Wrockwardine Wood Infant School and Nursery

NURSERY 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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NURSERY 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. Wrockwardine Wood Infant and Nursery School - 3

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Type of school: Infant School and Nursery

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Church Road Wrockwardine Wood Telford Shropshire

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: The Governing Body

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Name of chair of governors: Mr N Pickering

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: 17 November 1997 Wrockwardine Wood Infant and Nursery School - 4

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Team members 12908 Mr D J Halford Registered inspector 19431 Mr J D Holmes Lay inspector 16761 Mr M P Hemmings Team inspector

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

113 – 115 High Street Uppermill Saddleworth OLDHAM OL3 6BD

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

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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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

The Complaints Manager Inspection Quality Division

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE Wrockwardine Wood Infant and Nursery 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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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS 17

Wrockwardine Wood Infant and Nursery School - 6

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Wrockwardine Wood Infant and Nursery School caters for pupils aged 3 – 7 years and is maintained by the Telford and Wrekin Local Education Authority. Most pupils come from the immediate area around the school, although some travel a considerable distance to attend. There are currently 270 pupils on roll. There are 64 children attending the Nursery part-time. Almost twenty per cent of the pupils are eligible for free school meals. This is close to the national average. Less than six per cent of the pupils have English as an additional language. This is above the national average. Over one fifth of the pupils are on the register of special educational needs and two pupils have statements of special educational need. This is close to the national average. Many, but not all the pupils have the benefit of pre-school education, with a significant percentage attending the school’s Nursery Unit. On entry to

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

the Reception Classes, at the start of the term in which they are five years of age, the pupils’ levels of attainment are below average.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

This school is outstanding. It currently holds Beacon status and shares its high quality practices with others. The school benefits from leadership of the highest quality and from outstanding commitment from all who have a part to play in its success. Pupils’ standards are very high and the quality of teaching is consistently of very good quality. The school provides very good value for money.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

What the school does well • The headteacher provides inspirational leadership. She is supported by a team of professionals who show outstanding commitment to the success of the school and its pupils. Together with an able and well-informed governing body, the school’s continued improvement is being promoted particularly well. • The school creates an exceptionally good atmosphere for learning, where relationships are outstanding, pupils are valued, show very good attitudes to work, a high level of independence, very good behaviour and a great desire to learn. • The curriculum is outstanding. The school combines a high priority to the development of pupils’ basic skills to the highest possible levels, with a desire to balance successfully a broad range of creative opportunities for pupils. • Teaching is consistently of very high quality and is instrumental in promoting the high standards of work achieved by the pupils. Assessment procedures are outstanding and used very effectively to

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

track pupils’ progress and target their future learning. • The Nursery offers very high quality provision and promotes very effective learning for children in the foundation stage of learning.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

What could be improved • The inspection identifies no key issues for action. 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 was last inspected in November 1997. It was described in that report as an outstanding school providing its pupils with an excellent education. No key issues for action were identified. In the intervening period, pupils’ standards have been maintained at a very high level and the school has Wrockwardine Wood Infant and Nursery School - 7 continued to provide the pupils with a broad, balanced and varied curriculum. The National Numeracy and Literacy Strategies have been adapted to the pupils’ needs and implemented very successfully. A new Nursery Unit has been added to the school improving the quality of its overall provision. It has continued to work extremely hard to maintain its levels of excellence.

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STANDARDS

The table shows the standards achieved by pupils at the end of Year 2 based on average point scores in National Curriculum tests.

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STANDARDS

Performance in: all schools similar schools Key

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STANDARDS

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

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STANDARDS

Pupils’ standards of work are very high. In the national tests for seven-year-olds in 2001 almost all the pupils gained the expected levels in reading, writing and mathematics and the percentage of pupils gaining the higher level in all three subjects was well above the national average and well above the average for similar schools. The pupils’ results in writing were amongst the highest nationally, and have been at this level for the last two years.

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STANDARDS

Many pupils enter the Reception Year with below average skills in the important areas of literacy and numeracy and by the time they are seven the test results over time show that they make very good progress and achieve very well. A review of the work currently being undertaken by pupils in Year 2 confirms that these very high standards of work are currently being sustained. Effective target setting and very detailed marking of pupils’ work leads directly to pupils being consistently challenged to take their learning forward and pupils’ standards of work are rising as a result. For example, pupils’ written work shows a secure understanding of the basic skills of punctuation, and the pupils make very good use of the many opportunities to write for different audiences and for different purposes. Some of the more able pupils write with a high degree of humour for their age to engage the reader very

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STANDARDS

effectively. Most pupils are confident in their number skills and transfer them very easily to computer work and work in a wide range of subjects.

