The Sele First School

THE SELE FIRST SCHOOL

The Sele, Hexham, Northumberland. NE46 3QZ

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THE SELE FIRST SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 8 th to 11 th October 2001

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THE SELE FIRST 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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THE SELE FIRST 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. The Sele First School - 3

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: The Sele, Hexham, Northumberland.

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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: Dr. Andrew Hall

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: 2 nd July 1997 The Sele First School - 4

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Team members

22522 Mrs. M. Warburton Registered inspector 11368 Mrs. K. Lee Lay inspector 1576 Mr. G.W. Stephenson Team inspector 31622 Mrs. L. Richardson 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 The Sele First School - 5

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 6

Information about the school 6 How good the school is 6 What the school does well 6 What could be improved 6 How the school has improved since its last inspection 7 Standards 7 Pupils’ attitudes and values 7 Teaching and learning 8 Other aspects of the school 8 How well the school is led and managed 9 Parents’ and carers’ views of the school 9

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

The Sele First School is a large school serving the market town of Hexham in Northumberland. There are 377 full-time pupils on roll and 78 part-time pupils who attend the nursery. Pupils’ attainment on entry to the school is above average overall, although for a significant minority it is below average as judged by the local education authority’s baseline assessment scheme. The percentage of pupils with special educational needs (SEN) is well below average and the percentage with a statement of SEN is below average. There are currently no pupils for whom English is an additional language. The percentage of pupils entitled to free school meals is below the national average.

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

The school was one of the first to be awarded Beacon Status in 1998, and has held the Basic Skills Agency Quality Mark since 1998. The school has received two Education Extra Awards for the provision of extra-curricular activities and received a DfEE Excellence Award in May 2001.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

This is a very good school with some outstanding features. High quality provision in all aspects of its work, excellent leadership and very good teaching, ensure that children make good progress and attain very high standards in their work and personal development. The school is committed to continuous improvement and has a clear understanding of its own strengths and priorities for development.

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What the school does well

• Achieves very high standards in the national tests at the age of seven and by the time children leave the school. • Teaching is very good overall. • Achieves particularly high standards in art and religious education (RE). • Provides a high quality, enriched curriculum which meets the needs of all pupils and ensures that personal, spiritual, moral, social and cultural development are a high priority. • The head teacher, working in close partnership with the senior staff and the governing body, provides excellent leadership, which ensures that the school is continually improving. • Involves parents fully in the life of the school and provides them with excellent information about their children’s progress and the curriculum. • Ensures that pupils who have SEN receive very effective support that enables them to make good progress.

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What could be improved

In order to make this very good school even better, the following area could be improved: • The very good recent developments in information and communication technology (ICT) need to be embedded and further opportunities to use ICT across the curriculum should be identified. The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan.

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What could be improved

The school has strengths in all aspects of its provision and has clearly identified areas for further improvement, which include a continuing focus on the development of ICT. The Sele First School - 7

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

The school received a very positive inspection report in 1997. Since then improvement has continued to be very good. Provision for RE, a key issue in the previous report, is now very good. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, another issue previously, is now firmly embedded into the curriculum. Standards in art are now exceptionally high. Assessment procedures are now excellent and include precise target setting for individual pupils and excellent marking of pupils’ work to give feedback on what they have done well and how they can improve. Teaching has improved since the last inspection. There is now no unsatisfactory teaching and the percentage of very good and excellent teaching has increased.

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STANDARDS

The table shows the standards achieved by pupils at the end of Year 4 based on average point scores in National Curriculum tests.

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Key

Reading A A A* A well above average above average A B Writing A A A A average below average C D Mathematics A A* A* A* well below average E

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Key

Since the previous inspection standards have remained consistently high in reading, writing and mathematics in the national tests. This is confirmed by the school’s own assessment procedures and the standards that pupils achieve in the tests for 11 year olds which they take when they are at middle school.

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Key

Standards in art are exceptionally high and pupils’ writing, especially in Year 1 and Year 4, is excellent.

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Aspect Comment

Attitudes to the school Good. Most pupils show high levels of enthusiasm and interest in their lessons that make a considerable contribution to the good progress they make.

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Aspect Comment

Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Good. Most pupils behave well in lessons and around the school.

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Aspect Comment

Personal development and relationships Very good and are a strength of the school. Older pupils show a mature attitude to their life in school. Relationships with all staff and with each other are very good.

