Castle Hill Primary School

CASTLE HILL JUNIOR AND INFANT SCHOOL

Reporting inspector: Mrs Lesley P A Clark

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CASTLE HILL JUNIOR AND INFANT SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 17 th – 18 th September 2001

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CASTLE HILL JUNIOR AND INFANT 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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CASTLE HILL JUNIOR AND INFANT SCHOOL

Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the School Inspections Act 1996, the school must provide a copy of this report and/or its summary free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. Castle Hill Junior and Infant School - 1

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Halifax Road Todmorden West Yorkshire

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: The governing body

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Name of chair of governors: Mr Paul Greenwood

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: 14/04/1997 Castle Hill Junior and Infant School - 2

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Team members

25431 Lesley Clark Registered inspector 19558 Michael Hammond Lay inspector 11528 Michael Wainwright Team inspector 23081 Carol Waine Team inspector

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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 Castle Hill Junior and Infant School - 3

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 4 - 8

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

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS 15 - 18

Castle Hill Junior and Infant School - 4

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Castle Hill Junior and Infant School is slightly larger than average, with 265 pupils on roll aged from four to eleven and 37 children attending the nursery part time. The school is situated on the eastern edge of Todmorden and has a wide and varied catchment area. Most of the pupils come from small terraced houses built in the last century and local authority housing adjacent to the school. A small number come from neighbouring farms and detached private houses. An increasing number of families are receiving income support. A much smaller proportion of parents have higher education qualifications than nationally and a higher proportion of families live in over-crowded conditions. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals, however, remains broadly average at 14 per cent. There are slightly more boys than girls in the school. Very few pupils leave or join the school at times other than the usual times of transfer. Most pupils are white and a very small number come from

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

ethnic minorities. No pupils are at an early stage of learning English. Twenty two per cent of pupils have special educational needs and four have statements of special need: these proportions are about average. Attainment on entry to school is below average. Pupils are taught in ten classes, three of which are mixed age. Infant classes are smaller than junior classes. Science is taught in year groups in the juniors.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

The school is very effective. Pupils achieve well throughout their time at school and they attain standards in English, mathematics and science by the time they leave which are above average, both nationally and compared to similar schools. Standards in reading are well above average. There is an extremely good atmosphere for learning. Pupils who have special educational needs achieve well because of the excellent provision made for them. Teaching is good throughout the school and the leadership and management are very good indeed. Pupils feel valued and believe they can do well. The school gives very good value for money.

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What the school does well

• Pupils achieve well and attain above average standards at age eleven in English, mathematics and science. • The quality of teaching is good. • Pupils’ personal development is very good: the school fosters pupils’ self-esteem and their belief that they can succeed. • Provision for special educational needs is excellent. • The emphasis given to information and communication technology (ICT) contributes well to high standards. • Leadership and management are very good.

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What could be improved

• The co-ordinators’ overview of their subjects. • The displays celebrating pupils’ achievements in the entrance and public areas of the school. 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 good improvement since the last inspection in April 1997. Standards are higher, as shown by the improved results for seven and eleven-year-olds over the past three years. The quality of teaching has improved and there is no unsatisfactory teaching in the school. The school has addressed most of the key issues well. Standards in ICT have risen and pupils use the computers in the new computer suite and in the classrooms confidently to help them to learn in other subjects. Staff expertise in this area has improved greatly. Standards in design and technology are higher although the co-ordinator does not have an overview of the work done throughout the school. The learning resources have improved, particularly in science, design and technology and ICT, and are used well to help pupils to learn. While much progress has been made to clarify and develop the role of the co-ordinator, there are inconsistencies. This means that some do not have as clear an

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

Castle Hill Junior and Infant School - 5 idea as others of the quality of teaching and learning and the progress made by pupils in their subject. In this respect, part of the last key issue has still to be met.

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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 B B B B well above average above average A B Mathematics D B B B average below average C D Science E C A A well below average E

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Key

The results of the national tests for eleven-year-olds in 2000 shown above show that pupils attained above average standards in English and mathematics and well above average standards in science. Since 1997, the school has pushed up standards at a faster rate than the national trend. The results in 2001 are better, with 50 per cent of pupils attaining higher than average standards expected of eleven-year-olds. The results of the national tests for seven-year-olds in 2000 showed pupils’ performance compared to the national average to be well above average in reading, close to the national average in writing and above average in mathematics. Results in 2001 are similar. Performance over time indicates that a large proportion of seven and eleven-year-old pupils exceed the levels expected of their age.

