Devonshire Park Primary School

DEVONSHIRE PARK PRIMARY SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 14 th - 15 th January 2002

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DEVONSHIRE PARK PRIMARY SCHOOL

Short inspection carried out under section 10 of the School Inspections Act 1996 This report may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that all extracts quoted are reproduced verbatim without adaptation and on condition that the source and date thereof are stated.

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DEVONSHIRE PARK PRIMARY SCHOOL

Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the School Inspections Act 1996, the school must provide a copy of this report and/or its summary free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. Devonshire Park Primary School - 3

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Temple Road Prenton Birkenhead Postcode: CH42 9JX

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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: Mrs Lynda Ashcroft

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: 15 th - 18 th September 1997 Devonshire Park Primary School - 4

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Team members

12301 Mrs Joan Boden Registered inspector 19365 Mr Gordon Stockley Lay inspector 20326 Mr Peter Clark Team inspector 20990 Mr Paul Weston Team inspector

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Team members

Evenlode Associates Ltd 6 Abbey Close Alcester Warwickshire B49 5QW

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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 Devonshire Park Primary School - 5

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 6

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

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL 10

The school is very well led and managed.

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The school has an excellent partnership with parents and

involves them very effectively in their children’s learning.

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WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED 14

Geography is not taught in sufficient depth in all classes.

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

This is a much bigger than average primary school with 418 pupils on roll, including 20 in the nursery. Pupil numbers have declined steadily since 1997. The school also houses a Language Unit that caters for pupils from all over the authority. There are significantly more boys than girls in the junior classes. The school is situated in an established urban area about three miles from the centre of Birkenhead. The area is mixed and pupils come from a wide range of economic backgrounds. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is above average. Children start in the nursery in the September following their third birthday. Their attainment on entry is generally below average in all the areas of learning. Most pupils are of white UK heritage. Although a very small proportion is from ethnic minorities, they all speak English fluently and do not receive additional support. The proportion of pupils on the school’s register of special educational

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

needs, including those with statements, is broadly average, while the proportion of pupils with statements is well above average. The school is in partnership with a local Beacon school. This provides additional benefits. The school’s successful development of information and communication technology (ICT) has led to it being recognised as a Wirral ICT Development Centre.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

This is a very effective school that provides very good value for money. The consistently good teaching means that the pupils, most of whom start from a low base, make good progress in English, mathematics and science. They achieve average standards overall with a significant and increasing number achieving above average standards. Standards in information and communication technology are above those expected at ages seven and 11. The headteacher, staff and governors, with the excellent support of parents, work very effectively together. Their prime concern is that all pupils achieve their full potential in a caring atmosphere.

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What the school does well

• The school is very well led and managed. • The consistently good teaching over time enables all pupils to achieve well. • The school achieves high standards in information and communication technology. • The school provides a good range of learning opportunities that make learning interesting and exciting. • The school has an excellent partnership with parents and involves them very effectively in their children’s learning.

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What could be improved

• Geography is not taught in sufficient depth in all classes. The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan.

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

The school has made very good improvement since the last inspection in 1997. All the key issues have been tackled effectively and the weaknesses identified have been turned into strengths. Given the very good systems in place and the hard work and commitment of the headteacher, staff and governors, combined with the excellent partnership with parents, the school is well placed to improve further. Devonshire Park Primary School - 7

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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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compared with Key

Performance in: all schools similar schools well above average A 1999 2000 2001 2001 above average B English B C C B average C mathematics C C B A below average D science C C C B well below average E

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compared with Key

Over the past three years, standards in English, mathematics and science have been consistently in line with or above the national average. When compared with schools that have a similar number of pupils entitled to free school meals, standards at age 11 are above average in English and science and well above average in mathematics. Pupils enter the school with generally below average attainment. All pupils, including those with special educational needs, achieve well because the work is planned meticulously to challenge all abilities. Standards by the age of seven are improving. In 2001, there was a dramatic improvement in reading and writing with pupils attaining above the national average and well above the average attained in similar schools. Standards in mathematics were in line with the national average and above the average in similar schools. Following the last report that stated that pupils were reluctant

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compared with Key

writers, the school has focused very successfully on improving writing. This is now a strength across all subjects of the curriculum. Pupils write with increasing confidence in a wide range of styles as they move through the school, adapting their work effectively to suit different audiences. Standards in information and communication technology are above those expected for pupils of seven and 11. This is due to the excellent provision and the careful planning of opportunities for pupils to develop their skills through other subjects. The school sets appropriately challenging targets based on their knowledge of the pupils. These were exceeded in 2001. Inspection evidence is that the increased targets for 2002 will at least be met.

