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- Inspectorssingle source
Strathblane House
- URN verified
107255
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Strengths
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- The leadership of the headteacher is outstanding and the smooth transition from a successful First school to an equally successful Primary school is a result of her clear educational vision and excellent management skills. p.6
- The teachers’ high expectations are very well met by the pupils. p.13
- One of the strengths arising from the very good behaviour is the excellent quality of relationships that exist in the school at all levels. p.13
- The school has a strong commitment to developing effective teamwork through strong partnership with all who are involved in the education of its children. p.14
- The rich and well-planned curriculum contributes very strongly to pupils’ breadth of learning. p.12
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Next steps
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- Subject co-ordinators should resume their full role in monitoring standards and teaching in their subjects. p.6
- The withdrawal of some pupils from lessons for extra-support or instrumental tuition, to ensure that their learning in some subjects is not adversely affected. p.6
- The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan. p.6
- The school has made very good improvement since it was last inspected in March 1997.The First school’s traditional very good performance in national tests has been extended to the older pupils. p.6
- The quality of teaching has improved and is very good overall. p.6
- The school has made a very successful transfer from the cramped accommodation of its former site to make very effective use of the extensive grounds and buildings of the new site. p.6
- The issues raised at the last inspection have been successfully addressed. p.6
- Games skills are now well developed in every year. p.6
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- Pages
- 22
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- 6,413
- longer than usual (typical 1049)
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- Fairly hard
- Flesch 52, typical 45
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- 19 words
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- typical 5
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Full report text
ELDWICK PRIMARY SCHOOL
Dates of inspection: 18 th – 19 th February 2002
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ELDWICK 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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ELDWICK 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. Eldwick Primary School - 3 - February 2002
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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL
Type of school: Infant and junior school
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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL
School address: Barnaby Road Warren Lane Gilstead Bingley West Yorkshire Postcode: BD16 3LE
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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL
Appropriate authority: The governing body
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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL
Date of previous inspection: 10 March 1997 Eldwick Primary School - 4 - February 2002
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Team members
24326 Mrs M Fitzpatrick Registered inspector 19741 Mr T Smith Lay inspector 22482 Mrs B Clarke Team inspector 30823 Mr B Potter Team inspector
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Team members
Strathblane House Ashfield Road 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 Eldwick Primary School - 5 - February 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 17
Eldwick Primary School - 6 - February 2002
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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL
Eldwick Primary is recently formed due to local authority reorganisation from three to two tier schools. Through this reorganisation the very successful First school expanded to take pupils from Years 5 and 6 in the Middle school and moved to occupy the site of the former Middle school. The school is much larger than average, with 436 pupils aged three to 11. The percentage of pupils who have English as an additional language is very low. The percentage of pupils who are eligible for free school meals, is well below the national average. While the proportion of pupils on the school’s register of special educational needs is below the national average, the percentage of pupils who have a statement of special educational need is in line with the national average. These special needs are mainly specific learning difficulties or connected with autism. Overall the attainment of pupils on entry to the school is above the
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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL
national average. The school has recently been awarded Beacon School status for the second time.
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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS
Eldwick Primary is a very good school with many strengths. Standards in the school are high in all subjects and this is reflected in the national tests results for 2001. The quality of teaching is very good which ensures very good achievement by pupils. The leadership of the headteacher is outstanding and the smooth transition from a successful First school to an equally successful Primary school is a result of her clear educational vision and excellent management skills. She has been very well supported in this task by the very able deputy headteacher who shares her view of how the school should develop. Given the high quality of educational provision and the very good outcomes for the children the school is judged to give very good value for money.
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What the school does well
• Standards are high in all subjects and pupils achieve very well in their learning. • The quality of teaching is high; it is a strength of the school. • There is excellent leadership for the development of the school from the headteacher and the deputy headteacher. • There is very good provision for children in the nursery. • The school provides a very rich curriculum both in and out of the classroom. • Pupils’ attitudes and behaviour are very good; their personal development and relationships are excellent. • The school develops very close, highly effective partnerships with everyone connected with pupils’ learning.