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Key

Standards in the present Year 6 indicate that pupils’ attainment is on course to be above average in English, mathematics and science, with at least 30 per cent of pupils attaining more highly. This particular year group has a higher proportion of pupils with special educational needs than in recent years. Because of the school’s excellent provision for these pupils, however, many attain standards expected of their age. Pupils currently in Year 2 and Year 6 read much better than average for their age and standards in reading are well above average throughout the school.

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Key

Pupils achieve well in relation to their attainment on entry to the school. They make consistently good progress at each stage of their education as they build on what they know and understand. They are taught from an early age to work independently and to use their skills in reading and in ICT to help them to learn. Pupils achieve well in science and mathematics because they learn through carrying out investigations and solving problems. They use their skills in literacy and numeracy very well. Castle Hill Junior and Infant School - 6

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Aspect Comment

Attitudes to the school Good; pupils listen well, ask questions and are often keenly interested. They clearly enjoy coming to school and take justifiable pride in their achievements.

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Aspect Comment

Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Very good; pupils behave sensibly. They work and play together very well and older pupils look after younger ones responsibly. They respond very well to teachers and other adults and co-operate well with each other.

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Aspect Comment

Personal development and relationships Very good; pupils take on responsibilities willingly and often ask if there are any jobs they can do in their free time. They take their duties seriously and older pupils are considerate of younger pupils’ views and needs. Relationships are warm and friendly and pupils readily enjoy their teachers’ good humour.

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Aspect Comment

Attendance Satisfactory; attendance is broadly in line with the national average.

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Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6

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

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Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6

The quality of teaching and of pupils’ learning is good throughout the school. There is no unsatisfactory teaching. A lot of the teaching of older pupils is very good and sometimes excellent. Teachers know their subjects well and their enthusiastic approach brings aspects of English, mathematics and science alive for their pupils. The quality of teaching for children in the nursery and reception classes is good. Teachers set up activities to enable children to work independently. The ratio of adults to children is very good and so children receive a great deal of personal attention. Teachers provide an interesting range of activities and good quality resources. This means that children have many opportunities to play imaginatively. The teaching of infants is good. Much of the work is practical and teachers of younger infants help them to maintain concentration by varying the pace of different activities. They have quite high expectations of their pupils and expect them to

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Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6

complete and return homework. Resources are well prepared to enable pupils to work independently. The teaching of juniors is good and much of the teaching of older juniors in particular is very good or excellent. Teachers expect their pupils to concentrate fully and to think about what they do. Much of the teaching is very lively and imaginative and teachers clearly enjoy working and planning lessons together.

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Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6

Teachers take every care to meet the needs of all pupils, adjusting their planning daily to take into account what pupils have learnt and what they need to learn next. Additional specialist and support staff are used very well to help pupils who have special educational needs or specific learning difficulties. Pupils receive additional help with aspects of literacy and the organisation of teaching groups in the juniors ensures that pupils who can attain more highly are taught in groups where they can learn at a faster rate. The teaching of literacy and numeracy throughout the school is good and pupils learn to read, write and use numbers competently from an early age. Homework is used effectively to extend the learning that takes place in the classroom. Castle Hill Junior and Infant School - 7

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Aspect Comment

The quality and range of the curriculum Good; the curriculum is enriched by many opportunities for pupils to learn through practical activities. It is well planned with an appropriate balance of literacy and numeracy and additional time given to reading which helps to raise standards of work throughout the school.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils with special educational needs Excellent; extremely well organised to meet the needs of pupils and to ensure that their learning is as good as that of others. The excellent provision for special educational needs is a key reason why standards are high at this school.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Very good; provision for pupils’ personal, social and moral development is very good. Provision for spiritual and cultural development is satisfactory. The school succeeds in creating a caring environment where everyone is valued, where differences are appreciated and where pupils learn that rights involve responsibilities.

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Aspect Comment

How well the school cares for its pupils Very good; the school treats each pupil with respect and as a result all pupils feel valued and begin to learn effectively. Pupils’ personal and academic progress is monitored very well and their success celebrated.

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Aspect Comment

Leadership and management by the headteacher and other key staff Very good; the leadership of the headteacher, deputy headteacher and senior staff are very good. They work together extremely well as a team, combining effective systems with a caring, pastoral approach. Subject co-ordinators do not have a clear enough overview of their subjects throughout the school.