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Aspect Comment

Attendance Very good. Well above the national average, which supports the strong views of parents in the questionnaire that their children like school.

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Aspect Comment

The very good ethos of care and the attention given to pupils’ needs and protection enable them to feel confident and valued and promote their personal development very well. The Sele First School - 8

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Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 4

Quality of teaching Very good 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 – 4

Teaching is very good overall. Teachers use the very good assessment processes and knowledge of pupils to provide very well planned and focused lessons that engage pupils in their learning. They provide very high quality feedback in lessons and particularly in marking, which helps pupils improve.

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Aspect Comment

The quality and range of the curriculum Very good. The school provides a broad, balanced curriculum with an appropriate emphasis on developing the basic skills in literacy and numeracy. The curriculum is enriched by very good provision for sport, science and technology and the arts and the range of extra- curricular activities provided is very good.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils with special educational needs The very good level of high quality classroom support helps pupils make good progress. Comprehensive, well managed systems are used effectively and ensure that teaching and support meet pupils’ needs and that parents receive very good information.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Very good. Pupils’ personal development is a high priority in the school. Strong moral values underpin the curriculum and opportunities for spiritual, social and cultural development are used well throughout the school.

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Aspect Comment

How well the school cares for its pupils The school has a very good ethos and provides care and attention to pupils’ personal development. This leads to pupils feeling confident and valued.

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Aspect Comment

The school has a very good partnership with parents, taking many opportunities to involve them in the school’s work and in their children’s learning. It provides them with an excellent range of information that keeps them very well informed about the curriculum and school activities. Annual reports give parents a very clear assessment of their children’s progress in their learning and in their personal development.

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Aspect Comment

The rich curriculum offered by the school is a strength. All areas of the curriculum meet statutory requirements, although there is scope for better use of ICT in other subjects. Excellent use is made of the local community that supports the school very well. The Sele First School - 9

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Aspect Comment

Leadership and management by the head teacher and other key staff The head teacher provides excellent leadership through the clear direction she sets for the school. She is very well supported by the deputy head teacher and senior management team who, together with all staff, are fully committed to providing the highest possible standard of education for pupils.

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Aspect Comment

How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities The governing body is exceptionally effective in carrying out the full range of management responsibilities. Governors are very well informed of the school's strengths and priorities through their direct involvement in the monitoring and evaluation procedures.

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Aspect Comment

The school’s evaluation of its performance The school’s monitoring and evaluation procedures are very comprehensive and rigorous. Excellent use is made of the wide range of data available to plan future developments and to target resources efficiently.

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Aspect Comment

The strategic use of resources The school budget is managed extremely well to ensure that high standards are maintained throughout. Very good use is made of opportunities to increase funding through additional sources.

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Aspect Comment

The leadership provided by the head teacher is a real strength and a key factor in the school’s success. The effectiveness of the governing body is a further outstanding feature, ensuring that all areas of school life are rigorously evaluated. The school is careful to apply the principles of best value and provides very good value for money.

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see improved

• Their children like school. • Their children make good progress. • The teaching is good. • The school expects children to achieve their best. • The school is well led and managed. • The school helps children become responsible and mature.

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see improved

The inspection team fully agrees with the very positive views of the school expressed by most parents. A small minority of parents expressed concern about provision for pupils with SEN but the inspection team found this provision to be very good, enabling pupils to make good progress. The Sele First School - 10

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Achieves very high standards in the national tests at the age of seven and by the time

1. Over the past three years the school has achieved very high standards in the national tests in reading, writing and mathematics. When compared with the national average, standards in reading and mathematics were in the top 5% nationally in 2000. When compared with similar schools, standards in 2000 were very high and in the top 5% in mathematics. Both girls and boys exceed the national average for their age group. The percentage of pupils achieving the higher levels, Level 3 and above, is also well above the national average in reading and writing and in the top 5% in mathematics and in science as judged by teacher assessment.

