George Eliot Primary School

GEORGE ELIOT JUNIOR SCHOOL

Reporting inspector: Mr Christopher Gray

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GEORGE ELIOT JUNIOR SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 14 - 16 January 2002

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GEORGE ELIOT JUNIOR SCHOOL

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

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GEORGE ELIOT JUNIOR 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. George Eliot Junior School - 3

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Marlborough Hill St John’s Wood London Postcode: NW8 0NH

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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 Cliff Burgess

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: March 2000 George Eliot Junior School - 4

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Team members

21037 Christopher Gray Registered inspector 13807 Christine Haggerty Lay inspector 21103 Val Ives Team inspector

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Team members

Cambridge Education Associates Ltd Demeter House Station Road Cambridge CB1 2RS

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Team members

Any concerns or complaints about the inspection or the report should be raised with the inspection contractor. Complaints that are not satisfactorily resolved by the contractor should be raised with OFSTED by writing to:

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Team members

The Complaints Manager Inspection Quality Division

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Team members

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE George Eliot Junior School - 5

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 6 - 9

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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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

George Eliot Junior School is situated in the St John’s Wood area of the City of Westminster, although most of the pupils come from the neighbouring London Borough of Camden. The school is on the same site as George Eliot Infant School and Quinton Kynaston Secondary School. The school is for children aged seven to eleven, and has 228 full-time pupils (123 boys and 105 girls). It is similar in size to most junior schools and is much the same size as at the last inspection. Pupils’ attainment on entry in Year 3 is below national averages. In addition, a large proportion of pupils enter the school at other times with little or no English.

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

A factor affecting the school’s work is the turnover of pupils. Thirty nine percent of pupils joined or left the school other than at the usual times last year - a much higher level than most schools and higher than at the last inspection. The proximity of temporary accommodation for refugee families accounts for much of this. Another problem the school faced until recently was the turnover of teachers. This has settled down over the last two years and is no longer an issue, but the cohort of pupils who took the 2001 National Curriculum tests had had eight teachers in their first three years.

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Pupils come from a range of backgrounds, but the majority come from families whose socio-economic circumstances are well below national averages. Approximately 55 per cent of pupils are entitled to receive a free school meal, which is well above the average for junior schools. One hundred and sixty- three pupils (71 per cent) speak English as an additional language which is much higher than found in most schools. Sixty-nine of these pupils are at the early stages of learning English, which is 30 per cent of the school’s roll. There are 55 pupils (24 per cent) on the special needs register which is above the national average. Seven pupils (three per cent) have statements of special educational need, which is above average.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

George Eliot Junior is a good school whose pupils have positive attitudes to their work. The standards they achieve when they leave the school are below the national average in English and similar to the national average in mathematics and science. Given their starting point when they enter the school, this represents good achievement. The overall quality of teaching is good. The school is well led by the headteacher, senior staff and governors and gives satisfactory value for money.

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What the school does well

• The school enjoys its very mixed cultural and ethnic population and has established a good partnership with parents and the local community. • The good teaching overall and the effective support for pupils with special educational needs and those for whom English is an additional language enable most pupils to make good progress across the school. • The school is well led and managed and governors are effectively involved.

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What could be improved

• Pupils’ attendance is not as good as it should be; the school has established new procedures to encourage better attendance but they need to be more rigorous. • The school has worked hard to raise pupils’ attainment in information technology but it is hampered because there is not enough up-to-date equipment. The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan.

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

The school was last inspected in March 2000, when it was reported that the school had serious weaknesses “because the unstable staffing situation is affecting many areas of school life.” The school has worked very effectively to overcome this difficulty and now has a permanent staff team, which gives a good level of stability to the school. George Eliot Junior School - 7 There were four other key issues. Very good progress has been made on the school’s links with parents. They are given plenty of clear information in a number of languages and the school tries hard to involve them in their children’s education. As part of the issue about staffing, the school was required to set up a senior management team, appoint a permanent special needs co-ordinator and ensure effective leadership in all subjects. All of these have been effectively accomplished. Satisfactory progress in raising pupils’ attainment in information technology has been made - standards are rising but are

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

hampered by lack of up-to-date hardware. Attendance is still at below average levels, despite a number of prominent initiatives, such as weekly attendance assemblies.

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

In addition, the school has raised standards in mathematics and science and improved the quality of teaching. Overall, good improvement has been made.

