Fairlawn Primary School

FAIRLAWN PRIMARY SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 14 – 15 January, 2002

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FAIRLAWN PRIMARY SCHOOL

Short 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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FAIRLAWN 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. Fairlawn Primary School - 3 - January 2002

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Type of school: Infant and Junior with Nursery

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: 6 th May, 1997 Fairlawn Primary School - 4 - January 2002

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Team members

2700 Peter Sudworth Registered inspector 9457 Gillian Bindoff Lay inspector 14806 John Stevens Team inspector 30717 Gordon Tompsett Team inspector

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Team members

Nord Anglia School Inspection Services Ltd, Strathblane House, Ashfield Rd., Cheadle, Stockport SK8 1BB

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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 Complaints Manager Inspection Quality Division

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Team members

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE Fairlawn Primary School - 5 - January 2002

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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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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS 18

Fairlawn Primary School - 6 - January 2002

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Fairlawn Primary School, situated on the borders of Lewisham and Southwark, is an over-subscribed and larger than average primary school with 422 boys and girls on roll, including 88 part-time Nursery children. The number on roll has remained reasonably consistent over the past three years. Pupils come from a range of housing types and a wide range of social and cultural backgrounds and ethnic groups. The number of pupils entitled to free school meals is around the national average. Just over one-fifth of the pupils speak a different language to English as their first language, a proportion much higher than the national average. Twenty-five pupils are supported through special funding to help them acquire English. The percentage of pupils on the register of special educational needs is slightly below the national average at 19.6 per cent. Of those on the special educational needs register, 33

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

pupils come in the category of initial ‘concern’, a further 44 pupils are being supported by the school and 19 have additional support from outside the school. Four of the pupils have statements of special educational need. Twelve per cent of the pupils are of Caribbean or African heritage and a further 26 per cent from other ethnic groups. Seven pupils are refugees. Given the large school population few pupils join or leave the school during the academic year. During the last academic year five pupils joined the school and 17 left. The community Nursery is situated on a separate site about half a mile from the main school. About half the Nursery children continue their education at Fairlawn. The school benefits from being part of the government’s extra funding initiative entitled ‘Excellence in Cities’.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

This is a good school with some very good features and it provides a happy and friendly learning atmosphere. A stimulating learning environment demonstrates that it values what pupils achieve by displaying their work to good effect. The leadership and management of the headteacher and the work of the governing body are very effective. The quality of teaching is good overall and stimulates the children’s interest in their work. Overall standards are above average in the core subjects of English, mathematics and science by the end of both key stages and the school’s national test results have been showing a continuing improvement in recent years. The school provides good value for money.

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What the school does well

• Standards in English, mathematics and in science have been improving and overall are above average by the end of both key stages. • The very effective leadership of the headteacher and governing body gives the school a clear sense of direction and purpose. • Pupils receive a broad curriculum which contributes positively to pupils’ levels of maturity. • The opportunities for pupils to perform publicly develops their self-confidence and self-esteem. • The monitoring of teaching, curriculum provision and pupils’ progress helps to ensure that all do their best. • The school’s partnership with parents, parents’ interest in their children’s education and involvement in the school’s work contribute significantly to the school’s success.

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What could be improved

• Consistency in the quality of marking and in the neatness and presentation in pupils’ written work. • The precision of targets in the individual education plans for some pupils who have special educational needs and the frequency with which they are reviewed. • The amount of teaching time for teaching and learning in Key Stage 2. • The requirement for a daily act of collective worship. The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan. Fairlawn Primary School - 7 - January 2002 The school is aware of the need to improve the accommodation for the Foundation Stage and is trying to get the matter resolved through new building works.

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

Good progress has been made in addressing the issues and in making improvements since the school was last inspected in May 1997. The Foundation Stage curriculum has improved and follows national guidance. There is a closer working practice between the Nursery and Reception classes. Throughout the school there is a better match of work to pupils’ prior attainments. The assessment policy has been completed and is guiding practice and consistency in record keeping and in its use. The school tracks pupils’ progress to better effect in all subjects and, combined with the improved quality of teaching, results in more pupils obtaining the higher levels in national tests at the end of both key stages and in improved standards. Pupils have more opportunities to undertake investigation in their mathematics and science work. The quality of marking has improved but there is still inconsistency. Provision for information and communication technology is much better with the

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

opening of the new and fully equipped computer suite. The school’s accommodation has been significantly improved, enabling an extra Nursery class to be formed. Given the current staff, the school has good potential to make further progress.

