Avenue Primary School

AVENUE PRIMARY SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 15 th - 19 th October 2001

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AVENUE PRIMARY SCHOOL

Full 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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AVENUE 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. Avenue Primary School - 1

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Meanley Road Manor Park Newham London Postcode: E12 6AR

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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 Simon Mares

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: 25 th November 1997 Avenue Primary School - 2

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responsibilities

30517 Michael Buckley Registered Inspector Music Physical education The school’s results and pupils’ achievements How well are pupils taught? How well is the school led and managed? 19798 Jane O’Keefe Lay Inspector Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development How well does the school care for its pupils? How well does the school work in partnership with parents? 16773 Raminder Arora Team inspector Mathematics How good are the curricular and other opportunities offered? Staffing 23385 Suzanne Gerred Team inspector Foundation Stage Science Accommodation

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responsibilities

17939 Gavin Graveson Team inspector English as an additional language 20963 Judy Keiner Team inspector Art Design and technology Information and communication technology 22699 Richard Stanley Team inspector Equal opportunities Geography History Religious education Assessment

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responsibilities

4486 Michael Weller Team inspector Special educational needs English Resources for learning

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responsibilities

PPI Group Ltd 7 Hill Street Bristol BS1 5RW

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responsibilities

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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responsibilities

The Complaints Manager Inspection Quality Division

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responsibilities

Alexandra House 33, Kingsway London WC2B 6SE Avenue Primary School - 3

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 4 - 7

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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HOW HIGH ARE STANDARDS? 8 - 11

The school’s results and pupils’ achievements Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

This is a very large mixed primary school in the east London borough of Newham. There are 104 children attending the nursery part-time and 568 pupils aged from five to eleven years. Fifty-six per cent of pupils are Bangladeshi, almost thirty per cent are from Pakistan or India and about five per cent are white British. Altogether, pupils come from over 20 different countries and speak about 30 different languages. Almost one pupil in every five is a refugee, many from Somalia. Five hundred and seventy-two pupils (85 per cent) are learning English as an additional language. Four hundred and twenty of them are beginners and receive additional support. These percentages are very high nationally and are well above the average for Newham schools. There is a very high rate of mobility in the school with many unplanned entries in all year groups. A significant number enter in Year 6 with no previous experience of schooling and very little English. The attainment of most pupils when

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

they begin compulsory education is well below the expected levels nationally and below the local average, mainly because of their lack of English. Almost half the pupils (48 per cent) are eligible for free school meals. This figure, too, is very high nationally and well above the local average. The school has 110 pupils on its register of special educational needs (16 per cent) and five have statements indicating the nature of additional support they require. These proportions are below the national averages although the pupils concerned have a wide range of needs. The school is part of the Manor Park Education Achievement Zone which provides a great deal of valuable support. Serious difficulties in appointing to senior and middle management posts have slowed developments over the last three years, particularly in assessment and monitoring.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

The school is improving. Pupils’ academic achievements are still not as good as they should be and areas of teaching are unsatisfactory. The high proportion of pupils learning English as an additional language, the low attainment on entry and the high mobility rate make consistent progress very difficult to achieve. Leadership and management are satisfactory overall but circumstances outside the school’s control have slowed the development of work with pupils learning English as an additional language. Slow progress in other areas is the result of insufficient monitoring and assessment. Nevertheless, the school is effective and it is providing satisfactory value for money.

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What the school does well

• The attainment of older pupils is slowly improving. • Children in the nursery and reception classes make a good start to their schooling. • The school promotes very good relationships and pupils show very well developed respect for others’ values and beliefs. • Pupils’ attitudes and behaviour are very good and the absence of oppressive attitudes and behaviour is outstanding. • The school works hard to liaise with parents and keep them well informed. • Pupils with special educational needs are well supported.

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What could be improved

• The teaching of and provision for English as an additional language, particularly in Years 3 to 5. • Aspects of curricular planning and short-term lesson planning for working with pupils learning English as an additional language. • Monitoring teaching and curriculum development. • Arrangements for the formal assessment of pupils’ progress. The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan. Avenue Primary School - 5 The school no longer has serious weaknesses but it still has areas where much improvement is needed.

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

The school has made slow but satisfactory improvement since it was last inspected in November 1997. It has tackled all the key issues, but some, such as assessment and monitoring, have not yet been satisfactorily resolved, mainly because of staffing difficulties. Standards of attainment are improving and there have been satisfactory improvements in most other areas of the school’s work.

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STANDARDS

The table shows the standards achieved by pupils at the end of Year 6 based on average point scores in National Curriculum tests.

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Key

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

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Key

Attainment in English has been in the lowest five per cent nationally for the last three years and attainment in mathematics and science has been well below the national averages over the past two years. When the results for 2000 are compared with those of similar schools, attainment was average in mathematics, below average in science and well below average in English. The Year 2 results are similar. However, these comparisons do not take into account the school’s very high proportion of pupils learning English as an additional language. In addition, a significant proportion of pupils enter the school during Year 6 with no previous experience of education in this country, making it very difficult for the school to provide continuity or to make progress. In 2001, this proportion amounted to almost one pupil in every four. Despite this, the trend in the Year 6 average point scores over the past five years is improving faster than the national average. The provisional

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Key

Year 6 results for 2001 remain well below the national averages and the averages for similar schools in English, mathematics and science. However, if the results of the most recently arrived pupils are discounted, the proportion reaching expected levels in all three subjects is about the average for similar schools, representing good improvements in English and science. The Year 2 results for 2001 show improvements in reading and science and a huge improvement in mathematics, where the results are above the national average and well above the average for similar schools. Standards seen during the inspection were well below the nationally expected levels in the Foundation Stage and Years 1 and 2, and below the expected levels in Years 3 to 6. Better standards were seen in English in Year 6, religious education and art. Work in information and communication technology was below the expected standard across the school. Children’s

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Key

achievements were satisfactory in the Foundation Stage but achievement is unsatisfactory in the rest of the school. This is largely because of the difficulties attached to learning English. The targets set for Years 2 and 6 are challenging and pupils have some way to go to achieve them.

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Aspect Comment

Attitudes to the school Very good attitudes in class. Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Very good in class and good around the school.

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Aspect Comment

Personal development and relationships Good. Very good relationships and an outstanding absence of oppressive attitudes and behaviour. Avenue Primary School - 6 Attendance Unsatisfactory. Figures are below the national average, mainly because of the high mobility of pupils and the number of holidays taken in term time. Pupils are enthusiastic. They listen and concentrate well. They show initiative and take responsibility by participating in the ‘buddy’ scheme and fund-raising.

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Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6

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

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Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6

Teaching and learning are very good in Year 6 and good in the nursery and reception classes and in Years 1 and 2. However, weaknesses in Years 3 to 5 mean that teaching and learning in these years are unsatisfactory. Overall, teachers have good relationships with their pupils and they use questioning, encouragement and praise well. They know their subjects well, particularly in the Foundation Stage and in literacy, numeracy, science and history, and they generally use resources well. Numeracy is used well to support other subjects but literacy less so. The main weakness in teaching is that class teachers do not always adopt appropriate approaches for working with pupils who are at early stages of learning English as an additional language. Weaknesses in assessment and in short-term planning mean that tasks are not always well matched to the needs of the pupils, particularly their language needs. Pupils with special educational needs are generally well taught.

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Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6

The quality of the support staff’s work is also generally good. Pupils of all ages try hard and show interest but they do not have a good idea of what they need to do to improve.

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Aspect Comment

The quality and range of the curriculum Good in the nursery and reception but, although all the subjects of the National Curriculum are covered, the curriculum has unsatisfactory breadth and balance in the rest of the school. The school plans to review and improve the position for the next academic year.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils with special educational needs Good, well-planned provision helps pupils to make good progress in the nursery and reception and Years 1 and 2. They make satisfactory progress in the junior school.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils with English as an additional language Unsatisfactory. The local authority’s specialist team is not always effectively deployed and, in some classes, pupils do not have access to the full curriculum because of language difficulties.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Satisfactory overall. Satisfactory spiritual and cultural and good moral and social provision. Pupils are taught the difference between right and wrong, and harmonious relationships and caring for others are strongly promoted by the adults in the school.

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Aspect Comment

How well the school cares for its pupils Good procedures for monitoring health and safety issues and attendance. There are satisfactory procedures for care.

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Aspect Comment

The curriculum meets statutory requirements. More detailed planning is needed to adapt national schemes to the particular needs of the pupils. Procedures for monitoring and supporting academic and personal development need to be tightened. Staff need further training in child protection. The Avenue Primary School - 7 school works hard at its relationship with parents and parents are happy with the school. Good information is provided and there is generally a good response to parents’ evenings.

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Aspect Comment

Leadership and management by the head teacher and other key staff Leadership and management are satisfactory overall and growing stronger. The comparatively new senior management team is beginning to make a valuable contribution.

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Aspect Comment

How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities The governors are effective. Many of them are involved with aspects of the school’s life and work. They are well informed and active.

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Aspect Comment

The school’s evaluation of its performance Satisfactory and procedures are improving. There are regular reviews by the senior management team and the governors.

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Aspect Comment

The strategic use of resources Good use is made of those resources over which the school has full control.

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Aspect Comment

The school has identified the right targets for development and financial planning is good. A good start has been made in setting up a system for the assessment of pupils’ progress and establishing schemes of work across the curriculum but further development in those areas is still needed. The principles of best value are properly applied. Staffing is unsatisfactory and the school is trying hard to recruit more permanent teachers. Accommodation is unsatisfactory, particularly the dilapidated mobile huts. Resources are satisfactory.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

• Their children like school. • Their children are making good progress. • Behaviour is good. • Teaching is good. • The school expects their children to work hard. • They would feel comfortable approaching the school with questions or problems. • The school is helping their children to become mature and responsible. • The school is well managed. • The school does not set the appropriate amount of homework. • The school does not work closely enough with parents. • There are not enough activities outside lessons. • They would like more rewards and merits for their children.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

Inspectors agree with most of the parents’ positive views. Although the majority of the teaching is good or very good, there are weaknesses in Years 3 to 5. There is insufficient clarity about the amount and frequency of homework and more rewards and merits would act as additional encouragement for pupils. The school works hard to communicate with parents and to welcome them into the school, although there is sometimes jargon in the teachers’ reports to parents. Inspectors also think that the range of activities outside lessons is satisfactory. Avenue Primary School - 8

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

1. The attainment of most children when they enter the nursery is well below the expected levels in most of the areas of learning, particularly in speaking, listening and mathematics. Almost all are from homes where English is an additional language and many speak and understand little English. However, they are likely to reach the expected standards by the end of the reception year in their personal, social and emotional development, and in their physical and creative development. Children learning English as an additional language are well supported and gain significantly in confidence. Although achievement overall is satisfactory, children are not likely to reach the expected levels in communication, language and literacy or mathematical development, or in their knowledge and understanding of the world.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

2. Attainment in the standard tests for seven and eleven-year-olds has varied considerably for the past five years. Results for seven-year-olds do not show a clear trend. There was a slow improvement in reading, writing and mathematics until 1999, when there was a big dip. Results have improved again over the last two years. The average point scores for 2000 were well below the national averages for writing and mathematics and very low for reading. The provisional results for 2001 show that there has been a huge improvement in mathematics and the results are above the national average. There have been some improvements in reading and science, where results are now well below the national average instead of being very low, and attainment in writing is still well below the national average. When the 2001 results are compared with those of other schools with a similar proportion of free school meals, the

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

mathematics results are well above average, the results for writing are in line with the average and the results for reading and science are below average. Girls are doing better than boys but not by as great a margin as is seen nationally.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

3. Over the past four years, the results for Year 6 have improved faster than those for primary schools nationally. During this period, there has been a slightly improving trend in English, a more marked improvement in mathematics and a clear improvement in science. In this last subject, the proportion of pupils reaching higher levels in 2000 was in line with the national average. Nevertheless, attainment in 2000 was still well below the national average for mathematics and science overall and it was very low in English. There was very little difference between the respective performances of boys and girls. Provisional results for 2001 show that results in all three subjects are well below the national averages, although there has been some improvement in English. When the results for 2001 are compared with those of pupils in other schools who achieved similar results in 1997, at the end of Year 2, they are also well below

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

average. These comparisons suggest that junior pupils at Avenue make less progress than they do at other schools with similar prior attainment, and that progress was not as good in 2001 as it had been in 2000. However, the school has obtained a dispensation allowing it to discount those pupils who were recent arrivals in the 2001 Year 6 classes and whose lack of English made them unable to sit the end-of-year tests. Provisional calculations show that, if this adjustment is made, the 2001 results are about the average for schools with a similar proportion of free school meals and just below those of schools achieving similar results in the 1997 tests for seven-year-olds.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

4. There are five main reasons for the school’s comparatively low performances.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

• The base-line assessments conducted by the school over the last three years, the comparisons provided by the local education authority and the evidence from this inspection all show that attainments on entry to the Foundation Stage and in Year 1 are well below the nationally expected levels and below the average for the local authority area.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

• Approximately seven out of every eight pupils in the school are learning English as an additional language and almost two thirds of the pupils in the school are at an early stage in Avenue Primary School - 9 learning the language. These figures are extremely high nationally and are well above the average for the local authority. The proportion of pupils who are at the earliest stages of learning English is half as large again as it was at the time of the last inspection.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

• A very high proportion of pupils arrives in the school from abroad in the middle of the school year. Although this occurs in all year groups, the effects on Years 5 and 6 are particularly significant. For example, one third of the pupils in the last Year 6 joined the school in Years 5 or 6 and over half of these arrived with little or no English. Thus, over 20 per cent of the entire year group who took the 2001 tests understood little English and, furthermore, many of these pupils had little previous experience of formal education. The number of pupils involved is growing each year.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

• The high proportion of pupils who are eligible for free school meals indicates that many families in the community are experiencing socio-economic difficulties. However, in addition to this, the school has a high and growing number of pupils from refugee or asylum-seeking families. Apart from economic difficulties, many of these families have serious problems to do with housing and physical and psychological health. At the beginning of the last school year, the proportion of these pupils amounted to almost 16 per cent of the school’s roll.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