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Aspect Comment

How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities Very good; the very supportive governing body is well organised, very well informed and understands the strengths and relative weaknesses of the school very well indeed.

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Aspect Comment

The school’s evaluation of its performance Very good; the school sets itself high standards in all aspects of its work. The monitoring and evaluation of teaching by the headteacher and of teachers’ planning by subject co-ordinators is rigorous. The extent to which co-ordinators monitor teaching and learning in their subject varies quite widely.

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Aspect Comment

The strategic use of resources Very good; the use of specialist and support staff is very well thought out and greatly benefits the learning of pupils. Educational decisions are very carefully linked to the best possible value and their success is evident in pupils’ improved results. Castle Hill Junior and Infant School - 8

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

• The school has high expectations of their children. • Parents feel comfortable to come into school to discuss any problems. • The teaching is good. • Their children make good progress. • The school helps their children to become mature and responsible. • The behaviour is good. • The school is well led and managed and works closely with parents. • The range of activities outside lessons.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

The vast majority of parents expressed the views above and clearly agree that this is a very good school. The inspection team supports their positive views. The school offers a good range of sporting activities outside lessons and opportunities for pupils to sing in the choir but there is little choice outside these areas. Castle Hill Junior and Infant School - 9

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Pupils achieve well and attain above average standards at age eleven in English,

1. When pupils enter school, their attainment is below average. They make good progress, achieving well at each stage of their education. By the time they leave school, pupils attain above average standards in English, well above average standards in reading and above average standards in mathematics and science. In the year 2000 tests, standards were above average in English and mathematics and well above average in science, both nationally and compared to schools with a similar intake of pupils. Standards in the year 2001 tests are higher, with 50 per cent of pupils in Year 6 attaining above the expected standard for their age, confirming that the trend in the school’s results is above the national trend. At the start of the school year 2001-2002, standards in the Year 6 class are clearly above average and the school is likely to meet its challenging targets for this particular year group which has a larger

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Pupils achieve well and attain above average standards at age eleven in English,

proportion of pupils with special educational needs than in recent years. Thirty per cent of pupils are on course to attain higher than expected standards and the greater majority of pupils with special educational needs are likely to attain standards expected of their age by the time they leave this school.

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Pupils achieve well and attain above average standards at age eleven in English,

2. There are several reasons for pupils’ good achievement. They receive good teaching. Teachers carefully assess what pupils have learnt or understood in lessons and adjust their next day’s planning accordingly, ensuring that individual or groups of pupils learn equally well. At the end of each half term, teachers assess pupils’ progress in English, mathematics and science and target groups of pupils who need additional instruction. A record of each pupil’s attainment in these assessment tasks is kept and the information used to help teachers determine what pupils need to learn next. In conjunction with the national strategies for literacy and numeracy, the school runs additional literacy groups, taught by specialist assistants, and a specially designed early literacy course designed to help very young pupils. Each class has a time for reading each day. The school analyses the results of the national tests and uses these to help

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Pupils achieve well and attain above average standards at age eleven in English,

them to improve pupils’ performance and to predict pupils’ achievements. The successful analysis of the attainment of boys and girls and consequent improvement in standards has led the school to adopt strategies to raise the attainment of different groups of pupils. Currently, the school is looking at the relative performance of shy pupils.

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Pupils achieve well and attain above average standards at age eleven in English,

3. The school places a great emphasis on reading and prides itself on teaching all pupils to read at an early age. Parents are encouraged to come into school every day with their children, ten minutes before lessons begin, to change reading books. These have been very well catalogued so that there is a wide choice within each ability range and the current arrangement of the hall into separate libraries and reading areas facilitates choosing, sharing and discussing books. Most pupils, therefore, read at least one book a day. From an early age, pupils learn to read expressively and to understand the shape of stories. Year 3 pupils learn that facts can be found in fiction and find out information from a variety of different sources. The approach to reading has been very well thought out and it is seen in all classes as an essential skill. The system of ‘Reading Buddies’, whereby Year 6 pupils help younger pupils to read, further raises the profile