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Achieves very high standards in the national tests at the age of seven and by the time

2. The school’s own records show that pupils make good progress throughout their time at the Sele. By the time they leave at the age of nine many are working at levels well above expectation for age. This was confirmed during the inspection by the samples of pupils’ work seen and by the standards achieved in some of the lessons. In English, for example, Year 1 pupils were able to write poems based on the theme of “old friends”, using a writing frame and choosing interesting adjectives to describe their favourite toys. By the end of Year 2 they can write creatively and descriptively, for example when writing about making a sandwich they record, “get the brownest, crustiest bread” and “add green, grassiest, bushiest lettuce”. By the age of nine many pupils can write extensively at a level well beyond expectation for age. In an account of Altogether Active Week, one pupil wrote, “As we bounded onto the pitch a

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Achieves very high standards in the national tests at the age of seven and by the time

loud, booming voice greeted us”. Pupils also wrote some very moving, creative poems about the Angel of the North, which included the lines, “From his concrete bed like a spirit from God”, and, “Peering down on the small children sliding on her feet”.

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Achieves very high standards in the national tests at the age of seven and by the time

3. Although standards observed in mathematics lessons were around expectation for age, scrutiny of pupils’ work and test results indicate that standards are much higher than this. By the end of Year 4 many pupils can measure perimeter and calculate area. They can work with decimals to two places and use multiplication tables to solve problems. By the end of Year 2 pupils can use their numeracy skills to solve problems, some with three-digit numbers. They can use number lines and know how to use a range of measures and how to present information on simple graphs and charts. In science, the scrutiny of pupils’ work showed that by the end of Year 2 they could explain how circuits work, describe the life-cycle of a frog, classify creatures and describe suitability of habitats. They could draw conclusions from experiments and investigations. By the end of Year 4 the majority of pupils attain standards

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Achieves very high standards in the national tests at the age of seven and by the time

beyond expectation for age. They can carry out investigations and formulate hypotheses, record results of experiments using a range of tables and charts, have knowledge of insulators, conductors, circuits and light and a detailed understanding of issues relating to a healthy lifestyle, linking to health promotion throughout the school. Standards in science are greatly enhanced by the school’s annual two-week focus on science, engineering and technology, when pupils can use their previously acquired knowledge and understanding in activities such as investigating waterproof materials to make boats in the reception class, and designing a security system to protect a diamond using an electrical circuit and a switch in Year 4. The Sele First School - 11

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governing body, provides excellent leadership, which ensures that the school

4. Very strong leadership is provided by the head teacher who is very well supported by the deputy head teacher and senior management team. She provides very clear direction for the school with appropriate inclusion of national, local and school priorities. She delegates appropriate responsibilities to the deputy head teacher, subject leaders and co-ordinators. There is exceptional support and contribution from the governing body, and from other useful people, e.g. artists-in-residence. Members of the governing body have a wide range of skills and expertise that are used very effectively, having a very positive impact on the school across the full range of governing body activities. Several governors are directly involved with the pupils and contribute to their learning first hand, for example one governor is an artist and supports this area of the curriculum in school, and several governors are volunteer

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governing body, provides excellent leadership, which ensures that the school

helpers. Others have expertise that is used to support strategic planning, particularly in connection with budget management. The vast majority of governors have first- hand knowledge of the strengths and priorities of the school through their involvement in the school’s monitoring and evaluation processes.

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governing body, provides excellent leadership, which ensures that the school

5. Subject leaders and aspect co-ordinators make very good arrangements to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the school’s work. Good examples of this are in assessment and the work of pupils with SEN. Detailed analysis of assessment data is carried out and the identification of strengths and weaknesses informs the planning of actions needed to improve further. Subject leaders and aspect co-ordinators have a very clearly defined role and very good amounts of time are planned in to enable them to carry out their responsibilities. Time is also planned for discussion of monitoring outcomes at whole-staff level, consequently all staff are very clear about the school’s priorities and have a good understanding of, and a shared commitment to, the way forward.

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governing body, provides excellent leadership, which ensures that the school

6. The programme for monitoring and evaluating the quality of teaching is very thorough and systematic. The head teacher takes the lead and ensures that strong links between this programme and the school's systems for performance management and appraisal are maintained. Through training for performance management and development sessions in the Beacon Schools’ Partnership and the local schools’ partnership, the head teacher and teaching staff have developed a shared understanding of what constitutes good teaching and continually work at improving standards. Areas for development are discussed at whole-school level, such as the work done to improve the management of pupils’ behaviour through the introduction of consistent, positive behaviour management strategies and approaches and with individual teachers as part of the planned monitoring programme. The head teacher has rightly identified a continuing focus on behaviour management to ensure that the

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governing body, provides excellent leadership, which ensures that the school

school’s approach is being consistently implemented. Core subject leaders and performance management team leaders have a clearly defined role in the monitoring programme.