• The refugee and asylum-seeking families and other families in temporary accommodation contribute to the very high mobility among the school’s population. Last year this affected 28 per cent of the pupils on roll – more than one in four. In efforts to minimise the harm done to their children’s education, some parents have kept them at the school although their accommodation has been transferred to places as far away as Southend and West London. Most families are not able to do this and the very high turnover of pupils disrupts not only their education but also that of other pupils in their year group.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

5. Under these circumstances, comparisons with prior attainment four years ago, at the end of Year 2, lose much of their validity, since the composition of the year groups is so different. In the same way, comparisons with schools having a similar proportion of free school meals are weakened because they take no account of the very high number of pupils at Avenue Primary School who are at the early stages of learning English and who are unable to gain full access to the curriculum in time for the tests at the end of Year 2 and Year 6.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

6. The school has calculated the results for the small proportion of pupils who were on the roll from the reception class to Year 6 in 2001. These figures suggest that the proportions of that group reaching the expected levels or higher in the standard tests were just below the national averages in English and mathematics and in line with the national average in science. The figures also show that these pupils made average progress through the junior school, considering their prior attainment. Two of these pupils were entered for the highest level test in English. In other words, there is some evidence to show that, when all the difficulties are taken into account, the school is enabling its pupils to make satisfactory progress and the achievements of the most stable group are at least satisfactory by national standards.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

7. Overall, the standards of work seen during the inspection were well below the nationally expected levels in the Foundation Stage and in Years 1 and 2 and below the expected levels in the junior school. The low attainment is, in most cases, the direct result of the difficulties experienced in learning English. This particularly affects language in the Foundation Stage and reading and writing in Years 1 and 2, where attainment is well below the expected levels. In English, mathematics, science, geography and history, where language difficulties hinder pupils’ grasp of the concepts being taught, attainment is below the nationally expected levels. In all the other subjects, except for information and communication technology and music, attainment is at about the expected levels. The standards reached in information and communication technology across the school are below those expected nationally because the syllabus is not

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

yet being fully covered and most teachers lack the confidence to teach all strands of the subject. There are no significant differences between the attainments of boys and girls or between the attainments of different groups of pupils, other than those at the early stages of learning English as an additional language. Avenue Primary School - 10 8. Pupils at the early stages of learning English as an additional language make good progress in acquiring the language. This applies to children in the Foundation Stage and to pupils in Years 1 and 2. The present policy of the specialist team means that it does not provide support for pupils beyond the earliest stages of language learning. Consequently, the more confident users of English make satisfactory progress only where the class teacher has a satisfactory or better understanding of the approaches needed to support their learning. This is a very important

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

factor considering that only two or three pupils in each class are native English speakers. Where teachers are unclear about the particular needs of pupils learning an additional language, this contributes to the low attainment in English, particularly in the junior school. Given the very high proportion of pupils learning English as an additional language and the low attainment on entry, children’s overall achievements in the Foundation Stage are satisfactory. Achievement in the rest of the school is unsatisfactory because pupils are not able to make sufficient progress.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

9. Attainment targets have been set for the three years from 2000 to 2002. They were realistically fixed at levels that the local education authority and the school agreed would be challenging and, in 2000, the targets for Year 2 reading tests and Year 6 English tests were not reached. In 2001, the targets for all aspects of the tests for Year 2 were exceeded by a large margin but those for Year 6 were met only in science, while the results for English were below the target and those for mathematics were well below the target set. The Year 2 targets for 2002, although higher than those for previous years, were passed in 2001 and inspection evidence indicates that pupils in the present Year 2 are making satisfactory progress towards meeting them. In Year 6, however, substantial improvement is needed if pupils are to reach the targets in 2002, particularly in English and mathematics.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

10. Pupils with high levels of special educational needs are well supported. Those with statements identifying the additional help they need and those who have individual education plans make good progress towards the targets set for them. Pupils with lower levels of need receive less specifically focused support and the progress they make is more variable. However, they make good progress overall in the Foundation Stage and in Years 1 and 2 and satisfactory progress in the junior school. There are examples of pupils on the school’s register of special educational needs reaching the nationally expected levels in the national assessment tasks, despite initial difficulties in literacy. Pupils identified last year as having particular spelling difficulties all showed marked progress in the correct spelling of commonly occurring words. Pupils with special educational needs make good progress in reading by the time they reach Year 6. All

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

are able to read independently but with varying degrees of comprehension.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

11. Pupils generally make satisfactory use of literacy and good use of numeracy across the curriculum, although standards are not as high as they should be. The use of information and communication technology to support learning in other subjects is unsatisfactory and standards are generally low.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

12. This area continues to be a strength of the school. Pupils like school and have very good attitudes to their work. Parents are pleased with the attitudes and behaviour they observe in the school. Pupils are enthusiastic learners who listen attentively to their teachers and to each other. They are very keen to answer questions and help teachers sensibly when asked. They work together well in pairs and small groups and settle quickly to their tasks. Very occasionally, pupils become restless and noisy during lessons but this is due mostly to ineffective teaching methods which cause them to lose concentration.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

13. Behaviour in and around the school is also very good and there have been no exclusions in the past year. Pupils are friendly, courteous and sociable. They treat each other with kindness and respect. Pupils of all cultures work and play happily together. During the inspection, pupils were observed supporting each other well. For instance, in a Year 1 art lesson, a pupil was seen translating the teacher’s instructions for his new classmate who spoke no English. Avenue Primary School - 11 14. Relationships are excellent in the school. No evidence of oppressive behaviour was observed and pupils are confident that, should an incident occur, it would be dealt with quickly and effectively. The wide variety of religious and cultural values and beliefs is respected by all and pupils generally show great interest when studying different religions. Pupils are caring and supportive towards each other and there is a distinctive atmosphere of racial harmony within the

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

15. When given the chance to take responsibility, pupils respond well. They regularly do small jobs around the school, such as taking registers to the office or transferring lunch boxes to the dining hall. In all year groups, pupils help with tidying up in lessons quickly and without fuss. Older pupils show great maturity when taking part in the ‘buddy’ scheme. This innovative scheme trains volunteer pupils in Years 2-6 to provide practical and personal support to the many children who join the school in the middle of term. They rise to this challenge well and take great pride in enabling the new pupils to settle quickly and make friends. Pupils often initiate charity fund-raising activities in response to world events.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

16. Despite the school’s efforts, attendance is unsatisfactory, with levels below national averages. There has been some improvement in the last few years but figures dropped during the reporting year and are now similar to those at the last inspection. The high number of pupils moving in and out of the school adversely affects the figures. Families living in temporary accommodation are often moved suddenly out of the area, yet their children have to remain on the school’s roll until official notification of their whereabouts is received. Punctuality is also a problem in the school, with a significant minority of pupils observed drifting in to lessons after the start of the school day. Punctuality is affected by the personal circumstances of some families who, for instance, may have to travel long distances when they are moved out of the area.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

17. There are 37 pupils on the school’s register of special educational needs who have emotional and behavioural difficulties, some of whom have been quite traumatised by their personal circumstances. The high quality of the support they receive from the school and the tolerant and friendly attitudes of the other pupils ensure that, despite their difficulties, there are hardly any instances of bad behaviour or interrupted learning. Most pupils with special educational needs show the same degree of perseverance and concentration as other pupils.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

18. Eighty-eight per cent of the teaching seen was satisfactory or better. Although this is a good improvement since the last inspection, the quality of teaching is unsatisfactory overall. However, a number of factors moderate this judgement:

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

• 49 per cent of teaching in the school was good or better and 15 per cent was very good. • 78 per cent of the eighteen lessons seen in Year 6 were good or better and 28 per cent were very good or excellent. • In the Foundation Stage and Years 1 and 2, 98 per cent of teaching was satisfactory or better. The proportion of very good or excellent teaching was 29 per cent in reception and 24 per cent in Year 2. These are all good percentages. • In other words, the quality of teaching is very good in Year 6 and consistently good in the Foundation Stage and Years 1 and 2. • The unsatisfactory teaching was almost entirely in Years 3 to 5. Of the nine class teachers in these years, six have completed only five years’ teaching between them. Three of them were newly qualified and in their first half-term of teaching at the time of the inspection.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

19. Special circumstances applied in the school at the time of the inspection. Skilled and experienced teachers had left. The staff turnover in the past two years and the difficulties in making appointments had led to there being an unusually high proportion of new and inexperienced teachers on the staff. The headteacher had understandably decided not to dilute the strength of teaching in the Foundation Stage and Years 1, 2 and 6, and she placed an experienced teacher in each of the other three year groups. The amount of good and very good teaching seen in these year groups makes it clear that the school has good and effective Avenue Primary School - 12 teachers to support their colleagues and help them to develop the skills needed to be successful in this particular setting. This should quickly strengthen the quality of teaching.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

20. There is no particular pattern to the distribution of the unsatisfactory lessons across subjects, except that two out of three lessons in information and communication technology were unsatisfactory. Otherwise, the unsatisfactory grades were spread fairly evenly, in proportion to the frequency of observations.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

21. In the Foundation Stage, there has been good improvement in teaching since the previous inspection. It is consistently good in the nursery and ranges from satisfactory to very good in reception. Teachers have a thorough knowledge of the recommended early learning goals. They plan effectively and provide a wide range of stimulating and relevant learning opportunities. They are very clear about what children are to learn from self-selected activities as well as those activities that are led by adults. This is a significant factor in contributing to children’s good learning. Another significant factor is the good use that is made of nursery nurses and support staff, who engage well with children and are quick to see where they are needed. They work closely with teachers and contribute to the planning and organisation of activities and to assessment.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

22. Literacy and numeracy are taught well in Years 1 and 2 but less effectively in the junior school although numeracy is generally well used across the curriculum. Teachers generally demonstrate a secure knowledge and understanding of their subjects. One of the main characteristics of the good teaching in the school is that teachers establish good relationships with their classes. These relationships underpin the good management of pupils and of their behaviour that is a feature of most lessons, and they enable teachers to generate humour and so maintain interest without losing the focus of the lesson. Teachers ask searching questions that require pupils to think before they answer, not merely supply a known fact, and, in some of the best practice, fluent, quickfire questioning tests pupils’ understanding by challenging them to check their own answers and try alternative explanations. This is often a particular strength of

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

the final, plenary sessions. Teachers prepare their lessons well and ensure that relevant resources are available. They make their expectations clear and they ensure that pupils understand the learning objectives for each lesson. They use praise and encouragement sensitively and this helps pupils to persevere with difficult tasks.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

23. In the successful lessons, class teachers are always aware of the difficulty pupils learning English as an additional language can have in understanding vocabulary and, therefore, the related concepts, and they adopt a variety of graphic approaches. For example, a teacher in Year 5 reinforced the idea of counting backwards with hand rotation and other teachers make effective use of visual or three-dimensional aids. These skills, many of which can be quickly acquired, have not been disseminated to all staff. Consequently, the key feature of the unsatisfactory lessons is that the teachers concerned do not take sufficient account of the particular needs of pupils who are learning English as an additional language. This is reflected in planning, the lack of detailed assessment and appropriate resources, and the mismatch between the tasks set and the pupils’ learning needs. Information and communication

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

technology is seldom used effectively in any class or with any group to support teaching and learning.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

24. The specialist teachers of English as an additional language and the two other specialist staff support classes in rotation, for half a term at a time. This pattern of deployment follows the policy of the local education authority, which employs most of the specialist staff. It was criticised in the last inspection report but nothing has been done to alter it and it remains an inefficient use of these additional resources. There are also two assistants for the Foundation Stage who have been appointed because they offer specific bilingual and translating skills. A number of other classroom assistants make use of their own first languages in the course of their work. The local Education Achievement Zone also provides a teacher for two days a week to support new arrivals. She operates a very effective system of withdrawal for intensive teaching in small groups.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

25. In the nursery and reception classes, teaching and support for children who are learning English as an additional language are good. Bilingual support for these young children is very effective Avenue Primary School - 13 and there is a very good level of partnership with the class teachers. In the rest of the school, the overall quality of this specialist teaching is satisfactory, with some good lessons. The best practice has a clear focus on the acquisition of vocabulary, idiom, structures and conventions. Specially prepared resources, such as pop-up reading books and puppets, are well used. The work is largely oral, so that pupils can gain confidence in understanding and usage. For example, a pupil learned the correct pronunciation of ‘hippopotamus’, then, learning the diminutive ‘hippo’, she offered the rhyme, ‘kipper’ - a word she had learned a few days previously - as a contribution to the humour of the occasion. Less effective teaching occurs

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

when specialist staff accommodate inappropriately to the requirements of the literacy strategy, adopting formalized approaches that are inappropriate for second language learners. This was a general weakness in the unsatisfactory lessons seen.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

26. Pupils with special educational needs are identified in teachers’ short-term planning for literacy and numeracy. Where this happens, they are supported effectively with well thought-out tasks and resources and additional help. For example, in English in Year 6, when all pupils were reading poems and preparing to write their own, pupils with special educational needs were given a simple structure on the theme of ‘Summer’. At the end of the lesson, they read aloud the poem they had composed, to the approval of the rest of the class: ‘Seagulls singing/Waves swimming/Drinks fizzing/Babies screaming’. In a Year 5 mathematics lesson, pupils benefited from using a ‘Handigraph’ computer programme and were able to plot and record a graph of chance and frequency more rapidly and with more understanding than peers using pencil and paper.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

27. These pupils learn less when they are expected to listen passively for over-long periods of time or where the task or the vocabulary is too difficult for them. Even in these circumstances, they sometimes learn better than others in the class because of the quality of teaching assistants. Support from teaching assistants is very good. They help pupils to focus on the learning, often engaging them in one-to-one conversation, ensuring their understanding. Pupils with statements of special educational need are particularly well supported. For example, one pupil receives physiotherapy in school. He has a specially designed desk and chair that enable him to join in with other pupils with little restriction and he is making good progress.

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PUPILS?