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Aspect Comment

Attitudes to the school Very good. The pupils are proud of their school and talk enthusiastically about their work. They are eager to learn and work hard in lessons. Most pupils complete their homework because they find the tasks interesting.

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Aspect Comment

Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Very good. Pupils behave very well in lessons. Playtimes and lunchtimes are pleasant social occasions when the pupils play well together.

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Aspect Comment

Personal development and relationships Very good. The pupils genuinely like one another and are very supportive. They co-operate well when working in groups, listening politely to all the views expressed. Pupils in the language unit are made to feel welcome and are well integrated.

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Aspect Comment

Attendance Unsatisfactory. Despite the best efforts of the school, the rate of attendance is well below that found in most schools.

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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. Devonshire Park Primary School - 8 The quality of teaching is good overall with very good features. All the lessons seen during the inspection were at least satisfactory, most were good, and about one in eight were very good. The teaching of English and mathematics is particularly good. The teachers’ rigorous planning is the key to their success in taking learning forward for pupils of all abilities. They plan carefully to include all the pupils in all aspects of their lessons, identifying different groups and matching work accurately to their needs. They often give pupils with special educational needs extra help and always make sure that no one is struggling. Their

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Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6

marking of work shows that they keep a careful check on what pupils have learnt and plan the next step that each pupil should take. Teachers are very good at devising interesting lessons that concentrate well on developing pupils’ reading, writing and number skills. A common feature of most lessons is the very good use of questioning to check pupils’ understanding and draw out their ideas to take their learning forward. These are not just random questions; they are tailored to meet the needs of specific pupils. This has a very beneficial effect on all the pupils, especially those with special educational needs, whose self-esteem is raised by being able to answer the questions. Most teachers adopt a lively approach to their lessons and this stimulates the pupils’ interest, and increases their enjoyment of learning. In English and mathematics they expect pupils to work hard and match work accurately with the right amount of challenge for all

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Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6

The very good relationships between teachers and pupils create a good climate for learning, where the pupils feel secure and are prepared to ‘have a go’ even though they may not know the right answer. They enjoy their lessons and are very keen to learn, particularly in English and mathematics. They are developing a love of books and use these very effectively to develop a bank of expressive phrases that they can use to make their own writing more interesting.

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Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6

A weakness in the teaching is that most teachers do not give pupils enough opportunities for speaking. Pupils’ speaking skills are below average and they need a lot more practice. When pupils struggle with words, teachers often finish the answer for them and accept nodding or shaking of heads instead of encouraging the pupils to be more articulate. Although work is planned very effectively to build on prior learning, the marking in the infant classes does not point the way forward for improvement.

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Aspect Comment

The quality and range of the curriculum The curriculum throughout the school is good overall. However, provision for physical development for children in the nursery and reception classes is unsatisfactory because there is not a suitable outside play area. In the infant and junior classes, pupils are stimulated by a wealth of experiences across a wide range of subjects, even though the main emphasis is on literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology. A weakness here, however, is that geography is not taught in sufficient depth.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils with special educational needs Good overall. Work is generally well matched to pupils’ individual needs in English and mathematics. In these subjects, skills and knowledge are developed at a good rate against prior levels of attainment. Pupils receive good support from adults. The school is aware of the need to introduce a more systematic approach to maintaining pupils’ records.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Very good. Provision for pupils’ spiritual and cultural development has improved since the last inspection. The school now nurtures these aspects well. Provision for moral and social development is very good.

