Chapel End Infant School and Early Years Centre

AND EARLY YEARS CENTRE

Dates of inspection: 13 - 15 November 2000

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AND EARLY YEARS CENTRE

Inspection number: 224436 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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AND EARLY YEARS CENTRE

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. Chapel End Infant School and Early Years Centre - 4

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Beresford Road Walthamstow London Postcode: E17 4LN

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: The governing body

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: 25 June 1996 Chapel End Infant School and Early Years Centre - 5

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Team members Carol Worthington Registered inspector

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Full Circle 35 Trewartha Park Weston-Super-mare North Somerset BS23 2RT

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

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

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

The Registrar Inspection Quality Division

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE Chapel End Infant School and Early Years Centre - 6

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 6

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

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PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS 20

Chapel End Infant School and Early Years Centre - 7

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Chapel End Infant School is maintained by Waltham Forest Education Authority. Pupils come from the immediate area which consists mainly of privately owned housing. There are 258 pupils on roll, including a full-time equivalent of 55 children attending part time in the Early Years Centre. This is bigger than most infant schools. Sixty one pupils are entitled to free school meals. This number is well above average. Thirty four pupils are on the special educational needs register; this figure is below average. Six of them have Statements of Special Educational Need. The population is multi-ethnic, and 88 pupils have English as an additional language, 14 of whom are at an early stage of English language acquisition. This is higher than in most schools. There is a wide range of attainment on entry; overall, school assessment shows it is below average. Since the last inspection, the school has moved into

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

a purpose-built building which also houses the junior school. The Early Years Centre occupies the old building five minutes walk away.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

This is a very effective school with many very good features. The headteacher provides excellent leadership, the quality of teaching is very good and pupils are eager to learn. The school has made very good improvement since the last inspection. Costs per pupil are low for a school of this type. The school gives very good value for money.

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What the school does well

• Excellent leadership by the headteacher and very good management of the school. • Very good teaching and learning. • Very good curriculum for Key Stage 1. • Very good curricular provision for the under-fives in the Early Years Centre. • Excellent provision for cultural education, very good for social and moral, and good for spiritual education. • Very good attitudes and relationships. • Standards are well above average in art and information and communication technology (ICT), above average in science and design and technology, and improving in mathematics.

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What could be improved

• The Foundation Stage of learning in reception. • Attendance. • Standards of attainment in English. 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 June 1996 since when it has made very good improvement. All the key issues have been successfully addressed. There are now clear learning outcomes within the curriculum planning and these are communicated well to the children and evaluated at the end of the lesson. The role of the curriculum co-ordinators has developed very well. They now monitor the curriculum very well by formal classroom observation and scrutiny of plans and children’s work. They provide formal reports to each teacher, the headteacher and the governors ensuring that the governing body has a clear view in order to assist their own monitoring. There are now very effective whole-school Chapel End Infant School and Early Years Centre - 8 assessment procedures which are used very well to set targets for individuals and groups of pupils. The school development plan is now a very good working document. It has clear

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

targets and priorities are identified. The new building has created a superb learning environment and it is enhanced by wonderful displays of children’s work. A very good Early Years Centre has been set up on the site of the old school. Standards of ICT, art and science are better than they were. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural education has improved; cultural education is now excellent. High standards in teaching have been maintained, and generally sound standards have been maintained in English and mathematics, though they do fluctuate because children’s ability is different from year to year.

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STANDARDS

The table shows the standards achieved by seven year olds based on average point scores in National Curriculum tests.

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schools

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

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schools

Standards in reading as shown by the results of the tests in 2000 were in line with the national average and above average compared with similar schools; in writing and mathematics they were below average, and average compared with similar schools. Whilst this is a fair reflection of the standard of writing, the standard of mathematics, however, has been consistently rising over the last three years, at least in line with, and sometimes exceeding, the rising national trend. In 2000, though pupils’ achievement was four per cent higher than in the previous year, the improvement was not as great as the national trend, because this particular group of children contained many with special educational needs and behavioural problems. During the inspection, standards in mathematics were observed to be at least average, and there was also evidence of some above average attainment. Attainment at higher levels was above average in all three subjects last year, but the

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schools

percentage achieving the expected Level 2 was lower. There is a marked difference between the achievements of boys and girls, and has been for the last three years. The school is addressing this and has already had some success in raising standards of writing, meeting its target in 2000. Standards in science are above average. Those in ICT, design and technology and art are well above.