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

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Key

Test results in 2001 were much lower than in previous years and lower than standards found currently in the school. Standards in all three subjects had risen gradually from 1997 to 1999 in line with the national trend, with a steeper rise in 2000, when the school had a much more able cohort of pupils than usual. This was followed by a much less able set of pupils in 2001. Of this group, 36 per cent had not been in the school for the full four years; 81 per cent were pupils for whom English was an additional language; 30 per cent were on the register of special needs and five per cent had a statement. The group was taught by eight different teachers up to Year 5 (before the last inspection). The results they achieved were well below both the national averages and the averages for similar schools. The school carries out careful analysis of test results by individuals and by groups. The latter shows that boys

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Key

generally perform better than girls, especially in English, and that no racial group performs significantly better than any other.

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Key

The inspection finds that attainment in the present Year 6 is below the national average in English but in line with the averages in mathematics and science. The difference between English and the other two subjects is explained by the high proportion of pupils for whom English is an additional language, many of whom join the school in the older year groups, and whose skills of reading and writing are often at the early stages of development. Staff work hard to support these pupils and the attainment of most pupils in speaking and listening by Year 6 is in line with national expectations.

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Key

Standards in information technology have risen since the last inspection and are broadly average across the school. This is a considerable achievement on the part of teachers, since the number of modern computers is limited.

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Aspect Comment

Attitudes to the school Pupils enjoy coming to school and are generally enthusiastic about their George Eliot Junior School - 8 work. There is a good atmosphere for learning in all classes.

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Aspect Comment

Behaviour, in and out of classrooms The behaviour of the pupils in and around the school is good. At playtimes, pupils get on well together and generally behave considerately.

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Aspect Comment

Personal development and relationships Relationships within the school are good. All groups of pupils mix easily and there is a friendly atmosphere in the school.

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Aspect Comment

Attendance Well below the national average. Children are too frequently absent without reason and some parents interrupt their child’s education by extended visits abroad. Too many pupils arrive late in the morning.

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Teaching of pupils in: Years 3 – 6

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

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Teaching of pupils in: Years 3 – 6

The skills of literacy and numeracy are taught well across the school, as are other areas of English and mathematics. Providing more opportunities for formal speaking and listening was a minor issue in the last report. The school has responded well and pupils’ attainment in this area is similar to the national picture. Staff work especially hard in this with pupils for whom English is an additional language, ensuring that they understand new vocabulary and repeating clear and correct pronunciations.

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Teaching of pupils in: Years 3 – 6

Teachers have good relationships with pupils, who respond with good attitudes to their work. Together, pupils and teachers create a good atmosphere for learning. Teachers plan together well and make use of their knowledge of what pupils already know in setting them work which matches the needs of individuals and groups. The support given to pupils with special educational needs is very good and pupils for whom English is an additional language are well provided for.

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Teaching of pupils in: Years 3 – 6

Occasionally, teachers talk for too long when introducing a lesson, so that the balance between activities and the teacher’s input is lost. This affects pupils’ learning because the lesson becomes hurried and pupils do not have the intended time to absorb what they are meant to learn. Teachers’ marking has improved since the last inspection, but is inconsistent across the school.

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Aspect Comment

The quality and range of the curriculum The school provides an interesting curriculum with a good spread of all the subjects of the National Curriculum and religious education. The curriculum is enhanced by a wide variety of visits and visitors and a good range of extra-curricular activities.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils with special educational needs Very good. Pupils have very detailed programmes of learning support, teachers and assistants give very good support and parents are closely involved. Provision for pupils with English as an additional language Good. The school has a very high percentage of such pupils and organises the support well so that all adults who work with them understand their needs.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, Good overall. Pupils are aware of the need to care for others and this has a good effect on their behaviour. The school is rightly proud of the George Eliot Junior School - 9 moral, social and cultural, development ethnic and cultural diversity of its pupils, and ensures that the languages, customs and beliefs of all are equally respected.

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Aspect Comment

How well the school cares for its pupils The school offers very good care and welfare to its pupils, especially in terms of child protection. However, the procedures for promoting good attendance are not sufficiently rigorous.

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Aspect Comment

Leadership and management by the headteacher and other key staff The school is well led by the headteacher and the senior management team. They have clear responsibilities and work well with all other staff to make a dedicated and hard-working team who share the same view of the school’s development.