28. The curriculum for the Foundation Stage is in accordance with the early learning goals, successfully incorporated into the National Curriculum for Year 1 and planned appropriately. In the rest of the school, the curriculum includes all the required subjects of the National Curriculum and religious education. The statutory requirements to provide appropriate sex education and raise awareness of drug misuse have been addressed. Appropriate opportunities for pupils to learn about health issues form part of the science curriculum. The school has recognised that it needs to develop a suitable programme for pupils’ personal and social education.

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PUPILS?

29. Considerable emphasis has been placed on the effective implementation of the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies and this is having a positive impact on pupils' learning. For example, pupils' skills in mental arithmetic have greatly improved. The successful implementation of both strategies has also improved the quality of teaching in areas such as the teaching of basic skills of phonics and spelling across the school. However, lessons are not always planned to provide opportunities for pupils to speak or write at length, or to cater specifically for the high proportion of pupils who are learning English as an additional language, many of whom are at very early stages of learning English.

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PUPILS?

30. The school has worked hard to improve since the last inspection, when curricular planning and the breadth and balance of the curriculum were judged to be serious weaknesses. There is now appropriate coverage and written policies for all subjects. Nationally recommended schemes of work have been adopted in all subjects except information and communication technology. However, they have not been adapted to meet the particular needs of the pupils at the school, taking into account their diverse backgrounds. For this reason, the content does not sufficiently Avenue Primary School - 14 reflect pupils’ different cultural and ethnic backgrounds or the range of attainments and skills that they possess. In these respects, the curriculum does not have sufficient breadth or relevance and there is not equality of access and opportunity for all pupils.

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PUPILS?

31. There are still some inefficiencies in the organisation of the school day. For example, the extra time given to English and the 15-minute periods at the ends of many sessions are not always used effectively. There is some slippage of time in many lessons. The school is aware of these matters and is considering changing the timing of teaching sessions. The programme for teaching skills in information and communication technology is now carefully planned. However, not enough opportunities are provided for pupils to develop and use these skills to support their learning in other subjects.

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PUPILS?

32. Teachers collaborate well and plan in teams across year groups. This co-operative method is effective in ensuring that pupils in the same year but in different classes have equal access to what is taught. In a school where staffing is often subject to shortages and staff turnover is high, this approach is rightly given a strong emphasis. It supports the induction of temporary staff and those who arrive at short notice. However, the short-term planning has weaknesses. It is not sufficiently detailed to show clear links with pupils’ prior attainments or carefully matched to the needs of individuals and groups. The current planning does not prepare teachers sufficiently to ensure that all pupils learn effectively and achieve well. Formal assessment of pupils’ progress does not form part of the planning. Although there is good practice in some year groups, teachers do not consistently evaluate their planning to take

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PUPILS?

account of what has already been learnt or what needs to be reinforced further. This contributes to the large amount of uncompleted work in pupils’ books. Despite good practice in some year groups, homework is not used systematically to reinforce pupils’ learning.

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PUPILS?

33. The range of extra-curricular activities is satisfactory. Pupils have opportunities to take part in after-school clubs for music, hockey and football and these are well attended. An art club is being planned. There is a good take-up for the two after-school ‘Kick Start’ classes offering additional English language lessons. These classes are particularly valuable for newly arrived pupils from different countries and there is also a weekly Bengali language club. Both of these initiatives are supported by the local Education Achievement Zone. There are some opportunities to play competitive sports against other local schools. This provision enriches pupils' learning and makes a significant contribution to their personal and social development. The school offers a satisfactory range of visits to places of historical or geographical interest, such as the Unicorn Theatre, the Royal Opera House and the Tower of London. Pupils also

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PUPILS?

visit the local church and other places of worship, such as a temple, a mosque and a Sikh gurdwara. Year 6 pupils make an annual residential visit to an outdoor activity centre.

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PUPILS?

34. The school has satisfactory links with organisations in the community and the local Fire Safety Officer and the Road Safety Team often visit. Other visitors are invited to the school for musical performances and workshops. Links with partner institutions, such as the local nurseries and playgroups, a secondary school and local training colleges, are maintained satisfactorily. The Manor Park Education Achievement Zone has made a very important contribution to the school’s extra-curricular educational provision, particularly for English language learning and the arts. There is very good liaison with specialist centres dealing with special educational needs and with staff from relevant agencies, such as educational psychologists, counsellors, physiotherapists and speech and language therapists to ensure appropriate additional support and provision.

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PUPILS?

35. The provision for spiritual development is satisfactory. Spiritual issues are explored in some lessons, such as art, music and science, although there is potential to extend this. Assemblies provide a satisfactory setting for pupils to reflect on their own and others’ lives. For example, younger pupils were helped to understand the theme of ‘listening’ through the story, ‘Not Now Bernard’. In another assembly, older pupils listened to the story of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane and learned about the importance of prayer. Although pupils are given opportunities for spiritual reflection through a thought or prayer, the quality of their reflection is sometimes impaired by the very difficult words used in the prayer. Assemblies are planned in advance around themes related to pupils’ own experiences, such as friendship and caring, and meet the statutory requirements for daily collective worship. However, opportunities to wonder

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PUPILS?

Avenue Primary School - 15 at and be amazed by natural phenomena or human achievements are not emphasised enough across the curriculum.

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PUPILS?

36. Good provision is made for pupils’ moral development. The school is strongly committed to encouraging care and respect for others and teachers ensure that all pupils are valued. The difference between right and wrong is effectively taught and most pupils have a good understanding of what is inappropriate behaviour and adhere to the set of agreed rules. The school actively promotes positive values and behaviour and the pupils respond constructively, enjoying their work and showing care for the school. Moral values are well taught through stories, songs and discussions. A number of fund-raising activities for various charities raise pupils’ awareness of wider moral issues. In the recent past, pupils have helped with donations for the homeless through fund-raising on ‘Red Nose Day’ and raised money for the victims of the earthquake in Gujarat and the floods in Bangladesh. Teaching and non-teaching staff

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PUPILS?

provide good role models and encourage children to relate very well to each other and to behave courteously.

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PUPILS?

37. Good provision is made for pupils’ social development through the daily life of the school. Children in the Foundation Stage settle quickly into school life and are encouraged to relate well to each other and to become independent and self-confident. Throughout the school, there are well-planned opportunities to promote pupils’ social development. The staff work hard to create a secure environment in which pupils feel valued and well cared for. The school is very successful in its attempts to ensure all pupils develop self-confidence and self-esteem. The quality of relationships between adults and pupils and amongst pupils themselves is very good. When provided with appropriate opportunities, most pupils carry out responsibilities well. For example, they become involved with the ‘buddy’ scheme or prepare the hall for assemblies and lunch times. Opportunities for pupils to take initiative and to develop independence in learning

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PUPILS?

are good in the Foundation Stage but limited in the rest of the school.

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PUPILS?

38. The provision for pupils’ cultural development is satisfactory. The school promotes respect for the cultural traditions reflected in British society through the curriculum and through other activities, such as performances by visiting musicians on the drum, tabla, dhol and sitar and by a brass ensemble. The planned curriculum makes a contribution through topics in history, geography and art. There are some opportunities to develop pupils’ understanding of the central beliefs and practices of different faiths and to appreciate the art, dance, music and ways of life of people from other cultures. For example, the school has visited the Unicorn Theatre to hear a selection of multicultural folk stories from around the world and pupils have seen a performance at Covent Garden. There are some multicultural artefacts and a range of good quality books about the wider world. However, pupils have only limited opportunities to learn

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PUPILS?

from the involvement of representatives and visitors from different faiths. As a result, their appreciation of the rich cultural diversity found in Britain is underdeveloped.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

39. Provision for the care of pupils remains satisfactory overall, as it was at the time of the last inspection. The school provides a caring environment where staff work hard to know pupils and their families well. There are appropriate procedures for dealing with accidents and illness and pupils know where to go if they need help. However, some of the procedures for ensuring the well-being of pupils lack rigour. For example, there is no formal system for playground staff to log any incidents that may occur.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

40. One of the assistant headteachers has been designated to deal with child protection issues and she has been fully trained in this area. The rest of the staff, however, have not had recent training and they are not all fully aware of the correct procedures to follow. The school is aware that this area needs review and a new policy and staff training are planned. The physical safety of the site, buildings and equipment is effectively maintained by the site supervisor. All necessary procedures for health and safety, including regular risk assessments, are implemented.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

41. Good behaviour is promoted well through the behaviour policy and the use of rules for each class. Pupils are very well aware of these and respect them. ‘Sharing’ assemblies are held Avenue Primary School - 16 weekly when pupils can show examples of good work to the rest of the school and certificates for good attendance are issued. However, parents and pupils expressed regret that there are no other rewards, such as certificates or stickers, for good effort and behaviour. The successful ‘buddy’ system promotes the personal development of the new pupils and of the carefully trained Year 6 volunteers who support them in their first days at the school. The school is at the early stages of establishing a school council, which would enable pupils to have a say in the running of their school. The school has also worked hard to promote good relationships between pupils and to eliminate oppressive behaviour. Cultural and religious tolerance is

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

consistently encouraged in assemblies and during religious education lessons.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

42. As reported at the last inspection, the procedures for assessing attainment and progress are good in the Foundation Stage. Good progress has been made in introducing a comprehensive system for the rest of the school but, at the time of the inspection, this had not been fully implemented. Training in target-setting and moderating assessments has been provided for teachers in Years 5 and 6 and pupils’ progress in these years is now being tracked satisfactorily. The statutory assessments for seven and eleven-year-olds are administered appropriately and the results from these are supplemented by the use of the optional English and mathematics tests in Years 3, 4 and 5. Systematic procedures for recording progress in English, mathematics and science have been introduced but there are not yet procedures for assessing progress in other subjects. A portfolio of pupils’ writing, levelled against national criteria, has

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

been produced and is helping to standardise assessment in this area but no similar materials are available for other subjects. The school has begun to analyse pupils’ performance by year group and gender but not yet by ethnicity. The analysis of performance by date of entry has enabled the school to begin to evaluate the impact of pupils’ mobility and to measure the progress that pupils make.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

43. Outside the Foundation Stage, the use of assessment information to guide teachers’ planning and to identify next steps in pupils’ learning remains unsatisfactory. Daily planning sheets have space for assessment notes but these are used mainly to reinforce the teaching objectives for the lesson and not to identify significant learning outcomes. In longer-term planning, insufficient use is made of the outcomes of formal assessment to identify specific curricular targets or particular areas of weakness in teaching and learning. For example, the school has set the improvement of standards in writing as a priority, but the specific implications this has for teaching and learning in each year group have not been identified. Individual and group target- setting is being introduced in English and guidance has been provided on this by the assessment co-ordinator. However, good practice is not yet well established across the school.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

Beyond the Foundation Stage, there are no established procedures for monitoring and supporting pupils’ personal development.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

44. The new assessment procedures for pupils learning English as an additional language are being used to track their progress across the stages of language acquisition. However, the procedures are not being used systematically to focus the teaching of the class teacher and the language assistant or to identify learning targets and specific areas for improvement. Consequently, the class teachers’ assessments of individual pupils’ progress in learning English are still often weak and, in lessons, language targets for individual pupils are generally imprecise. For example, in a Year 6 mathematics class, pupils were given an appropriate vocabulary of terms but there was no consideration given to how well individual pupils would be able to understand them. As a result, learning was hit and miss. Formal assessments of language acquisition are carried out systematically each year. However, there is little tracking

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

of pupils at the more advanced stages, particularly in relation to their attainments within the National Curriculum, or against their performance in the standardised tests.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

45. All pupils on the school’s register of special educational needs have language targets and individual education plans have been drawn up for all pupils who need them. The plans are of good quality, with specific, measurable and achievable targets and they are updated each term. Class teachers have copies of the plans and refer to them regularly. In addition, learning support assistants keep very good running records of pupils’ progress. As a result, there are satisfactory procedures for assessing the progress of those pupils with special educational needs who have an individual education plan. Pupils with statements of special educational Avenue Primary School - 17 need have personal profiles that they can access themselves and, if they are being transferred, they are given ‘personal passports’ that explain their difficulties and needs.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

46. The school has considerably improved its partnership with parents since the last inspection. Staff have worked very hard to improve matters, in particular, the arrangements for parents who do not speak English, and this has resulted in good links being forged. Parents are generally happy with the education and care the school provides for their children. In the questionnaires and at the parents’ meeting, a few concerns were expressed over the lack of clear arrangements for homework. These concerns are supported by evidence from the inspection.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

47. Parents receive useful information in the form of the prospectus, newsletters and the governors’ annual report. Translations are provided wherever possible to give all parents access to this information. Consultation meetings are held in the autumn term and following the issuing of the pupils’ reports in the summer term. These are appreciated and well attended by parents, some of whom expressed a wish to have one more meeting in the spring term. The reports themselves provide a range of information on the work pupils have covered throughout the year. However, many contain a lot of educational jargon and they do not always identify the targets for pupils to work towards. The school follows the recommendations set out in the Code of Practice for special educational needs concerning the attendance of parents at the annual reviews. More frequent contact is made with parents of pupils with particular and immediate

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

needs, such as disturbed behaviour arising from problems at home. The school also helps parents to ensure their children receive the necessary medical, physical or psychological assessments.