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Aspect Comment

Attitudes to the school Very good. Pupils enjoy coming to school and most are eager to learn. They concentrate well on their lessons many are proud to show off their work. Chapel End Infant School and Early Years Centre - 9 Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Good. Pupils generally behave well and on many occasions very well in lessons, but a small undercurrent of restlessness necessitates a great effort from the teachers to maintain some pupils’ (mainly boys’) attention. No bullying was in evidence during the inspection, but some play was noted as boisterous.

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Aspect Comment

Personal development and relationships Very good relationships in all aspects of school life. Pupils from different cultural backgrounds mix very well and learn to be sensitive to each other’s religions and cultural traditions through excellent celebration of their different cultures. Pupils readily take responsibility for clearing up after lessons and for other jobs such as taking registers back to the office.

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Aspect Comment

Attendance Unsatisfactory due to the large number of authorised absences when families visit relatives abroad over a long period of four to six weeks during the term. The school tries to address this problem, but the paramount importance of education is not stressed in the school prospectus.

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Teaching of pupils: aged up to 5 years aged 5-7 years

Lessons seen overall: 19 Good Very good Inspectors make judgements about teaching in the range: excellent; very good; good; satisfactory; unsatisfactory; poor; very poor. ‘Satisfactory’ means that the teaching is adequate and strengths outweigh weaknesses.

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Teaching of pupils: aged up to 5 years aged 5-7 years

Teaching is very good overall. Of the 19 lessons observed, teaching ranged from satisfactory to excellent; over half was very good or better. Teaching in the Early Years Centre was never less than very good, but in the reception year of the Foundation Stage, whilst satisfactory, it does not match this standard because knowledge of Early Learning Goals is not secure. No lessons were unsatisfactory. The quality of teaching in English and mathematics is very good overall; most teachers follow the literacy and numeracy strategies well. Planning is a strength. Its consistency ensures uniform objectives across a year group, and work that motivates and challenges the whole ability range, including those with learning difficulties, higher ability and those with English as an additional language. Particularly successful is the use of specific groupings to improve boys’ attainment in writing, social skills and concentration.

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Teaching of pupils: aged up to 5 years aged 5-7 years

Chapel End Infant School and Early Years Centre - 10

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

The quality and range of the curriculum Very good. All statutory requirements are met. The school maintains a broad and balanced curriculum whilst giving appropriate emphasis to literacy and numeracy. The use of literacy throughout the curriculum is strong. The very good provision for art, design and technology and ICT results in high standards. The curriculum is enriched by a very wide variety of focus weeks such as mathematics, book week, science week and visits making full use of local museums and civic buildings. The curriculum in reception is not so firmly embedded in the Early Learning Goals as that in the Early Years Centre, only being in place just over half a term.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

Provision for pupils with special educational needs Very good. The school supports all levels of ability well. Planning takes good account of individual education plans and specific support is used well in literacy and numeracy, with work fully based on that which the whole class is doing.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

Provision for pupils with English as an additional language Very good. The emphasis is on vocabulary and understanding. Pupils are given support in most lessons and the very good emphasis on literacy skills in the Early Years Centre is crucial in ensuring that children’s skills improve before they enter the main school.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Very good overall. Provision for spiritual development is good; pupils are given regular opportunities to reflect on their beliefs and feelings during assemblies. Provision for moral and social development is very good; that for cultural education is excellent; the celebration of the diversity of cultures present in the school makes a strong contribution to the harmonious relationships.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