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What could be improved
• Subject co-ordinators should resume their full role in monitoring standards and teaching in their subjects. • The withdrawal of some pupils from lessons for extra-support or instrumental tuition, to ensure that their learning in some subjects is not adversely affected. The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan.
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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION
The school has made very good improvement since it was last inspected in March 1997.The First school’s traditional very good performance in national tests has been extended to the older pupils. The quality of teaching has improved and is very good overall. The school has made a very successful transfer from the cramped accommodation of its former site to make very effective use of the extensive grounds and buildings of the new site. The issues raised at the last inspection have been successfully addressed. Games skills are now well developed in every year. The school has thorough and effective systems for monitoring and recording pupils’ learning. Given the headteacher’s leadership, the very good teamwork that exists in the school and the very effective partnership with governors, the school is in a very good position to sustain further improvement and to continue to raise standards. Eldwick Primary School - 7 - February 2002
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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 N/a N/a A B well above average above average A B Mathematics N/a N/a A C average below average C D Science N/a N/a A A well below average E
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Key
The performance of pupils in Year 6 in all the national tests was well above the national average. Compared with similar schools 1 , pupils’ performance was well above average in science, above average in English and about the average in mathematics. Overall their performance in the tests was above that of similar schools. Pupils currently in Year 6 are achieving above the national average in each of these subjects and in all other subjects they exceed the expectation for their age and achieve well. There has been a very good improvement in attainment in science as a result of developments led by the co- ordinator to improve teaching and learning in the subject during the last year. In the national tests for seven year olds pupils’ performance in reading was above the national average and in line with similar schools. In writing, their performance was well above the national average and well above similar
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Key
schools. These results represent a slight drop over the school’s previously very high results in tests for seven year olds and they reflect the impact of the turbulence of the last two years when the school has undergone a massive reorganisation programme. The results of boys were noticeably less good than girls in 2001, with fewer boys than usual gaining the higher level 3 in the tests. Pupils currently in Year 2 are reaching standards well above the average in their reading and writing. In mathematics and science they are above the national average. They also exceed the expectation for their age in all other subjects and achieve well. Children who are under five are on course to exceed the expected standard in all areas of learning by the end of the year. Their language and social skills are particularly well developed, as is their independence as learners. The school has set ambitious targets for the national tests in 2002,
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Key
based on very good assessment of the pupils in Year 6. These are slightly lower than the targets that were set and reached last year, which reflects the higher proportion of pupils who have special educational needs in the current Year 6.
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Aspect Comment
Attitudes to the school Pupils of all ages show a sense of excitement and enthusiasm about their learning. They enjoy working hard.
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Aspect Comment
Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Very good in all areas of school. Pupils show high levels of respect for each other and for adults.
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Aspect Comment
Personal development and relationships Excellent relationships provide a very strong basis for learning. Pupils’ independence and awareness of the needs of others are noteworthy.
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Aspect Comment
1 Schools with a similar percentage of pupils who are eligible for free school meals. Eldwick Primary School - 8 - February 2002 Attendance Well above the national average reflecting pupils’ enjoyment of school.
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Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6
Quality of teaching Very good Very good Very 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
Teaching is a strength of the school. Teaching in English is strong, with a very good emphasis on basic skills. This is supplemented by drama, which has a very good impact on the quality of pupils’ writing. The teaching of numeracy is rigorous and is a focus for further improvement in the current school year. Pupils achieve well in both of these subjects because of the high expectations of their teachers and their own capacity for hard work. The school makes special provision for the highest attaining pupils in English and mathematics both in school and through links with the local secondary school, where they are taught to the higher levels by subject specialists, after school. Particularly good teaching is seen in art, music, physical education, science and information and communication technology , where teachers’ subject knowledge is strong and their enthusiasm for the subject is quickly captured by the pupils who
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Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6
achieve very well as a result of stimulating and challenging activities. Children under-five achieve well because of the very careful planning and clear structure in their learning. Pupils who have special educational needs are very well supported by rigorous systems of assessment and good planning to meet their individual needs so that they achieve as well other pupils. The teaching of gifted and talented children is undertaken in small groups for literacy and science so that pupils are challenged to work to higher levels and have their needs met well.