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STANDARDS

The school provides the pupils with an outstanding range of curriculum opportunities and this results in high standards of work seen in science, art, design and technology and geography. Meticulous planning on the part of the teaching staff caters effectively for pupils of all abilities, including those with special educational needs and those with English as an additional language and ensures that each pupil achieves the best they can.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Aspect Comment Wrockwardine Wood Infant and Nursery School - 8 Attitudes to the school Very good. Pupils throughout the school show a great desire to do their best. They work hard and always appear to enjoy their lessons. They work with very good levels of independence.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Very good. Pupils behave very well in classes, around the school and in the playground. They cooperate very well with each other.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Personal development and relationships Outstanding. Pupils throughout the school are really well known, respond very well to their lessons and are very willing to take responsibility. This area is a particular strength in the school’s provision.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Attendance Attendance is above national averages and pupils arrive at school punctually. Procedures for monitoring attendance are very good. There are no unauthorised absences.

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

Teaching of pupils in: Nursery and Reception Years 1 – 2

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

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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TEACHING AND LEARNING

The quality of teaching is consistently very good, particularly in English and mathematics. There are examples of excellent teaching throughout the school. Throughout the inspection teaching was never less than good and no unsatisfactory teaching was seen. Teachers throughout the school show very good levels of knowledge and understanding of the subjects they are teaching and the way pupils learn. This high proportion of very good teaching, which is expertly planned to meet the needs of all the pupils, has a very positive effect on the pupils’ learning. The assessment procedures undertaken throughout the school are outstanding and provide very detailed information concerning the progress made by individual pupils and the next steps required of them to ensure they make the best progress they can.

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

In the nursery, children are constantly provided with a very wide range of learning experiences and very detailed records of children’s progress are maintained. All the areas of learning for children under five are very thoroughly planned and managed. The teacher is constantly alert to the activities the children undertake and the small steps they make in the development of their learning.

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

Throughout the school pupils’ basic skills are developed very well. The school has successfully adapted the National Strategies for Literacy and Numeracy and uses them very effectively to promote pupils’ basic skills in a wide range of subjects. Additionally, teachers are skilful at managing extensive curriculum coverage in the lessons they teach. For example, in an outstanding Year 2 science lesson, which involved investigative science, pupils’ basic skills were promoted very effectively, together with aspects of computer work, geography and close observational artwork. Pupils of all abilities were managed particularly well and worked with outstanding levels of interest and independence.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

The quality and range of Outstanding. The school actively promotes a broad and balanced creative curriculum, whilst focusing strongly on the development of pupils’ basic skills to Wrockwardine Wood Infant and Nursery School - 9 the curriculum very high standards.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

Provision for pupils with special educational needs Pupils with special educational needs are provided for very well. Their needs are identified at an early stage. They regularly work alongside their peers, undertaking similar tasks.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

Provision for pupils with English as an additional language Very good provision is made for pupils for whom English is an additional language. Detailed records are maintained. These pupils make very good progress in their learning.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Very good overall. Each aspect of the pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted very well through the outstanding range of formal and creative curriculum opportunities provided.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

How well the school cares for its pupils The school takes very good care of its pupils. They are safe and secure within the buildings and with the adults who work with them. Outstanding care is taken in assessing and monitoring their academic progress.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

Leadership and manage- ment by the headteacher and other key staff The headteacher provides inspirational leadership. She is supported very well by senior managers and staff throughout the school who show an outstanding level of commitment to its success.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities The governors are able and very well informed. They offer very strong support to the school and promote its sustained improvement very effectively.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

The school’s evaluation of its performance The school has outstanding procedures for monitoring and evaluating its performance. There is a very clear vision of its strengths and areas for further development.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

The strategic use of resources The school has very good procedures to ensure that it obtains best value from its decision-making processes.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

The accommodation is spacious, used very effectively and maintained to a high order of cleanliness. Learning resources are very good, in both quality and quantity.