How well the school cares for its pupils Very well. Staff are very caring and supportive of pupils. They know them all very well, value them and treat then as individuals. Assessment of their progress shows that boys are underachieving and support is being focused on this.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

Leadership and management by the headteacher and other key staff Excellent leadership by the headteacher ensures clear educational direction, which is strongly supported by the whole school community. The very good systems to monitor the impact of teaching on learning are beginning to have a measurable effect on standards, particularly boys’.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities Very well. The governing body shows great commitment to the school and its members work hard to fulfil their duties, planning their yearly meetings, monitoring visits thoroughly, and setting Chapel End Infant School and Early Years Centre - 11 challenging targets for the headteacher.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

The school’s evaluation of its performance The school’s analysis of its overall strengths and weaknesses is very good. The school development plan is well matched to the needs of the school and has clear priorities. The analysis of National Curriculum testing has shown that standards need improving and where the need is greatest. The management has consulted parents on the priorities, and compares its performance regularly with other schools. The school is very aware of the principles of best value and applies these when purchasing goods and training.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

The strategic use of resources Excellent. Staffing, accommodation and learning resources are used extremely well and efficiently to ensure that the equality of education is maintained in all areas. The headteacher and governors use all sources of finance well for improvement.

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PARENTS’ AND CARERS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved • Their children like school. • Leadership and management. • Behaviour management. • Homework. • Good teaching. • They find the school approachable. • The positive expectation each member of staff has for each child. • Links between school and parents. • Provision of extra-curricular activities.

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PARENTS’ AND CARERS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

Inspectors agree with the points that please parents. The school enriches the curriculum by so many extra activities during the school day, that they cannot agree that the school could provide any more without extra help, perhaps from parents themselves. Chapel End Infant School and Early Years Centre - 12

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Excellent leadership by the headteacher and very good management of the school

1. The management of the school is very good overall. The headteacher gives excellent leadership in the educational direction of the school, with the constant aim for improvement. Since the last inspection, she has managed extensive changes to the school very well, for example the moving of the school from its old premises to the new site, making sure that there was ample provision for all aspects of school life. The Early Years Centre has been a major and exciting development which has been efficiently and effectively managed by the headteacher in particular, enthusiastically supported by the governing body.

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Excellent leadership by the headteacher and very good management of the school

2. The school is currently without a deputy headteacher due to the promotion of the previous one last term. The senior members of staff have done a good job in covering the deputy’s responsibilities between them. Subject co-ordinators’ roles have improved greatly since the last inspection and they now take full part in the leadership of each subject, including the monitoring of teaching in the classroom, curriculum plans and pupils’ work samples. The English and mathematics co- ordinators, for example, have themselves monitored and evaluated literacy and numeracy by observing teaching, providing a written report for teachers, the headteacher, and an overall report for governors.

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Excellent leadership by the headteacher and very good management of the school

3. The headteacher has a firm grasp of the school’s finances and uses all funding well to obtain the best value for the children’s education. There has been a large underspend, held back because of uncertainty about numbers in the Early Years Centre in particular, but as soon as this was clarified and funds were allocated to the school, they have judiciously been spent on extra support for pupils in Year 1 who, being summer born, have gone into Key Stage 1 after only one term in reception. This is satisfactorily enabling them to catch up with their peers. All resources are used efficiently, including classroom assistants whose work is planned very well with clear objectives by class teachers. Curriculum co-ordinators are given sufficient time for monitoring and evaluating their subjects. The accommodation is used very well; much thought has gone into its use and every available space is beautifully decorated

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Excellent leadership by the headteacher and very good management of the school

4. School policies are well written and parents are given a full half-termly outline of the curriculum plans so that they know what topics their children are to cover. Parents overwhelmingly praise the school’s leadership and management, and most are very happy with the information the school provides. All staff work together extremely well; the teamwork within the school is very strong and is manifest in many different ways from the consistency of teachers’ planning and the involvement of support staff to the efficiency of the administrative and maintenance staff.