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Pupils achieve well and attain above average standards at age eleven in English,

of reading and is one reason why boys tend to read much better than they do in other schools. In one reading session, for example, boys explained the development in the story by drawing the younger pupils’ attention to the pictures and gently showed how you could read a difficult word like ‘face’ if you knew what ‘a magic ‘e’ did. Reading is clearly highly valued and celebrated. By the time pupils enter Year 6, their reading skills are above average. In the daily group reading session, teachers plan for older pupils to learn different ways of reading. For instance, in one lesson, average-attaining pupils read a factual text from which they extracted information, whereas higher attaining pupils were learning how to understand implied meaning. When reading Robert Frost’s poem, The Road not Taken , for example, they recognised that everyone in life has choices to make and that by selecting the road ‘less travelled’ the poet ‘took

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Pupils achieve well and attain above average standards at age eleven in English,

the path that most people don’t take’. Castle Hill Junior and Infant School - 10 4. Through reading, teachers develop pupils’ interest in writing. A group of Year 3 boys were avidly scanning the pages of Harry Potter books to establish the rules of ‘Quidditch’, which they were writing up as a guide for others to use when playing this imaginary game. From an early age, pupils learn to write independently and to use dictionaries to help them with difficult words such as ‘nocturnal’ which one pupil had trouble spelling. The school has taken effective measures to improve the standard of writing in line with reading. Young pupils are encouraged to explore ideas through role-play, which they write at length, adapting their created ‘stories’. Pupils are given many different contexts for writing and teachers provide creative resources to stimulate writing so that pupils do not feel daunted at having to fill a blank page. Eight-year-

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Pupils achieve well and attain above average standards at age eleven in English,

olds, for example, take pride in the different styles of writing they use for the front and back covers of their ‘little books’, imitating the books they read. By the time pupils are eleven, they write with an ease and fluency which is above average for their age. Similes such as ‘the headteacher’s voice booms down the corridor like a bittern’s call’ reflect the sensitive response shown by higher attaining pupils to written language. Average attainers show delightful humour when re-writing a fairytale from a different point of view as in their account of a respectable wolf’s horror at ‘this little girl in a red coat zooming through the trees at 60mph on one of those motorbikes’.

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Pupils achieve well and attain above average standards at age eleven in English,

5. Standards are above average in mathematics because pupils are very well taught throughout the school. Pupils quickly learn that mathematics is fun and they enjoy pitting their wits against the clock in the introductory mental mathematics session. Through their teacher’s inventive approach, for example, young pupils learn to appreciate pattern in number as they count forward and back to twenty, clapping their hands loudly for the even numbers and quietly on their knees for the odd. They learn to understand sequence and to work out the missing numbers. They can apply this knowledge to solving simple problems involving money and explain readily their quick methods of calculation. In Year 6, pupils are divided into two classes for mathematics according to their level of attainment. This means that the teaching can be very precisely focused on the pupils’ rate of learning. Higher attaining pupils, for example,

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Pupils achieve well and attain above average standards at age eleven in English,

successfully work out how to solve problems using large numbers and several stages of different types of calculation. They are well aware that ‘sums are not maths’ and understand mathematics is a useful tool with which to solve problems. Pupils are challenged to think for themselves and to defend their answers.

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Pupils achieve well and attain above average standards at age eleven in English,

6. Standards are above average in science largely because of the school’s emphasis on practical and investigative science. Pupils are encouraged to think independently. Infant pupils, using mirrors and information sheets showing different hair and eye colours, begin to categorise similarities and difference between themselves and others. They work very well together, measuring each other’s foot size, marking off the measurements using squared paper. Infant pupils follow a two-year programme of work so that those taught in mixed age classes cover the required syllabus. In the juniors, however, pupils are taught in year groups, with support staff assisting in Years 3 and 4 and two teachers for each year group in Years 5 and 6. This has greatly improved results as teaching is closely matched to the needs and attainment levels of the pupils. Pupils are given greater individual attention in these smaller groups and have the

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Pupils achieve well and attain above average standards at age eleven in English,

opportunity to discuss areas they find hard to understand. Science is made relevant and fun with a great deal of practical work. From an early age, pupils learn to record their results and to draw conclusions from them. By Year 6, higher attaining pupils consider variables which affect the rate at which sugar dissolves in water, deciding how to carry out a fair test, whilst lower attainers discover through experience what works and what does not.

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Pupils achieve well and attain above average standards at age eleven in English,

The quality of teaching throughout the school is good.