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

48. Special events have been held, where staff explain different subjects to parents. These have been well attended by many parents. Each half term, sheets are sent to parents explaining what their children will be learning in the coming period. Some of these sheets also contain useful suggestions on how parents can help their children at home with the topics. Parents are regularly invited into school for special assemblies celebrating a range of different religious festivals. A clear home-school agreement is available in different languages and a large proportion of parents and pupils have signed the agreement. A few parents help in the classrooms, mostly in the Foundation Stage. Good support is received from parents when accompanying pupils on outings. The parents’ association has dwindled in recent years and is now just involved in selling the school uniform. The school recognises this problem and has

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HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

received a good level of support and interest following a recent questionnaire to parents, requesting help in this area.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

49. The last inspection found that the school had serious weaknesses in leadership, in the management of the curriculum and in aspects of attainment. The present headteacher took post a few months after the inspection with a clear remit to raise standards, involve governors and senior staff in management, develop the planning of the curriculum and ensure that all statutory requirements were being met. For more than a year, she worked without the support of a proper senior management team. She drew up a well targeted and carefully costed action plan to address all the key issues and set a very clear and appropriate agenda to move the school forward on all fronts. At the same time, a school development plan had to be written, as there had been none previously, and the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies had to be implemented. The leadership and management of the school are now sound.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

50. Since the previous inspection, the school has tackled all the key issues systematically. Schemes of work have been adopted and co-ordinators were appointed for all subjects. However, the loss of a number of experienced teachers, some of them co-ordinators, adversely affected the school’s capacity for improvement and recruitment difficulties slowed this still further. For example, having introduced a programme of monitoring teaching, arrangements had to be suspended owing to staff shortages and the difficulty of finding suitable supply teachers. A new and larger senior management team has now been appointed and Avenue Primary School - 18 responsibilities have been appropriately delegated. Satisfactory improvements have been made since the last inspection, despite continuing staffing difficulties. Nevertheless, there are still weaknesses in the provision for pupils learning English as an additional language, in the

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

monitoring of teaching and curriculum development and in assessment. The headteacher is providing calm and determined leadership; the senior management know what still needs to be done and they have good, realistic plans for meeting their targets.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

51. One assistant headteacher has taken responsibility for establishing school-wide procedures for assessment. She is aware of the current weaknesses and has started to address them, providing clear and appropriate guidance for staff on good practice. A second assistant headteacher has taken responsibility for home-school liaison and for out-of-school learning and there have been good developments in both of these areas. The third assistant head teacher has responsibility for the Foundation Stage and has already been instrumental in producing closer liaison between the nursery and the reception classes. The headteacher has rightly attached a great deal of importance to building up the staff team, involving all the staff in development planning. The third assistant headteacher has also taken responsibility for planning and managing this process and, although progress here has been slow, consultation

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

has been very thorough. As a result, morale in the school is good, staff are committed to raising standards and the school is well placed to improve further. The school’s aims and values are clear and are shared and understood by staff, pupils, parents and governors.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

52. The senior management team meets weekly and regularly monitors the school’s progress towards its targets and reports on this to the governors. The team also monitors standards by conducting a scrutiny of pupils’ work across the year groups. They have not yet resumed the formal programme of monitoring teaching. At present, the school has no co-ordinators for mathematics, music or physical education. The co-ordinators for the other subjects are mostly carrying out their duties conscientiously and well. Although there is no mathematics co- ordinator at present, the previous post-holder established a good basis for the subject and for the successful introduction of the National Numeracy Strategy, and the English co-ordinator has worked equally well to establish literacy across the school. There has been some monitoring of literacy and numeracy but none of the co-ordinators now has any time to observe teaching and

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

the extent to which they monitor teachers’ planning varies considerably. The lack of monitoring is leading to some inconsistencies in classroom practice and some weaknesses in teaching and in curriculum planning have not been identified or dealt with quickly enough.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

53. The specific grant to support the teaching of English as an additional language is retained by the local education authority and staff who have been in post some time are still employed centrally. More recently, the authority has permitted the school to recruit its own support staff, and one of these posts is currently vacant. Management of this provision will be fully devolved to the school next spring. In the interim, the school’s policy for teaching English as an additional language is thin and is unrelated to the policy for English and a number of central service practices, such as block timetabling, are still in operation. These factors and the slow progress towards devolved budgeting over the last two years have weakened the schools’ ability to plan for and manage this provision. Given the very large number of pupils affected, the position needs to be reviewed at an early date. The lack of full, direct management by the

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

school of the team supporting pupils learning English as an additional language contributes to further some other inefficiencies. For example, effective interventions by the special educational needs team, such as working on reading and spelling, are regularly suspended because the language team decides to focus on the same year group. The two teams are not well linked.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

54. The situation regarding English as an additional language is in marked contrast to the management of work with special educational needs. In this latter area, responsibility has been clearly devolved to the school and a clear policy and guidance for all staff have been drawn up by the co-ordinator. The co-ordinator contributes to senior management team meetings and to staff development across the school. She has also liaised with the literacy and numeracy co- ordinators about ways of adapting the national strategies for pupils with special educational needs and ensures that all subject co-ordinators consider providing appropriate resources. The team working with pupils who have special educational needs is well managed and well deployed. The learning support teacher meets them once a week and discusses relevant Avenue Primary School - 19 issues, such as the use of appropriate agencies. She monitors their records and models good

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

55. The school is still working towards the targets set by the headteacher in her post-inspection action plan and first school improvement plan. These have been reviewed and fresh priorities set, where necessary. In preparation for the next phase of development, an assistant headteacher has been conducting a very detailed process of consultation that has involved all teaching and non-teaching staff and governors and has incorporated the views of parents and, to some extent, those of pupils, too. This has produced a lengthy series of potential development targets that still need to be put in priority order and properly costed. The document does set out the annual rolling programme of review and target-setting, including attainment targets, and it links the school’s targets with those of the Education Achievement Zone and the local authority’s Education Development Plan. Although the consultation has not

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

yet produced a final business plan, the process has been valuable in other ways and the school’s progress has not been slowed by the time it has taken.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

56. Financial planning is good. It is firmly based on the educational priorities in the school improvement plan. The current planning is systematic and takes into account various possible contingencies, including the planned development of the area around the reception classes. The school has kept back funds to cover this but has other plans should the project not go forward. Expenditure is carefully monitored each month by the headteacher and the governors and the school has the part-time services of a bursar from the local education authority who advises and assists with the reconciliation of the accounts. The last audit was in October 2000 and no major concerns were raised. Income and expenditure are well within the expected range for a school of this size in a London borough and the school is providing satisfactory value for money. The school does not yet make satisfactory use of new technology. The administration

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

and day-to-day management of the school are very efficient.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

57. The main governing body and its committees meet once a term, or more frequently, if necessary, and minutes show that meetings are generally well attended. The chair is very supportive and active in his role and he and a number of the other governors are often in the school. The governors are well informed through these links and through the headteacher’s regular, detailed reports and they are well aware of the school’s main strengths and weaknesses. They have helped and supported the headteacher in moving the school forward and have been instrumental in achieving some key objectives. The appropriate committees monitor expenditure and the development of main features of the school’s work at their meetings. The governors have taken effective steps to ensure that the school is meeting all its statutory responsibilities. Most governors have attended training provided by the local authority, by the Education Achievement Zone and by the school.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

58. The school has had serious problems in recruiting teachers in the last two years, particularly to middle management posts. During the spring term, it was extremely difficult to recruit suitable supply teachers and, at the moment, the school has two full-time temporary teachers whose qualifications are not recognised in England. It is still trying to recruit three teachers to co- ordinators’ posts and the match of teachers to the needs of the curriculum is not yet satisfactory. All the teachers have relevant training and experience, with sufficient knowledge and expertise to teach the National Curriculum. The school has a large number of learning support staff who are appropriately trained and experienced. They are committed to helping the pupils and they support the teachers well.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

59. All staff have clear job descriptions and newly-qualified teachers and new appointments to the school receive appropriate induction and support from a mentor. Arrangements for performance management follow the national requirements and targets have been set. The arrangements for identifying and meeting the individual and corporate in-service training needs of staff are linked to the school improvement plan and to teachers’ performance targets. A detailed audit of professional development needs has been conducted as part of the school improvement plan. However, as with the rest of the plan, the order of priorities has not yet been agreed. The need to give class teachers further training in work with pupils at all stages of learning English is not identified in the long list of possible training opportunities. Systems for monitoring the quality of teaching and identifying strengths and weaknesses in classroom

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

Avenue Primary School - 20 practice are insufficiently structured and rigorous to inform the programme for staff development effectively. The deployment of secretarial and administrative staff, the premises manager, cleaners and the school meals supervisors is effectively organised.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

60. There have been good improvements to the accommodation since the time of the last inspection but important aspects are still unsatisfactory. Space is still a major issue for the school. Eight out of the 22 classes are housed in temporary mobile huts, four of which are very old and in poor condition, with no toilets. Neither of the two halls is large enough to accommodate the whole school, which means that the whole school cannot come together for assemblies or collective worship and the space is cramped for older pupils doing indoor games, gymnastics or dance. Classrooms are of an adequate size but the flimsy partitioning means that lessons can be disturbed by noise from the neighbouring rooms. There is no library for pupils in Years 3 to 6 and this has a detrimental effect on the development of independent research and library skills. The standard of cleanliness is good. Attractive displays of pupils’

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

work and pictures throughout the school provide a stimulating environment. The provision of outdoor play space is good, with a generous amount of hard surface area and a large playing field. The school has plans and the finances for a play area between the reception classes and the nursery but the governors cannot implement them until they know what the local education authority proposes to do about the mobile hutting and other capital improvements.

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

61. Resources for the nursery and the present reception class are adequate. However, some of the furniture and resources for the next intake into reception are old and close to the end of their useful life. Resources in other subject areas are satisfactory and the school has done well to build up its equipment for information and communication technology. Practical resources such as board games, to support the teaching of English as an additional language, are very good. These have been made in the school over several years, and are generally very well constructed to focus on both language and curricular learning objectives. Many have been produced in several languages and they have good cultural relevance. There is also an excellent guide for staff wanting to make their own resources. However, many teachers in the school are unaware of the extent or availability of these resources. Other resources are less

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HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

well provided. Audio equipment is satisfactory but is underused. There is insufficient computer software for second language learning to enable pupils to practise their speaking and listening, reading and writing with suitable models. Resources to support work with special educational needs are generally good and well used.

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

In order to raise standards further and enable the pupils to make better progress, the school’s senior management and the governors need to give priority to the following issues:

p.22

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• Improving the teaching of English as an additional language by strengthening the school’s policy, raising the awareness of all teachers, disseminating the good practice that exists within the school and ensuring that suitable teaching approaches and resources are used in all lessons.

p.22

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(paragraphs 8, 19, 23, 24, 53, 59, 79, 81, 92, 102, 103, 109, 114, 115, 120, 126, 132, 134, 147)

p.22

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• Adapting the national schemes of work to the needs of the pupils in the school and producing short-term planning and lesson plans, linked to assessment, that take into account the needs of groups and individuals, including their language needs.

p.22

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(paragraphs 29, 30, 83, 103, 116, 121, 127, 147)

p.22

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• Freeing senior and middle managers so that, between them, they can systematically monitor teaching and curriculum development to identify strengths and weaknesses and inform the programme of staff development.

p.22

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(paragraphs 50, 52, 85, 95, 104, 116, 121, 147) Avenue Primary School - 21 • Completing the good start made in producing and implementing a thorough school-wide system of assessment and using the results to focus planning at all levels.

p.22

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(paragraphs 42, 43, 44, 82, 85, 92, 104, 111, 115, 121, 127, 133, 147) Avenue Primary School - 22

p.23

Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 32

p.24

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Poor Very Poor

p.24

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Percentage 0 15 34 38 11 1 0 The table gives the number and percentage of lessons observed in each of the seven categories used to make judgements about teaching

p.24

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils on the school’s roll Nursery YR – Y6

p.24

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 52 568

p.24

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals N/A 319 FTE means full-time equivalent.

p.24

Information about the school’s pupils

Special educational needs Nursery YR – Y6

p.24

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 0 5

p.24

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 2 108

p.24

Information about the school’s pupils

English as an additional language No of pupils

p.24

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with English as an additional language 572

p.24

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils

p.24

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 175

p.24

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 164

p.24

Attendance

National comparative data 5.2 National comparative data 0.5 Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. Avenue Primary School - 23

p.24

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

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 1 for the latest reporting year 2000 39 45 84

p.25

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

National Curriculum Test/Task Results Reading Writing Mathematics

p.25

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

Boys 19 26 29 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 25 35 38

p.25

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

Percentage of pupils School 52 (45) 73 (51) 80 (58) at NC level 2 or above National 83 (82) 84 (83) 90 (87)

p.25

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

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

p.25

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

Boys 18 25 26 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 28 34 30

p.25

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

Percentage of pupils School 55 (42) 70 (61) 67 (45) at NC level 2 or above National 84 (82) 88 (86) 88 (87)

p.25

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

Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year.

p.25

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

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 2 for the latest reporting year 2000 40 38 78

p.25

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

National Curriculum Test/Task Results English Mathematics Science

p.25

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

Boys 19 23 29 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 18 25 27

p.25

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

Percentage of pupils School 48 (36) 62 (61) 72 (63) at NC level 4 or above National 75 (70) 72 (69) 85 (78)

p.25

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

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

p.25

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

Boys 19 21 24 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 18 19 21

p.25

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

Percentage of pupils School 48 (34) 53 (58) 60 (49) at NC level 4 or above National 70 (68) 72 (69) 79 (75) Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year. Avenue Primary School - 24

p.25

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – Caribbean heritage 19 Black – Caribbean heritage 0 0

p.26

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – African heritage 60 Black – African heritage 0 0

p.26

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Any other minority ethnic group 51 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.

p.26

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 23.5 Financial year 2000/01

p.26

Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 24.6

p.26

Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: YN – Y7 Total income 1,341,332

p.26

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 20.5 Total expenditure 1,348,669

p.26

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 559 Expenditure per pupil 1,999

p.26

Teachers and classes Financial information

Qualified teachers and support staff: nursery Balance brought forward from previous year 60,909

p.26

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 2 Balance carried forward to next year 53,572

p.26

Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 25

p.26

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 5

p.26

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 150

p.26

Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per FTE adult 10 FTE means full-time equivalent.