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Excellent leadership by the headteacher and very good management of the school

5. The governors are very supportive and play a major role in the drive to improve educational standards. They set targets for the headteacher each year, which include specific classroom observations. Despite their recent formation as an independent governing body from their previous joint responsibility for both infant and junior schools, the governors have already undertaken a heavy workload. To make up for the shortfall in numbers, they all sit on several committees. They have a very good knowledge of strengths and weaknesses of the school, and are especially pleased with the initiatives to improve boys’ achievement and the setting up of the Early Years Chapel End Infant School and Early Years Centre - 13 Centre. They are involved in consultation about the school development plan, which is a very good working document, with clearly identified targets and priorities. They thoroughly monitor it, together with its financial provision. The governors’ year plan

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Excellent leadership by the headteacher and very good management of the school

sets out the programme for monitoring for the year clearly, and minutes show this is adhered to. The governors for literacy, numeracy and ICT in particular are often in school in discussion with their respective co-ordinators.

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Very good teaching and learning

6. Teaching is very good. Of the 19 lessons observed, teaching ranged from satisfactory to excellent; over half was very good or better. Teaching in the Early Years Centre was never less than very good, but teaching in the reception year of the Foundation Stage, whilst satisfactory, does not match this standard because knowledge of Early Learning Goals is not secure. No lessons were unsatisfactory.

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Very good teaching and learning

7. Teachers’ knowledge and understanding are very good overall, which has a positive effect on children’s achievement. In a Year 2 science lesson, for example, children’s learning was extended by the teacher’s wider knowledge of chemical processes, enabling them to distinguish between artificial fabric and that made from natural fibres. In an excellent lesson in Year 1, the teacher’s understanding of her pupils’ ability was clearly evident in the way she allowed them to read alone, enabling her to identify those who were not participating, and in the way she planned for all abilities, even during the shared class reading. There is a little uncertainty in knowledge and understanding in reception as the teachers are not fully conversant with the Early Learning Goals.

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Very good teaching and learning

8. Teachers’ planning is very good, as evident in many lessons observed. There is generally very good differentiation for all abilities and good planning across the year groups, with equal access for all. Meticulous planning was seen in a Year 2 mathematics lesson where all children were given work which suited them, and in a literacy lesson where evidence showed the objectives of the lesson were delivered across the whole year group. In reception, however, planning for a literacy lesson was rather basic, with no detail of activities related to the literacy hour. Later in this lesson, there was no visual form of recording which activities children had done and adults were seen to help children too much.

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Very good teaching and learning

9. Teachers have high expectation of their pupils, whose considerable effort is measurable. In a Year 2 design and technology lesson, for example, they persisted with the challenge of cutting out a pattern from felt squares, and managed to create their templates with reasonable accuracy for their age. In a Year 2 literacy lesson, pupils were not allowed to colour in their dinosaurs until they had written four sentences. They worked hard to complete the task, all engaged in silent concentration. In a Year 1 numeracy lesson, the teacher’s expectation was obvious from the time she spent usefully consolidating counting skills. The pace of this lesson ensured that pupils kept working. They got off to a good start and were supported well by a positive attitude to discipline. Good pace was observed in many lessons: another Year 1 mathematics lesson was seen to proceed at a very brisk pace, and the teacher supervised and encouraged individual pupils during group work.

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Very good teaching and learning

10. A wide variety of very effective teaching methods is used by all teachers, and pupils are kept alert and productive. Almost all lessons observed had very good introductions and plenary sessions, and good use was made of higher ability pupils consolidating their own learning by helping others. A very good introduction was seen to a Year 1 literacy lesson where the teacher made pupils feel important to be in the Chapel End Infant School and Early Years Centre - 14 ‘writing club’. She proceeded to give them a very good range of ideas to help them, such as ‘ask a friend’, ‘use a dictionary’, ‘sound the word’. All pupils made very good progress in this lesson, eager to please and able to concentrate well. 11. Teaching methods cope with behaviour management well as many classes have potential problems with discipline. Teachers have to work very hard to keep pupils working and exhibit great patience as, for example, in a Year 1 lesson on social skills