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What pleases almost all parents What some parents would like to see improved

• The school is well led and managed • The quality of teaching is good • The school expects children to work hard and achieve well • The information given to parents about pupils’ progress • The amount of homework pupils receive • The range of extra-curricular activities Wrockwardine Wood Infant and Nursery School - 10 The inspection team find this to be an impressive school with outstanding leadership and very good teaching. There is an expectation that pupils will work hard and achieve of their best. The inspectors agree with the positive points made and are pleased to report that pupils appeared to enjoy their success. Only a small number of parents were critical of the school. The inspectors do not support their views. Parents receive very good information about the progress pupils make. The amount of homework pupils receive and the range of extra-curricular activities are felt to be appropriate, taking

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What pleases almost all parents What some parents would like to see improved

into account the age of the pupils and the visits made to support the curriculum.

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The headteacher provides inspirational leadership. She is supported by a team of

professionals who show outstanding commitment to the success of the school and its pupils.

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Together with an able and well-informed governing body, the school’s continued

improvement is being promoted particularly well.

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Together with an able and well-informed governing body, the school’s continued

1. The headteacher has been in post for an extended period of time and has gathered around her a group of colleagues who all work to the common purpose of ensuring that all the pupils attain the highest possible standards. There are extremely effective procedures to ensure that school improvement is continuous. This involves a school self-review cycle where different aspects are distributed across the school year and associated with particular terms. Governors, coordinators and individuals are all involved in the process of development, know their roles within the process and the expectations placed upon them to ensure success.

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Together with an able and well-informed governing body, the school’s continued

2. The self-review cycle and the financial implications are closely inter-related. There are specific stages where governors, senior managers and the whole school drive the system. There is a good balance between the needs of the school as a whole and the needs of individuals. Outside initiatives are also included in the review mechanisms very effectively. Deadlines are set and met appropriately. There is an excellent focus on teamwork and the headteacher has a particular influence on the overall process. She provides outstanding leadership in maintaining the momentum of school improvement. She is clearly the driving force behind the constant focus for the challenge and improvement and has been particularly successful in maintaining the focus for improvement over a sustained period of time. She inspires all involved in the school to maintain the highest possible standards.

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Together with an able and well-informed governing body, the school’s continued

3. All the staff, in whatever roles they occupy, know the systems that are in place and are particularly keen to work for each other and for the pupils to ensure that standards are as high as they can be. Very effective records show details of pupils’ progress over time. Test results are collated and analysed very effectively to ensure that the school is aware of the strengths and weaknesses of individual pupils. Overall results are closely monitored, pupils’ work systematically reviewed and it is clear that the school is on course to maintain the high standards it has set and attain the targets it has established.

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Together with an able and well-informed governing body, the school’s continued

4. Support staff are deployed very effectively to ensure that pupils’ individual needs are met as fully as possible. Classroom support assistants are always very well informed and provide very good levels of support to class teachers and to pupils. Pupils with special educational needs are integrated very well into classroom activities and work alongside their peers in undertaking the same tasks. Mid day supervisors, some of whom are also classroom support assistants, provide supervision of a high standard. They are given very clear guidance about their roles and fulfil the requirements with confidence and skill. The playground is divided into sections using coloured cones and a wide range of very good quality activities are effectively resourced. At the end of lunchtime, pupils gather in four Wrockwardine Wood Infant and Nursery School - 11 circles and the mid day supervisors organise quiet games in these circles, enabling pupils to settle very

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Together with an able and well-informed governing body, the school’s continued

well before re-entering school for the afternoon sessions. Lunchtimes are pleasant occasions. The school is maintained to a high order of cleanliness and provides a very good environment in which the staff and pupils work and learn.

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Together with an able and well-informed governing body, the school’s continued

5. The leadership of this school is outstanding and a great strength. There is a remarkably clear and shared purpose in all that it undertakes. The headteacher inspires the staff to work together for the collective good of all the pupils and the good of the school. Each individual takes pride in the high levels of achievement, which the pupils attain. The school is rightly confident in its ability to sustain consistent improvement.

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outstanding, pupils are valued, show very good attitudes to work, a high level of

independence, very good behaviour and a great desire to learn.

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outstanding, pupils are valued, show very good attitudes to work, a high level of

6. The school creates an exceptionally good atmosphere for learning and the pupils respond to this very well. Teachers and classroom support assistants create a calm and purposeful working atmosphere in classrooms and encourage pupils to listen actively to the instructions they give. They demand precise answers to questions and pupils respond very well. They show a great eagerness to take part in lessons and are very willing to talk to visitors about what it is they are doing.