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Aspect Comment

How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities The governors are closely involved in monitoring the school’s improvement and current work and take a big part in forward planning. They fulfil all their statutory responsibilities. The school’s evaluation of its performance There are good systems for tracking the progress of individual pupils and different groups. The headteacher and senior management have a good understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. The strategic use of resources The school uses staffing, resources and accommodation efficiently. There is a sound understanding of the principles of best value.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

• Their children like school • Pupils make good progress • Children are given the right amount of homework • The teaching is good • The school is helping children to become mature and responsible • More extra-curricular activities

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

Before the inspection, two members of the inspection team attended a meeting with 26 parents. The responses to 59 questionnaires were analysed. The inspection team endorses parents’ positive views about the school. Inspectors found the range of extra-curricular activities to be good for a school of this size. The school aims to have every pupil involved in at least one activity and there are after-school clubs most days. Parents at the pre-inspection meeting felt that the school’s partnership with parents had not improved since the last inspection. This view is not supported by the response to the questionnaires, where over 80 per cent of parents agreed that the school works closely with them, that they are well informed about their children’s progress and that they feel comfortable in approaching the staff. Inspectors agree. George Eliot Junior School - 10

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The school enjoys its very mixed cultural and ethnic population and has

established a good partnership with parents and the local community.

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The school enjoys its very mixed cultural and ethnic population and has

1. Year 6 pupils wrote profiles of themselves at the start of the year, with likes, dislikes, ambitions and such. Most of them also included their country of origin and this is a good indicator of the wide diversity in all pupils’ cultural background. Yet adults and children together have created a friendly, united and purposeful atmosphere with a high degree of racial harmony.

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The school enjoys its very mixed cultural and ethnic population and has

2. The school has worked hard at its partnership with parents since the last inspection. Many parents arrive at the school for the first time with no English. The school can bring in translators and twice a week hosts classes in English for parents. A considerable number of pupils come from refugee families in temporary accommodation. It is not unusual for these families to try and send their children to the school from across London once they have found more permanent housing. The school gives very good information to parents on all matters, ranging from newsletters (regularly translated into a number of languages) to curricular information and clear annual reports on pupils’ progress. Examples of good links with the local community are the visits of local artists who helped pupils to design tiles, the relationship with a nearby American school and work by musicians from a music college in the area.

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educational needs and those for whom English is an additional language enable

most pupils to make good progress across the school.

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educational needs and those for whom English is an additional language enable

3. English is not the first language of over 70 per cent of the pupils and many of these are at the early stages of leaning English. In the week of the inspection, a family of three children joined the school, all of whom could not speak any English. Their needs are initially assessed by the headteacher. Very often, there are other pupils or members of staff who know the children’s first language. Several classroom assistants are bilingual and liaise with parents. The co-ordinator and language teacher attend weekly planning meetings with class teachers to ensure that pupils’ needs are understood and met. A good example of the effect of this was seen in a Year 5 science lesson on forces. The teacher had written on the board the technical terms she wanted the pupils to use during the lesson, such as “friction” and “gravity”. At the start of the lesson, she asked pupils to explain what each meant and had the class pronounce each word carefully.

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educational needs and those for whom English is an additional language enable

Regular assessments are made on the progress of each pupil at stages one and two of language acquisition and the school carries out detailed analysis by ethnic background of National Curriculum test results. This analysis shows that all racial groups perform at a similar level.

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educational needs and those for whom English is an additional language enable

4. The school also has an above average percentage (30) of pupils with special educational needs. Detailed programmes of learning are drawn up containing challenging yet achievable targets. The Learning Mentor Project has been successful in identifying under-achieving pupils and addressing problems such as lack of self-esteem and confidence or behavioural problems. Parents are now closely involved (an improvement since the last inspection) and close liaison also takes place with the co-ordinator for English as an additional language. Classroom assistants are used well by class teachers and pupils themselves join in setting their targets and evaluating their progress. The school also has a register of gifted and talented pupils. Good support is given to these pupils across the school and a number of new initiatives are just being implemented by the co-ordinator.

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educational needs and those for whom English is an additional language enable

5. All pupils benefit from the good teaching which takes place across the school. The senior management team has worked hard since it was set up to monitor teaching and to use this process to improve teachers’ expertise and day-to-day practice. An important contribution to the effectiveness of teaching is the team spirit which has been created since the last inspection. At that time, the school had a large number of temporary teachers and the first key issue in the report was the requirement to make permanent appointments. The headteacher (then new to the school) and governors worked very hard to achieve this, in an area where recruitment is not easy. George Eliot Junior School - 11 They succeeded in making permanent appointments to every post and so created a completely new team which has worked well together since, with only one (very recent) change.