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Very good teaching and learning

where the teacher constantly encouraged them to listen, be polite and take turns, and she used praise well for demonstrations of good manners. In a Year 1 geography lesson, although the noise level rose noticeably, there was still a strong feeling of work pervading the time spent in the classroom; in a Year 2 mathematics lesson, the teacher insisted all pupils were listening and ready to start which enabled them all to take part in the lesson and make a positive contribution. In a parallel class, some pupils were seen to be inattentive while the teacher explained their group work, but she determinedly and authoritatively kept them under control. In reception, behaviour management poses more of a problem. Some children are prone to calling out, which interrupts, but teachers manage to control them.

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Very good teaching and learning

12. The use of time and resources is very good. Each teaching assistant is well deployed and advances children’s learning by active guidance and authority. In Year 2 mathematics lesson, an assistant helped lower ability pupils achieve their potential by going over the concept again to ensure understanding; three pupils who were puzzled at first managed to finish their task successfully. In a very good Year 1 mathematics lesson, time and resources were used well for the challenges set by the teacher, who in her summary, indicated clearly to the pupils what they had achieved.

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Very good teaching and learning

13. The quality of ongoing assessment is very good, particularly in the Early Years Centre where assessment was seen being carried out in each session. Day-to-day corrections to children’s work are helpfully made, orally. Homework is effectively used to further learning and to consolidate work done in class. It is set following the lesson and promptly marked with helpful comments.

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Very good curriculum for Key Stage 1

14. The school provides a very good range of learning opportunities for its pupils in Key Stage 1. The curriculum is broad and balanced, and meets all statutory requirements. Provision for literacy and numeracy is very good. Both the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies are being implemented very well, and are planned to meet the needs of all pupils. In a typical literacy hour, for example, support is given by teachers and teaching assistants to specific groups of pupils who have work planned at their level of understanding. These include average and more able as well as those who have special educational needs, who have intense work with special educational needs assistants during the group work sessions, joining their classes for the introduction and plenary sessions when they are then able to make valuable contributions to the learning of the whole class.

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Very good curriculum for Key Stage 1

15. The school maintains a very rich curriculum, which is especially strong in art, design and technology, and ICT, where opportunities presented are well above those generally found in infant schools. Pupils, for example, visit the local town hall and learn about the architecture of the Art Deco period. The school holds special weeks throughout the year in which areas of the curriculum are enriched. There is a mathematics week, for example, when whole-school activities are given over to such projects as a mathematics trail around the school, finding specific shapes, such as circles and triangles, in the building, and activities such as drawing the face of Big Ben accurately to size in the school playground. There are specific weeks when the Chapel End Infant School and Early Years Centre - 15 focus is on science, books, or reading. Every Wednesday, a book shop is held after school for parents and children.

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Very good curriculum for Key Stage 1

Chapel End Infant School and Early Years Centre - 16

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for spiritual education

16. The school provides very well for pupils’ personal education, including the spiritual. In assemblies, for example, children considered ‘the best loved bear’ and were given a quiet time to think or pray to their God if they wished. There is also awe and wonder as children contemplate the notion that glass is made from sand. Moral education is very good. In religious education, the parable of the Good Samaritan is held up as a very good example of right and wrong, and related to everyday life. The school has some difficult pupils, but these are always well managed and do not disrupt other pupils’ learning. The behaviour policy is well known to all, and consistently applied so that pupils are rewarded for their good behaviour and punished for misdemeanour. There is very good provision for social education, including lessons on social skills for some pupils who are lacking in these, and the employment of a lunchtime play

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for spiritual education

supervisor who organises traditional games for the children to play. The emphasis throughout the school is one of consideration for others, and good manners. This starts in the Early Years Centre and is continued very well throughout the school; circle time is held in reception.