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outstanding, pupils are valued, show very good attitudes to work, a high level of

7. Relationships are outstanding and have a very important bearing on the success of the school. Adults are knowledgeable and well-briefed about how young children learn and they are confident in their work. In whatever role they undertake, as a teacher, subject coordinator, classroom assistant, clerical assistant or mid day supervisor, each adult knows their role and what is expected of them. Part of the success is that adults are aware of, and confident in, each other. Each one knows that they have an important and unique role to play and they fulfil those roles expertly. The pupils relate particularly well to the adults with whom they work. They treat everyone with respect and confidence, knowing that whoever they ask for assistance, they will receive good quality guidance. The pupils work well with each other, whether in a whole class situation or in small group activities. Classrooms are arranged so that pupils work in groups, which rarely exceed four children working

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outstanding, pupils are valued, show very good attitudes to work, a high level of

together. Teachers’ planning is very thorough and identifies grouping of pupils of similar abilities, ensuring that they work well on tasks that are appropriately challenging.

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outstanding, pupils are valued, show very good attitudes to work, a high level of

8. Pupils’ demonstrate very good attitudes to their work. They are very keen and very interested in the tasks they undertake. In literacy lessons they regularly try very hard to give precise answers to the questions they are asked. For example, in a particularly good start to a lesson for Year 1 pupils, the teacher pronounced some initial letter sounds and asked the pupils for examples. The initial letter ‘m’ produced pupils’ suggestions of ‘mummy’, ‘map’, and ‘Monday’. When a pupil suggested the letter ‘q’, the teacher followed this very effectively, highlighting the constant presence of ‘u’ after ‘q’, and what may have been a difficult initial sound to deal with produced pupils’ suggestions of ‘queen’, ‘quick’ and ‘quiet’. As the lesson moved on to a story from the previous week, the pupils used good quality adjectives to describe the situation they could recall. ‘A snail went up a slippery slope’, said

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outstanding, pupils are valued, show very good attitudes to work, a high level of

one pupil. They used ‘gloomy’ and ‘glittering’ to describe the situation. The teacher gave a very good description of the word ‘dense’ and how it could be applied to the forest. The pupils listened intently and used well-chosen vocabulary for their age. They tried very hard to answer questions successfully, using complete sentences and showed real interest in their work.

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outstanding, pupils are valued, show very good attitudes to work, a high level of

9. Behaviour is consistently very good. Pupils move about the school very well, in a quiet and orderly manner. They gather in the hall for school assemblies very quietly and listen to the music which is playing with interest. Teachers and other adults supervise them well and the pupils use the time well. Wrockwardine Wood Infant and Nursery School - 12 On one occasion, when the taped music playing was ‘The Lark Ascending’, the deputy head questioned them very effectively about the bird and the word ‘ascending’. Pupils gave very good answers to the questions she posed, and when answering correctly about the name of the composer of the music, one boy indicated he had read the name from the display on the back of the piano! Pupils listened intently throughout. In the playground, pupils behave well with each other. They use the resources which are made available to them very well, and the manner in which playground time is

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outstanding, pupils are valued, show very good attitudes to work, a high level of

structured, planned and resourced also promotes very good behaviour very effectively. This ensures that pupils are well prepared to return to classroom and are ready to resume work. They work well together with even the youngest pupils able to take turns and share equipment very well. The pupils show high levels of independence in their work. For example, in a Year 2 science lesson, when the pupils were investigating a series of covered containers to discover their contents by smelling, pupils, almost without exception, worked cooperatively and very sensibly, making plausible (and in many cases) accurate suggestions as to the contents of the containers. Lemon and curry powder were contained in some of the cups, which were fairly readily identifiable, but others contained custard powder and ginger, which proved to be altogether more challenging. Those pupils who made correct assumptions were really pleased with their success.

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outstanding, pupils are valued, show very good attitudes to work, a high level of

10. These pupils are clearly confident and very secure in this school. They trust the adults with whom they come into contact and they are very well known by them. This happy and purposeful environment has a very strong bearing on the very good quality of teaching that is taking place here and the very good quality learning on the part of the pupils. It enables the pupils to achieve very well in their lessons and contributes very strongly to the very high standards of work produced by the pupils.

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pupils’ basic skills to the highest possible levels, with a desire to successfully balance a

broad range of creative opportunities for pupils.

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pupils’ basic skills to the highest possible levels, with a desire to successfully balance a

11. The curriculum is outstanding in its breadth and balance.

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pupils’ basic skills to the highest possible levels, with a desire to successfully balance a

12. The school concentrates much of its efforts into promoting pupils’ basic skills in Literacy and Numeracy. It is remarkably successful in its achievement. Baseline assessment information indicates that the majority of children enter the Reception year with basic skills that are below average for their age. Outstanding progress is made and by the age of seven, almost all the pupils gain the expected levels in the national tests in reading, writing and mathematics, and a high proportion of the pupils achieve the higher level in each test. In writing, the school attains some of the highest percentages of success nationally. The school currently holds Beacon status and shares this good practice with others.