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Pupils achieve well and attain above average standards at age eleven in English,

7. The quality of teaching throughout the school is good. There is no unsatisfactory teaching and much of the teaching, particularly of older pupils, is very good and sometimes excellent. Teachers have very good subject knowledge and the quality of their teaching often reflects their individual subject expertise. A hallmark of the teaching in this school is the enthusiasm of subject specialists in English, mathematics and science. So pupils learn, for example, from teachers who are themselves fired by the beauty and power of words or who believe passionately in the vital importance of mathematics in daily life. Castle Hill Junior and Infant School - 11 8. The quality of teaching for children in the nursery and reception classes is good. Teachers establish good relationships with their pupils, expect them to be independent and set up activities to enable them to be so. In the nursery, for example, children select the next child to

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Pupils achieve well and attain above average standards at age eleven in English,

have a snack, taking the correct name card to give to the next person. The ratio of adults to children is fully exploited so that children receive a great deal of personal attention. The quality of questioning is good and in the reception classes children have opportunities to observe and to listen and to ask questions or speak about what they see and hear. When it is time to clear away, both adults and children join in and so no time is wasted. Teachers provide an interesting range of activities and the good quality resources such as large brushes and strong colours invite children to experiment with paint. Children have many opportunities to engage in imaginative play and confidently serve visiting adults with imaginary cake while another brings a knife to cut it.

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Pupils achieve well and attain above average standards at age eleven in English,

9. The teaching of infants is good. Teachers plan their lessons carefully, taking into account what pupils know and understand and what they need to learn next. Much of the work is practical and teachers of younger infants help them to maintain concentration by varying the pace of different activities. They use praise judiciously to help pupils to work hard and pupils respond well to the challenge to calculate at a faster pace, for example, in mental mathematics sessions. Teachers have quite high expectations of their pupils and expect them to complete and return homework. Pupils are encouraged to work with partners or in small groups, although some find this quite difficult at first. Teachers are very sensitive to pupils’ feelings and through their own example and encouragement demonstrate how to treat others with sensitivity and so learn how to work collaboratively and productively. Sometimes lessons do not end as well as they might

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Pupils achieve well and attain above average standards at age eleven in English,

and opportunities are lost to draw together what has been learnt. Resources are well prepared to enable pupils to work independently.

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Pupils achieve well and attain above average standards at age eleven in English,

10. The teaching of juniors is good and much of the teaching of older juniors in particular is very good or excellent. Pupils know exactly what is expected of them and no time is wasted. Teachers expect their pupils’ full attention and use ingenious methods to gain initial enthusiasm. The planning is meticulous and teachers clearly enjoy working together. In Year 6, for example, using wildly different sizes of cup, different temperatures of water and one spoonful of sugar, teachers expertly, and with some hilarity, introduced technical vocabulary to enable pupils to determine how temperature and agitation affect the rate at which solids dissolve. This captured the attention of 40 pupils without difficulty and led to an excellent rate of learning with very high expectations of pupils’ concentration. Teachers use questioning very well to help pupils to learn, adapting the pace to help those who learn more slowly to understand. What distinguishes

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Pupils achieve well and attain above average standards at age eleven in English,

the very good from the good questioning is increase in challenge: rather than simply consolidating pupils’ knowledge, each new question presents a different aspect to consider. Teachers use visual aids such as overhead projectors very well and pupils enjoy presenting their findings using this particular teaching aid. As a result, it is not uncommon to hear pupils say, ‘I really like this lesson’.

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Pupils’ personal development is very good: the school fosters pupils’ self-esteem and

11. The school aims to create a caring environment where everyone is valued, where differences are appreciated, where everyone can experience a sense of achievement and where pupils learn that rights involve responsibilities. These aims are evident throughout the school and particularly in the provision for pupils’ personal, social and moral development.

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Pupils’ personal development is very good: the school fosters pupils’ self-esteem and

12. The seemingly austere exterior belies the many ingenious spaces which have been created inside the school building to foster pupils’ independence and spirit of enquiry. The original central school hall has been divided into many useful areas, including libraries, with many small spaces for books, groups of pupils and play areas for younger children. Two mezzanines have been created to house the computer suite and an additional teaching space for pupils with special educational needs or specialist teaching groups. Teachers use these spaces really well, thus encouraging pupils to find out information or to work together in small groups responsibly.