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for spiritual education

17. Provision for cultural education is excellent. The school celebrates the cultural background of all its pupils by, for example, having a multi-lingual week in which pupils made language ‘leaves’ for their language tree, with name and greetings in their own language, and the familiar story about ‘Spot at School’ was read in assembly in several different languages. A community day also celebrated a wide range of cultures in song, dance and poetry; children also tasted a range of food from different countries. Registration is conducted as a rule in a variety of languages. Black History week is also celebrated with many examples of eminent black people ranging from politicians to sports stars being displayed. Recipes and rhymes of the Caribbean also introduced pupils to some exotic fruit and vegetables during the Black History Parents’ Workshop. The school also provides many opportunities to celebrate native

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for spiritual education

British culture, a notable example being the ‘Grand Millennium Tour’ in which pupils were taken by coach to see famous sites of London, such as Big Ben, St Paul’s and the more modern, such as the London Eye. The book of drawings and paintings produced from this shows not only the very good observational skills of the children, but also records their enjoyment, for example, when they saw people feeding pigeons in Trafalgar Square.

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Very good curricular provision for children in the Early Years Centre

18. Provision for children in the Early Years Centre is very good. The centre was set up in January 2000, and is housed in the old school building, five minutes’ walk away from the main school. The headteacher is the head of the centre and three teachers are also employed. The centre manager and all ‘family workers’ are employed from a social services budget and their roles in providing care facilities have not been the subject of this inspection.

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Very good curricular provision for children in the Early Years Centre

19. The educational provision is very good; the curriculum, based on the Early Learning Goals for children in the Foundation Stage, has a wide range of activities planned daily to help children achieve these goals. These learning activities sustain the full-time children throughout the day because of the variety of things to do in the two rooms and the outside area. They also provide very good experiences for children who attend for only part of the day. There are many children who do not have English as their first language, and some others who have underdeveloped social skills, so great Chapel End Infant School and Early Years Centre - 17 emphasis is put on improving vocabulary and language development through conversation.

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Very good curricular provision for children in the Early Years Centre

20. Children develop their language very well through play, particularly in role-play activity led by adults, who continually talk to the children. They also encourage the development of emergent writing when taking telephone messages. Adults and children are usually in the book corner looking at books together, enabling children to make the connection between print and meaning in books. As a result of this very good provision, the majority of children are in line to achieve the Early Learning Goals in language and literacy by the time they enter Key Stage 1, even though many have below average language skills on entry.

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Very good curricular provision for children in the Early Years Centre

21. Early mathematical skills are developed well by the use of games, such as lotto, which helps children learn to count as they throw dice. In other groups, they learn to describe shapes well, such as triangles and circles, by the teacher’s use of ‘the feely bag’ with different shapes inside: one child recognised a triangle by its ‘pointy’ corners. Learning is accelerated by teachers’ very good use of time; relatively short teaching activities are followed up by children being encouraged to consolidate their learning by finding, for example, two triangles. From very good teaching by all staff who work as a close-knit committed team, most children are in line to achieve the Early Learning Goals in mathematical development by the end of reception.

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Very good curricular provision for children in the Early Years Centre

22. Children’s knowledge and understanding of the world are developed well by a great variety of activities. They gain knowledge of material texture and properties, for example, through the use of malleable putty, and also develop manipulative skills very well as they roll and stretch pliant materials and cut shapes for a shiny paper collage. They recognise the shapes as representing stars and moons, which they know are in the sky after dark.

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Very good curricular provision for children in the Early Years Centre

23. Creative development is very well enhanced by imaginative play, for example, that is based on a story ‘The dark, dark tale’ in which children were seen taking roles as the story was read, using masks to represent characters. The whole teaching area was transformed into a dark place; late on, children were encouraged to make picture books about nighttime. Again, the very high quality of adult support makes it possible for children to develop their language and social skills particularly well. Every day there are outside activities which develop physical skills and extend learning. When riding bicycles and tricycles, for example, children learn early road sense, such as recognising red and green lights, and that zebra crossings are to allow pedestrians to cross the road. The outside area has not been developed fully, however.