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educational needs and those for whom English is an additional language enable

6. The good relationships between teachers themselves extend to their relationships with their pupils. All adults treat the pupils with consideration without talking down to them. Pupils respond with respect and have good attitudes to their learning. A very good example of this was seen in the work of the special needs co-ordinator with a pupil who finds it difficult to co-operate. The teacher’s very calm and positive approach raised the boy’s self-esteem and confidence whilst her encouraging manner enabled him to try hard and produce a well-focused piece of work, despite his very short attention span.

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educational needs and those for whom English is an additional language enable

7. The school carries out detailed analysis of each pupil’s performance in English and mathematics and the headteacher keeps clear records of these analyses. Based on these, the school sorts pupils in Years 4, 5 and 6 into sets for English and mathematics. Year 6 sets are split into three groups for three days each week, when the headteacher works alongside her colleagues. One of these sets also contains higher attaining pupils from Year 5.

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educational needs and those for whom English is an additional language enable

8. Teachers plan in year groups each week, working alongside the co-ordinators for English as an additional language and special needs. This means that pupils’ needs are being closely met. An example of this was seen in a very good mathematics lesson for the lower set in Year 6. Pupils were learning a method of multiplying numbers with one decimal place by a whole number. The group had a very wide spread of ability and the teacher had planned a variety of tasks to cater for them. Eight pupils were working with the support teacher to make sure they understood the task. Two pupils were working with a teaching assistant on a simpler task involving multiples, whilst others explored multiples using a computer. The class teacher supported the rest of the group, who were using the grid method of multiplying. Pupils made very good progress in the lesson because all of them were well challenged and because the teacher had high expectations of how

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educational needs and those for whom English is an additional language enable

9. Pupils are aware of their own rate of learning because teachers make clear to them in every lesson what they are going to learn. This is usually referred to again at the end of the lesson for pupils to assess how well they have done. A good example of pupils’ awareness of what they were learning was seen in a good Year 3 mathematics lesson. The objective of the mental session was to learn pairs of numbers which add up to 1,000. In a mental arithmetic game, the teacher had high expectations of her pupils, yet matched her questions to individual abilities. Most pupils were asked to supply the pair to numbers such as 400 or 600; slower learners used numbers making 100 or ten; higher attaining pupils were given numbers, such as 450. By the end of the lesson, pupils were beginning to realise that the matching of pairs like these is the same as matching numbers which add up to ten.

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educational needs and those for whom English is an additional language enable

10. Lessons are less successful when teachers spend too long on introductions or keep their pupils too long on the carpet. On these occasions, pupils sometimes become restless. Teachers are generally skilled in managing pupils’ behaviour, although, occasionally, inconsistency in the use of control strategies leads to a few pupils spoiling the learning of all. The use of marking to promote pupils’ understanding of how to improve is inconsistent across the school. Some written work has a great deal of marking by pupils without a regular check for understanding by the teacher.

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educational needs and those for whom English is an additional language enable

11. Good teaching and pupils’ positive attitudes to their work enable most pupils to make good progress across the school. Pupils who enter the school in Year 3 have attainment which is below the national average in reading and writing and well below in mathematics. In addition, a large proportion of pupils join the school in each year group with English as an additional language. By Year 6, pupils’ attainment in English is below average in reading and writing. Hard work by pupils and staff raises pupils’ skills in speaking and listening to average levels. Pupils’ attainment by Year 6 in mathematics and science is similar to national averages.

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educational needs and those for whom English is an additional language enable

12. Pupils’ attainment in information technology is in line with national expectations. Pupils in Year 6 have created multi-media presentations about their class using Powerpoint . A series of slides with moving graphics and text designed to suit an audience of older children gives information about the school and the Year 6 classes. Pupils are learning to evaluate their work, its effect on George Eliot Junior School - 12 its audience and how it will be improved. Pupils in Year 4 learn about databases and spreadsheets and younger pupils use programmable robots when learning how to control equipment.

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The school is well led and managed and governors are effectively involved

13. The last inspection (March 2000) reported that the school had serious weaknesses “because the unstable staffing situation is affecting many areas of school life.” The headteacher, governors and local education authority worked hard to established a new team of permanent staff to start the ensuing school year in September 2000, giving the school a good level of stability from which it continues to benefit.