p.26

Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers who left the school during the last two years 11.5

p.26

Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers appointed to the school during the last two years 11.0

p.26

Recruitment of teachers

Total number of vacant teaching posts (FTE) 2.0

p.26

Recruitment of teachers

Number of vacancies filled by teachers on temporary contract of a term or more (FTE) 2.0

p.26

Recruitment of teachers

Number of unfilled vacancies or vacancies filled by teachers on temporary contract of less than one term (FTE) 1 FTE means full-time equivalent. Avenue Primary School - 25

p.26

Percentage of responses in each category

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

p.27

Percentage of responses in each category

My child is making good progress in school. 44 44 6 2 3

p.27

Percentage of responses in each category

Behaviour in the school is good. 53 38 5 1 3

p.27

Percentage of responses in each category

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 20 24 22 22 12

p.27

Percentage of responses in each category

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 36 42 9 6 5

p.27

Percentage of responses in each category

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 41 37 6 3 12

p.27

Percentage of responses in each category

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 52 38 3 1 7

p.27

Percentage of responses in each category

The school works closely with parents. 30 42 15 2 12

p.27

Percentage of responses in each category

The school is well led and managed. 33 40 9 1 15

p.27

Percentage of responses in each category

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 42 43 8 1 6

p.27

Percentage of responses in each category

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 30 26 15 6 21

p.27

Other issues raised by parents

Several parents felt that the system of rewards and merits should be strengthened. Avenue Primary School - 26

p.27

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

62. Children enter the nursery during the school year when their fourth birthday falls. They attend part-time for either morning or afternoon sessions. There are two main intakes to the nursery each year. Children whose birthdays fall between the start of September and the end of February are admitted at the beginning of the autumn term. Those later in the year enter at the beginning of the spring term. However, when the classes are not full, children may also be admitted at other times in the year. Children normally transfer to the reception classes one year later, in the school year in which their fifth birthday falls. At the time of the inspection, there were 42 children attending the nursery in the mornings and 46 children attending the afternoon sessions. There was one reception class with eighteen children on roll.

p.28

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

63. The majority of children enter the nursery with knowledge and skills that are well below the levels normally expected in almost all the areas of learning. They have very low levels of attainment in speaking and listening and in mathematics. The vast majority of children come from homes where English is an additional language and many are at very early stages of learning English. At the time of the inspection, two children in the nursery and two in the reception class had been identified as having special educational needs. There is good provision for children with special educational needs in the Foundation Stage. Their needs are identified early and they make good progress towards the targets set for them.

p.28

Personal, social and emotional development

64. Most children in the nursery and reception classes are likely to attain the expected standards by the end of the reception year. This is because children’s personal, social and emotional development is given a high priority and teaching and learning in this area are strong. Many children are quiet and nervous when they first enter the nursery but they learn to trust the staff and relax into routines quickly. At the beginning of the sessions, children settle to tabletop activities and most separate from their parents or carers with confidence. A welcoming, calm and happy environment is created with consistent and well-organised routines. Part-time bilingual assistants support the work of teachers and nursery nurses. This provides children with reassurance in their mother tongues and helps to build up their confidence. The children respond very positively to the care of the staff and to the very good role models they provide.

p.28

Personal, social and emotional development

Children are taught right from wrong in a firm but positive way and are sensitively shown, for example, how to say ‘sorry’ to someone they may have hurt. This is instrumental in helping them to develop good attitudes to school and to form very good relationships with adults and with each other.

p.28

Personal, social and emotional development

65. Personal, social and emotional development is well taught. Adults in the reception class maintain these very good relationships with children and build effectively on previous experiences in providing good opportunities for children to work and play together. Children enjoy the activities provided. By the end of the reception year, they are developing satisfactory levels of concentration and are becoming independent in some areas of learning. For instance, they can put on coats, change for physical education, wash their hands and settle to whole- class, group and individual activities. They take responsibility for tidying parts of their classroom. However, in both nursery and reception classes, children initially experience difficulty in communicating with others who do not speak the same language as themselves and this sometimes hinders their ability to work and play collaboratively or to initiate conversations.

p.28

Communication, language and literacy

66. Teaching and learning in this area are good in both the nursery and reception class. This is because adults talk to children and tell stories in an animated and enthusiastic way. They make good use of bilingual support staff to promote speaking and listening skills, as well as developing an interest in books. Time is taken during activities across all the areas of learning to develop children’s understanding of language and to extend their vocabulary. However, Avenue Primary School - 27 there are very occasionally times in the nursery when more opportunities could be taken to engage children in conversations, mainly outdoors. A particularly good lesson was seen during the inspection where children were learning the names of body parts. The teacher used pictures in a big book, pointed to her own head, knees, elbow, shoulders and reinforced this learning with the ‘Johnny Puppet’ song. This encouraged children to name their own body parts and point to

p.28

Communication, language and literacy

67. In the reception class, children listen and respond to questions with increasing levels of concentration. However, few have confidence as speakers. Literacy skills are well taught, with lively and interesting songs and games that familiarise children with letters of the alphabet and help them to learn initial letter sounds. Good demonstrations by the teacher and learning assistants help children to form letters accurately. Satisfactory use is made of the National Literacy Strategy in planning lessons in the reception class. However, teachers do not make enough use of assessment when planning practical activities to match work to children’s level of understanding. Many children recognise that print conveys meaning when looking at books and listening to stories. They are familiar with the story of Goldilocks and are beginning to retell the story through role-play in the ‘Bears’ House’. Most children can recognise their names and try to

p.29

Communication, language and literacy

write them independently. However, none of the children reads words or simple sentences. Few children write more than letter strings and occasional familiar words copied from a model. Although children’s achievement from a low starting point is satisfactory, it is unlikely that they will attain the early learning goals for this area by the end of the reception year.

p.29

Communication, language and literacy

68. Good provision is made for children learning English as an additional language. They are well supported, particularly through the daily involvement of bilingual support staff. This enables them to feel secure and to gain confidence so that they begin to communicate and build up their English vocabulary.

p.29

Mathematical development

69. Standards are well below those normally expected both in the nursery and in the reception class and it is unlikely that children will attain the early learning goals by the end of the reception year. Children are developing an awareness of numbers through sorting, matching and counting. In the nursery, adults provide a range of puzzles, games and small toys to make learning enjoyable for the children. The enthusiastic participation of staff in sorting and counting games enables children to develop a knowledge of colours and they begin to recite and match numbers to groups of objects. Play with construction materials, sand and water provides opportunities to explore space, shape, size and volume. In the reception class, children consolidate their understanding of the number five and are introduced to the concept of ‘ten’ by singing rhymes, such as ‘Ten little ducks’. With their eyes shut, they listen to objects

p.29

Mathematical development

being dropped into a bowl, and count mentally up to five. However, few children can match a group of objects to a number beyond five. The story of Goldilocks helps them to develop a satisfactory understanding of the number three and they are beginning to recognise differences in size when comparing daddy, mummy and baby bear. Good instructions before self-selected activities such as, ‘See if you can stack the milk crates so they are taller than you’, and, ‘Use the tiny spoon to fill the bowls with sand’, reinforce children’s understanding of size. Satisfactory use is made of the National Numeracy Strategy in planning mathematical activities in the reception class. The overall quality of teaching and learning in mathematics is good. Adults are enthusiastic and make learning enjoyable for the children. However, assessment is not used in the nursery to direct older children more frequently to mathematical activities or, in the

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Mathematical development

reception class, to match work more closely to children’s level of understanding.

p.29

Knowledge and understanding of the world

70. Good teaching builds on children’s natural curiosity and many opportunities are provided through direct teaching as well as independent play to develop children’s understanding of the world. Children in the nursery develop an awareness of their senses, such as touch and smell. They are encouraged to use them to investigate, for example, when feeling and cutting dough. They learn about healthy food such as fruit and vegetables at snack time when they eat the ‘healthy bodies’ they have made from slices of cucumber, tomato and carrot. In the reception class, children mix oats and milk to make porridge for the three bears and biscuits for the teddy Avenue Primary School - 28 bears’ picnic. They taste the finished products when cooked and these activities are used well by adults to help children express their feelings about taste and smell.

p.29

Knowledge and understanding of the world

71. In both nursery and reception, children are developing competence in using computers. In the reception class, many handle the mouse effectively and use programmes to support their work in literacy. Children begin to gain a sense of the past by comparing themselves now with themselves as babies. Awareness of different cultures and religions is taught through celebration of festivals, such as Diwali and Christmas. Good use is made of visits to local shops and to a farm. Visitors, including parents, students, the police and nurses are used to increase children’s knowledge of the wider world. From a low starting point, children’s achievement is satisfactory but they are unlikely to achieve all the early learning goals in this area by the end of the reception year.

p.30

Physical development

72. Children in the nursery and reception classes are well on their way to meeting the early learning goals in this area by the end of the reception year. This is because, in the nursery, regular daily access to the secure outside area enables children, with adult support, to gain confidence in climbing and balancing, as well as in pushing, riding and steering wheeled vehicles and toys. In the reception class, children’s movements are well co-ordinated and they are developing good control of their bodies. They can stretch and jump to the beat of a clapping rhythm and make movements in response to music. They are developing an awareness of space as they move in and out around other children. Physical development is well taught. Use of the infant hall provides the reception class with a large indoor space for further physical education, such as music and movement, where clear instructions and good demonstration help them develop a

p.30

Physical development

sense of rhythm and learn different kinds of movements, such as skipping and marching. Children are confident when moving about the classrooms, the hall and outdoor areas and are aware of objects and other people around them. They handle crayons, pencils, scissors, glue and paintbrushes with increasing control and care, developing effective hand-eye co-ordination. This is because adults provide a range of tools, such as pencils, brushes and small apparatus, and effectively demonstrate their use, so that children develop their manipulative skills well.

p.30

Creative development

73. Children start from a fairly low level of skill when they enter the nursery but they learn well, particularly in music. They are well on their way to attaining the early learning goals by the end of the reception year. Children explore sounds on a range of percussion instruments, including tambourines, triangles and chime bars. They respond well to music and move their bodies and clap to the rhythm of a steady beat. They are building up a repertoire of simple songs, sometimes singing in Urdu as well as English. They put a great deal of physical effort into their singing and dancing and try hard when following instructions. Children use their imaginations to create pictures and patterns, using a range of materials, including paint, paper and natural and man-made materials. They use a range of construction materials and recycled materials to make models. They use tools and resources safely to construct and build. Teaching is good

p.30

Creative development

overall. This is because teachers plan effectively for a wide range of directed and free-choice opportunities. They are very clear about what children are to learn from these activities, which are often linked to topics. Teachers provide opportunities for children to sing, dance, and play percussion instruments and to interpret music through mime. Adults support these activities well. Their comments and questions help children to learn skills and to express their own ideas with growing confidence. Adult-led activities promote the good learning of colours. They develop children’s visual perception and fine motor skills effectively so that, by the end of the Foundation Stage, most children attain the standards expected for their age.

p.30

ENGLISH

74. Standards in English are well below the nationally expected level in Year 2 and below the nationally expected level in Year 6. The main reason for this is that the great majority of pupils are learning English as an additional language and many do not speak English at home. Avenue Primary School - 29 75. The development of pupils’ speaking and listening is very dependent upon the opportunities provided in lessons. They make good progress in Years 1 and 2. They participate enthusiastically in shared reading, joining in repeated choruses. They can recount a story and act out a role, for example, as a character in ‘The Little Gingerbread Man’. They can discuss differences between poems they have read and express their likes and dislikes. They communicate clearly in one-to-one conversations. In the junior school, progress in some lessons is hindered by limited vocabulary and, for some pupils, insufficient understanding of

p.30

ENGLISH

appropriate language for different purposes. However, they make good progress in Year 6.

p.31

ENGLISH

76. Standards in reading are well below the nationally expected levels in Years 1 and 2. Few pupils have progressed beyond simple reading scheme books with very basic vocabulary and sentence structures. In Year 1, they can use their knowledge of letters and sounds to read words and to establish meaning but much of this has to be repeated and reinforced at the start of Year 2. They can identify the aspects of stories and poems they like but they find it harder to compare or articulate preferences. By the end of Year 6, pupils have made good progress. All pupils can read aloud with some expression and read independently. Most pupils read regularly, enjoy reading and can discuss favourite titles, authors and types of books. Reading comprehension is more varied. Most pupils can find information and have some understanding of characters and plot. However, only higher-attaining pupils show more advanced

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ENGLISH

understanding of an author’s purposes through the use of inference or deduction.

p.31

ENGLISH

77. Standards of writing in Years 1 and 2 are below the nationally expected level. Pupils can form their letters and write some simple words but progress is unsatisfactory overall. Only higher- attaining pupils can write in simple sentences without support or attempt words of several syllables. At the start of Year 2, this is about one-fifth of the pupils in any class. Progress is very slow in Years 3 to 5. As with reading, many basic aspects of writing have to be repeated and revised at the start of each year. At the start of Year 3, nearly all pupils are limited to writing only very simple sentences with mistakes in spelling and punctuation. The range of attainment in Year 4 is very wide. Able pupils are beginning to use more ambitious vocabulary and sentence structures while the least able are not able to develop a sequence of sentences. In Year 5, pupils develop their writing at more length, with able pupils writing stories of several

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ENGLISH

pages. However, they still make basic errors in spelling, punctuation and grammar. There is a marked difference between the aided writing of lower-attaining pupils, which is sometimes uncritically copied, and their unaided work, where sentences are scarcely developed at all. Attainment is much better in Year 6, where pupils of all abilities make very good progress and they produce a range of writing for different purposes. Handwriting is neatly presented, the work is organised into paragraphs and writing is generally more accurate. Even at this stage, however, pupils are being held back by their lack of understanding of idiom and grammar. For example, ‘Firstly I would like to have a argue about foxes… ’

p.31

ENGLISH

78. Teaching in this subject is satisfactory overall. It was good in the majority of lessons in Years 1 and 2 where it was never less than satisfactory. Lessons there are well planned to ensure pupils’ differing needs are met. Pupils with special educational needs and those at the early stages of learning English as an additional language are well supported. Whole-class sessions are very well resourced and are generally lively and stimulating. For example, in a Year 1 class, the teacher used a glove puppet who had to repeat initial letter sounds. This captured the pupils’ imagination and ensured that they listened very carefully to see whether the sounds were repeated correctly.