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Aspect Comment

How well the school cares for its pupils Good. The school cares for its pupils well. Good systems are in place to support their general well being. The school strives constantly to improve pupils’ academic performance through rigorous monitoring of their work Devonshire Park Primary School - 9 and very effective feedback that helps them to improve. The pupils gain confidence from the warm relationships and this encourages them to try even harder. Pupils of all abilities are proud of what they achieve. Devonshire Park Primary School - 10

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Aspect Comment

Leadership and management by the headteacher and other key staff Very good overall. This is a major strength of the school and the main reason why it is so successful. The headteacher, supported well by his deputy, provides very strong leadership. The co-ordinators play a very effective part in monitoring teaching and learning in their subjects. There is an excellent team spirit among the staff, with all members keen to play a full part. A relative weakness is that there is currently no co-ordinator for history and geography.

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Aspect Comment

How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities Very good. The governors are very active in the life of the school and have a clear idea of what needs to be done to improve further. They are very knowledgeable and supportive. This enables them to be critical friends who ask challenging questions. There are good systems in place to measure the cost effectiveness of their spending decisions.

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Aspect Comment

The school’s evaluation of its performance Very good. Effective monitoring of teaching and learning is used well to build a clear picture of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement. There are rigorous systems for monitoring the school’s performance against other schools and the principles of best value are applied effectively in securing improvements. The governors, headteacher and senior management are constantly seeking ways to raise standards further.

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Aspect Comment

The strategic use of resources Very good. The school uses the money it has to very good effect.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

• Their children like school. • Behaviour in the school is good. • The teaching is good. • The staff are approachable. • The school is well led and managed. • There were very few negative responses to any of the questions.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

The inspection team supports fully the positive views expressed by parents. Devonshire Park Primary School - 11

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

The school is very well led and managed.

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

1. This is a school with a very clear educational direction. This stems from the high quality leadership of the headteacher and key staff. The headteacher has successfully maintained the high standards of leadership reported at the time of the last inspection and established a strong sense of common purpose among staff and an excellent positive relationship with parents. The headteacher and senior staff carry out an extensive programme of formal observations of teaching that includes every teacher every term. There are co-ordinators for most subjects with the exception of history and geography. Co-ordinators carry out their responsibilities diligently, including contributing to the school development planning and monitoring pupils’ work in their subject. School development planning is shared by all and reviewed annually. It is effectively linked to the budget and takes appropriate consideration of national as well as school-based priorities.

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

2. The school benefits from the contribution of an extremely supportive governing body. The governors have a very good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the school and are able to play a very active role in planning future improvements. All the issues identified for improvement in the last report have been tackled successfully. Governors are kept very well informed by the headteacher about all aspects of school life. They have a very good level of involvement in financial planning and systematically monitor targets for the headteacher.

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

3. Self-improvement is central to everything that the school does. The school development plan identifies appropriate priorities and is well structured. The school carefully analyses data on academic performance and attendance to compare its performance with all schools, similar schools and schools within the local education authority to identify variations in pupils’ achievements. Appropriate targets are set for improvement and maintenance of standards in the core subjects, also including information and communication technology.

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

4. The governing body’s finance committees have worked closely with the headteacher to produce an agreed list of improvements. These include renewing the surface of the playground and the development of suitable seating areas as well as a designated secure play area for children in the nursery and reception classes. A carefully planned rolling programme of redecoration and refurbishment is under way.

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

The consistently good teaching enables all pupils to achieve well.

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

5. The teachers know their pupils very well and plan their lessons in great detail with work matched accurately to individual needs. They are clear about what it is they want pupils to learn, and share this effectively with them at the beginnings of lessons. Teachers deliver lessons in a lively and enthusiastic manner that keeps the pupils interested. In a very good lesson in a reception class, the children were enthralled by the teacher’s inspirational use of Scruffy, a toy dog, to reinforce counting skills. Scruffy had not practised his counting enough and, as a result, he made silly mistakes. The children pounced excitedly on these mistakes. Apart from reinforcing their counting skills, this short session was a discreet but valuable reminder that homework is important.