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Pupils’ personal development is very good: the school fosters pupils’ self-esteem and

13. Each week begins with an assembly which celebrates achievement in pupils’ personal, social and moral development. During the previous week, the staff note down in ‘The Golden Book’ Castle Hill Junior and Infant School - 12 the names of pupils they have observed being particularly helpful or public spirited. Pupils are praised for courtesy and kindness, for helping others to read, for honestly bringing in money they had found and for assisting a teacher with ICT. Pupils have a very strong sense that their achievements in these areas are noticed and rewarded and the formality of the ceremony, when the headteacher shakes each by the hand, adds to the sense of occasion. Pupils notice that equal numbers of boys and girls are chosen and comment on how fair the selection is. In this assembly, periodically, the trophy for handwriting is awarded. Two pupils from each class are selected to hold up their work and this is used to illustrate the progress pupils make from year to

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Pupils’ personal development is very good: the school fosters pupils’ self-esteem and

year and to induce a sense of pride in neatness. There is strong competition between classes to win the trophy. By celebrating achievements in these areas, the school makes explicit the values it wishes the pupils to have and the ensuing prayer and pause for reflection reinforce these.

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Pupils’ personal development is very good: the school fosters pupils’ self-esteem and

14. Pupils are expected to act responsibly and to assist with the work of the school. Nursery children pour their own drinks and organise their mid-morning or afternoon snacks. Pupils staff the office telephone at lunchtimes. Many pupils have jobs to carry out around the school and the result is to make them thoughtful about the needs of others and often they ask if there is anything that needs doing. Through the elected school council, pupils discuss their views in the frequent meetings and make recommendations. Pupils take minutes and these are distributed and talked about at the start of each meeting. Pupils are very much involved and given every opportunity to join in the discussions. Older pupils listen very carefully to younger ones. The school council is an effective organisation; for example, it established the way lunchtime meals are run and decided on the startling combination of colours in the school cloakrooms.

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Pupils’ personal development is very good: the school fosters pupils’ self-esteem and

15. Pupils are expected to work together and on their own or in groups without direct adult supervision. Many resources are stored so they are accessible to pupils and pupils are expected to use dictionaries and other reference materials as a matter of course. They learn therefore to behave very well and to take responsibility for their own learning. This helps to make standards high and contributes to the large percentage of pupils who attain higher than average standards because of their independence and resourcefulness. Pupils are very friendly, ask lots of questions in class and are keen to have a go.

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Pupils’ personal development is very good: the school fosters pupils’ self-esteem and

Provision for special educational needs is excellent.

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Pupils’ personal development is very good: the school fosters pupils’ self-esteem and

16. The school makes excellent provision for special educational needs. The co-ordinator is highly experienced and efficient and ensures that all staff are aware of the need to identify pupils who may have special needs. As a result, pupils’ needs are identified early and their parents are involved at the very beginning. Separate records are kept for those with medical needs, although some pupils may also be on the special needs register. Records are kept meticulously and the individual education plans, written by the co-ordinator, are of a similarly high quality. One copy is sent home, one stays in the teacher’s class file which always stays in school, another in the teacher’s planning file so it can be consulted when lessons are planned and one in the co-ordinator’s file. This ensures that records can be accessed and cross-referenced easily as and when required. Pupils’ progress is measured through the individual education

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Pupils’ personal development is very good: the school fosters pupils’ self-esteem and

plans and notes kept on what they have achieved. There are criteria for success and external support available to help pupils to meet their targets.

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Pupils’ personal development is very good: the school fosters pupils’ self-esteem and

17. The quality of assistance pupils with special educational needs receive is very good indeed. Teachers are required to review their class list at the beginning of each term to check whether the special needs identification and provision are accurate and up-to-date. Support staff and teachers are well trained so that they are aware, for example, of what to look out for in children’s development. Current developments include looking at pupils in the foundation stage, to identify those who find it hard to play or who do not thrive in a large group. Some support assistants have recently been trained to help children with their writing in the final term of the foundation stage so that pupils who find this difficult do not struggle for too long. This creative approach stems from the co-ordinator’s keen interest in the factors which prevent children from learning as well as they could. Within class, support assistants work extremely well with pupils with

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Pupils’ personal development is very good: the school fosters pupils’ self-esteem and

special educational needs. In the older juniors, the organisation of teaching and learning ensures that those with special educational needs do not miss out. In science in Year 6, for example, pupils did exactly the same work as others but with opportunities to explore the Castle Hill Junior and Infant School - 13 measurement of temperature and to pour water into different containers. They worked together co-operatively and such was the excellent quality of teaching that pupils clearly understood why something went wrong. They were able to explain this very simply to a partner and organise an instant improvement as they realised that if you change the temperature of the water it invalidates the number of stirs. Their learning, therefore, was as good as that of others. The excellent provision for special educational needs is a key reason why standards are high at this school.