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pupils’ basic skills to the highest possible levels, with a desire to successfully balance a

13. There are also many opportunities for pupils to use their developing confidence and competence in basic skills in other subjects of the curriculum. Information and communication technology (ICT) is integrated very effectively into almost all lessons. Each classroom has a number of computers which are readily available for pupils to use. They are in regular use and when group activities are undertaken in lessons the computer is always included in the list of planned activities. Pupils develop the confident use of the mouse at a very early stage and drag and move objects around the screen with good levels of precision. As they get older the pupils use the computer successfully to undertake word processing activities, and the older pupils input data effectively into the computer to produce graphs and pictorial displays. They can use the computer to select information and many are able to use the equipment confidently and expertly. Pupils use their basic skills in numeracy effectively in

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pupils’ basic skills to the highest possible levels, with a desire to successfully balance a

science and geography lessons as they construct simple tables of results and locate places on maps using coordinates. Work in design and technology, in the making of costumes for pantomime Wrockwardine Wood Infant and Nursery School - 13 characters, shows precision and skill in measuring, as well as very good planning and evaluation by the pupils.

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pupils’ basic skills to the highest possible levels, with a desire to successfully balance a

14. This concentration on the development and widespread use of pupils’ basic skills is complemented, however, by an equally strong focus to the development of pupils’ creative skills. This is where the school is particularly strong. The school ensures the breadth of the curriculum by following particular themes and ensuring that the whole range of curriculum coverage is included in the planned activities for the pupils. For example, the design and technology task of producing a costume for Prince Charming was linked to a theme around the story of Cinderella. The theme was then successfully extended to include artwork, in which pupils examined the nature of particular patterns and tried to reproduce them. This led on to the production of multi-cultural patterns on a wide range of materials. Pupils have many opportunities to experiment with colour, as in a high quality corridor display of ‘Shades of Green’, and with the pattern and texture of different materials. Pupils use different fabrics

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pupils’ basic skills to the highest possible levels, with a desire to successfully balance a

and paint, including watercolours, powder paint, and aqua-pencils. Seven-year-old pupils produce detailed artwork of a very high standard. Others produce an effective display of lines, using different tools and some computer generated line patterns. Another ‘Floral Display’ containing work from each year group in school illustrates the effective use of pastels and charcoal and pupils have produced high quality drawings of buttercups, lupines and daisies. One piece of work, inspired by a Japanese visitor to school, is of particularly high quality. The pupils’ work is framed with real frames and is treated with the respect due to work of high quality. One Year 2 classroom display, entitled ‘Tails and Trails’ illustrates this linking of the curriculum particularly well. Essentially it focuses on ‘The Body’ and contains links, through photographs and pupils’ writing, to physical education, mathematics, music, art,

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pupils’ basic skills to the highest possible levels, with a desire to successfully balance a

design and technology, literacy, geography, ICT and history.

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pupils’ basic skills to the highest possible levels, with a desire to successfully balance a

15. Again, in Year 2, the science investigation involving identification of materials by smell was concluded with the pupils looking at good quality photographs of creatures from various parts of the world. Pupils considered carefully how the creatures may use their sense of smell. The photographs included dogs, reindeer and snails. The next activity introduced a wide range of garden flowers, all of which had differing and unique scents. Pupils took them away to their groups and produced good quality oil-pastel still life drawings.

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standards of work achieved by the pupils. Assessment procedures are outstanding and used

very effectively to track pupils’ progress and target their future learning.

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standards of work achieved by the pupils. Assessment procedures are outstanding and used

16. Very good teaching makes a particularly positive contribution in helping pupils achieve to their full potential. It is of very great significance in promoting the high standards which the pupils achieve.

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standards of work achieved by the pupils. Assessment procedures are outstanding and used

17. During the inspection teaching was never less than good and in almost forty per cent of the lessons teaching was very good or outstanding. This indicates that the very high quality of teaching reported when the school was last inspected has been fully sustained.