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STANDARDS

The table shows the standards achieved by pupils at the end of Year 6 based on average point scores in National Curriculum tests.

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Key

English C C B A well above average above average A B mathematics C C A A average below average C D science C C B A well below average E

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Key

Standards are improving in both key stages in the core subjects and observations made during the inspection indicate that the improvement looks set to continue. The trend in improvement in reading and mathematics in the infants is better than that nationally and Year 2 boys over the past three years have been doing particularly well against boys nationally. During this same period, the girls in Key Stage 1 have done better than girls nationally in most respects but not so markedly as the boys. Year 6 girls have been excelling academically against girls nationally, although boys too have been doing better than boys nationally. The trend of results at Key Stage 2 over the past three years has been broadly in line with the national trend of improvement. The school reached the target set with the Local Education Authority for the proportion of pupils to gain the expected level or above in mathematics and exceeded it in English by one per cent. Pupils make good progress and achieve

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Key

well but work could often be presented more neatly. Pupils with English as an additional language and special educational needs make at least sound and often good progress.

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Aspect Comment

Attitudes to the school Pupils enjoy school and are very interested in their activities. They concentrate very well and cooperate effectively when working with others. Pupils develop a very good level of social maturity. Fairlawn Primary School - 8 - January 2002 Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Behaviour is good overall both in classes and in and around the school. They share equipment sensibly and take turns.

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Aspect Comment

Personal development and relationships Pupils have good opportunities and develop very good levels of responsibility and maturity through various tasks they undertake and through the School Council. Relationships are very good amongst the pupils and between the teachers and pupils. Pupils are very considerate of others and care for one another.

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Aspect Comment

Attendance Broadly average. The rate of unauthorised absence is slightly above average.

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Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6

Quality of teaching * 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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Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6

*It was not possible to make a valid judgement about the overall teaching in the Nursery and Reception classes. The Nursery was not operative during the inspection due to flooded premises and one of the two Reception classes was only formed at the start of the inspection week. However, there are indications that it is good. Photographic and written evidence, including very good record keeping and planning, indicated many good features of the work in the Foundation Stage.

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Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6

Pupils work well in their lessons and they enjoy most aspects of their work. They behave well in lessons and concentrate on their tasks. They work well in groups or pairs when necessary and co- operate well together. They are confident to address adults and do so with respect.

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Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6

Teaching overall was good in both key stages** 1 . The observed teaching of mathematics, English and science was often good. Reading, writing and number work are taught effectively. Teachers have very good relationships with their pupils and manage them well. Lesson planning and long-term planning are of good quality and teachers know their pupils well as a result of very good record keeping systems. They use this knowledge effectively to help them plan the next steps in pupils’ learning. However, teachers are not consistent in adopting the school’s marking policy. A good mixture of support in class and group withdrawal helps those who have learning, emotional and language difficulties.

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Aspect Comment

The quality and range of the curriculum The curriculum is broad and meets National Curriculum requirements. Good use is made of day and residential visits. There are some extra- curricular activities. Various competitions organised within the school and outside enthuse the pupils and they complete these tasks with keenness at home. The amount of teaching time at Key Stage 2 is below minimum recommendations by 35 minutes weekly.

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Aspect Comment

1 ** Pupils in Key Stage 1 are in Years 1 and 2 and in Key Stage 2 are aged from Year 3 to Year 6. Fairlawn Primary School - 9 - January 2002 Provision for pupils with special educational needs Appropriate teaching provision is made and pupils with special educational needs make at least sound and often good progress. Targets in the individual education plans for some pupils could be more precise and reviewed more regularly to inform pupils’ learning. Pupils who have emotional and behavioural difficulties are catered for effectively and make good progress in managing their difficulties.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils with English as an additional language Pupils are given appropriate support and they make at least sound and often good progress.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Provision for pupils’ spiritual development is satisfactory and it is good for their cultural, social and moral development. The school does not always provide a daily act of collective worship.