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governing body, provides excellent leadership, which ensures that the school

7. Organisation of teachers into year groups and key stage teaching teams is effective in supporting less experienced teachers. They plan together, share good practice and work together to improve practice. Systems for the induction of new staff, particularly newly qualified teachers, are comprehensive and requirements are more than met. The Sele First School - 12 8. The school makes excellent use of the funds available, including standards fund, through very careful financial management. The head teacher and governing body make very good use of opportunities to increase the funding available through bids to funding sources that support school priorities, e.g. grounds development project, Education Extra for out-of-school hours activities, the PTA and individual projects for the arts, e.g. learners concert. The school buildings, despite their age, unusual layout and small size of rooms, are extremely well maintained and decoration and

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governing body, provides excellent leadership, which ensures that the school

cleanliness are of a very high standard. The buildings are used creatively and imaginatively providing a very good learning environment for pupils.

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governing body, provides excellent leadership, which ensures that the school

9. The school is efficiently managed, day-to-day administration is smooth and systems are very effective and unobtrusive. ICT is used very effectively to support management systems and to support monitoring and evaluation of strengths and weaknesses as part of data analysis mechanisms.

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governing body, provides excellent leadership, which ensures that the school

10. The number, qualifications and expertise of teachers and support staff match the demands of the curriculum. Several subject leaders have specific qualifications and expertise in the areas they lead and this has had a very significant impact on standards in those areas, e.g. RE, art and English. Throughout the school, pupils with SEN are well supported by additional classroom assistants enabling them to make good progress.

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ensures that personal, spiritual, moral, social and cultural development are a high

11. The curriculum provided at The Sele is a strength of the school. Good use is made of the national strategies to deliver basic skills in literacy and numeracy. In a Year 3 literacy lesson for example, the teacher used an overhead projector to deliver the shared text part of the lesson and this was effective in ensuring that pupils understood the differences in layout between fiction and non-fiction books. In numeracy lessons the pace of the mental/oral session is often brisk, enabling pupils to make good progress in their number skills.

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ensures that personal, spiritual, moral, social and cultural development are a high

12. The curriculum is broad and balanced and meets statutory requirements. Provision for pupils who have SEN is very good, with detailed programmes of work provided for pupils who have individual education plans (IEPs). There are very good arrangements for ensuring that all pupils have full access to a broad, balanced curriculum, whilst at the same time placing an appropriate emphasis on helping pupils to improve their acquisition and use of basic skills.

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ensures that personal, spiritual, moral, social and cultural development are a high

13. The use of literacy and numeracy skills across the curriculum is very good. Science and technology projects frequently provide opportunities for measuring and handling data, and a Year 1 task to design and make a book with moving parts included the use of 3-dimensional shapes to construct their models. Year 4 pupils were able to use their creative writing skills in an arts-based project on The Angel of the North. The use of ICT skills across the curriculum is less secure and has been recognised by the school as one of the next steps in the development of ICT. The Sele First School - 13 14. Through the organisation of special project weeks the school provides excellent curriculum enrichment. One such project, “Altogether Active”, enhances provision for sport, PE and healthy living and provides pupils with many opportunities to experience different ways of keeping fit. The annual science, engineering and

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ensures that personal, spiritual, moral, social and cultural development are a high

technology focus provides pupils with excellent opportunities to use a range of skills in specific tasks such as designing buggies and pulley systems to lift objects. During the week of the inspection a Year 4 arts project involved local artists coming into school and sharing their experiences and ideas with pupils thus improving their skills and knowledge. The school makes excellent use of parents, outside agencies and the local community and business in these special projects and this makes a very effective contribution to the breadth of learning.

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ensures that personal, spiritual, moral, social and cultural development are a high

15. There is very good provision for pupils’ personal development. Strong moral values underpin the curriculum and are reinforced through codes of behaviour and the good role-models provided by staff. There are many opportunities for social development, both in classes and around the school, for example the “playground pals” system encourages older and younger pupils to play together. Pupils are encouraged to work together, for example in a Year 4 RE lesson when pupils working in groups of three were asked to agree on priorities for refugees. There is very good provision for cultural development. Pupils have opportunities to learn about other cultures in RE and geography. A recent project on Africa enabled pupils to develop a good understanding of a culture very different to their own. Local culture is also celebrated through events such as maypole dancing and the project “My North East”. The Angel

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ensures that personal, spiritual, moral, social and cultural development are a high

of the North project provided very good opportunities for spiritual development shown in the high quality, reflective poetry written by Year 4 pupils.

