, thirty two per cent was satisfactory and only five per cent was unsatisfactory. The most consistently effective feature of the teaching in the school is the good relationships established between the teachers and the pupils. Almost all lessons show the teachers managing the pupils’ behaviour with high expectations of their attitudes and conduct. The teachers know the children very well and understand how to help them learn. As a result the children are very responsive and prepared to work hard and the lessons progress in a purposeful and productive atmosphere. There is good teaching in all parts of the school but the best teaching was seen in Key Stage 2.

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There is good and very good teaching in all parts of the school and the children respond by concentrating

9. The teaching in English and science is particularly strong. The teachers have a good knowledge of how the basic skills of reading and writing need to be planned and taught to the children. There are many good examples of the children using their writing in different ways. This was evident in both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. The teachers’ knowledge of the science curriculum is good and there are several very experienced science teachers on the staff who influence and support the others. The teaching in mathematics is stronger for some teachers than others. Where it is good the teachers identify the stages reached by the different groups of children and plan work which accurately matches what they need. Some teachers have a good personal understanding of mathematics, and numeracy in particular, and this helps them improve the children’s standards more quickly. On a few occasions the mathematics work did not suit all the children in the class or the set and some children were either unable to do the

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There is good and very good teaching in all parts of the school and the children respond by concentrating

work or already understood and were not challenged. All the teachers are good at teaching mental maths activities which they introduce at the beginning of the lessons.

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There is good and very good teaching in all parts of the school and the children respond by concentrating

10. Many teachers are very skilful at presenting the work and making the lessons very interesting and lively. In a science lesson in Year 5 the children were fascinated by the range of plant life the teacher showed them and effectively used their earlier learning about living things to enthusiastically classify the samples. Overall the lessons are well organised and move on at a good pace and resources are used well to interest and stimulate the children. The teachers keep all the pupils involved and help them work with concentration. The teaching would be further improved if the children received more opportunities to make some decisions about their work for themselves. Wolsey House Primary School - 11

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The provision for the children’s personal development and relationships is very good and their behaviour is

11. These are strengths of the school. Personal, social and health education is taught well throughout the school. Many of the children in the Nursery enter with a low level of personal development, they rarely play together for any length of time and are easily distracted from their tasks. They are able to form good relationships with the Nursery staff but find it hard to greet unfamiliar adults. In the Reception classes the children are helped to talk about their activities during circle time. Although they find this difficult they are beginning to develop the appropriate skills of explaining to others or listening carefully. By the time they reach Year 6 the children show confidence when identifying and discussing their own feelings and respond with sympathy to the comments of others.

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The provision for the children’s personal development and relationships is very good and their behaviour is

12. Throughout the school the staff demonstrate very effectively how to form good relationships. They show courtesy and respect to each other and to the children. They are calm and give the children praise and encouragement where appropriate. They use good class management strategies and have high expectations of the children to work and play together amicably. Assemblies are used well to show the children that they are valued and important and to help them feel part of a group. They are shown that they have responsibilities for others in the school and the older children are encouraged to look after the younger ones, which they do well.

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The provision for the children’s personal development and relationships is very good and their behaviour is

13. There are high expectations that the children will behave well and all the staff are skilled at resolving any problems that arise in their classes. As a result, the behaviour is good and little time is wasted in lessons as the children and the staff are able to focus on learning rather than the consequences of bad behaviour.

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good teaching

14. The percentage of children identified as having special educational needs and with statements of special needs is broadly in line with the national average. These children are taught well and as a result they make good progress. The teachers quickly identify any child who is showing learning difficulties and their learning capabilities and standards are assessed. Targets for improvement are set in the children’s individual education plans and the pupils are taught well by their teachers and by members of the special needs support team. The children’s standards are checked regularly to see what improvements have been made. Sometimes the kind of support is changed if the monitoring and evaluation of the children’s progress show that something different is needed. The special needs coordinator and the headteacher work together to ensure that the parents are involved whenever possible.

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good teaching

15. The children sometimes work in small groups withdrawn from the classrooms and sometimes one of the special needs staff comes into the classroom to give help. Both these methods work well for the children. When there is no additional help, the class teachers support the children with special educational needs by carefully altering the work so that the children can manage it. The aim of the school is to bring the children up to the level of the others in the class so they can be taken off the register for special needs. This has been achieved with several of the children. The special educational needs work in the school is very successful.

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developed enough partly because the roles and responsibilities of the key stage leaders and the curriculum

16. The quality of the teaching in the school is good and some of it is very good and excellent. Sometimes the teachers show considerable strengths in one subject but the same teachers are less successful in teaching another subject. There are differences in the way parts of the curriculum are taught which are unhelpful. The numeracy strategy was introduced at the beginning of the school year but there are no strategies in place to evaluate the success of this through classroom observations of the teaching and learning. In some year groups the children in mathematics sets are given the same work although the teachers know that there are more capable learners in the group. The absence of systematic and regular monitoring and evaluation procedures means that the best techniques are not always shared across the school and those situations where the children’s learning could be improved have not been identified.

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developed enough partly because the roles and responsibilities of the key stage leaders and the curriculum

Wolsey House Primary School - 12 17. The curriculum coordinators generally do not have sufficient responsibility for their subjects across the school. Most of them work to support the colleagues in their immediate departments. As a result there is no-one in the school with a complete and detailed view of how successfully each subject is taught and learned or what the weaknesses are. The senior teachers lead their departments well but have little influence in other areas of the school. They have monitored a few lessons as part of the school’s appraisal scheme but this was not designed to evaluate whole school developments. The headteacher does not monitor the teaching systematically.