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standards of work achieved by the pupils. Assessment procedures are outstanding and used

18. Throughout the school lessons were very well planned to meet the needs of all pupils, whatever their levels of ability. Teachers manage pupils very well and resource lessons very fully. Expectations of what pupils can achieve are always very high and pupils are consistently challenged to do their best. Pupils’ interest is maintained through and they work with enthusiasm and a high level of independence. In the best lessons, teachers skilfully draw together many areas of the curriculum and provide pupils with many very good opportunities to put a wide range of skills into practice. This ensures that the school effectively maintains the breadth of curriculum opportunities for pupils. Wrockwardine Wood Infant and Nursery School - 14 19. The school has outstanding assessment procedures which include the frequent and regular review of the work of individual pupils. This enables teachers to track the progress made by individual pupils

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standards of work achieved by the pupils. Assessment procedures are outstanding and used

thoroughly and in great detail. As a result of this comprehensive process all the staff who come into contact with the pupils have a very clear understanding of the pupils’ strengths and weaknesses. Tasks are therefore set with the express intention of taking pupils’ learning forward. This, combined with consistent marking of the highest quality means that pupils themselves have a developing understanding of what they need to do next to take their learning forward.

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standards of work achieved by the pupils. Assessment procedures are outstanding and used

20. The teaching of literacy and numeracy is incorporated very well into lessons. The structure of the lessons reflects the requirements of the national strategies, but the school has adapted the strategies effectively to match their own good quality policy on ‘Teaching and Learning’. The school is also very effective at linking lessons learned in literacy and numeracy to other subjects.

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standards of work achieved by the pupils. Assessment procedures are outstanding and used

21. Many pupils read well and with good levels of understanding. Pupils throughout the school have ready access to books for information and for pleasure. Children in the Reception classes know how to use books and they enjoy using their developing skills. Through Year 1 and Year 2 all pupils use books very well in a wide variety of contexts. By the time they are in Year 2, most pupils use simple indexes successfully to locate information. In the 2001 national tests in reading, almost half the pupils attained the higher level.

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standards of work achieved by the pupils. Assessment procedures are outstanding and used

22. Throughout the school pupils are encouraged to develop and use their writing skills. Children in the reception classes have many opportunities to write, because writing activities are always available to them. By the end of Year 2, pupils write with a high level of fluency and some can write effectively for an audience. Some pupils show characteristics of very high quality writing. For example, the review of pupils’ past work revealed very high quality writing, following some research work into ‘Owls’. Books, a CD-Rom and the internet had been used to locate information. The information gathered indicated: “There are a lot of owls to be found in Britain. Barn, Tawny and Snowy are some of the varieties. They live in different places, make different sounds and eat different food, called prey. They catch there prey by using there talons, see well in the dark, have soft feathers and use

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standards of work achieved by the pupils. Assessment procedures are outstanding and used

there ears to hear rustles in the grass to eat for there tea.” A piece of extended writing, about three baby owls going out on their first hunting expedition, produced an example of very high quality writing, which contained some humour for the reader. “Suddenly, Sarah spotted something green. She flew down first, Percy went second and Bill went last. Sarah didn’t catch it; Percy didn’t catch it and Bill didn’t catch it either. The baby owls were hungry!” Some excellent descriptions were noted, when taking into account the age of the pupils. For example, again writing about owls, “their feathers are as soft as cotton, but their eyes are as black as snooker balls!” There were also examples of high quality descriptive writing for information. For example, “My leaf is spiky. It has a big spine with veins coming out of the sides. My leaf is not a compound leaf. It is mediam sized, nice to hold. It is a cold

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standards of work achieved by the pupils. Assessment procedures are outstanding and used

leaf. It is semetrical, floppy and bendy”. The school regularly produces pupils who can write fluently and effectively. In the 2000 and 2001 national tests, the pupils’ performance was amongst the highest in the country.

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standards of work achieved by the pupils. Assessment procedures are outstanding and used

23. Pupils throughout the school show very good levels of understanding of mathematics. Almost all the pupils are secure in their understanding of number values up to and beyond 100. Almost all can use money effectively and give the correct change. Pupils throughout the school have very good levels of understanding of shape. This is seen in their artwork and design and technology as well as in their work with mathematics. Children in the Reception classes successfully classify some shapes by the number of sides they have. There is a morning when parents are invited to join the Reception Classes and work alongside their children at the start of the day. Children, almost without exception, joined in the activities with real enthusiasm, really pleased to be playing number games with their parents – and frequently winning! Pupils clearly enjoy their work in mathematics and can talk readily Wrockwardine Wood Infant and Nursery School - 15

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standards of work achieved by the pupils. Assessment procedures are outstanding and used

and with good levels of understanding about what they are doing. In the 2001 tests for seven-year- olds almost half reached the higher level.