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

6. All the pupils are successfully engaged in class discussions because teachers take great care to target specific groups with appropriate questions to check their understanding and take their learning forward in incremental steps. This is particularly valuable for pupils with special educational needs because it boosts their self-esteem to be able to answer questions successfully and encourages them to try harder. In a literacy lesson in Year 2, a child who found it difficult to concentrate grew visibly when he was invited to read out his sentences to the rest of the class. In literacy and numeracy lessons, teachers use adult helpers very efficiently to support pupils with Devonshire Park Primary School - 12 special educational needs. They are careful to check that no one else is struggling, and quick to support those who are having difficulties. This enables all of them to progress as well as other

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

7. Teachers expect all the pupils to behave well and work hard whatever their ability. Lessons are well organised and suitably paced. Teachers have good subject knowledge, particularly in English, mathematics, science, design and technology, and information and communication technology. This gives them the confidence to give pupils reliable information and to plan interesting activities that appeal to the pupils. They are particularly good at teaching writing and mathematics. They use appropriate technical language and pupils have a good understanding of specific terms. In the literacy lesson in Year 2 mentioned earlier, pupils were improving sentences to make them more interesting to the reader. One girl wrote, ‘Jamil is clever, cunning and colourful’. Without hesitation, she explained that she had used alliteration.

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

8. Teachers mark work very carefully and keep detailed records of pupils’ achievements. They use this information very effectively to plan the next steps in learning. In the junior classes, the marking of English is exemplary. While praising what pupils have done well, teachers give clear pointers to how improvements can be made, and set appropriately challenging targets. In the infant classes, although teachers keep the same detailed records, their marking is confined to positive comments without pointing the way forward. This can lead to pupils becoming complacent.

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

9. Relationships between pupils and between pupils and teachers are very good, and this promotes a secure and happy learning environment. Pupils work hard because they value what teachers do for them and they want to please them. In informal discussions, many of the older pupils said that their teachers work very hard because they want the pupils to do well. This desire to please is reflected in the amount of effort that most pupils put into their homework. Teachers use homework very effectively to reinforce what has been learnt in school and this means that lessons can proceed at a faster pace because pupils have a good grasp of the basic skills.

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

The school achieves high standards in information and communication technology (ICT).

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

10. The school has made excellent progress in information and communication technology since the last inspection when standards were below those expected. Eleven-year old pupils now attain standards above those expected of pupils of that age. This has been brought about by sheer hard work and determination and the excellent teamwork that is such a strong feature of the school. This has resulted in increased teacher confidence and a programme of work that provides well for pupils to develop their skills across the full range of ICT. Pupils make good progress and this accelerates as they get older. As a result the school has been selected as an ICT development centre for Wirral.

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

11. Pupils have many opportunities to use ICT because teachers teach the skills in other subjects wherever possible. This improves pupils’ attainment because they learn to use ICT as a tool. There is good evidence of ICT being used to research and to enhance work in other subjects. For example, pupils use CD-ROM and the Internet to find information in their history and geography work. Eleven-year-olds can access the Internet, locate an appropriate search engine, search for information, refine the search and print information to support their learning. A lesson in Year 5 linked ICT with English and geography. Acting as detectives, pupils were able to interrogate information, provided on the computer by the teacher, to investigate a road traffic accident. Pupils read through the witness statements, made notes and located the key points onto a map of the village. They worked very well together, reading and selecting appropriate information and

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

discussing which information to locate on the map.

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

12. Pupils quickly gain confidence in using computers because they are introduced to them from their earliest days in school. By the time pupils are seven, they enjoy using the keyboard to write stories and they have more advanced editing skills than most pupils of their age. They alter their writing, Devonshire Park Primary School - 13 for example, by changing the spelling or adding text. They know how to change the presentation by changing the font size and colour, and repositioning pictures and text. As pupils’ skills increase, so does the standard of attainment. Pupils in Year 2, for example, are able to log on, open their own e-mail boxes, check for received messages and reply. 13. A strength of the ICT curriculum is that pupils are introduced to a wide variety of its uses. In the infant classes, for example, they listen to stories on a tape recorder using headphones and can rewind, pause and forward the tape to the right place. They can also programme a floor turtle and

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

accurately programme a sequence of instructions. By the age of 11, they use sensor technology to gather data on temperature and then use spreadsheets and draw graphs to plot the changes. (During the inspection, pupils used pulse meters to measure heart rates). Pupils throughout the school are increasing their skills to tackle more complex work. For example, pupils in Year 6 have produced multimedia presentations to illustrate the recent educational visit to Barnstondale and burnt them on to individual CD-ROMS, combining text, graphics, photographs, sounds and music. They have worked together to create work for inclusion on the school’s web page and programmed computer chips to work remotely in models built to a design brief.