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Pupils’ personal development is very good: the school fosters pupils’ self-esteem and

The emphasis given to ICT contributes well to high standards.

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Pupils’ personal development is very good: the school fosters pupils’ self-esteem and

18. At the time of the last inspection, standards in ICT were below average. They are now similar to standards expected of pupils at the ages of seven and eleven. The school has acted fully on all the recommendations made in the last report to the extent that the strong emphasis given to ICT is now a distinctive feature of the school. Parents agree that this area is one of major improvement and appreciated the ICT course the school put on specially for parents.

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Pupils’ personal development is very good: the school fosters pupils’ self-esteem and

19. The school is now well resourced and the computer suite is very well designed to accommodate large classes in a small space. The system has been very well thought out and the ‘server’ is linked to the computers in the classroom so work can be continued there. This helps to encourage independence and ensures that all equipment is used. The co-ordinator is very knowledgeable and now has the experience to do his job very well. Records of pupils’ work in ICT are saved and the co-ordinator can check very easily what work each pupil has covered. All teachers have received training. All classes are timetabled to use the suite each week for a lesson in skills which they can then practise on the computers in the classroom. As a result of training, teachers now see ICT as a very useful tool and are excited by the possibilities it opens up for teaching and learning. For example, the assessment co-ordinator is currently exploring

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Pupils’ personal development is very good: the school fosters pupils’ self-esteem and

ways to update the assessment records using ICT.

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Pupils’ personal development is very good: the school fosters pupils’ self-esteem and

20. From the quality of teaching and leadership in this subject it is quite clear that while the school wants pupils to acquire the skills in ICT it is much more concerned that pupils understand its value and are able to make choices in their use of it. Work, therefore, in mathematics and science is often closely linked; for example, as pupils scan a printed spreadsheet to find the decimal number closest to zero, they practise their ICT skills, referring to the ‘cell’ where it is to be found correctly identifying their letter name first.

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Pupils’ personal development is very good: the school fosters pupils’ self-esteem and

The leadership and management are very good.

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Pupils’ personal development is very good: the school fosters pupils’ self-esteem and

21. The leadership and management of the school are very good. The headteacher, staff and governing body work together very well indeed as a team. The school runs smoothly, expects high standards of behaviour and encourages pupils to work hard and play well together. All improvements are linked very firmly to improving pupils’ achievement, both academic and personal. Financial management is very good and money is spent wisely to ensure that pupils receive the best value educationally. The atmosphere of the school is quite distinctive and the warmth and humanity of its leadership is instantly evident.

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Pupils’ personal development is very good: the school fosters pupils’ self-esteem and

22. The headteacher monitors the work of the school stringently, both informally and formally. He supervises reading sessions before and during school in the hall, and spends as much time as he can with the pupils at lunchtime who are always eager for him to join their play. He visits classes regularly and consequently really knows each pupil well. Formally, the headteacher monitors lessons and evaluates performance, providing teachers with a written commentary on the quality of their teaching based on strengths and points for improvement. The senior management team ably undertakes the management of the school and systems are in place which mean that the curriculum and its link to assessment are very well organised.

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Pupils’ personal development is very good: the school fosters pupils’ self-esteem and

23. The governing body is very well organised, has received excellent training and makes a very good contribution to setting appropriate priorities and targets which are reflected in the school improvement plan. This identifies actions to be taken, reviews progress and indicates the extent to which the school has improved over the past four years. The governing body is organised into relevant sub-committees which meet regularly and provide full reports for the governors’ meetings. In addition, governors monitor the work of the school by visiting the class to which Castle Hill Junior and Infant School - 14 they are attached. They are fully involved in reviewing the standards achieved in national tests and laughingly described how they were asked to attempt some of the Key Stage 2 mathematics papers. The school is very well managed through its weekly meetings between the headteacher and chair and vice-chair of governors, weekly staff meetings, frequent meetings

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Pupils’ personal development is very good: the school fosters pupils’ self-esteem and

between the headteacher and deputy and fortnightly meetings with the senior management team. The headteacher delegates very well to staff and expects regular evaluative reports.

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Pupils’ personal development is very good: the school fosters pupils’ self-esteem and

24. Although all subjects have been assigned a subject co-ordinator and this role has been clarified since the last inspection, there are areas for improvement in order to make their leadership and management more effective.