p.31

ENGLISH

79. Teachers are very encouraging and use praise positively. Their questioning is skilful and includes all pupils. In a Year 2 class, when a pupil found it difficult to express what she liked about a picture, the teacher adjusted her question to, ‘What can you see in the picture?’ Pupils are well organised into smaller groups of similar attainment so that they can work independently or can be supported by the class teacher or teaching assistants. Consequently, all pupils in one class could read selections of poems and decide their preferences. The final part of lessons is used well to reinforce learning or to give the pupils the chance to perform to an audience. One Year 2 teacher asked pupils to match word cards that rhymed with other words on display. This gave him the chance to check that pupils of all abilities had understood. In another class, pupils used masks to act out their version of ‘The Little Gingerbread Man’. Where there are

p.31

ENGLISH

weaknesses, it is because there is insufficient support for developing pupils’ vocabulary. For Avenue Primary School - 30 example, one teacher did not spend sufficient time ensuring that pupils understood difficult vocabulary, such as ‘pounce’, ‘stalk’ or ‘survivor’. In another lesson, pupils were not provided with the word lists or dictionaries needed if they were going to succeed in constructing sentences where each word began with the same initial letter.

p.31

ENGLISH

80. Teaching is unsatisfactory overall in the junior school but there were no unsatisfactory lessons in Year 5 and teaching is very good in Year 6. Where teaching is effective, lessons are well planned and resourced. Classroom organisation is very good and pupils are grouped appropriately. Teachers achieve a very good balance between offering support and expecting independence. For example, in a number of lessons, pupils are given frames and structures to help them to write independently. Consequently, some Year 4 pupils were able to draft a script for a play. Pupils in Year 5 were able to produce a simple health warning, combining illustrations from the Internet with their own added text. Year 6 pupils were provided with frames that helped them to compose poetic lines such as, ‘The sun is dressed in shiny clothes’ or, ‘The rain sobs his heart out’. Planning to meet differing needs means that, in the most

p.32

ENGLISH

effective lessons, pupils of all abilities are able to succeed and are challenged.

p.32

ENGLISH

81. In the less effective lessons, teachers pay insufficient attention to the needs of pupils learning English as an additional language. Insufficient oral practice before starting a writing task results in poor writing. Sometimes, texts being read are too difficult or inappropriate and pupils are not given enough time to reflect. At other times, they are expected to sit and listen passively for too long without fully understanding. In several cases, teachers did not anticipate language difficulties or gave confusing instructions. Where pupils receive additional support from a teaching assistant, or where the teacher engages pupils in conversation, checking their understanding, these problems are either overcome or are less serious. On occasions, pupils are given inappropriate tasks to complete on the computer and progress is slow. Pupils’ response in lessons is invariably very good across the school. On the rare occasions when they

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ENGLISH

become restless or cannot sustain a task, it is because they do not understand or the task is too difficult. Pupils are generally very well behaved. They listen very attentively to the teacher and to each other. They work very well together, are mutually supportive and very appreciative of one another’s efforts. When given the opportunity, they respond well to questions and give thoughtful, confident answers and explanations.

p.32

ENGLISH

82. The use of assessment in English is unsatisfactory. The progress of pupils with special educational needs and of those at the early stages of learning English as an additional language is clearly recorded and some classes are set literacy targets. Plans to set all pupils literacy targets are not yet effective. The leadership and management of English are satisfactory. The National Literacy Strategy has been fully implemented throughout the school. The literacy hour has been introduced in all classes and feedback has been given to staff so that teaching can improve further. There are good fiction and non-fiction resources to support shared and guided reading but the range of books for pupils’ individual choice of reading is not adequate, particularly in Years 1 and 2, where pupils are sometimes limited to a narrow selection of reading scheme books. The school held a successful literacy evening last year for parents,

p.32

ENGLISH

giving guidance on how to support their children with reading and writing. It is important that this initiative is maintained and regularly reinforced.

p.32

ENGLISH

83. There is an English action plan outlining further improvements based on the National Strategy. A revised policy for English was issued in September 2001. This contains some helpful objectives and guidance, particularly on the use of additional English time for handwriting, spelling, quiet reading, role-play and drama, story time and extended writing. During the inspection, this time was not always used effectively but this approach has only recently been adopted. The serious omission in these documents is the lack of any reference to the needs of pupils learning English as an additional language, who make up 85 per cent of the school’s population. Until the school has clear and agreed policies on the teaching and learning of pupils as learners of English as an additional language, progress will not be effective. At present, the English curriculum and the National Literacy Framework have not been adapted flexibly enough

p.32

ENGLISH

for the needs of many pupils in the school and assessments are not analysed with enough rigour to decide priorities for improvement. These aspects of teaching literacy are not being used sufficiently to support learning in other subjects. Avenue Primary School - 31

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MATHEMATICS

84. By the end of this school year, the proportion of pupils in Years 2 and 6 who achieve or exceed the expected standards is likely to be below the national average. Boys and girls maintain broadly similar standards.

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MATHEMATICS

85. Nevertheless, there have been encouraging improvements as a direct result of the school’s successful implementation of the National Numeracy Strategy. This is already having a marked effect on standards, particularly in mental arithmetic. Pupils’ skills in numeracy make a positive contribution to their attainment and progress in other subjects. Other successful measures, such as the use of optional testing at the end of Years 3, 4 and 5, are applied in Key Stage 2. However, the school does not yet conduct a thorough analysis of all these test results to highlight pupils’ strengths and weaknesses in the subject in order to set targets for individuals. Teaching and learning are not regularly monitored in order to improve the quality of the provision.

p.33

MATHEMATICS

86. Pupils enter Year 1 with well below average attainment in their basic number skills but these are steadily improved as they move through the school. Pupils’ achievement over their time in school is satisfactory and many achieve well through their positive response in lessons, particularly where teaching is lively and challenging. Suitable emphasis is placed on the application of knowledge and the rapid acquisition of numeracy skills in most lessons. Pupils’ mental arithmetic skills are sharpened through a variety of effective activities to start each lesson. By Year 2, pupils confidently add and subtract numbers up to ten. They begin to recognise simple relationships and patterns and identify doubles and halves in numbers. Pupils are keen to participate and fully enjoy practising the rapid recall of numbers in these sessions. For example, pupils in Year 2 received good practice through a well-organised and stimulating

p.33

MATHEMATICS

87. Most pupils acquire an adequate knowledge of two-dimensional shapes and can describe their properties, such as the number of sides and corners. They are slowly developing skills in measuring length and many are becoming confident in explaining their work. This is most apparent in lessons where teachers prepare and organise well to meet the language needs of those for whom English is not the first language.

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MATHEMATICS

88. Pupils in the junior school learn to recall basic number facts quickly and develop a variety of methods for solving simple calculations. In a brisk session in one of the Year 6 classes, pupils had to apply their knowledge of tables to multiply two-figure numbers by single-figure numbers and extend their understanding to multiplying decimal numbers. They worked hard as the session engaged their interest and sharpened their understanding. Most pupils calculate accurately, using whole numbers, and older pupils use simple fractions and decimals correctly. However, a significant number of pupils with a limited command of English have difficulties in articulating their thinking. Some pupils, particularly the higher-attaining ones, confidently work out approximate proportions of numbers describing them in terms of fractions and percentages. By the end of Year 6, most pupils understand how to use and interpret simple data. They can

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MATHEMATICS

use the language of probability, such as ‘certain’ or ‘most likely’, with developing understanding. Much of the mathematics taught involves a practical ‘hands on’ component and presents appropriate real-life problems to be solved. However, there are limited opportunities for pupils to investigate different types of graphs or to make good use of information and communication technology for data handling.

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MATHEMATICS

89. Pupils with special educational needs make good progress. Their progress in lessons accelerates where tasks are closely matched to individual stages of development and learning can proceed in progressive and manageable steps. However, pupils learning English as an additional language, particularly those in the early stages of language acquisition, make unsatisfactory progress owing to the lack of specific provision.

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MATHEMATICS

90. The quality of teaching in mathematics is unsatisfactory overall although it was good or better in half the lessons seen. There was unsatisfactory teaching in three lessons in the junior school but there were also good and very good lessons. Teaching in Years 1 and 2 is consistently good and the involvement of classroom assistants in support of pupils with learning difficulties is Avenue Primary School - 32 a good feature of many lessons. Most teachers have a sound knowledge of the subject and appropriate expectations of work. They have good relationships with pupils and most manage them very well. In the two very good lessons in Year 6, teachers challenged pupils’ thinking with tasks that were clearly planned to match their ability. Their teaching approaches included effective exposition, good quality discussion, brisk pace and opportunities for consolidation and practical work. In the good lessons, teachers encourage pupils to adopt good work habits,

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MATHEMATICS

present work clearly and collaborate well in pairs and groups.

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MATHEMATICS

91. Most pupils apply themselves well to their tasks and are willing to ask questions and communicate what they have learnt. Introductions to lessons are often lively and teachers use questioning to good effect. This was noted in a very good Year 5 lesson, where pupils learnt about negative numbers and how to plot co-ordinates. The teacher had a very confident, cheery and sympathetic approach and pupils were provided with a task that challenged them sufficiently. The teacher gave specific support to non-English speakers and involved them fully through appropriate questioning. Pupils persevered and approached the tasks with good interest and enjoyment and many could explain their work, using appropriate mathematical language with developing confidence, and record with improved understanding.

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MATHEMATICS

92. Pupils’ attitudes in mathematics are good. Throughout the school, pupils are very well behaved in their lessons and have a keen interest in their work. However, in a few lessons, teachers do not manage to engage their pupils very well with tasks that suit their needs. Their day-to-day assessment of pupils’ work is weak and their lesson planning does not consistently build on what pupils already know. As a result, a minority of pupils become noisy and restless and do not learn effectively. While most numeracy lessons are well structured, a few teachers do not manage their time well. Some lessons come to a sudden end without sufficient time for a final plenary session where learning is checked, reinforced and extended through appropriate questioning and the sharing of work. In one Year 6 lesson, the whole-class session at the beginning was not used to explain and rehearse the activities to be undertaken. This led later to

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MATHEMATICS

93. Teachers’ marking is generally positive and completed regularly but it is not always diagnostic. Few teachers use assessment adequately to plan pupils’ work or relate their assessments to the levels in the National Curriculum. Their approach to homework is inconsistent. Teachers do not regularly set a suitable amount of homework to extend what is learnt in school and consolidate pupils’ understanding. Information and communication technology is not used enough to support learning.

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MATHEMATICS

94. Pupils’ skills in numeracy make a positive contribution to their attainment and progress in other subjects. A scrutiny of work in books and on display showed examples of pupils’ number work in several other subjects. For example, pupils collect and record simple data in science, co- ordinates in geography and time-lines in history. The mathematics curriculum is well guided by the nationally recommended schemes of work to provide an overview of expectations in all aspects of the subject. Teachers also use published schemes to guide them. Sometimes, they rely too much on pre-prepared photocopied work sheets and this limits, to some extent, the breadth and the range of opportunities most necessary for mathematical learning.

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MATHEMATICS

95. The school has made mathematics one of its priorities for development and it has made some good strides towards raising standards. The previous co-ordinator left at the end of the last school year and, so far, the school has not been able to make a suitable appointment to the post. Consequently, the systems for monitoring teaching and pupils’ attainment and progress are not satisfactory.

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SCIENCE

96. The evidence from pupils’ schoolwork shows standards below those expected nationally in the current Year 2 and Year 6. These are similar to the findings at the time of the last inspection.

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SCIENCE

97. By the end of Year 2, pupils know the main external features of a plant and of the human body. They are aware of some of the conditions needed for plants and animals to survive, such as healthy food and exercise. They recognise the difference between living and non-living things Avenue Primary School - 33 and can sort animals into groups according to habitat, for example, those that live in the sea or those that are found on farms. Samples of pupils’ past work show that their knowledge and understanding of materials and their properties and the physical aspects of science are weak. There is little evidence that pupils have the expected understanding of electricity, sound or light, or that they understand how materials can be changed by such processes such as heating and cooling, or that they know some changes are reversible. By the end of Year 2, pupils can make simple predictions about what might happen in an investigation and record their observations in

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SCIENCE

a variety of ways, for example, in drawings and tables.

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SCIENCE

98. By the age of eleven, pupils have a satisfactory understanding of what a food chain is and appreciate the feeding relationships between plants and animals in a habitat, describing them as ‘producer, consumer, predator and prey’. They use keys based on observable features to assist in identifying and classifying living things. Pupils have a rudimentary understanding of solids, liquids and gases and of reversible and irreversible changes to materials. During an investigation, pupils in Year 6 recognised how the temperature of the water affected the time it took sugar to dissolve. However, samples of pupils’ past work indicate that, by the age of eleven, few have the expected knowledge and understanding of life processes or of physical phenomena, such as forces and electricity. They do not have a secure understanding of processes such as filtration, condensation and evaporation. Most pupils have a satisfactory

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SCIENCE

awareness of the main principles of a fair test and understand what a prediction is, but only a few can give reasons for their hypotheses. They do not show the expected independence in carrying out scientific investigations by devising their own tests or selecting their own equipment. This is because most teachers closely control investigations and expect all the class to follow their instructions. Pupils do record findings in a variety of ways, including line graphs, charts and tables.

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SCIENCE

99. The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory overall. It is satisfactory in Years 1 and 2 and one very good lesson was seen in a Year 2 class. There were two unsatisfactory lessons in the junior school, although good teaching was seen in all three classes in Year 6. Good teaching was also seen in one class in each of Years 4 and 5 but the quality of teaching overall in these years is unsatisfactory. At the time of the last inspection, the unsatisfactory teaching was found in Years 1 and 2, so there has been an improvement there, but the reverse is the case in the junior school, where teaching was previously found to be good throughout.

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SCIENCE

100. Where lessons are good, there is a clear focus on what the teacher wants the pupils to learn. This is shared with the pupils so they know what they are expected to learn and to achieve. Effective explanation and questioning, as well as written and practical activities, are well matched to the learning intentions. In a very good lesson seen in Year 2, the teacher carefully checked pupils’ understanding of language when learning about the effects of exercise on the body and key vocabulary was written on the board. Similarly, in a good lesson in Year 4, the teacher paid particular attention to pupils’ understanding of vocabulary as they were classifying animals into groups. This emphasis on language development is essential in supporting pupils learning English as an additional language and, in these lessons, it enabled them to learn well. In lessons in Year 6, pupils were required to think carefully about the effect of water

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SCIENCE

temperature on the time taken for sugar to dissolve and were required to consider how to construct a fair test. They were encouraged to use mathematical skills as they used stopwatches and thermometers accurately for measuring. As a result of these features, pupils increased their knowledge and developed their understanding of scientific investigation.