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The school is well led and managed and governors are effectively involved

14. The headteacher and senior management team introduced a regular and frequent programme of monitoring the quality of teaching of all staff based on agreed priorities; for example, the mathematics focus for the current term is the use of mental and oral calculations. Governors are also involved in this programme and so build up a good understanding at first-hand of the school’s performance.

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The school is well led and managed and governors are effectively involved

15. The head has a clear vision for the school and enjoys the confidence of her staff and governors. Her vision is fully shared by the senior management team, which is made up of the head, deputy headteacher, the mathematics co-ordinator and the co-ordinator for English as a second language. They have a clear and well-understood delineation of roles and are instrumental in the creation of team spirit, which is an important part of the school’s success. The participation of the co-ordinator for English as a second language in senior management is important and is a good indicator of the school’s commitment to including all groups of pupils in its high expectations.

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The school is well led and managed and governors are effectively involved

16. In addition to key issues, the school was given twelve minor issues at the last inspection. It is a credit to governors and senior management that they were able to cope with so much in their action plan. A visit by Her Majesty’s Inspectors in 2001 reported good or reasonable progress on eight of these, but had not sufficient time to judge the other four. One of these concerned first-aid; there are now two qualified members of staff. A second was “ensuring that funds allocated by the local authority are used to further the education of pupils currently attending the school”. This referred to a budgetary carry forward of 14 per cent of income. This has been gradually reduced and stood at seven per cent at the end of the last financial year, twelve months after the last inspection. This sum is earmarked for improvement in the facilities for information technology and will be reduced to within recommended proportions within the current financial year. The

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The school is well led and managed and governors are effectively involved

remaining two minor issues (teaching in physical education and resources for geography and music) were outside the scope of this inspection - though a lesson where twelve African drums were played by pupils was observed.

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The school is well led and managed and governors are effectively involved

17. Governors were closely involved in drawing up the action plan and have been diligent in monitoring its progress since through their curriculum committee. As a result, governors have a very clear grasp of the school’s strengths and weaknesses.

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new procedures to encourage better attendance but they need to be more

18. To raise the importance of full attendance in pupils’ minds, the school introduced a weekly assembly where the attendance data for each class are discussed, with a cup being awarded to the one with the best record. Parents have been regularly reminded of the contribution of full attendance to pupils’ standards of attainment. The deputy head has attendance as one of her responsibilities and another member of staff works as a home/school liaison officer. George Eliot Junior School - 13 19. These initiatives produced an initial improvement in attendance figures, but they have recently fallen back again. A big part of the problem is parents’ taking extended holidays to visit families abroad. Another factor is the school’s following up unexplained absence. These are not pursued relentlessly, so that registers show absences which were never resolved. 20. A third contributory factor is how attendance data is analysed. For example, it would be possible,

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new procedures to encourage better attendance but they need to be more

using new computer programs, which the school has, to tell the difference between medical absences and holidays and allow any patterns of absence caused by illness to emerge and be investigated. However, staff who use the software need further training in order to make the best use of the facilities it offers.

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new procedures to encourage better attendance but they need to be more

21. In addition, a noticeable proportion of pupils arrive late at school each day. Some are persistent offenders; others offer poor, or no, excuses. Some teachers are too ready to overlook lateness and do not sufficiently stress the disruption caused to the class by unpunctuality.

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technology but it is hampered because there is not enough up-to-date

22. Raising attainment in information technology was a key issue in the last report. The school has worked hard to do this, initially by raising teachers’ expertise. A team of teachers was set up to co-ordinate the subject. All teachers have received a variety of training in the use of computers and all are now competent to teach at least the curriculum for their year group.

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technology but it is hampered because there is not enough up-to-date

23. New computers have recently been bought for each classroom, which means that all now have two. Unfortunately, the age gap between pairs of computers is such that they cannot both support the same software, with the result that teachers can rarely have the two machines performing the same function.

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technology but it is hampered because there is not enough up-to-date

24. Teachers are managing to teach the curriculum using only one machine, but this is very difficult and requires enormous organisation. For example, a good lesson was observed for Year 4 pupils who are learning about branching databases. A good piece of software is used enabling pupils to follow a series of questions and, by answering yes or no, to identify a single item within the set of data. But only the new machine can run the program, so only one group can use it at a time - and, because of the number of children in the class, the size of the group is too big for all pupils to get close enough to the machine. The lesson produced good learning because of what else went on. The teacher had prepared a large number of resources - books and worksheets - for pupils to be able to understand the process the machine was going through. As a result, they mastered the lesson objective, namely to understand how a branching database works, but only because of

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technology but it is hampered because there is not enough up-to-date

significant additional work from the teacher.