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Aspect Comment
The quality and range of the curriculum Very good. Planning for progression is very good, as are the opportunities for learning beyond the classroom. The strong focus on the creative curriculum is a strength of the provision.
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Aspect Comment
Provision for pupils with special educational needs Very good. The procedures for assessing pupils’ needs ensure that those who have special needs are identified at an early stage. Support is very good with appropriate targets set for pupils in their individual education plans.
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Aspect Comment
Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Very good. Pupils have many opportunities to practise the moral values they are taught. They become independent from an early age and volunteer for responsibilities because their teachers expect that they will. The school makes good links with a school with a more ethnically diverse community to ensure that pupils have a full understanding of the nature of the society in which they live.
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Aspect Comment
How well the school cares for its pupils Very good. Assessment and monitoring are very effective in ensuring that pupils achieve well. Personal profiles record all aspects of pupils’ development as they move though the school.
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Aspect Comment
The school has excellent partnership with parents who are encouraged to be fully involved in their children’s learning. They are highly supportive of the school and raise considerable sums to enhance the educational provision for their children. Eldwick Primary School - 9 - February 2002
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Aspect Comment
Leadership and management by the headteacher and other key staff Outstanding leadership by the headteacher She has a strong commitment to the highest standards in all aspects of the school’s provision. She is very well supported by the skills and expertise of the deputy headteacher. Together with other members of the senior management team they give very effective leadership to the school.
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Aspect Comment
How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities Governors are fully informed and expert in their knowledge of the school. They play a full role in its strategic management. All statutory requirements are met.
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Aspect Comment
The school’s evaluation of its performance The school has very good systems for evaluating its performance and compares its performance with that of similar schools. Its wide and thorough consultative procedures ensure that all who are involved in the life of the school have a voice. The school’s practices ensure it gets very good value for money.
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Aspect Comment
The strategic use of resources Very good. The school’s development planning is sharply focused on raising standards. All spending decisions are based on this and the outcomes of spending are evaluated on the basis of their impact on standards.
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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved
• That the school is well led and managed. • That their children like school and make good progress. • That the teaching is good. • That the school expects their children to work hard. • That they would feel comfortable about approaching the school. • The opportunities to take part in extra- curricular activities. • The information they receive about their children’s progress. • How closely the school works with them.
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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved
Inspectors fully agree with parents’ positive comments about the school. The school has reviewed its meetings with parents schedule and has added another for the end of the spring term. This means the school has more than the average number of parents meetings each year. The information the school gives about pupils’ progress is good and the inspectors judged extra-curricular provision to be very good. Eldwick Primary School - 10 - February 2002
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Standards in all subjects are high and pupils achieve very well in their learning
1. Standards achieved by pupils aged 11 in the national tests in 2001, were well above the national average in English, mathematics and science. Overall, the performance of pupils in these tests was above the average of similar schools. 2 This group of pupils was the first to sit the national tests since the school changed its status from a First to a Primary school and their achievement reflects the high standards traditionally achieved by the school with pupils aged seven. In the national tests for seven year olds in 2001 pupils performed less well than in previous years. While girls performed in line with previous years, the performance of boys was markedly less good, with fewer than usual boys gaining the higher level 3. The school attributes this, in part, to the impact of transferring sites which some pupils found unsettling during the autumn and spring terms when the school operated on two sites. However, the
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Standards in all subjects are high and pupils achieve very well in their learning
school has responded quickly to this reduced performance by giving extra support to those pupils now in Year 3 who were deemed to have under-performed in the tests.