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SCIENCE

101. Overall, teaching in Years 3 to 5 is not adequately supporting pupils in developing their knowledge, understanding and skills in science. Even where teaching is good, teachers do not allow pupils enough opportunities to make decisions for themselves about how an investigation might be carried out or about the appropriate equipment for the tasks. This contributes to below average standards at the end of Key Stage 2 in this particular aspect of science. In many lessons, the emphasis on all the class doing the same thing at the same level means that there is insufficient additional challenge for potentially higher-attaining pupils. In one unsatisfactory lesson, the teacher’s introduction and explanations were confusing and the resources were inadequate. As a result, pupils did not move on in their learning. Most teachers manage pupils and activities well, so that pupils are involved and well behaved. By contrast, in an

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SCIENCE

unsatisfactory lesson, there were weaknesses in the management of the pupils and of the Avenue Primary School - 34 activities. While the activities planned were satisfactory, pupils learned little because bad behaviour went unchecked, time was wasted in settling pupils to their work and explanations and demonstrations were given without the full attention of the class. In this lesson, pupils’ attitudes and behaviour were unsatisfactory. 102. In lessons where an additional adult gives specific support to pupils with English as an additional language, these pupils make satisfactory and sometimes good progress. However, a frequent weakness, even in those lessons that are satisfactory, is that explanations and instructions are given at speed with little attention being paid to ensuring pupils with English as an additional language have fully understood the vocabulary and what is required of them. However, these pupils make satisfactory progress overall. Pupils with special educational

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SCIENCE

needs, particularly those registered as having greater levels of need, are well supported and make satisfactory progress overall in relation to the targets set for them.

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SCIENCE

103. The range of learning opportunities is satisfactory. Plans place an appropriate emphasis on learning through scientific investigation and enquiry. However, weaknesses in planning affect the quality of opportunities provided. Since the last inspection, the scheme of work from which teachers plan their lessons has been changed to take account of national guidance. The new scheme has not been in use long enough to have an impact on standards and there are some gaps in pupils’ knowledge and understanding. Consequently, teachers have to spend time going over these gaps before learning can be moved on to appropriate levels or beyond. This then results in some superficial coverage of the planned topics so that pupils do not reach the expected levels. There is also a weakness in the way in which some teachers interpret the scheme. They do not pay sufficient attention to the relevance of the activities suggested or to

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SCIENCE

the needs of pupils within their own class, particularly the needs of those at the early stages of learning English.

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SCIENCE

104. The monitoring and day-to-day assessment of pupils’ progress and the setting of targets for individuals and groups of pupils are not satisfactory. Procedures for assessing pupils’ knowledge and understanding in science have only just been introduced and have not yet been used sufficiently for teachers to be confident in planning pupils’ next steps in learning. The co- ordinator is keen to develop science and is very aware of some of the main strengths and weaknesses in the school’s provision. He provides sound leadership and good support for colleagues by leading in-service training and involving the local authority’s advisory service. While some checking of teaching and learning has taken place through the co-ordinator seeing teachers’ planning and examining pupils’ books, he has not had the opportunity to observe lessons in order to identify and rectify the weaknesses in teaching.

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ART AND DESIGN

105. Attainment in art and design is just below national expectations in Year 2 and generally above them in Year 6. Achievements in all year groups are satisfactory.

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ART AND DESIGN

106. By the end of Year 2, pupils create landscapes using paint and wax resist, draw and paint from observation and produce self-portraits. They make simple prints and patterns with a range of media and use collage. They study a range of artists, such as Van Gogh, and talk about how they develop their own approaches, for example, choosing a pattern as the background for a seated figure. A project on urban landscapes, organised in partnership with the local Education Achievement Zone as part of the school’s programme for gifted and talented pupils, enabled higher-attaining Year 1 pupils to achieve very good standards. They used line, tone and colour imaginatively to create striking dockland landscapes.

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ART AND DESIGN

107. By the end of Year 6, pupils have good standards in observational drawing. For example, they created a series of outlines of drawings of a mannequin figure. They explore and develop a range of colour, line and tone, using examples of aboriginal art and the work of painters, such as Georgia O’Keefe, as starting points. They use sketchbooks for developing focused studies of artefacts, such as printing blocks. Higher-attaining pupils have extended their work into a wider range of media, such as screen printing, and they have made batik images derived from their own photographs through work with the Education Achievement Zone. Pupils enjoy their art work, readily discuss their choices and intentions and suggest to each other how they might improve their work. They handle art media and examples of artists’ work with care. Avenue Primary School - 35 108. The quality of teaching is satisfactory. In most lessons, teachers present the work of artists as a

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ART AND DESIGN

starting point and choose good, manageable challenges, such as working within a particular range of colours. They ensure that pupils discuss possible approaches and evaluate their work in discussion. Very good teaching was seen in a Year 6 class working on developing print blocks, where the teacher set high standards through her enthusiastically presented guidance. She gave a concise, clear demonstration of how to develop the print blocks from previous sketchbook work and backed it with high standards of display. She provided particularly well for the needs of the many pupils at the early stages of learning English by structuring her lesson into a series of short demonstrations or guidance sessions. These were followed by work sessions and then by further whole-class demonstrations and discussions before pupils proceeded to the next stage. She backed up her teaching with worked examples of simple print

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ART AND DESIGN

blocks at the different stages of their construction. She intervened promptly with demonstrations to the whole class and gave simple guidance where it was clear that individual pupils did not understand how to take their work further.

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ART AND DESIGN

109. A weakness in some lessons is that teachers spend too long at the start of lessons giving complex guidance, demonstrations and series of instructions. The many pupils at the early stages of learning English and those with behavioural and concentration difficulties find it difficult to remember the guidance, so that some do not understand the purpose of their activity or remember the name of the artist whose work they are studying. In some classes, support staff help these pupils well by giving simple explanations and reminders and using vivid gestures. However, some volunteers and support staff give inappropriate guidance, for example by doing the drawing for the pupils or over-influencing their choice of colours and approaches. Teachers do not make enough use of homework.

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ART AND DESIGN

110. The curriculum has improved since the last inspection as the school has now adopted the nationally recommended scheme which fully covers the National Curriculum. However, pupils are still being offered too little experience of three-dimensional work. Teachers have begun using information and communication technology to extend pupils’ art experience, particularly through the ‘Dazzle’ paint program. However, they lack training in how to make the most of it for pupils of different ages and abilities. They are not making enough use of the readily available classroom Internet or the school’s other technological resources to extend pupils’ knowledge of artists and to introduce them to the art of other cultures through on-line art galleries and artists’ web sites.

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ART AND DESIGN

111. The co-ordinator contributes to the high profile of art in the school through a display programme and she has extended the range of materials and samples of artists’ work available. The school is fortunate to have several staff, in addition to the co-ordinator, who have specialist qualifications and professional experience in art and design. However, the leadership and management of the subject are unsatisfactory. Little has been done to establish an effective, manageable system of assessment, to compile a portfolio of pupils’ work to guide staff or to monitor the effectiveness of classroom teaching. The absence of these features was highlighted at the last inspection. Support staff need clear guidance on how best to support pupils in art lessons. The co-ordinator is aware of these needs and staff have expressed a wish for training.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

112. Standards achieved in design and technology have improved since the last inspection, when the attainment of the oldest pupils was found to be below national expectations. Attainment is now in line with national expectations in Year 2 and Year 6 and pupils’ achievements are satisfactory. Pupils in Year 1 use tools, such as knives and mashers, safely to prepare and display fruit and vegetables. In Year 2, they investigate wheeled vehicles before designing their own, making sketches and simple diagrams of their designs and identifying ways in which they plan to develop them. By Year 6, pupils investigate and make packages, pop-up books, moving toys and a range of other products. Some have achieved very good standards through an initiative supported by the local Education Achievement Zone, where they designed and made a slipper from a cleaning cloth, using a template. They document their investigations and designs

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

and identify how they could improve their products. Avenue Primary School - 36 113. The quality of teaching is satisfactory overall, although it varies both between classes in the same year group and between years. In all lessons, teachers set a clear and appropriate design objective and expect pupils to evaluate their work. Good teaching was seen in a Year 4 class, where pupils were investigating simple joined lever mechanisms that could be used to make pop-up toys and simple puppets. The teacher intrigued and enthused the pupils by presenting the lesson as a challenge to find out how to use one lever to make another move in a different direction. Her good-humoured direction and choice of a simple but surprisingly challenging way to use these simple mechanisms spurred the pupils to keep trying different approaches, recording their investigations. They thoroughly enjoyed their work, greatly extended their

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

knowledge of how lever mechanisms work and admiringly congratulated the first pupil to solve the problem.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

114. A weakness of all the lessons observed was that teachers have low expectations of pupils’ recording and evaluations. Too little guidance is offered on ways of improving, such as how to be systematic when investigating a product. Pupils are sometimes not given clear criteria for evaluating others’ designs or their own. In other lessons, teachers give long introductions, often using complex language, with too few visual aids, practical examples or simple guide sheets. Consequently, the many pupils who are at the early stage of learning English either do not understand or cannot remember how they are meant to work, resulting in unsatisfactory progress.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

115. In one Year 2 lesson, pupils were expected to design vehicles, such as lorries and limousines, without having had any opportunity to investigate pictures or models of real vehicles. In the absence of either clear guidelines or examples, most pupils resorted to sketch-drawing a vehicle shape and adding either two or four wheels. In another Year 2 lesson, the teacher avoided these difficulties by starting with practical investigations of wheel mechanisms, using the school’s stock of construction kits and some wheeled toys made by older pupils. Support staff are not always deployed effectively, particularly in the introductions to lessons, where they are largely under-occupied. Whilst some support staff enable children to develop their designs, others are over-directive. Teachers do not make recorded assessments of pupils’ work or the development of their skills and so cannot identify accurately pupils who either have high

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

potential or who achieve too little because of language or learning difficulties. Nevertheless, provision is appropriate for pupils with special educational needs and their progress is satisfactory. Homework is not used systematically to support learning.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

116. The school has recently adopted the recommended national scheme of work and now teaches the whole National Curriculum. However, the present approach to planning leaves teachers with too little time to adapt the scheme to the needs of the many pupils who are at the early stages of learning English, for example, by preparing easy guide sheets and visual examples. Teachers have not had enough training to enable them to use information and communication technology effectively as a design tool. The co-ordinator has done a great deal to promote improvements in the subject in a relatively short period of time. She has focused on advising colleagues and on promoting the teaching of the whole design process. She has used an audit of the school’s resources to identify gaps and improve the stock. She has helped the school to become involved in outside projects, such as those supported by the Education Achievement

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

Zone, and obtain extra funding. She has provided a range of documentation and a portfolio of worked examples from different years as guidance for her colleagues. She has not been given enough non-contact time to enable her to observe teaching and work alongside colleagues, although she is aware that there is some variation in teaching quality.

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GEOGRAPHY

117. Pupils in Year 2 demonstrate satisfactory achievements, particularly in map work and skills related to the study of different locations, and, as was reported after the last inspection, they reach standards that are broadly in line with national expectations.

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GEOGRAPHY

118. Pupils in Years 1 and 2 show positive attitudes towards their learning in geography. They can produce sketch maps of their school and the local area and use these to locate features. They are also beginning to understand the range of different services and buildings in the local Avenue Primary School - 37 environment and to communicate this orally and through drawing and writing. They are keen to answer questions posed by the teacher and settle down well to the independent tasks that are set.

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GEOGRAPHY

119. Teaching is good in these year groups and has a positive impact on pupils’ progress. Teachers have secure knowledge of the subject and use the local environment and other resources to develop the pupils’ early geographical skills and knowledge. For example, in a Year 1 lesson, effective use was made of questions and photographs of the Mosque and the local shops. Questions such as, ‘Is the shop near or far away?’ and, ‘Is it next to the post office?’, produced enthusiastic responses from the pupils and helped extend their specialist language.

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GEOGRAPHY

120. Raising standards in geography at Key Stage 2 was identified as one of the key issues for action after the last inspection. This remains an issue for the school, as attainment in the junior school, particularly in Year 6, remains below expectations. Most pupils, including those learning English as an additional language, are not developing their skills or building upon the learning acquired in Years 1 and 2. In Years 3 and 5, the work in pupils’ books and on display is mainly focused on map work and plans. This work shows little progression in the skills needed to analyse the differences between different locations. The teaching in some of these classes is unsatisfactory and does not support pupils’ progress. The lack of clear lesson objectives and the use of difficult geographical language and concepts limit the opportunities for pupils to build on their previous learning.

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GEOGRAPHY

121. This continued underachievement in the subject at junior level is largely due to unsatisfactory progress in tackling the weaknesses in the quality of teaching, in the curriculum and in assessment procedures that were highlighted in the last inspection. Planning for geography is now based on nationally published units of work to ensure that the school meets the full requirements of the National Curriculum. Appropriate links are also being made with units in other subjects, where possible. However, there is no policy for the subject or guidance on how the new units can be adapted to meet the particular needs of the pupils and to ensure progression from work in Year 2. There are no systematic procedures for assessing pupils’ progress and pupils’ work and teachers’ planning are not monitored.

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GEOGRAPHY

122. Improvements have been made to the quality of resources since the last inspection. Wall maps are in evidence in most classrooms and a limited amount of information and communication technology is also being introduced to support teaching.

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HISTORY

123. Standards in Years 1 and 2 broadly reflect what was reported at the last inspection. Most pupils achieve standards that are in line with national expectations. Pupils have positive attitudes to learning and show interest and curiosity in looking at the past. They are beginning to develop a sense of time and chronology, demonstrate knowledge of stories from the past beyond living memory and communicate their learning through talk, drawings and, to a more limited degree, in their writing. They are also able to undertake simple enquiries into the past through their observations of local buildings and through the handling of domestic artefacts.