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

14. There are many examples of pupils’ ICT skills throughout the school, such as their computer generated drawings of teddy bears and a wide range of English written work in different styles. Pupils use digital cameras regularly to capture memorable moments and to illustrate their work in other subjects. For example, the trips to Chester and Birkenhead Priory in history, science projects on materials and the recent Environmental Print Walk, the recent visit by Reverend Jeff in religious education and stages of development in design and technology projects.

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WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL

15. Many pupils take the opportunities provided through lunchtime and after school clubs to increase their knowledge and understanding further which is helping to impact on standards since many do not have a computer at home and so are very dependent on what the school provides. The school has also established successful parent and family ICT training programmes. Links with two local Beacon schools are serving to enhance ICT with the development of e-mail communication from Year 2 onwards and the development of shared planning between the partner schools.

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The school provides a good range of learning opportunities that make learning interesting and

16. The curriculum has improved significantly since the last inspection when it was deemed to be narrow in some subjects. Although geography is still not taught in sufficient depth in every class, the curriculum is broad and balanced and very well planned to stimulate and interest the pupils. Although children in the Foundation Stage get off to a very good start because of the very wide range of exciting and interesting learning experiences in the reception classes, there is a weakness in the provision for children’s physical development. Outside play for reception and nursery children is an extension of ‘playtime’ with too few opportunities for the planned development of children’s physical skills at a higher level. Consequently children do not have well planned daily access to develop skills that include more challenging climbing, steering wheeled toys such as tricycles and scooters, balancing and risk taking.

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The school provides a good range of learning opportunities that make learning interesting and

17. Since the last inspection, when pupils were described as reluctant writers, there has been a very strong emphasis on developing writing skills. This has been very successful and writing is now a strength of the school. This has been achieved by all the co-ordinators working together to identify opportunities for writing in their own subjects, excellent analysis of pupils’ work, and very clear pointers to pupils to help them to improve. Alongside this, teachers have been given very good advice on how to help pupils to improve. Teachers now plan very good opportunities for pupils to write for a very wide range of purposes, for example, book reviews, evaluations of their work in design and technology, factual accounts and fictional stories. Pupils are encouraged to express their own feelings when appropriate. Examples of this were seen in very moving prayers written by pupils in Year 6. Teachers challenge pupils well to develop their research skills by finding out

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The school provides a good range of learning opportunities that make learning interesting and

about their own past or that of a family member. Some pupils have written very interesting Devonshire Park Primary School - 14 autobiographies or biographies that are so thoroughly researched and well presented that they would be a valuable addition to the library.

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The school provides a good range of learning opportunities that make learning interesting and

18. The curriculum is made exciting and relevant to the pupils through the very good partnerships with local businesses. A very effective link has been established with the Construction in Industry Award scheme, which funds workers, mainly from the construction industry, to work in schools. The work they do, such as sharing bricklaying skills with the children in the nursery or investigating the effectiveness of various washing agents to remove stains, helps the pupils to make the connection between school work and the world of work. The school is very good at promoting pupils’ personal development through the curriculum. Pupils are supported very well and are justifiably proud of their achievements, for example, when a team of pupils in Year 6 represented the North West of England at the Young Engineers’ final in London, having won through three competitive rounds to get there.

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The school provides a good range of learning opportunities that make learning interesting and

19. The school provides an excellent range of extra-curricular activities that contribute well to pupils’ learning, both academically and socially. Teachers and pupils alike take these activities very seriously. Teachers plan carefully to take the pupils’ learning forward, such as in the French group in Year 2. The pupils work hard and support one another well. In the table tennis sessions, for example, the more experienced players, some of whom have represented the county, are keen to help much younger pupils to develop their skills and techniques.