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Very good curricular provision for children in the Early Years Centre

24. Personal and social skills develop very well in the centre. All adults are sensitive to the needs of the children and ensure that they have the right amount of attention. Children have a certain freedom of choice in their activities and staff have high expectations of them to carry out the task they have chosen. They are encouraged to share with each other when using board games, cars, and items such as dressing up clothes. Staff insist on good manners and children are always expected to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’.

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Very good curricular provision for children in the Early Years Centre

25. Teaching is very good in the centre. The teachers and ‘family workers’ are a very good team, and lose no opportunity to provide for the learning needs of all children. Assessment of each child’s capabilities is a strength of provision, and this is used very well to plan subsequent stages of each child’s development which is done in considerable detail. The objectives for each day’s activities are prominently displayed Chapel End Infant School and Early Years Centre - 18 so that if parents stay to help, they know precisely what to do and what the learning objectives are; very good learning takes place throughout each session. Chapel End Infant School and Early Years Centre - 19

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Attitudes and relationships

26. Pupils have very good attitudes to school; they enjoy coming, and settle down quickly with their peers in class. They are eager to listen to today’s news and to answer their name in the chosen language of the day. They listen attentively in lessons and are keen to answer and take part. Although a few fidget after a while on the carpet, the majority concentrate well during these sessions in literacy, numeracy and the introduction to lessons. There are a few who have a short concentration span, and a tendency to misbehave, but these children are immediately given another activity. All children know the behaviour code and what is expected of them, and they generally behave well.

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Attitudes and relationships

27. Personal development is very good; pupils are encouraged to talk about personal matters in circle time. Emphasis on good manners and behaviour enable pupils to learn to share, to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’, and to be generally polite and tolerant of others. Pupils readily undertake monitoring jobs and do not often need to be told to clear away after practical sessions.

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Attitudes and relationships

28. Relationships are very good. Children and adults alike respect each other and there is a calm, hardworking ethos in the school. Teachers value their pupils and there is an air of mutual respect. Pupils also learn to understand the variety of cultures present in the school, and to celebrate different traditions, which enables them to coexist harmoniously.

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standards in science and design and technology; improving standards in mathematics

29. Since the last inspection standards in mathematics have been rising steadily; in 1999, National Curriculum test results showed that the school was above average, and well above compared with similar schools. In 2000, the percentage reaching Level 2 rose again, but not as much as other schools. The percentage of higher grades was well above average but because of the large number of children with special educational needs, especially boys, the overall figure was down. During the inspection, standards were observed to be at least average and there was some evidence of above average attainment. Average pupils count in tens and are working towards learning the two times table by adding groups of twos. Brighter pupils calculate in groups of threes and fours, working towards three and four times tables. They are learning how to use standard measurement by calculating the length of strips of paper. Targets have

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standards in science and design and technology; improving standards in mathematics

been exceeded already for the current year.

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standards in science and design and technology; improving standards in mathematics

30. In science, above average standards were seen in both Year 1 and 2. Pupils have an above average knowledge of the properties of materials and their uses, and are beginning to predict the outcomes of their investigations, for example, which pieces of material will keep a wrapped sweet dry, and they already understand the principles of simple control of variables to make a fair test.

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standards in science and design and technology; improving standards in mathematics

31. Standards in design and technology are well above average; pupils were seen designing a coat for a teddy bear, showing good knowledge of the design process at this level, and the simple ways the designs could be used to produce a coat. They showed good knowledge of ways in which the coat could be decorated, several referring to their very well produced pictures of Joseph’s coat of many colours, drawn earlier using particular computer software. These show well above average ICT skills in graphics, and examples of word processing and data analysis also support this Chapel End Infant School and Early Years Centre - 20 view. The school won a borough ICT competition recently and examples of very good work are to be seen displayed around the school.