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all their statutory requirements

18. The headteacher’s personal drive and enthusiasm are most important features in the success of the school. She has established very effective systems to meet the needs of the school. These systems often preclude full discussion with senior staff and governors. Many decisions are presented to the other leaders and managers of the school rather than recommendations which may be refined through debate. This prevents the senior teachers from having sufficient management or leadership responsibility. While they have responsibility for a core curriculum subject they are not involved in the monitoring and evaluation of the quality of their subject across the school. As a result there are inconsistencies in the teaching and learning which are not identified. The senior staff have insufficient involvement with decisions relating to the budget, the identification of priorities and the setting and reviewing of targets for school improvement. The newly appointed deputy head will create an additional layer in

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all their statutory requirements

the management arrangements and this is likely to aid these developments.

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all their statutory requirements

19. The governors are committed to the well-being of the school and the chair of governors regularly works in the school and meets with the headteacher to talk about the events of each week. There are some decisions made by the school, rather than the governors, which result in insufficient attention given to some of their statutory requirements. In particular the children do not go swimming and there is no worship and little spiritual element to assemblies. The children are entitled to both of these opportunities.

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Sometimes there is too much guidance from teachers and this restricts the children’s opportunities to apply

20. The teaching and learning are good and frequently very good. There are, however, a few occasions when the learning is restricted because of over-control by the teachers. In science, where the children generally achieve a satisfactory or good standard in their work throughout the school, they are often presented with a prepared worksheet to record their findings. The children are quite capable of deciding how to form a chart or grid and of selecting which would be the most appropriate but this choice is made for them. Similarly in mathematics and geography when they use graphs the children are told whether to use a line graph, a block graph or a pie-chart. All their work is the same and none of them are permitted to decide for themselves which is the most appropriate. Several other examples were observed where the teachers limited the children’s learning, such as the use of simplistic worksheets in history and too much control of the ideas in art.

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In literacy and numeracy lessons the children are sometimes not given sufficiently different work to match

21. The children make good progress in literacy and numeracy during their time in the school but in some lessons their progress is slower than it need be. In Key Stage 1 the children work in ability groups in their own classrooms while the children in Key Stage 2 work in sets. In Years 3 and 4 the sets combine children from both the year groups. In Years 5 and 6 the sets contain children from single year groups. In several cases the work given to the children within a class or set is identical and all are required to cover the same task even though there are clear differences in the children’s level of understanding. Sometimes some of the children could work at more advanced tasks and sometimes some of them are confused by the work and need considerable help. This is particularly the case in mathematics. Wolsey House Primary School - 13

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

22. In order to build on the good work of the school the headteacher, staff and governors should:

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(1) review the roles and responsibilities of the senior staff and curriculum coordinators to ensure that: • each subject is managed in a way that gives clear information about its strengths and weaknesses; • there is a systematic and regular opportunity for the headteacher and curriculum coordinators to monitor and evaluate the work in classrooms and gain a view of how well each subject is taught and learned throughout the school; • there is a scrutiny of the pupils’ work;

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(2) include in the roles and responsibilities of the senior staff an expectation that they will take delegated powers from the headteacher, including; • an active involvement in budget management; • an opportunity to contribute to the identification of early priorities for the school improvement plan; • an involvement in setting targets for whole school and key stage improvement;

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(3) extend the role of the governors in shaping the direction of the school and ensure that all statutory requirements are met;

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(4) ensure that the children have more opportunity to make choices about appropriate aspects of their work so they may apply their knowledge and skills in new situations;

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(5) provide appropriately different work in each set or class in literacy and numeracy lessons. Wolsey House Primary 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 11

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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

3 16 45 32 5 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 – Y6

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 59 415

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils eligible for free school meals 20 138

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Information about the school’s pupils

Special educational needs Nursery YR – Y6

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 0 3

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 7 87

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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 86

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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 39

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 75

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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. Wolsey House Primary School - 15

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Year Boys Girls Total Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 1 for the latest reporting year 1999 32 26 58

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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 22 19 24 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 13 15 18

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Percentage of pupils School 60 (57) 59 (62) 72 (68) 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 17 24 20 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 15 20 14

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Percentage of pupils School 55 76 59 at NC level 2 or above National 82 86 87

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

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

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Year Boys Girls Total Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 2 for the latest reporting year 1999 38 30 68

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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 24 26 30 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 23 20 24

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Percentage of pupils School 69 (49) 68 (70) 79 (75) at NC level 4 or above National 70 (61) 69 (60) 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 21 26 20 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 17 14 17

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Percentage of pupils School 56 59 54 at NC level 4 or above National 68 69 75

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year. Wolsey House Primary School - 16

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – Caribbean heritage 3 Black – Caribbean heritage

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – African heritage Black – African heritage

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Any other minority ethnic group 18 Other minority ethnic groups

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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.

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 18.9 Financial year 1998

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 27.9

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: YR – Y6 Total expenditure 750880

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 8 Expenditure per pupil 1588

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 134 Balance brought forward from previous year 35556

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Balance carried forward to next year 28562

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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) 2

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 29.5

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 2

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 90

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Teachers and classes Financial information

FTE means full-time equivalent. Wolsey House Primary 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. 62 31 5 2 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

Behaviour in the school is good. 51 39 7 1 2

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Percentage of responses in each category

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 27 44 17 8 3

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Percentage of responses in each category

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 49 49 9 2 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 29 4 3 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. 72 26 1 1 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school works closely with parents. 40 44 11 2 4

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is well led and managed. 55 37 4 0 4

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 48 44 5 0 2

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 26 31 19 8 16

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