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The school provides a good range of learning opportunities that make learning interesting and

20. The confidence that pupils gain from this broad curriculum, and their mature and responsible attitudes will stand them in good stead as they continue their education.

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The school has an excellent partnership with parents and involves them very effectively in their

21. The school has successfully maintained the excellent relationships with parents reported at the time of the previous inspection. There was a good response by parents to the questionnaire and this indicates that parents are very happy indeed with the school and what it provides for their children. Parents feel very comfortable about approaching the headteacher or other members of staff if they have any questions or problems and appreciate the ease with which the school allows this to happen. They also recognise that the behaviour of the children is very good and that this helps them to make good progress and enjoy their time in school.

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The school has an excellent partnership with parents and involves them very effectively in their

22. The Home and School Association is an active and supportive group of parents. They organise social events, including the very popular games evenings, which raise a significant amount of extra money for the school. Money raised has helped towards the cost of new toilets and windows, as well as supporting events for pupils such as the school trip for Year 6. The school values parents’ views and involves them fully in any new initiatives. The headteacher uses committee meetings of the association to consult parents on new ideas. Parents are made welcome at any time and a number of them help in classes. Teachers appreciate this and pupils benefit from this additional support for their learning.

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The school has an excellent partnership with parents and involves them very effectively in their

23. The school keeps in touch with parents by means of regular newsletters, which are sent home, posted on school notice boards and loaded onto the school’s web site. Parents are encouraged to play an effective part in their children’s education by activities such as the family numeracy programme, where the whole family play numerical activities designed to improve mental techniques. An excellent example of parents and pupils working together was the design task to produce a Christmas table decoration. A particularly good one that caught the eye of inspectors was so obviously a family effort, incorporating simple collage with a sophisticated circuit that enabled lights to flash on and off. Parents appreciate the workshops that the teachers run to help them to understand new initiatives, such as the national literacy strategy, when teachers delivered a literacy hour to the parents. Some parents admitted that they learnt a lot that was new to them.

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The school has an excellent partnership with parents and involves them very effectively in their

Devonshire Park Primary School - 15 A current priority is to extend the range of continued learning opportunities for parents, including a scheme to encourage parents to use the computer facilities at the end of the school day.

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The school has an excellent partnership with parents and involves them very effectively in their

24. The school keeps parents well informed about their children’s progress at two consultation meetings each year. A detailed written report is produced at the end of the year, which includes areas for future focus. The excellent partnership between home and school is based on mutual respect and trust. The overwhelming majority of parents believe that their children’s best interest is central to everything the school does. Devonshire Park Primary School - 16

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WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED

Geography is not taught in sufficient depth in all classes.

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WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED

25. The way geography is planned for does not make the best use of curriculum time. An examination of pupils’ books showed that it had not yet been taught in some classes this year. This means that there is at least a six-month gap when it is not taught. This is not often enough to support effective learning. In those classes where it had been taught during the autumn term, there was generally weak coverage of what had been planned. The exception was in Year 4, where pupils had done an in-depth study of contrasting areas.

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

This is a very good school that provides a very good standard of education for all its pupils. In order to improve further: -

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• The school should ensure that geography is taught in sufficient depth in all classes. (Paragraph No. 25) Devonshire Park Primary School - 17

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Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of lessons observed 37 Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 10

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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

Number 0 5 21 11 0 0 0 Percentage 0 13 57 30 0 0 0 The table gives the number and percentage of lessons observed in each of the seven categories used to make judgements about teaching. Care should be taken when interpreting these percentages as each lesson represents nearly three, percentage points.

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils on the school’s roll Nursery YR– Y6 Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 20 398 Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 0 113 FTE means full-time equivalent.