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Aspect Comment

How well the school cares for its pupils The pupils are cared for well. Very good records are kept of pupils’ progress. Child protection arrangements are satisfactory.

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Aspect Comment

Leadership and management by the headteacher and other key staff Very good. The leadership of the headteacher and the work of the governing body are significant strengths of the school. Subject co- ordinators are effective in their monitoring of teaching and standards. All other staff make valuable contributions to the school’s work.

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Aspect Comment

How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities Good. The governing body fulfils most of its statutory responsibilities but does not ensure that there is a daily collective act of worship. It manages its affairs well and has good structures in place to manage its business.

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Aspect Comment

The school’s evaluation of its performance Very good. The school monitors pupils’ progress very effectively and analyses national test results carefully. The school development plan is reviewed regularly and is on target. The priorities on it are appropriate for the school’s stage of development.

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Aspect Comment

The strategic use of resources Good. The school plans its budget with considerable thought for the needs of the school and its pupils. Best value is sought when making purchases. The school applies the principles of best value. Money from the ‘Excellence in Cities’ project is used effectively with pupils who have emotional and behavioural difficulties. Fairlawn Primary School - 10 - January 2002

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

• Their children like school and are making good progress. • Behaviour is good and the school helps their children to become mature and responsible. • The teaching is good. • The school is well led and managed. • The school expects the children to work hard and achieve their best. • Parents feel comfortable about approaching the school with any concerns and the school works closely with them. • They are kept well informed about their children’s progress. • A few parents state their children do not get the right amount of homework. • A significant percentage of respondents stated that there are few extra-curricular activities.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

The inspection team agrees with the positive views of parents and most pupils make good progress. There are a few extra-curricular activities. For example, library and musical activities take place at lunch-times, an external organisation undertakes football coaching in the spring term and the school gives annual evening productions for parents. Information and communication technology provision is offered to parents with their children. Given the age of the pupils, the amount of homework, which includes regular spelling, reading and mathematics assignments and additional personal research work, is appropriate. Fairlawn Primary School - 11 - January 2002

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are above average by the end of both key stages

1. The results in the national tests at Years 2 and 6 have been showing improvement in recent years, particularly in 2001. The school’s boys at the end of Key Stage 1 have been doing particularly well over the last three years and doing much better than boys nationally. They have outperformed them by well over a term’s progress in reading and mathematics and by about half a term’s progress in writing. The girls at Year 2 have generally done better than girls nationally but not to the same degree as the boys. The trend of improvement in mathematics and reading in Key Stage 1 has been better than the upward trend nationally. The proportions of Years 2 and 6 pupils gaining the higher levels have been increasing in the past three years. Year 6 girls have been excelling in recent years, doing much better than girls nationally in English, mathematics and science and performing better than the school’s Year 6

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are above average by the end of both key stages

boys overall. As in Key Stage 1, the proportion of both boys and girls gaining the higher levels has been rising in all three subjects and in 2001 the proportion of pupils who gained the higher level was above the national average in each of these subjects. Against similar schools in 2001, schools in a similar band of free school meal percentages, the results were well above average. Results in mathematics by Year 6 have been particularly good and in 2001 were well above average against all schools nationally and against similar schools.

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are above average by the end of both key stages

2. In English the best work in Key Stage 2 is neat and well punctuated and includes a range of writing. Standards in the subject are improved by the particularly well referenced cross-curricular work. This was very well demonstrated in some Year 6 work on the Tudors. Pupils had written letters to Ann Boleyn ‘from the hand of Henry 8 th’ epitomising the style of the time and much written with a depth of knowledge and sensitivity to the period being studied in history. One pupil wrote (in reply to a plea for mercy from Ann Boleyn) ‘We received thy letter and decided to carry on with thy beheading as planned. …We think ye have had great privileges in the Tower of London, thou hast the best room there.’