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Standards in all subjects are high and pupils achieve very well in their learning
2. In all other subjects pupils who are seven or 11 exceed the expectation for their age. Their achievement is good because their teachers have high expectations and the pupils have such an enjoyment of learning. Another factor which contributes to the pupils’ success and which the school acknowledges is the very positive impact of parental support for learning. The majority of parents place a high value on education and work closely with the school to ensure that their children succeed. Achievement in music, art, drama and physical education are particularly noteworthy. Pupils are taught skills systematically and progressively in these subjects and are given opportunities to apply them to enhance learning in other subjects. For example, the impact of drama on the quality of writing is very evident in the improved quality of work among Year 6 pupils. The structure of their writing shows good control and their use
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Standards in all subjects are high and pupils achieve very well in their learning
of wide and vivid vocabulary reflects their sense of excitement when writing about the Argonauts. They write with a clear purpose and manage to convince the reader of the emotions involved. The achievement of pupils with special educational needs is good. They are well supported to reach standards close to the national expectation. Targets set for them are realistic and challenging but always attainable. For higher attaining pupils and those who have a special talent in English, mathematics or science the school has an internal arrangement and links with the local secondary school for these pupils to be taught to the higher levels.
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The quality of teaching is high
3. The quality of teaching is high throughout the school. The proportion of good and very good teaching seen exceeds the national average for primary schools, leading to the judgement that teaching is a strength of the school. In nearly all lessons observed teachers sought to make learning fun as well as challenging and interesting. They are able to do this because they have good subject expertise and plan very carefully. In a very good Year 5 science lesson pupils learnt at a rapid pace when they experimented to discover how sound travels. Very good preparation and questioning by the teacher allowed pupils to learn independently and to develop new hypotheses as they worked. Teachers are conscientious about providing high quality resources
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The quality of teaching is high
2 Schools with a similar percentage of pupils who are eligible for free school meals. Eldwick Primary School - 11 - February 2002 from which pupils can learn. The three volumes of photographs, compiled by the geography co-ordinator showing the school duck, Quackers, on his many journeys both national and inter-national, is a rich resource for teaching geography. Pupils become familiar with the huge diversity of human environments through using these exciting pictures for their research. This example is typical of the care that teachers take in providing the highest quality resources for learning.
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The quality of teaching is high
4. The quality of teachers’ planning and their openness to new ideas form the basis of the very good developments seen in many areas of learning in the school. Pupils relish the way their teachers link subjects so that one feeds into another, allowing them to see the inter-relatedness of learning. For example, pupils working on the water cycle in science explore other aspects of the topic in geography through a study of rivers, in art when they imitate Japanese artists and produce their versions of a tsunami or great wave. They then write poems about water and use the computer to present their writing in an individual way. Year 6 pupils speak with great enthusiasm about working in this way and of being allowed to follow their interests in learning. The excellent relationships which pervade the school, underpin the very good teaching and learning. Teachers have very good knowledge of their pupils. They make good use of
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The quality of teaching is high
this to arrange groups so that pupils are able to give and receive support from each other. In this way pupils learn that they all have a responsibility for both their own learning and that of others. The teachers’ high expectations of behaviour and effort, are met easily by pupils who have great respect for their teachers and want to please them.
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Leadership in the school is excellent
5. The headteacher provides excellent leadership for the school. She has a clear educational vision which she communicates well to all who work in the school and has a strong commitment to high standards in all aspects of the school’s work. Since the last inspection she has successfully led the growth of the First School to create Eldwick Primary School. She has been particularly skilled in her management of staffing throughout this process. Her guiding philosophy of success through strong partnerships at all levels has been fundamental to the speed with which the ‘new team’ in the school has been established. All members of school staff show a very strong commitment to the school’s aims and work hard to meet the high professional expectations of the headteacher. She has ensured that teachers new to the school have been given training to ensure that they are able to teach the classes to which they are allocated. Throughout the school, among staff at all levels, there is a high
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Leadership in the school is excellent
level of professionalism. This is reflected in the number and range of additional responsibilities that members of staff undertake. The headteacher’s focus on the involvement and professional development of all staff has produced a highly motivated team which feels valued and is committed to raising standards in all areas of the school. She has fully succeeded in her aim of producing a school where all are included in the learning process.