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Information about the school’s pupils

Special educational needs Nursery YR – Y6 Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 0 26 Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 0 89

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Information about the school’s pupils

English as an additional language No of pupils Number of pupils with English as an additional language 3

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 29 Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 33

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Authorised absence Unauthorised absence

% % School data 7.8 School data 0.6 National comparative data 5.6 National comparative data 0.5 Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. Devonshire Park Primary School - 18

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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 2001 22 33 55

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National Curriculum Test/Task Results Reading Writing Mathematics

Numbers of pupils at NC Boys 20 22 21 level 2 and above Girls 31 31 30 Total 51 53 51

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National Curriculum Test/Task Results Reading Writing Mathematics

Percentage of pupils School 93 (79) 96 (83) 93 (89) at NC level 2 or above National 84 (83) 86 (84) 91 (90)

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Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

Numbers of pupils at NC Boys 21 21 20 level 2 and above Girls 31 30 28 Total 52 51 48

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Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

Percentage of pupils School 95 (86) 93 (89) 87 (94) at NC level 2 or above National 85 (84) 89 (88) 89 (88) 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 2001 31 32 63

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National Curriculum Test/Task Results English Mathematics Science

Numbers of pupils at NC Boys 24 26 30 level 4 and above Girls 24 23 29 Total 48 49 59

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National Curriculum Test/Task Results English Mathematics Science

Percentage of pupils School 76 (80) 78 (77) 94 (89) at NC level 4 or above National 75 (75) 71 (72) 87 (85)

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Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

Numbers of pupils at NC Boys 24 24 29 level 4 and above Girls 27 23 25 Total 51 47 554

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Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

Percentage of pupils School 81 (70) 75 (74) 86 (79) Devonshire Park Primary School - 19 at NC level 4 or above National 72 (70) 74 (72) 82 (79) Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year.

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – Caribbean heritage 0 Black – Caribbean heritage 0 0 Black – African heritage 1 Black – African heritage 0 0 Black – other 0 Black – other 0 0 Indian 1 Indian 0 0 Pakistani 0 Pakistani 0 0 Bangladeshi 0 Bangladeshi 0 0 Chinese 2 Chinese 0 0 White 430 White 0 0 Any other minority ethnic group 3 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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Qualified teachers and classes: YR – Y6

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 20.1 Financial year 2000/2001 Number of pupils per qualified teacher 20.7 Average class size 24.8 £ Education support staff: YR – Y6 Total income 905,409 Total number of education support staff 10 Total expenditure 893,089 Total aggregate hours worked per week 100 Expenditure per pupil 1,971 Qualified teachers and support staff: nursery Balance brought forward from previous year 55,392

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Qualified teachers and classes: YR – Y6

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 1 Balance carried forward to next year 67,712 Number of pupils per qualified teacher 20 Total number of education support staff 2 Total aggregate hours worked per week 32.5 Number of pupils per FTE adult 6.7 FTE means full-time equivalent.

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers who left the school during the last two years 4 Number of teachers appointed to the school during the last two years 5 Devonshire Park Primary School - 20 Total number of vacant teaching posts (FTE) 0 Number of vacancies filled by teachers on temporary contract of a term or more (FTE) 0 Number of unfilled vacancies or vacancies filled by teachers on temporary contract of less than one term (FTE) FTE means full-time equivalent.

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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 likes school. 66 (95) 32 (47) 2 (3) 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

My child is making good progress in school. 61 (89) 34 (49) 3 (5) 0 1 (2)

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Percentage of responses in each category

Behaviour in the school is good. 57 (82) 41 (59) 1 (2) 0 1 (2)

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Percentage of responses in each category

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 50 (72) 41 (60) 6 (8) 0 3 (5)

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Percentage of responses in each category

The teaching is good. 70 (101) 28 (41) 0 1 (2) 1 (1)

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Percentage of responses in each category

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 60 (87) 33 (48) 6 (8) 1 (1) 1 (1)

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Percentage of responses in each category

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 77 (112) 20 (29) 1 (1) 0 2 (3)

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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 (103) 24 (35) 3 (4) 1 (1) 1 (2)

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school works closely with parents. 59 (85) 34 (50) 3 (4) 1 (1) 3 (5)

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is well led and managed. 74 (108) 23 (33) 1 (1) 0 2 (3)

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 62 (90) 35 (51) 1 (1) 0 2 (3)

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 70 (100) 21 (30) 3 (4) 2 (3) 6 (8)

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Percentage of responses in each category

Figures in brackets are the numbers of responses.

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