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technology but it is hampered because there is not enough up-to-date

25. In one lesson, the teacher tried her best to use both computers. This was a good mathematics lesson for Year 3 pupils, whose objective was to add up two or three single digits. The newer computer produced a toy shop with items for sale, where the users had to choose the right coins to pay the price exactly. But the other machine could run only a program testing pupils’ ability to spell mathematical vocabulary. This was neither relevant to the lesson nor to the pupils since it was designed to present difficult words too soon.

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technology but it is hampered because there is not enough up-to-date

26. The school is currently weighing the pros and cons of a computer suite, but this may have to depend on building works or refurbishment. In the interim, it urgently needs to replace the out-of- date machines so that it can fulfil its short-term goal of two working machines per class.

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

27. To improve further the standards of work and the quality of education provided, the governing body, headteacher and staff should: George Eliot Junior School - 14 * Ensure that parents understand the importance to their children’s progress of regular and punctual attendance by: • rigorously following up unexplained absences; • discouraging parents from taking their children on holiday during term time; • making the best use of the new computer systems to help analyse data. (Paragraphs 18-21)

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

* † Give pupils greater access to information technology by increasing the number of up- to-date computers in each classroom. (Paragraphs 22-26)

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

† denotes an issue already highlighted as a priority in the school’s development plan.

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(Numbers in brackets indicate a reference to the main paragraphs where the weaknesses are discussed.) George Eliot Junior School - 15

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Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 22

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactor y Poor Very Poor

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

The table gives the number and percentage of lessons observed in each of the seven categories used to make judgements about teaching. Care should be taken when interpreting these percentages as each lesson represents more than five percentage points.

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 228

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 125

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 7

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 55

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Information about the school’s pupils

English as an additional language No of pupils

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with English as an additional language 163

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 46

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 34

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Attendance

National comparative data 5.6 National comparative data 0.5 George Eliot Junior School - 16 Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. George Eliot Junior School - 17

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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 2001 30 27 57

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

National Curriculum Test/Task Results English Mathematics Science

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

Boys 19 14 23 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 10 10 18

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

Percentage of pupils School 51 (78) 42 (81) 72 (92) at NC level 4 or above National 75 (75) 71 (72) 87 (85)

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

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

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

Boys 20 16 22 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 14 15 15

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

Percentage of pupils School 60 (42) 62 (39) 76 (51) at NC level 4 or above National 72 (70) 74 (72) 82 (79)

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

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

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – Caribbean heritage 5 Black – Caribbean heritage 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – African heritage 32 Black – African heritage 3 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Any other minority ethnic group 64 Other minority ethnic groups 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

This table refers to pupils of compulsory school age only. This table gives the number of exclusions of pupils of compulsory school age, which may be different from the number of pupils excluded. George Eliot Junior School - 18

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Teachers and classes Financial information

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

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 19

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: Y3 – Y6 Total income 745,757

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 12 Total expenditure 743,513

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 167 Expenditure per pupil 3,364

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Teachers and classes Financial information

FTE means full-time equivalent. Balance brought forward from previous year 35,637

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Balance carried forward to next year 37,881

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers who left the school during the last two years 11

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers appointed to the school during the last two years 7

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Recruitment of teachers

Total number of vacant teaching posts (FTE) 0

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of vacancies filled by teachers on temporary contract of a term or more (FTE) 1

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of unfilled vacancies or vacancies filled by teachers on temporary contract of less than one term (FTE) 0

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Recruitment of teachers

FTE means full-time equivalent. George Eliot Junior School - 19

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Percentage of responses in each category

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

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Percentage of responses in each category

My child is making good progress in school. 48 50 0 0 2

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Percentage of responses in each category

Behaviour in the school is good. 43 45 5 3 3

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Percentage of responses in each category

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 50 41 3 3 2

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Percentage of responses in each category

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 48 33 9 7 3

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Percentage of responses in each category

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 53 33 5 3 5

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 60 29 2 2 7

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school works closely with parents. 47 36 9 5 3

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is well led and managed. 41 43 5 2 9

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 48 45 0 0 7

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 45 31 9 10 5

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