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Leadership in the school is excellent
6. The headteacher has been very well supported by the deputy headteacher both in the development of the new school and in the professional development of staff. As part of the development process the headteacher and deputy assumed responsibility for all monitoring in the school. This enabled them to discover the strengths and training needs of the much expanded teaching staff. Building on work they had begun for their Beacon status, the headteacher and deputy began a process of in-house training to share good practice and to develop the creative aspects of the curriculum. The deputy headteacher has been very successful in establishing the use of drama as an aid to writing and to promote pupils’ personal development. The quality of writing Eldwick Primary School - 12 - February 2002 shows considerable improvement and boys’ writing in particular shows very good improvement in both structure and detail. The use of drama has expanded across
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Leadership in the school is excellent
the curriculum as teachers have learned new skills from the deputy. As a result pupils often assume roles or create scenes for history, geography and science lessons and enhance their learning when they do. The impact of learning in this way is clear from the vivid recollections pupils share of their work on earthquakes or life in Victorian times. The result of the deputy headteacher’s energy and enthusiasm is a much enriched curriculum and a more versatile and confident group of teachers.
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Provision in the nursery is very good
7. The provision for children in the nursery is very good and is a strength of the school. This is because the high quality teaching combines successfully with the children’s eagerness to learn. The atmosphere in the nursery is vibrant and exciting and this produces a very good climate for learning. Teachers and nursery nurses work very closely with parents and make them very welcome in the school. Teachers have devised a very good communication system which gives parents easy access to up to date information about the progress of their children. The very good relationships between parents and teachers give the children a strong sense of security. They have quickly become independent learners as a result of this and take advantage of the many opportunities that are provided for them to make choices about their own learning.
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Provision in the nursery is very good
8. Children achieve high standards in their work because of the careful planning that teachers undertake to ensure that there are plenty of focussed activities in which they can engage. This, together with the well-planned use of all adults in the nursery, ensures that children are supported and encouraged to persevere with their learning. Children progress quickly in all their areas of learning because of their very good social skills. Three children working together making a cake were well supported to learn to share and develop their language as they were led to describe what they were doing by the nursery nurse. One knows that she must put her buns ‘in a case and that the case must go in here’ (the bun tray). Very good planning for learning about language provides a wide range of reinforcement activities which children enjoy each day as they learn about the letter C and words that begin with C. They learn the
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Provision in the nursery is very good
Camel Song and new words, practise writing the letter C in sand, on a board and with plasticine. During their time in nursery children learn a good deal about the world around them because teachers plan so many activities both in and out of the classroom. They learn about the celebrations and customs which surround Chinese New Year, visit the local church to learn about Christening as well as learning about people who help them from visits by the school crossing lady and local firemen. All of these opportunities provide a very good start to the children’s education.
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The school provides a rich curriculum in and out of the classroom
9. The rich and well-planned curriculum contributes very strongly to pupils’ breadth of learning. The leadership of the headteacher provides a strong impetus to enrich the curriculum for all pupils through very careful planning for teaching, the organisation of visits and visitors to the school and the very wide range of extra-curricular activities that the school organises. The quality of pupils’ learning in music provides a good illustration of how the school values and uses the expertise of subject specialists to enhance pupils’ learning and to fire them with enthusiasm. The very good school orchestra and school choir, which take part in local festivals and competitions, provide pupils with very good opportunities to perform together and to serve the community in which they live. Children in the Reception classes were delighted with Eldwick Primary School - 13 - February 2002 their visit to a local college of further education where they learnt how to build a wall
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The school provides a rich curriculum in and out of the classroom
using bricks and cement. The photographs which record the visit, as well as the children’s recollections show clearly how such experiences excite pupils’ interest and motivate them to see learning as an active and highly enjoyable activity. As a result of such visits children show very good levels of confidence when talking about their knowledge of the world.