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are above average by the end of both key stages

3. In a separate piece of writing on the Victorian theme in Year 5, but in a contrasting style, a pupil wrote descriptively, imagining the feelings of Oliver Twist as he searched for lodgings. ‘ Narrow streets, cobbled roads and no-one around that’s all Oliver could see through his misty bleared eyes as he walked by the empty street’ . Other styles of writing pursued under this theme included a diary entry of a poor Victorian child and a play dialogue between Oliver and the Artful Dodger. This skilful deployment of different sorts of writing across the curriculum not only helps to meet National Curriculum Programmes of Study in English but obviously motivates the pupils who respond by producing work of a good quality.

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are above average by the end of both key stages

4. Pupils acquire a good level of interest in books and the school’s well arranged library provides a good element of choice in this regard. Those pupils who were heard to read did so with expression and had a good range of ways for working out unknown words. They had decided preferences for types of books and authors.

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are above average by the end of both key stages

5. In mathematics, by the end of Year 2, pupils have acquired a good recall of number bonds. Year 6 pupils commit their multiplication tables to memory. This knowledge enables the pupils to work quickly in both key stages. Pupils’ understanding of number throughout the school is encouraged and developed by good discussion of Fairlawn Primary School - 12 - January 2002 strategies they use mentally to work out examples. The brisk pace to lessons encourages pupils to concentrate on their work and to think hard. The good use of resources helps pupils’ understanding. The arrangement of the class into groups by prior attainment helps pupils make good progress. The range of work in mathematics, including work on shape and investigation, provides them with good opportunities for mathematical thinking.

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are above average by the end of both key stages

6. Teachers have good skills in teaching science and practical work is used widely to engage the pupils’ thinking. As a result, pupils in both key stages are developing good skills in understanding the process of scientific investigation. The very good use of resources helps the pupils’ understanding. In a Year 2 science lesson pupils were investigating forces. The teacher had a very good collection of old toys for pupils to work out the kind of force they were using to operate them. Pupils thoroughly enjoyed the activity and learned much about old toys in the process. In a Year 4 science lesson pupils were applying their knowledge of fair testing effectively whilst finding out about the best insulators for keeping things warm. The pupils were given much independence to carry out their investigations and many did well. They knew that the size of the pot and the amount of water, for example, had to be kept

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are above average by the end of both key stages

the same. Most were able to plan their activity independently and choose their own materials for the investigation. Year 3 pupils were learning about the parts of a plant and their functions and used a magnifying glass to examine the roots very carefully. Teachers’ use of ‘concept mapping’ whereby the pupils brainstorm all their combined knowledge about a particular theme in science, helps the teacher to pitch the work at the right level, clear up misunderstandings during the course of work, and take them on further with their learning.

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a clear sense of direction and purpose

7. The headteacher gives a very purposeful lead to the school, has a clear sense of direction and an enthusiasm for its continued success. She is respected by staff, governors, parents and pupils. She is ably supported by the deputy headteacher and senior management team. She has a good rapport with colleagues and pupils through her relationships with them and her interest in what they are doing. The headteacher has realistic but high expectations of both pupils and staff and is supportive and positive in trying to reach them. She takes a significant role in the teaching programme, in order that subject co-ordinators can have quality time to monitor standards and support others in their subject specialisms and to scrutinise work. Her good overview of the curriculum ensures that the National Curriculum Programmes of Study are covered.

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a clear sense of direction and purpose

8. Matters of concern are dealt with promptly. She gets to the root of any problem brought by parents and follows issues through. She makes good use of staff’s strengths and her positive relationships with them ensure that they give of their best. She leads the school with empathy and tact and values the contributions of pupils, staff and parents and takes these on board when appropriate when making plans for the school. She sets aside specific time to talk to parents. She ensures that both the personal training needs of staff are blended with the school’s needs when training arrangements are considered. She is well organised and well planned and facilitates a well run school through management structures and working parties in which all feel involved. She takes an interest in, and supports, staff who are leading particular initiatives. In this respect the headteacher delegates well but she also monitors the

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a clear sense of direction and purpose

progress of particular initiatives to ensure they are accomplished successfully. Fairlawn Primary School - 13 - January 2002 9. Governing body meetings have positive agenda and there is an effective committee structure. Governors are supportive, but nevertheless probing, in their role as a critical friend. For example they receive reports from subject co-ordinators and question them so that they are clear about the effectiveness of strategies which are undertaken. The chair of the governing body gives an excellent lead and is well supported by the vice-chair. Meetings are well run and well timed. The governing body is conscientious and hard working.