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ensures that personal, spiritual, moral, social and cultural development are a high

16. Provision for personal development is a high priority for the school. Citizenship is within the weekly timetable at Key Stage 2, and across the school philosophy for children has recently been introduced, enabling pupils to begin to develop skills and thinking needed for philosophical enquiry.

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ensures that personal, spiritual, moral, social and cultural development are a high

17. The school provides a very good range of extra-curricular activities, particularly for pupils in Key Stage 2. Throughout the school displays of high quality photographs demonstrate a commitment to providing a greatly enhanced curriculum that enables pupils to broaden their experiences and use their skills in a wide range of contexts.

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Ensures that pupils who have special educational needs receive very effective

support that enables them to make good progress.

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Ensures that pupils who have special educational needs receive very effective

18. The school goes beyond requirements for pupils with SEN. All pupils on the SEN register have IEPs including those at Stage 1.

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Ensures that pupils who have special educational needs receive very effective

19. IEPs underpin the quality of the package of support provided. Clear and precise short-term targets are set out and how these are to be achieved is detailed in the programme of work that also includes information about how parents can help at home. This provides very clear guidance for class teachers, class assistants and parents. Class teachers base planning for pupils with SEN on the programme of work.

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Ensures that pupils who have special educational needs receive very effective

20. There are assessment systems in place, which include teacher assessments and standardised tests. These ensure that support is appropriately targeted and well focused. The amount of time and staff to support pupils are good and pupils have The Sele First School - 14 good support in small groups to improve their basic skills. This ensures that they make good progress. The Sele First School - 15 21. There are very good links with outside agencies that enable the school to make good assessments of pupils’ specific needs. These links have also been used effectively to increase staff expertise through training so that a wide range of strategies can be called upon to help pupils.

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Ensures that pupils who have special educational needs receive very effective

22. The information for parents is very good. They receive a copy of the updated IEP termly with a letter detailing the progress their child has made in target areas, what the new targets are, and an invitation to meet with the special educational needs co- ordinator (SENCO) to discuss the information.

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Ensures that pupils who have special educational needs receive very effective

23. The provision is very well managed by the SENCO, who uses her management time very effectively to meet with parents, provide support for staff, liaise with outside agencies and maintain the very thorough record keeping system.

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Ensures that pupils who have special educational needs receive very effective

Achieves particularly high standards in art and religious education.

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Ensures that pupils who have special educational needs receive very effective

24. By Year 4 standards in art are excellent. From Year 1 onwards, good development of art skills through sketchbooks can be seen from year to year. Pupils in the nursery explore and use a range of materials, their painting skills are at around expectation for age, and their drawings of faces are above expectation, showing good detail and proportion. In reception pupils continue to focus on detail and take care in their art work. By Year 2 pupils’ observational drawings, for example of objects relating to a visit to the Beamish Museum, show that they have a good understanding of proportion and size and can use shading and lines to highlight detail. Pupils in reception and Key Stage 1 have worked with artists-in-residence, using different techniques to produce designs for a millennium mural and stained glass windows, which are now high quality pieces of art within the school.

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Ensures that pupils who have special educational needs receive very effective

25. In Key Stage 2 excellent standards are evident in a wide range of art work. Pupils in Year 3 have used viewfinders to provide a focus for landscape work, developing their colour mixing and sketching techniques. Work in Year 4 associated with the artists- in-residence project “Church Outing” includes clay tablets in the style of gravestones and the use of inks, paints, coloured pencils and textiles. This excellent project was very well planned, expectations were high and pupils responded with high levels of interest and enthusiasm resulting in some exceptional drawings, paintings and collages.

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Ensures that pupils who have special educational needs receive very effective

26. An art club organised by the co-ordinator also has a significant impact on the standards achieved. Excellent work produced includes figure and form sketching demonstrating very high quality observation, screen prints, reclining clay figures, ivy leaf studies using pastels and clay masks and dragons.

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Ensures that pupils who have special educational needs receive very effective

27. Since the last inspection provision for RE has improved significantly and is now very good with some very high standards achieved. Pupils have a good understanding of major world faiths including Christianity and the link between this and moral issues is strong.