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The school provides a rich curriculum in and out of the classroom
10. The school makes very good use of the annual visit of the Life Caravan to extend pupils’ knowledge of science and to develop their understanding of environmental and social issues. Year 5 pupils spent a very profitable afternoon visiting the caravan to learn about healthy bodies. This was then developed into the dangers to the body as pupils began to find out about the misuse and abuse of drugs. Pupils were eager to learn the assertive skills the teacher had planned in follow-up work in drama. They spoke highly of previous work in drama that had allowed them to see how they could resist aggressive and bullying behaviour. Through this careful planning pupils are taught again and again of the inter-relatedness of learning and see how knowledge in one area supports understanding of other issues in their lives. Since the last inspection the school has made very good improvement in pupils’ games skills. This
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The school provides a rich curriculum in and out of the classroom
is partly due to the better outdoor facilities that the school enjoys on its new site, but is mainly a result of skilful and enthusiastic teaching and the promotion of competitive games by the two subject specialists in the school. The range and number of sporting fixtures is laudable and those pupils with sporting talents or enthusiasm are given many opportunities to take part in competitions, which they frequently win. As well as music and drama, art makes a very positive contribution to the creative curriculum. High quality long term planning for the subject ensures very good skills development and the use of art to extend and illustrate learning. The art co-ordinator makes the best use of her specialist skills by organising two classes into three groups so that she teaches directly to all pupils in smaller than usual class size. Under her direction, Year 3 pupils rapidly improved their observational and drawing
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The school provides a rich curriculum in and out of the classroom
skills and produced work which is better than expected for pupils of their age.
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relationships are excellent
11. All pupils, from the earliest age exhibit an enthusiasm for learning and a willingness to be involved in activities. They are seldom away from school and parents speak of them as very reluctant to stay away even when they are poorly. They attribute this in part to the enthusiasm of teachers. In all lessons, pupils are seen listening very closely and joining in confidently to answer or ask questions. A notable feature of their learning is their ability to take part in discussion. They do this frequently and naturally, showing high levels of respect for speakers and demonstrating that they are following closely by adding to ideas. In a Year 5 drama lesson, pupils explored in depth the behaviour and motives of the bully, showing very good insights through the ideas they raised and developed. In a very good information and communication technology lesson, pupils supported each other’s learning very well as they created a
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relationships are excellent
spreadsheet and calculated costs, by checking each other’s ways of working and their answers. This support quickly extended from the paired groups to include others as a few pupils worked out the quickest way of working. The levels of independence that all pupils showed demonstrated how well the school develops the maturity of its pupils.
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relationships are excellent
12. The school places strong emphasis on good behaviour. The teachers’ high expectations are very well met by the pupils. Throughout the day pupils are seen being polite and considerate towards each other and this creates a very harmonious Eldwick Primary School - 14 - February 2002 environment. They are very well behaved in their movement around the school at lunchtime and at break-times with no evidence of oppressive behaviour or bullying. One of the strengths arising from the very good behaviour is the excellent quality of relationships that exist in the school at all levels. Teachers, pupils and support staff all hold each other in high regard and they are led in this by the excellent example of the headteacher. Because of these relationships pupils get great enjoyment from their learning and recognise the need to be aware of the needs of others if everyone is to gain maximum benefit from school.
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connected with pupils’ learning
13. As part of its work for Beacon School status, the school has developed and shared its very good partnership practices with other schools. The school has a strong commitment to developing effective teamwork through strong partnership with all who are involved in the education of its children. This initiative has been driven by the headteacher’s belief that good partnerships increase the effectiveness of schools. Within the school, the very strong team spirit that exists between teachers and learning support assistants has a very beneficial impact on the quality of planning, evaluation and improvement to teaching and learning. All are consulted on matters of change and bring a wide range of viewpoints to the discussion about ways of implementing change and when certain changes should occur. These very good consultation practices were already established in the school before it embarked on the development of the new primary school. They have undoubtedly contributed to
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connected with pupils’ learning
the speed and efficiency with which the unprecedented changes were realised. Significant features of the new school are its very distinctive climate for learning and well-understood expectations. These too are a result of the close working partnerships that the school has firmly established.