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Pupils receive a broad curriculum, which contributes positively to pupils’ levels of

10. There are clear aims for the curriculum, which are understood by all and these are made clear to the parents in the very well written school prospectus. Its design to produce ‘caring, courteous, contributing members of the community’ is clearly evident in the pupils’ work for various charities, organised by themselves, for example ‘Blue Peter’ appeals and their work for ‘Shelter at Christmas’. Pupils create their own magazines and sell them to raise money for the supported charities. In many respects the school curriculum is broad and gives pupils opportunities to develop their individual talents and interests. It is enhanced further by the competitions which pupils engage in at home which include a range of activities, such as design and technology, art and design and writing. The whole school project to design the millennium mosaic, which now adorns one of the school’s walls, engaged many

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Pupils receive a broad curriculum, which contributes positively to pupils’ levels of

children in its design and construction. Visitors to the school, for example sculptors, theatre groups, artists, authors, visiting sports experts and poets, stimulate the pupils’ ideas, as do the visits the pupils make to museums, art galleries and other places of interest. The two residential visits promote pupils’ social development. Equally, the curriculum contributes to pupils’ thinking about healthy life styles and environmental issues. The school is committed to the local authority initiative ‘Green and Clean’ project as a result of which pupils look after the school environment and the local area. The school recently received a healthy schools award for its work on diet. It educates pupils to be aware of the positive and negative aspects of drugs and teaches them to take care of themselves. Special days are celebrated such as ‘National Poetry Day’, ‘World Book Day’ and pupils participate in ‘Black History

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Pupils receive a broad curriculum, which contributes positively to pupils’ levels of

Month’ to learn about the history of other cultures, thus helping them to gain a more global understanding of times past.

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self-esteem

11. Pupils have good opportunities to develop self-confidence and self-esteem through the opportunities to perform publicly. In addition to regular class assemblies, pupils regularly perform in productions for their parents and others when drama and music form a large part of the content. The school has its own music festival when all pupils are given the opportunity to perform individually or in groups. During the inspection, in an assembly about ‘making use of talents’, three pupils performed individually on recorder and flute and their performances were of a high standard. At Christmas pupils take part in drama productions in school.

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The monitoring of teaching, curriculum provision and pupils’ progress helps to

12. The monitoring of the school’s work in all its aspects is a major strength. It is well coordinated and planned for. Governors visit at intervals and as a result acquire a view about a chosen aspect of the school’s work. This may involve the observation of work in class or discussion with subject co-ordinators. The headteacher, members Fairlawn Primary School - 14 - January 2002 of the senior management team and all subject co-ordinators carry out peer appraisals of one another’s work, including observations of lessons, examination of long-, medium- and short-term planning and a scrutiny of samples of pupils’ work. There is a specific timetable for co-ordinator release, which ensures that all teachers can plan their monitoring activities in advance. The headteacher takes her full part in enabling staff to be released by taking on teaching duties. This opportunity to take a class at first-hand keeps her abreast of pupils’ progress in those classes. At the end

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The monitoring of teaching, curriculum provision and pupils’ progress helps to

of each term, co-ordinators check the accomplished work against the planned work and this helps them to determine whether all aspects of the National Curriculum Programmes of Study are being covered as planned. At the end of the year, each co-ordinator provides an evaluation of the monitoring work which has been carried out during the year and these subject reports help the governing body to gain a good view about what has been achieved. These observations and the resulting feedbacks of what has been observed, have been significant in helping to improve the quality of teaching since the last inspection report. Resulting issues are brought to the attention of the staff concerned and those which are of a more general concern to the attention of the whole staff. In a recent initiative the quality and standard of boys’ writing became a whole school theme as a result of monitoring national test results and work samples. Action was taken, including the use of male writers to

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The monitoring of teaching, curriculum provision and pupils’ progress helps to

model writing, and there are signs that this is beginning to have an effect on improved quality and quantities of writing. Work samples from different classes are brought to staff meetings on occasions to gain a whole school view about its quality and National Curriculum level. These meetings are resulting in a better view of what progress in learning looks like across the school and is helping staff to become better judges of National Curriculum levels in practice.