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Ensures that pupils who have special educational needs receive very effective

28. In a Year 3 lesson pupils gained a sound understanding of the life of Martin Luther- King and his beliefs. They were able to discuss issues of fairness and race and relate these to the actions of Luther-King. The Sele First School - 16 29. Very high standards were observed in a Year 4 lesson on human rights. Pupils had a good understanding of the flight into Egypt of Joseph and Mary, and were able to relate this to current world events. Discussion about the issues affecting refugees and their needs and priorities was well beyond expectation for age, because of the high expectations, clear explanations and sensitivity of the teacher.

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Involves parents fully in the life of the school and provides them with excellent

information about their children’s progress and the curriculum.

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Involves parents fully in the life of the school and provides them with excellent

30. The school has a very good partnership with parents, taking many opportunities to involve them in the school’s work and in their children’s learning. The vast majority of parents value the school’s open-door policy and feel comfortable about approaching the staff with any concerns or ideas. Parents are encouraged to help in classrooms and at school events such as visits, “Altogether Active” week and concert productions. The school has a thriving parent-teacher association that is very successful in raising funds for additional resources such as computers.

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Involves parents fully in the life of the school and provides them with excellent

31. The school provides an excellent range of information for parents. This includes a useful nursery booklet, a home-school agreement, a detailed prospectus, regular newsletters and a very well written and informative governors’ annual report. There is very good guidance for parent helpers in the staff handbook and good information on the curriculum is included.

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Involves parents fully in the life of the school and provides them with excellent

32. Questionnaires to parents are used regularly to gather views and opinions and parents are happy that the results of these are acted upon. A recent survey on opportunities for information about their children’s progress showed that parents were very satisfied with provision.

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Involves parents fully in the life of the school and provides them with excellent

33. Annual reports to parents are very well written and detailed, giving clear information about pupils’ academic and personal progress. Targets for each child are given and there are excellent opportunities for pupils’ self-assessment through writing about “my school year”. They include very good statements on personal development, key achievements such as “gold medal winner in reading challenge” are identified and areas for future development are included, for example “to listen more carefully” or “to continue to practise mental mathematics”.

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Involves parents fully in the life of the school and provides them with excellent

34. Parents are invited formally to discuss their children’s progress with their teachers three times each year and there are many other opportunities to gain information about the school and the curriculum through meetings on subjects such as assessment, mathematics and the curriculum.

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Involves parents fully in the life of the school and provides them with excellent

35. Helpful guidance is provided on homework and parents are clear about what they can do to help, through the provision of “home packs” and good, regular communication.

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Involves parents fully in the life of the school and provides them with excellent

36. Teaching is very good in the foundation stage and in Key Stage 2 and is good in Key Stage 1. Since the last inspection the percentage of very good and excellent lessons has increased from 25% to 43% and there are now no unsatisfactory lessons. The Sele First School - 17 37. Teachers’ planning is very thorough with clear learning objectives that are shared with pupils in order to focus learning effectively and make expectations clear. This was the case in a Year 4 geography lesson where the use of photographs as a secondary source of evidence, when comparing Nairobi and Newcastle, was clearly explained to pupils. At the end of most lessons teachers re-visit the learning objectives with the class to establish how successful they have been in achieving their targets.

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Involves parents fully in the life of the school and provides them with excellent

38. Very good use of assessment and marking to give very high quality feedback to help pupils improve their work and move the learning on is another feature of the very good teaching. Teachers clearly relate this marking to the learning objective so that it is clear to pupils what they have achieved and what their next target is.

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Involves parents fully in the life of the school and provides them with excellent

39. Good use is made of opportunities to reinforce and extend learning, as in the reinforcement of language development in the nursery and the questioning to check recall of aspects of a book in the reception year. Very good teacher knowledge leads to clear explanations and demonstrations. In an excellent Year 4 art lesson the teacher gave very clear explanations and demonstrations of key techniques to be used when producing work for the “Church Outing” project.

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Involves parents fully in the life of the school and provides them with excellent

40. Teachers give good support to different ability groups within the class and to pupils who have SEN. In a Year 3 English lesson the teacher worked effectively with a lower ability group on a guided reading activity based on a non-fiction book. Very good use is made of classroom assistants, learning support assistants, other professionals and volunteers to promote good pupil progress. Additional literacy support is used well to support small groups and individuals.