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connected with pupils’ learning
14. The school’s partnership with parents is another aspect of this part of the school’s provision. From the time children enter the school parents are welcomed as equal partners in their children’s learning and are given support and advice about the curriculum and teaching methods used as their children progress through the school. They have traditionally been consulted about changes in the school and about the proposals in the school’s annual improvement plan. When the school operated on two sites, parents were regularly consulted about how the school was managing the transition so that senior managers could monitor the impact upon the pupils. Parents welcomed this and showed their appreciation when the school moved to the new site by volunteering to help with the move, unpacking boxes and assisting teachers to organise classrooms during the closure days.
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connected with pupils’ learning
15. The school has a very strong partnership with its governors, who are very closely involved in the development of the school. They are closely involved in monitoring and training activities when they join staff to consider new initiatives or the draft school improvement plan. Since the school began its outreach work with other schools to promote effective partnerships, governors have attended workshops to represent the school and have learned new skills as well as shared good practice in this area. As a result of the expertise they have acquired in the service of the school they now recognise how much they have been able to assist in the development of other governing bodies.
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connected with pupils’ learning
16. All of this work within the school and in partnership with other schools has led to considerable reflection on the part of senior managers about the impact of what they do. They have seized the opportunity to extend their partnership philosophy to almost Eldwick Primary School - 15 - February 2002 thirty primary and three secondary schools within the local education authority and in doing so have widened their own horizons for development. In the current year, as a result of this partnership work, the school has established profitable learning links with a high achieving multi-cultural school. The school anticipates that joint learning activities will be of mutual benefit to the pupils involved especially in their understanding of each other’s cultural heritage.
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subject co-ordinators
17. While the school was recently undergoing reorganisation, the role of subject co- ordinators was reduced, by limiting their monitoring role to that of monitoring curriculum planning and the standards of pupils’ work. Now that the school has very successfully established its new status and secured a strong teaching staff it would be appropriate to resume its former successful pattern of monitoring by subject co- ordinators. The school has recognised that this is a necessary development and has plans in the current improvement plan for subject co-ordinators to begin their monitoring of teaching and learning in the current school year. This will ensure that accountability for standards in subjects resides with those who have delegated responsibility as well as developing their professional capability. It will also release the headteacher and deputy headteacher to resume their focus on whole school
p.15
subject co-ordinators
development issues and those related to the school’s Beacon status.
p.15
disadvantaged in some subjects
18. The school provides good levels of support for pupils who have special educational needs as well as a good range of instrumental tuition during the school day. Occasionally, the demands made on some pupils for withdrawal from their normal lessons for these activities, means that they regularly miss teaching in certain subjects for short periods of time. The school needs to monitor this and where pupils learning may suffer as a consequence they should reorganise timetables to prevent this from happening. Eldwick Primary School - 16 - February 2002
p.15
WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?
In order to continue to raise standards further, the headteacher, staff and governors should:
p.16
WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?
(1) Re-establish the full role of subject co-ordinators, especially their responsibility for monitoring standards and teaching in their subjects.
p.16
WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?
(2) Monitor the withdrawal of pupils who receive extra support with their learning or instrumental tuition to ensure that their learning in some subjects does not suffer. Eldwick Primary School - 17 - February 2002
p.16
PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection
p.17
PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 13
p.17
PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
Summary of teaching observed during the inspection
p.17
PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactor y Poor Very Poor
p.17
PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
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..