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standards of work achieved by the pupils. Assessment procedures are outstanding and used

24. Pupils’ standards of work are very high. Given the below average skills many show in their baseline assessments at the start of the Reception year, they achieve very well. Consistent teaching of very good quality ensures that every pupil achieves the best they can.

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The Nursery offers very high quality provision and promotes very effective learning for

children in the foundation stage of learning.

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The Nursery offers very high quality provision and promotes very effective learning for

25. The Nursery Unit was established in school and newly opened in 1998. It was built as part of a project which also saw the establishment of the Parish Council Offices as an addition to the school site. Children enter the Nursery at the start of the term following their third birthday and move to the Reception classes at the start of the term in which they are five years of age. Not all the children entering the Reception year have participated in the provision of the Nursery.

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The Nursery offers very high quality provision and promotes very effective learning for

26. The Nursery is resourced very well with high quality equipment. A great deal of thought and preparation has gone into the provision. It is of very high quality and ensures that children working in the Nursery gain much from their experiences.

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The Nursery offers very high quality provision and promotes very effective learning for

27. Activities are very effectively balanced to include indoor and outdoor experiences. Planning is very detailed and includes every area of learning for children under five. Detailed photographic evidence is a very high quality record of the provision made for all the children over time. A review of the Nursery Class Portfolio shows parents involved in the detailed induction programme of good quality which is undertaken when children first join the unit and are gaining initial experience of the environment. Children mix paint well to match colours of daffodils, rubbing of bricks with wax crayons, producing Easter cards in which they wrote their own message. There is very good construction work when children make houses for the Three Little Pigs and construct puppets of the little pigs, finding the best way to fix the parts together. There is also regular computer work, when children control the mouse to dress a teddy and experiment effectively with the control of a Roamer.

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The Nursery offers very high quality provision and promotes very effective learning for

This is clearly a very stimulating environment that effectively develops children’s understanding of all areas of learning through structured, practical activities.

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The Nursery offers very high quality provision and promotes very effective learning for

28. Currently, these activities include an outdoor supermarket, where children buy goods, have them counted at the cashier and pay for their purchase and receive change. This successfully promotes good levels of understanding of number work, shape and space and speaking and listening skills. Next to the supermarket is a large open area, where large wheeled tricycles, capable of carrying up to three children, collect the shoppers from the supermarket and deliver new shoppers from the bus stop. Elements of good personal and social development as well as gross motor skills are provided for very well. The rest of the open area includes a small fenced garden with large circular stepping stones. This is used very well and includes wind chimes, producing a wide variety of sounds. The chimes are suspended from the over hanging branches. Very high quality water play is also included, with an intricate and substantial winding of tubes secured to fencing and tundish tops for children to experiment

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The Nursery offers very high quality provision and promotes very effective learning for

with the water and watch it flow over considerable distances. There is also a separate outdoor art area where children experiment effectively with colour, tone and texture.

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The Nursery offers very high quality provision and promotes very effective learning for

29. Inside the Nursery there are good quality building bricks and blocks, roadways, a quiet room converted to a castle for imaginative play and a wide range of activities to promote children’s skills in fine motor control. In one lesson a small group of children were constructing a tower and discussed in detail how to make it secure and stop it wobbling. This promoted very good learning in a wide range of areas. Some children are very keen to show visitors their paintings or talk about their activities in Wrockwardine Wood Infant and Nursery School - 16 the castle. Children work very well together and many developing the ability to take turns and share, although some still need reminding regularly.

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The Nursery offers very high quality provision and promotes very effective learning for

30. The quality of teaching in the Nursery is consistently very good and is outstanding in some areas. Very detailed planning is undertaken to ensure that all areas of learning are thoroughly covered. Nursery assistants are very well briefed and maximise the opportunities to develop child-initiated play. They intervene sensitively, promoting conversation, modelling new vocabulary and asking a wide range of open-ended questions expanding effectively on children’s own ideas. The teaching has outstanding features in the ability of the teacher to move constantly around from activity to activity, following up children’s individual experience, building on their current activity and directing them skilfully towards a new challenge. Her understanding of children’s early language development is very clear and she never misses an opportunity to extend children’s vocabulary and language usage. Very detailed

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The Nursery offers very high quality provision and promotes very effective learning for

records are maintained, both as a photographic record of activities covered, but more importantly, of the small steps in learning undertaken by individual children. The teacher keeps brief but detailed records, of what children have undertaken and how their learning has progressed, on small adhesive labels which she then transfers to a child’s individual record. This is outstanding provision and ensures that very detailed records are maintained and children’s learning is continuous.