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The monitoring of teaching, curriculum provision and pupils’ progress helps to

13. There is a regular diary of assessment during the year to track pupils’ progress. The targets set for pupils are shared with parents and the termly parents’ evenings provide an opportunity for both teacher and parent to reflect on the progress the pupils have made in reaching the targets which have been set. National test results are monitored by gender, ethnicity and by questions to assess whether a particular aspect of work has not been understood sufficiently well, so that a greater emphasis can be put on that aspect in the future.

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The school’s partnership with parents, parents’ interest in their children’s education

and involvement in the school’s work contribute significantly to the school’s success.

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The school’s partnership with parents, parents’ interest in their children’s education

14. Parents regard the school very highly in almost all respects. Over 90 per cent of parents who responded to the parents’ questionnaire were happy with all but two of the positive statements on it. For example 96 per cent of the respondents state that their children are making good progress and 99 per cent that the teaching is good. The exceptions to a 90 per cent or more favourable response related to homework and extra-curricular activities. Forty-nine per cent of parents responding to the questionnaire stated that the school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. There is some extra-curricular provision. The inspection team regards amounts of homework as appropriate, given the age of the pupils. Parents who attended the parents’ meeting spoke positively about the school and are happy with the academic standards achieved. Several written comments were read which were

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The school’s partnership with parents, parents’ interest in their children’s education

appreciative of the school’s efforts for their children including several ‘Thank You’ cards from Nursery parents at the time when their children progressed to the main school.

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The school’s partnership with parents, parents’ interest in their children’s education

15. The partnership between school and parents is very good and the excellent links between them reported at the previous inspection have continued. Parents’ views are canvassed by the school’s own questionnaire about a range of issues and their Fairlawn Primary School - 15 - January 2002 opinions are also sought in other ways, through informal discussions. The successful home-school booklet and the school’s well supported healthy eating programme are products of such consultations. Parents contribute well to their children’s education. They support them well with homework assignments and many engage in a written dialogue in the home/school book to good effect so that viewpoints are exchanged and the quality of the pupils’ efforts is shared. They ensure that their children complete their mathematics and literacy assignments at home and hear their children read regularly, with guidance from the school, and in this way help to promote the

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The school’s partnership with parents, parents’ interest in their children’s education

overall good reading standards and pupils’ interest in books. Several parents help their children to undertake research and practical assignments at home. In this regard, the quality of pupils’ designs for the school’s Eden project, when pupils designed models of glasshouses in relation to the environmental project, are of a very good standard. In a millennium competition they designed domes and wheels of good quality and on another recent occasion parents helped their children design costumes for a famous book character which they then wore. Parents encourage their children to enter school competitions such as those recently to design a computer mouse mat and firework safety posters.

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The school’s partnership with parents, parents’ interest in their children’s education

16. Attendance at parents’ evenings is high at around 97 per cent. Parents support events organised by both the school and the informal Friends of the School. They show interest by attending curriculum evenings arranged by the school, contribute to the pupils’ reports and several help in class with practical and reading activities and parents assist with out of school visits. Some fathers have worked in the school to model writing tasks to encourage boys in particular to take their written work more seriously. The school shares with parents the content of the individual education plans for those children who are on the special educational needs register.

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The school’s partnership with parents, parents’ interest in their children’s education

17. The school keeps parents well informed about the intended curriculum at the start of each term and a very detailed curriculum overview is provided in the school prospectus which in itself is very well written and provides good information for parents. The pupils’ individual learning targets are also shared with parents so that both school and home are aware of the pupils’ next steps in learning. Parents are kept well informed through newsletters of other school matters and events.