p.17
PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
Pupils on the school’s roll Nursery YR– Y6
p.17
PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 30 406
p.17
PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 7
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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
Special educational needs Nursery YR– Y6
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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 0 4
p.17
PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 0 88
p.17
PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
English as an additional language No of pupils
p.17
PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
Number of pupils with English as an additional language 2
p.17
PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils
p.17
PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 15
p.17
PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 12
p.17
PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
National comparative data 5.6 National comparative data 0.5 Eldwick Primary School - 18 - February 2002 Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. Eldwick Primary School - 19 - February 2002 Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2) Year Boys Girls Total
p.17
PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 1 for the latest reporting year 2001 32 26 58
p.19
PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
National Curriculum Test/Task Results Reading Writing Mathematics
p.19
PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
Boys 30 28 31 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 26 26 26
p.19
PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
Percentage of pupils School 97 (100) 93 (100) 98 (98) at NC level 2 or above National 84 (83) 86 (84) 91 (90)
p.19
PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science
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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
Boys 30 31 31 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 26 26 26
p.19
PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
Percentage of pupils School 97 (100) 98 (98) 98 (96) at NC level 2 or above National 85 (84) 89 (88) 89 (88)
p.19
PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year.
p.19
PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6) Year Boys Girls Total
p.19
PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 2 for the latest reporting year 2001 33 26 59
p.19
PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
National Curriculum Test/Task Results English Mathematics Science
p.19
PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
Boys 26 24 31 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 25 22 26
p.19
PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
Percentage of pupils School 86 (na) 83 (na) 97 (na) at NC level 4 or above National 75 (75) 71 (72) 87 (85)
p.19
PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science
p.19
PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
Boys 25 26 31 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 23 23 26
p.19
PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
Percentage of pupils School 81 (na) 83 (na) 97 (na) at NC level 4 or above National 72 (70) 74 (72) 82 (79)
p.19
PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year. Eldwick Primary School - 20 - February 2002 Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year
p.19
PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
Black – Caribbean heritage 0 Black – Caribbean heritage 0 0
p.20
PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
Black – African heritage 0 Black – African heritage 0 0
p.20
PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
Any other minority ethnic group 4 Other minority ethnic groups 0 0
p.20
PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
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.
p.20
PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
Teachers and classes Financial information
p.20
PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 19 Financial year 2000-2001
p.20
PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
Number of pupils per qualified teacher 23.9
p.20
PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
Education support staff: YR– Y6 Total income 884,161
p.20
PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
Total number of education support staff 12.0 Total expenditure 849,121
p.20
PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
Total aggregate hours worked per week 246 Expenditure per pupil 1,980
p.20
PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
Qualified teachers and support staff: nursery Balance brought forward from previous year 51,311
p.20
PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 1.0 Balance carried forward to next year 86,351
p.20
PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
Number of pupils per qualified teacher 30.0
p.20
PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
Total number of education support staff 2.0
p.20
PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
Total aggregate hours worked per week 41
p.20
PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
Number of teachers who left the school during the last two years 4.0
p.20
PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
Number of teachers appointed to the school during the last two years 10.0
p.20
PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
Total number of vacant teaching posts (FTE) 0
p.20
PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
Number of vacancies filled by teachers on temporary contract of a term or more (FTE) 4.0
p.20
PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
Number of unfilled vacancies or vacancies filled by teachers on temporary contract of less than one term (FTE) 0
p.20
PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS
FTE means full-time equivalent. Eldwick Primary School - 21 - February 2002 Eldwick Primary School - 22 - February 2002
p.20
Percentage of responses in each category
Strongly agree Tend to agree Tend to disagree Strongly disagree Don’t know
p.22
Percentage of responses in each category
My child is making good progress in school. 47 49 3 0 1
p.22
Percentage of responses in each category
Behaviour in the school is good. 38 56 3 0 3
p.22
Percentage of responses in each category
My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 27 58 9 2 4
p.22
Percentage of responses in each category
I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 36 49 13 2 0
p.22
Percentage of responses in each category
I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 61 35 3 1 0
p.22
Percentage of responses in each category
The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 59 37 2 0 2
p.22
Percentage of responses in each category
The school works closely with parents. 45 42 10 1 2
p.22
Percentage of responses in each category
The school is well led and managed. 66 31 1 0 1
p.22
Percentage of responses in each category
The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 48 47 3 0 3
p.22
Percentage of responses in each category
The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 32 43 14 3 8
p.22
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