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HISTORY

124. Achievements in these years are largely due to good teaching. Teachers understand how to make history accessible to pupils in this age group and use a range of resources very well to engage their interest. They also use careful questioning and discussion to extend pupils’ thinking and language. For example, a picture of the Great Fire of London was used to stimulate a lively discussion about what an eyewitness would have seen, heard and smelt. Words such as ‘sparkling’ and ‘crackling’ emerged to describe the scene and these were used as the starting point for some independent creative writing.

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HISTORY

125. In the junior school, pupils with special educational needs make satisfactory progress. Most pupils, however, do not do so and, consequently, they do not reach the nationally expected standards. In Years 3 to 5, pupils communicate their knowledge of aspects of past societies, such as those of the Romans and the Egyptians, through descriptive writing and drawings. They also develop their sense of chronology through the use of timelines and can describe similarities and differences between life today and life in the past. However, they are not Avenue Primary School - 38 sufficiently secure in their understanding to undertake more independent enquiry or to explore the causes of historical developments. They have had few opportunities to examine the different ways in which the past can be interpreted. In Year 6, pupils make better progress in their understanding and in investigations and they are beginning to use sources of information

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HISTORY

independently to answer questions about and investigate topics, such as the ancient Olympic Games.

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HISTORY

126. The quality of teaching in the junior school is satisfactory but the variety in quality across the year groups has an impact on pupils’ learning and progress. Where teaching is good, pupils build upon their previous learning and, as in Years 1 and 2, strategies and resources are used effectively to extend their thinking. This was shown in one Year 6 lesson on the Ancient Greeks, where good questioning by the teacher at the start of lesson provided clear links with previous learning and consolidated pupils’ understanding. This was followed by a well- organised research task that provided opportunities for pupils to generate their own questions about the past and draw information from a range of sources. Where teaching is less effective, progress is limited by teachers being over-directive and talking for too long. In these lessons, they pay insufficient attention to pupils’ language development or their other learning needs

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HISTORY

127. The range of resources has been improved since the last inspection and it is now satisfactory, although teachers still have to depend too much on their own personal materials and artefacts. Pupils are using information and communication technology but this tends to be limited to carrying out research from a CD-ROM encyclopaedia. While some action has been taken since the last inspection to improve the quality of the curriculum, weaknesses remain that limit progress, especially in Years 3 to 5. New long-term plans have been introduced, based on nationally available schemes of work, and these ensure full coverage of the National Curriculum. However, the school has provided no policy or guidance on how the new units can be adapted to meet the particular needs and starting points of the pupils. There are few planned visits to places of historical interest as part of the curriculum. There are no procedures

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HISTORY

to support teachers’ assessment of pupils’ progress and therefore assessment is not being used to inform planning.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

128. Since the last inspection, when standards were reported as well below national expectations, good headway has been made in raising achievement in this subject. However, pupils are not yet reaching the expected standards at the ends of Years 2 and 6.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

129. Pupils in Year 2 can complete simple word-processing tasks and use a paint program to create images. They use CD-ROMs to obtain information and to follow stories and they can plan and discuss their work. They use technology for simple mathematical explorations and geographical explorations. By Year 6, pupils identify and evaluate key features of newspaper layout to help them develop their own. They use the Internet to investigate topics they study in other subjects. They make graphs of their investigations into mathematical probability and use programs to draw complex mathematical shapes, such as symmetrical rosettes. However, in all year groups, pupils’ knowledge and use of other aspects of technology, including the use of e-mail, databases, control technology and sensors, are well below national expectations because the school is only just introducing a new scheme of work that adequately covers all these aspects.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

Another factor contributing to unsatisfactory standards is that, although all pupils now have regular lessons in the subject, lesson time is not always used effectively, especially as many have poorly developed keyboard skills. Pupils with special educational needs and the many pupils who are at the early stages of learning English are not achieving enough in this subject because teaching and learning approaches have not been adapted to meet their needs. The school has not acquired the software that would enable staff to use pupils’ home languages to help develop their skills in this and other subjects.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

130. Overall, teaching in this subject is unsatisfactory. Where teaching is satisfactory, teachers ensure that pupils who are not able to work at the computers in their classroom have a task that extends their knowledge of how to use the technology best for different purposes and audiences. They ensure that the pupils who are working at the computers have a task that can Avenue Primary School - 39 be completed or progressed enough in the time available, and they make sure pupils review their work and identify ways to take it forward. For example, evidence of good teaching was seen in one Year 6 class where the teacher had successfully tackled the problems caused by the limited access to computers. She had enabled the majority of the class to identify and analyse in some detail features of well-designed newspaper layouts, such as captions, subheads and text blocks, whilst those who had worked on the computers produced a range of

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

suitably laid-out texts that included these features.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

131. Ineffective teaching and learning were seen in lessons where teachers set tasks on computers or as desk exercises that did not help pupils to acquire the intended knowledge and skills. For example, in some lessons, pupils, including those with underdeveloped keyboard skills, were expected to copy-type a long text or a worksheet onto the computer before they could begin the actual planned task of editing or completing it. In these lessons, many pupils barely started the core task and few completed it in the time allocated. In some lessons, teachers set pupils desk- based tasks, such as designing a book cover or developing a newspaper layout, using only unstructured hand drawing and paper cutting and pasting. Consequently, pupils spend a great deal of time constructing examples that are neither appropriate designs in their own right nor usable as guides for work at the computers.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

132. Teachers sometimes spend too long presenting pupils with complex instructions unsupported by visual guidelines or clear individual guidance sheets. This particularly limits the learning of the many pupils at the early stages of learning English because they either do not understand or do not remember the instructions or the reasons why they are doing their tasks. Pupils set to cut up and paste texts onto poster sheets did not understand that they were doing so in order to create good layouts or to guide subsequent computer designs. They saw the task as simply creating a picture. Support staff sometimes provide inappropriate support, for example by operating the mouse or the keyboard for the pupils, or even by misinterpreting the set task. In one lesson, where pupils were supposed to investigate examples of book design before designing their own book covers, the support assistant told pupils to copy the titles and layout

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

133. The co-ordinator has conducted some good analysis of teachers’ assessments but, so far, this involves only a small number of samples. Teachers do not systematically assess and record pupils’ existing levels of skill and knowledge or their understanding of tasks they do. This is one reason why many tasks are inappropriate, particularly for those who are at the early stages of learning English or who have very low-level keyboard skills. The assessment system that the school is currently introducing for regular use does not provide for the satisfactory, manageable tracking of pupils’ knowledge, skills and understanding.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

134. The school has not adapted the recently adopted comprehensive scheme of work to the needs of the pupils. This is particularly needed because the school does not yet have an information and communication technology suite and classroom-based lessons need to combine desk- based work for most of the class with pupils taking turns to work at the computers. Scrutiny of work done last year indicates that pupils’ achievement, starting from a low base, was inconsistent across classes and between years, with work in some lower years being more advanced than that in older classes. Teachers do not plan long enough ahead to enable them to collect examples of good design or professionally produced work. They do not make use of sample texts placed, ready for editing, on computers or create good visual reminders of program functions and task guides. They do not work closely enough with support staff to create dual language texts or ‘talking’ web pages that would help the pupils meet the

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

expectations set out in the scheme of work.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

135. The co-ordinator provides sound leadership. She has done much to help to improve the school’s provision, drawing on support from the local authority. She has helped to ensure that the school has enough networked computers with a good range of software and supplementary resources, such as sets of robot toys and control and sensing equipment, to enable the whole of the National Curriculum to be taught. She has also ensured that the school has adopted a suitable policy for the safe use of the Internet, including clear rules for pupils to follow and guidance for parents on the school’s approach. Avenue Primary School - 40 136. Teachers have had some training from local authority advisers and will shortly begin a national training programme. However, specific training is also needed to enable the staff to teach whole classes effectively when there are only two networked computers in most classrooms.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

Most teachers need training in how to devise appropriate desk-based tasks for the majority of the class who are not working at the computers. They have had little guidance on how to give pupils better access to computers, for example, by enabling small groups to use computers in other classrooms where pupils are not using them, by allowing pupils to log in or access programs before lessons start and by using the classroom computers as part of the work they do in registration times. Teachers also need to recognise when it is appropriate to use information and communication technology to support learning in other subjects.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

137. Support staff, including those who support pupils with special educational needs and those at the early stages of learning English, would benefit from training in ways of using specialist programs and multilingual software to help pupils. Most support staff do not currently know how best to help pupils working at computers or doing desk-based investigations. The school is not following the recommendation in the national Code of Practice to assess pupils with special educational needs to see how technology could help their learning.

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MUSIC

138. It was possible to see only two lessons during the inspection, both in the junior school. Standards of attainment in both lessons were below those expected nationally. In both lessons, taped music was used to encourage pupils to listen and to learn songs. Although they followed the music enthusiastically, the timbre and pitch of their singing were not satisfactory, particularly when they sang unaccompanied. However, a Year 6 class worked very well when singing three- part songs and, with much support from the teacher, each group succeeded in holding their own melodies and rhythm. Pupils in this class also recalled some appropriate vocabulary and most understood the meaning of terms, such as ‘ostinato’, creating their own, again with strong support from the teacher. They showed imagination in matching the sounds of tuned and untuned percussion instruments to the words of songs.

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MUSIC

139. Music is taught well by a peripatetic teacher, who has also provided the school with a scheme of work that covers the National Curriculum. Class teachers follow this scheme of work and, although this ensures that the required topics and activities are covered, the quality of their work depends on the teachers’ own knowledge, skills and confidence in the subject. There is no co- ordinator at present to monitor and moderate the quality of the teaching or the teachers’ lesson planning. The quality of teaching was satisfactory in the lesson conducted by a class teacher. Resources for the subject, including the supply of instruments, are good. The peripatetic teacher also takes an after-school recorder group and pupils in this group during the inspection were making satisfactory progress in learning the instrument. Music is used in assemblies and it contributes to the spiritual and cultural development of the pupils.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

140. Standards of work across the school are broadly in line with those expected nationally. Pupils in Year 2 can perform a range of balancing movements on moveable equipment but they have only a limited idea of how to change and sustain their body shapes. Ball skills are being developed satisfactorily, although pupils have a very wide range of attainment. The higher- attaining pupils in Year 6 show good stick control in hockey and they shoot and pass accurately. Pupils’ understanding of the effects of exercise on their bodies develops satisfactorily as they grow older.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

141. The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory overall and some good teaching was seen. The good lessons are characterised by clear explanations and instructions, good attention to warming up and down and an appropriate emphasis on safety. Pupils respond and work well and they are lively and keen. Pupils are well managed and a Year 6 outdoor lesson was well directed, with pace and good progressive development of hockey skills. Teachers generally have a good knowledge of the subject and give good demonstrations. Their selection of activities is satisfactory, although one Year 3 class was given too much to accomplish in a limited indoor space. Teachers do not always encourage pupils to give demonstrations Avenue Primary School - 41 themselves or to evaluate other pupils’ work. However, when they do, pupils watch carefully and make good, positive observations.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

142. There is no co-ordinator at the moment but the scheme of work ensures coverage of the National Curriculum. However, the amount of time given to swimming is not satisfactory. The deputy headteacher and the previous co-ordinator both still have an overview of the subject and several other members of staff become involved in out-of-school activities. Resources are satisfactory and, in some areas, they are good. Indoor space is very limited, particularly for older pupils, but the school has ample grassed and hard-surfaced outdoor areas.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

143. Standards across the school are in line with the expectations set out in the locally agreed syllabus. Pupils make good progress in Years 1 and 2 and satisfactory progress across the rest of the school. They acquire knowledge and understanding of the major religions and relate what they are taught to their own lives. They develop positive and considerate attitudes towards all the faith groups represented within the school. Learning is characterised by very good relationships between pupils and a strong mutual respect for each others’ views and beliefs.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

144. In Years 1 and 2, pupils begin to understand the idea of belonging to a school community of shared and different beliefs. They begin to appreciate the importance of rules, customs and festivals as features of their own and others’ religious communities. They are also beginning to consider the meaning and significance of religious stories and festivals. In the junior school, pupils extend their knowledge and understanding of religions satisfactorily. They learn about specific rituals and customs and their significance, carrying out research work into similarities and differences between Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism and Christianity. They are also able to relate the meaning of concepts such as worship and prayer to their own lives through discussion and structured writing tasks.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

145. Pupils’ progress through Years 1 and 2 is supported by good teaching. Teachers’ knowledge of the subject is secure and appropriate starting points and strategies are identified for exploring themes with the pupils. In one lesson in Year 2, for instance, role-play was used to create a modern version of the Bible story of the Good Samaritan. This engaged the interest of the pupils and provided a way in to a discussion about the story’s true meaning, linking it to their own personal experiences of how they cared for others. In the junior school, the quality of teaching is satisfactory overall and some good teaching is having a positive impact on learning. Where teaching is most effective, careful use is made of questioning to clarify pupils’ previous learning and their understanding of key words and concepts. This was shown in one Year 4 class, where the teacher paid particular attention to clarifying the meanings of the key words of

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

‘wisdom’ and ‘knowledge’ while helping the pupils revise their learning on Hindu gods. Where teaching is less effective, teachers talk for too long and give insufficient time to checking pupils’ understanding. Generally, teachers do not make enough use of the pupils’ knowledge of their own religions. Homework and assessment are not used enough to enable individual pupils to make better progress.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

146. Improvements have been made in the leadership and management of the subject since the last inspection and they are now good. This is having a positive impact on the quality of pupils’ learning. The recently appointed co-ordinator is providing an effective role-model for teaching the subject and has begun to address curricular planning and resourcing issues. New long-term plans for coverage of the agreed syllabus have been introduced, based on nationally available units of work and the teaching of these units has been supported by the purchase of extra resources and planned visits to local places of worship. Detailed plans have also been produced, linking the religious education curriculum and major religious festivals to weekly assembly themes.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

147. Further improvements are now needed to ensure that the effective work in the classroom is consolidated and built upon. More guidance on teaching and learning in the subject is required. The school has drafted a policy for the subject but this does not address aspects of teaching religious education that are particularly relevant to the religious backgrounds of the pupils. Avenue Primary School - 42 Monitoring of teaching and learning is not being used to identify and share good practice and there are no procedures for teachers to assess pupils’ progress.

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