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The Nursery offers very high quality provision and promotes very effective learning for

31. There was no Nursery provision when the school was last inspected. It has been established very well and offers very good provision for the children. There is an excellent balance between adult directed teaching and child initiated and led play. There are detailed plans in the school’s current school development cycle to produce a planning matrix to extend across the whole of the Foundation Stage of learning. This has the potential to further enhance this very good quality provision.

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in its school development planning. The areas most likely to impact on future standards and

32. The production of a planning matrix to link the Foundation Stage Curriculum and the Key Stage 1 Curriculum: The Nursery Unit, open newly in 1999, is now established providing very high quality provision for children when they first come to the school. The school has very secure planning procedures for the Areas of Learning for Children Under Five and there is a very high level of professional commitment to ensure that transition from the Foundation Stage of Learning into the first year of National Curriculum provision is undertaken smoothly and effortlessly. The school’s proposals are being carefully considered, giving due recognition to time scales and are manageable.

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in its school development planning. The areas most likely to impact on future standards and

33. Further improvement of outdoor provision for Reception children: Outdoor activities are integrated very well into the provision of both Reception classes. The current outdoor provision for these children is good. Further development will improve this even more.

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in its school development planning. The areas most likely to impact on future standards and

34. Continue to improve the commitment to self-review and continuing professional development for all staff to further develop high quality teaching and learning. One of the great strengths of the school is the outstanding commitment given to it by all the staff in whatever roles they undertake. This intense desire for improvement has been central to the school sustaining its high standards over time. The school has a very clear and established cycle of self-review which involves Governors, Coordinators and all staff at specifically designated times in the year. Progress is carefully monitored at specific stages in the cycle. Staff development opportunities are clearly identified and linked into the Wrockwardine Wood Infant and Nursery School - 17 established Performance Management procedures, which include whole school development objectives as well as individual ones.

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

35. The school has accurately identified areas for improvement within its School Development Planning and the actions already decided upon should form the future action.

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Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

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

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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

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 – Y2

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 32 206

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 38

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Information about the school’s pupils

Special educational needs Nursery YR – Y2

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 2 0 Wrockwardine Wood Infant and Nursery School - 18 Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 4 41

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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 12

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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 17

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 15

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Attendance

National comparative data 5.6% National comparative data 0.5%

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Attendance

Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. Wrockwardine Wood Infant and Nursery School - 19

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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 2001 30 35 65

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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 29 30 30 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 33 34 34

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

Percentage of pupils School 95 (97) 98 (97) 98 (96) at NC level 2 or above National 84 (83) 86 (84) 91 (90)

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

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

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

Boys 30 30 30 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 33 34 35

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

Percentage of pupils School 97 (96) 98 (96) 100 (100) at NC level 2 or above National 85 (84) 89 (88) 89 (88)

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

Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year. Wrockwardine Wood Infant and Nursery School - 20

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – Caribbean heritage 0 Black – Caribbean heritage 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – African heritage 0 Black – African heritage 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Any other minority ethnic group 5 Other minority ethnic groups

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

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) 8.1 Financial year 2000/2001

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 187

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: YR – Y2 Total income 473 195

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 8 Total expenditure 450 372

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 662 Expenditure per pupil 2 310

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Qualified teachers and support staff: nursery Balance brought forward from previous year 10 377

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 1 Balance carried forward to next year 33 200

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher (FTE)

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 4

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 416

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers who left the school during the last two years 4.0

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers appointed to the school during the last two years 2.0

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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) 0.1 Wrockwardine Wood Infant and Nursery School - 21 Number of unfilled vacancies or vacancies filled by teachers on temporary contract of less than one term (FTE) 0

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Recruitment of teachers

FTE means full-time equivalent. Wrockwardine Wood Infant and Nursery School - 22

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

Percentage of responses in each category

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

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

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

My child is making good progress in school. 73 21 3 0 3

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

Behaviour in the school is good. 63 35 2 0 0

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 49 35 6 3 6

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 59 25 10 5 2

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 68 25 5 2 0

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 79 19 0 0 2

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school works closely with parents. 67 27 3 3 0

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school is well led and managed. 76 21 0 0 3

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 68 27 2 0 3

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 46 27 6 8 13

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