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The school’s partnership with parents, parents’ interest in their children’s education

18. Parents feel comfortable approaching the school. The headteacher has a ‘drop in’ session each Monday morning for parents who may have concerns or problems related to their children. Ninety-four per cent of parents state that the school works well with parents. Curriculum evenings are well attended as is the annual governors’ meeting. Fifty parents attended a recent numeracy evening and parents expressed their appreciation of its usefulness. Parent governors have a particularly active role and put forward the parental view in discussion with the headteacher a few days in advance of governing body meetings.

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Consistency in the quality of marking and in the neatness and presentation in pupils’

19. The best marking by teachers and the neatest work are of a very good quality. However, teachers do not consistently follow the school’s approach to the marking of work. While much of the comment on pupils’ books demonstrates an interest in what the pupils have written, insufficient marking makes reference to how well the pupils are meeting their individual targets and much lacks comment about how the pupils might improve their work. The marking of some Key Stage 1 written work is ‘over keen’. In the marking of some pupils’ stories every spelling mistake had been Fairlawn Primary School - 16 - January 2002 identified and marked in red ink. This does not enhance pupils’ self-esteem or give pupils due credit for the quality of story content.

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Consistency in the quality of marking and in the neatness and presentation in pupils’

20. Overall, expectations of the pupils’ presentation of their work are not consistently high enough and there is much variation in quality in pupils’ books. Of the samples analysed, too many of the average pupils’ work indicated a lack of pride and respect for the work; writing was untidy and often unjoined, particularly in the work of Key Stage 2 boys.

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The precision of targets in the individual education plans for some pupils who have

special educational needs and the frequency with which they are reviewed.

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The precision of targets in the individual education plans for some pupils who have

21. The school’s register for pupils with special educational needs is very detailed and pupils with learning difficulties are quickly picked up, concerns noted and monitored on special forms. After admission to the Nursery, children who exhibit particular problems are also closely monitored. A part-time teacher who spends one day weekly on special needs work has responsibility for the oversight of special needs. Another teacher does most of the special educational needs teaching. Each ensures that the individual education plans for the separate groups of pupils which they teach are completed and reviewed. No-one has overall oversight of the quality of the plans. The individual education plans examined varied in quality. Whilst many individual education plans are of good quality, some targets are written in broad terms such as ‘Continue handwriting’ and ‘To work on a spelling programme’ and consequently it is not easy to assess whether the pupils have achieved them. Whilst

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The precision of targets in the individual education plans for some pupils who have

plans are reviewed at the minimum recommended regularity, some of the plans require more frequent review in view of the nature of pupils’ learning problems. Subsequent plans for the same pupil sometimes contain very similarly worded targets.

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The precision of targets in the individual education plans for some pupils who have

The amount of teaching time for teaching and learning in Key Stage 2.

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The precision of targets in the individual education plans for some pupils who have

22. The maximum amount of teaching time afforded to the pupils at 22 hours and 55 minutes is below the recommended minimum in Key Stage 2 by 35 minutes. Lesson time is eroded further because of the time it takes to gather pupils for morning assemblies, getting pupils back in from their afternoon and morning breaks and settling them down to work again. Some pupils are taken out of lessons to undertake regular duties in the school, such as Year 6 pupils supporting younger children at lunch-time and putting out dining furniture. In one Year 6 class a group of six pupils spends ten minutes daily at the end of morning school for half a term putting out the chairs and as a result misses a total of 50 minutes teaching time weekly, including valuable literacy and numeracy time. Two other pupils in the same class missed the last five minutes of the plenary to assist younger pupils to get ready for the lunch-

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The precision of targets in the individual education plans for some pupils who have

break. The actual process of them leaving their class interrupted the lesson for others. Other pupils miss teaching time for orchestra and choir practice.

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The precision of targets in the individual education plans for some pupils who have

The requirement for a daily act of collective worship.