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WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED

The co-ordinators’ overview of their subjects.

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WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED

25. The extent to which co-ordinators monitor teaching and pupils’ learning in their subject varies quite widely. In some subjects teachers work and plan closely together and so glean what standards are like in other classes. Although there is a rigorous form of monitoring teaching by the headteacher, the information from this is not shared or used to improve the overall teaching and learning in different subjects. While some co-ordinators analyse the national tests to ascertain what pupils have learnt or need to learn, this is not done consistently. Therefore some co-ordinators have a better overview of their subject than others who rely on the assessment co- ordinator to provide the relevant information. Most co-ordinators look at the half-termly plans but rarely look at the quality of pupils’ work across the school. Sometimes a specific exercise such as writing about harvest is done as a whole school activity and this is used well to monitor

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WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED

standards generally across the whole school. Co-ordinators have few opportunities to see each other teach or to work alongside each other or formally observe teaching in their subjects. As a result, opportunities are being missed to spread good practice throughout the school and to share innovative teaching methods.

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The displays celebrating pupils’ achievements in the entrance and public areas of the

26. The quality of displays at the entrance to the school and in public areas does not fully reflect the quality of work in school and the very good practice to raise pupils’ self-esteem. Some notices are out of date by almost two years and year old digital photographs look very faded. The school council minutes and photographs of members are inaccessible to smaller pupils and The Golden Book’s presentation does not do justice to its extremely good contents. Sporting achievement is celebrated well and ‘Thoughts for the Day’ such as ‘Be a good friend’ or ‘Do your best’ are eye-catching.

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

In order to improve further the headteacher and governors should:

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(1) ensure that co-ordinators have a better overview of their subjects (paragraph 25);

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(2) update and improve the quality of displays celebrating pupils’ achievements in public areas of the school (paragraph 26). Castle Hill Junior and Infant School - 15

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Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

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

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Poor Very Poor

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Percentage 14 27 45 14 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.

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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) 19 265

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 37 FTE means full-time equivalent.

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Information about the school’s pupils

Special educational needs Nursery YR – Y6

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 0 4

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 2 66

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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 0

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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 4

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 8

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Attendance

National comparative data 5.2 National comparative data 0.5 Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. Castle Hill Junior and Infant School - 16

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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 2000 21 10 31

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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 18 17 20 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 9 9 10

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

Percentage of pupils School 87(97) 84(100) 97(100) at NC level 2 or above National 84(82) 84(83) 90(87)

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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 18 19 20 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 9 10 10

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

Percentage of pupils School 87(97) 94(100) 97(100) at NC level 2 or above National 84(82) 88(86) 88(87)

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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 2000 19 15 34

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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 17 18 19 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 14 9 13

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

Percentage of pupils School 91(81) 79(76) 97(81) at NC level 4 or above National 75(70) 72(69) 85(78)

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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 15 18 17 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 12 10 12

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

Percentage of pupils School 79(64) 82(71) 85(76) at NC level 4 or above National 70(68) 72(69) 79(75) Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year. Castle Hill Junior and Infant School - 17

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – Caribbean heritage 0 Black – Caribbean heritage 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – African heritage 0 Black – African heritage 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Any other minority ethnic group 0 Other minority ethnic groups 0 0 This table refers to pupils of compulsory school age only. This table gives the number of exclusions of pupils of compulsory school age, which may be different from the number of pupils excluded.

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 12 Financial year 2000/01

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 24.4

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: YR – Y6 Total income 526228

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 10 Total expenditure 533293

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 191 Expenditure per pupil 2020

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Qualified teachers and support staff: nursery Balance brought forward from previous year 32509

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 1 Balance carried forward to next year 25444

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 19

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 1

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 32.5

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per FTE adult 10 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 2

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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. Castle Hill Junior and Infant School - 18

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Percentage of responses in each category

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

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Percentage of responses in each category

My child is making good progress in school. 68 29 3 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

Behaviour in the school is good. 56 40 2 0 3

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Percentage of responses in each category

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 38 41 13 2 1

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Percentage of responses in each category

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 50 38 10 1 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 86 13 2 0 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. 77 22 0 2 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school works closely with parents. 52 41 6 0 1

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is well led and managed. 61 32 4 1 1

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 55 41 1 0 3

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 20 43 24 4 5

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