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Involves parents fully in the life of the school and provides them with excellent

41. There are often very good levels of challenge presented through questions and activities that challenge pupils’ thinking. Year 3 pupils were asked to think about their responses to the statement “children with fair hair will not be allowed toys at playtime”, and pupils in Year 1 were challenged to find as many words as possible ending with “ug”. Occasionally, however, some questions are closed and do not provide opportunities for pupils to express themselves fully.

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Involves parents fully in the life of the school and provides them with excellent

42. Good use is made of praise to encourage and motivate pupils and this makes a significant contribution to the very good relationships between teachers and pupils. Teachers listen carefully to pupils and value their contributions. In a reception class lesson focusing on personal and social development, the teacher knew all pupils and their individual needs very well and took care to promote the confidence of those who were shy. Very occasionally the attitudes of a few pupils in some classes lapse when the work does not motivate them or the teacher does not manage them well.

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Involves parents fully in the life of the school and provides them with excellent

43. Teachers make very good use of homework to practise and master basic skills. The “reading challenge” encourages pupils to read more at home and pupils are often set tasks in mathematics that will support and reinforce their learning. The Sele First School - 18

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WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED

44. The very good recent developments in ICT need to be embedded, and further opportunities to use ICT across the curriculum should be identified.

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WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED

45. The school is in the process of further developing ICT and is aware of the need to embed recent developments and to further improve provision.

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WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED

46. The recently developed ICT suite is an asset and teachers have received training in order to improve competence and knowledge. However, some teachers still lack confidence in using the facility and in addressing hardware and software problems. Further in-school support needs to be targeted at resolving this issue. The use of ICT in classrooms is sometimes constrained by the lack of electrical sockets in some areas of the school.

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WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED

47. ICT is sometimes used well in the context of other lessons. In a Year 1 English lesson a spelling program contributed to pupils’ learning and motivated them. The school now needs to consider how ICT can be used more widely to support learning in other subjects and should identify these opportunities in planning.

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

48. In order to continue to improve this highly successful school, the head teacher, staff and governors should work together to:

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• Continue, as planned, to develop provision for ICT throughout the school by:

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

§ ensuring that staff continue to receive appropriate support to improve their confidence and knowledge; § improving opportunities for computer use in classrooms through provision of more sockets; § identifying more opportunities for the use of ICT across the curriculum; § monitoring the progress of these developments and their impact on standards. The Sele First School - 19

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Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 6

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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 10 14 17 19 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. [When the total number is substantially less than 100, add] Care should be taken when interpreting these percentages as each lesson represents more than one [two, three, etc] percentage point[s]. [Where the total is close to or greater than 100, use only the first sentence.]

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils on the school’s roll Nursery YR – Y4

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 35 377

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 0 8 FTE means full-time equivalent.

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Information about the school’s pupils

Special educational needs Nursery YR – Y4

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 0 1

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 2 43

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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 30

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 19

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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. The Sele First School - 20

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

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 1 for the latest reporting year 2000 36 35 71

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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 35 36 36 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 35 33 35

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

Percentage of pupils School 99 (98) 97 (98) 100 (100) at NC level 2 or above National 83 (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 36 35 36 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 35 34 34

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

Percentage of pupils School 100 (98) 97 (99) 99 (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. The Sele First School - 21

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – Caribbean heritage Black – Caribbean heritage

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – African heritage Black – African heritage

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Any other minority ethnic group 1 Other minority ethnic groups This table refers to pupils of compulsory school age only. This table gives the number of exclusions of pupils of compulsory school age, which may be different from the number of pupils excluded.

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 15.7 Financial year 2000-2001

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 24:1

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: YR – Y4 Total income 745,353.00

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 7 Total expenditure 749,937.00

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week Expenditure per pupil 1,928.00

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Qualified teachers and support staff: nursery Balance brought forward from previous year 3,604.00

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 1 Balance carried forward to next year -980.00

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 35:1

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 2

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per FTE adult 11.7:1 FTE means full-time equivalent.

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers who left the school during the last two years 3

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers appointed to the school during the last two years 2.3

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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. The Sele First School - 22

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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. 58 36 3 1 1

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Percentage of responses in each category

Behaviour in the school is good. 54 42 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. 37 57 3 2 2

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Percentage of responses in each category

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 50 41 6 2 1

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Percentage of responses in each category

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 62 30 5 3 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. 71 26 1 0 2

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school works closely with parents. 49 42 6 2 1

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is well led and managed. 68 28 1 0 3

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 59 38 1 0 2

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 54 33 5 1 8

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