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The precision of targets in the individual education plans for some pupils who have

23. The school has a daily assembly but during the inspection one of the assemblies observed did not contain an act of worship which is a statutory requirement. Another contained good reference to Biblical teaching and there was a period of reflection. Members of the school council miss one assembly each week to meet with the headteacher. Fairlawn Primary School - 17 - January 2002

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

24. The school has made good progress in the last three years in improving standards. To continue this momentum and make further improvements, the headteacher, staff and governing body should attend to the following issues:

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• Attend to the inconsistencies in the quality of marking and in the neatness and presentation in pupils’ written work by : a) reviewing the process of marking pupils’ work and ensuring that all teachers are consistent in their approach; b) ensuring that subject co-ordinators pay attention to the quality of presentation when monitoring standards across subjects. (Paras 19-20)

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• Ensure that the targets in the individual education plans for pupils who

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have special educational needs are more precise and progress on the plans

• Consider increasing the amount of teaching time in Key Stage 2 so that it reflects the national minimum recommended time. (Para 22)

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have special educational needs are more precise and progress on the plans

• Ensure that the school fulfils the legal requirement for a daily act of collective worship. (Para 23) Fairlawn Primary School - 18 - January 2002

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Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 14

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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

Percentage 0 10 55 35 0 0 0 The table gives the number and percentage of lessons observed in each of the seven categories used to make judgements about teaching. Care should be taken when interpreting these percentages as each lesson represents more than three percentage points.

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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) 44 378

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals N/A 73 FTE means full-time equivalent.

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Information about the school’s pupils

Special educational needs Nursery YR – YR

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 0 4

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 0 86

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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 66

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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 5

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 17

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Attendance

National comparative data 5.6 National comparative data 0.5 Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. Fairlawn Primary School - 19 - January 2002

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)

Year Boys Girls Total Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 1 for the latest reporting year 01 (00) 25 (24) 29 (25) 54 (49)

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)

National Curriculum Test/Task Results Reading Writing Mathematics

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)

Boys 22 22 25 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 27 27 27

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)

Percentage of pupils School 91 (83) 91 (85) 96 (93) at NC level 2 or above National 84 (83) 86 (84) 91 (90)

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)

Boys 21 24 23 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 26 27 27

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)

Percentage of pupils School 87 (88) 94 (92) 93 (83) at NC level 2 or above National 85 (84) 89 (88) 89 (88)

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2)

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 6)

Year Boys Girls Total Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 2 for the latest reporting year 01 (00) 25 (25) 23 (25) 48 (50)

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6)

National Curriculum Test/Task Results English Mathematics Science

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6)

Boys 19 22 24 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 22 20 21

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6)

Percentage of pupils School 85 (76) 88 (73) 94 (92) at NC level 4 or above National 75 (75) 71 (72) 87 (85)

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6)

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6)

Boys 16 21 24 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 19 20 21

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6)

Percentage of pupils School 73 (78) 85 (76) 94 (88) at NC level 4 or above National 72 (70) 74 (72) 82 (79) Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year. Fairlawn Primary School - 20 - January 2002

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – Caribbean heritage 26 Black – Caribbean heritage 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – African heritage 12 Black – African heritage 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Any other minority ethnic group 66 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) 15.4 Financial year 00/01

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 24.5

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: YR – Y6 Total income 1,086,418

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 11 Total expenditure 1,080,132

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 286 Expenditure per pupil 2,450

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Qualified teachers and support staff: nursery Balance brought forward from previous year 2,367

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 2.1 Balance carried forward to next year 8,653

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 21

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 4

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 82

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per FTE adult 7.2 FTE means full-time equivalent.

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers who left the school during the last two years 1

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers appointed to the school during the last two years 1

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Recruitment of teachers

Total number of vacant teaching posts (FTE) 0

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of vacancies filled by teachers on temporary contract of a term or more (FTE) 0

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of unfilled vacancies or vacancies filled by teachers on temporary contract of less than one term (FTE) 0 FTE means full-time equivalent. Fairlawn Primary School - 21 - January 2002

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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 35 3 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

Behaviour in the school is good. 52 46 3 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 43 40 14 3 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 65 27 8 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 76 16 7 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. 53 47 0 0 1

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school works closely with parents. 60 34 5 1 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is well led and managed. 79 16 4 0 1

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 66 29 1 0 4

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 19 30 28 16 7

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