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standards in science and design and technology; improving standards in mathematics

32. Standards in art are well above average. Pupils have been taught how to observe well and the accuracy of some of their drawings of, for example, listed buildings in the neighbourhood, or landmarks such as Big Ben, the London Eye and St Paul’s Cathedral from their Millennium Tour are very well observed. Prints made in the art deco style after their trip to the local town hall also show well above average use of line, colour and technique.

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Standards of attainment in English

33. Standards in the school at the time of the last inspection were judged to be in need of improvement, and since then the school has worked hard to identify where improvement is most necessary. Very good use has been made of the improved assessment procedures devised in response to a key issue in the last report. The school has a high proportion of children for whom English is not their first language, and whilst this cultural diversity is celebrated, a high proportion of children coming to school have below average language and literacy skills. The work of the Early Years Centre is aimed at improvement, and because of the emphasis placed on this by all staff, most pupils look set to achieve the Early Learning Goals by the time they enter full-time education. Not all of the school’s intake, however, comes from the Early Years Centre.

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Standards of attainment in English

34. Standards in reading for 2000 remained similar to those of last year, but those in writing and mathematics fell slightly. The average Key Stage 1 points score obtained shows the school to be in line with the national average for reading, and below for writing and mathematics. In comparison with schools of similar intake, the average points score showed reading to be above average, and writing and mathematics average. Further analysis of the school’s results in the National Curriculum tests and tasks over the last two years showed that it has been very successful in increasing numbers achieving higher Levels 2B, 2A and 3 which are well above the national average, but the number achieving Level 2C - mainly boys - was below average. In recognition, the school is addressing this with some considerable success.

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Standards of attainment in English

35. Last year’s Year 2 group who took the national tests contained very many pupils with special educational needs in behaviour, who caused disruption to learning. Nevertheless, their targets for achievement were met in writing and mathematics but not in reading. During the time since the last inspection, standards in reading have always remained close to average, which was so this year, although the higher targets were not met. Standards in writing have generally been below average. In mathematics, although the results of tests in 2000 rose by four per cent, this figure was not as great as the national trend.

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Standards of attainment in English

36. Over the past four years, girls have done noticeably much better than boys, and the gap between performance has, on average, been wider than that found nationally. For this reason, the school decided to focus on boys’ attainment, particularly in writing, since last year. With the improved assessment systems, it has been able to identify pupils who are underachieving; most unable to achieve Level 2 are boys. About half of these were also summer-born who had only one term in reception before going to Year 1. Chapel End Infant School and Early Years Centre - 21 37. The school put various measures into place last year to help remedy the situation, and 16 boys in the previous Year 2 were selected to receive extra help to raise their attainment from Level 1 to Level 2C. Support is well targeted, with imaginative writing workshops with methods designed to appeal especially to boys. An example during

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Standards of attainment in English

the inspection took the theme ‘The bad jelly baby’. Year 1 boys were made to feel important to be in the writing club and their teacher gave them plenty of useful ways of starting to write, such as looking round the room for a word, using a dictionary, sounding a word. The teacher was continually developing language skills very well by talking and asking questions to promote discussion. The overall level of attainment of this group was judge to be at Level 1, but they were able to use methods such as copying beginning parts of sentences from the board and complete this using their own ideas and phonic clues displayed around the room. The lower group were given further help with word endings and this enabled them to complete sentences. In 1999/2000, half of the boys selected were successful in achieving Level 2C in writing.

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Standards of attainment in English

38. Standards of reading seen during the inspection were about average; the oldest pupils know the significant parts of a book and how to use an index, for example. When reading aloud, most use expression and interpret full stops, commas, question marks and inverted commas. Average pupils are reading within Level 2 and most write four or more simple sentences with full stops and capital letters, in response to the book ‘Who will be my mother?’. Those above average write a whole page about the Good Samaritan, indicating that pupils are in line to achieve their targets in the national tests.

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Attendance

39. Attendance is unsatisfactory due mainly to the number of families who take their children away for extended holidays to visit relatives abroad during term time. The school sends letters home to parents informing them of the necessity to keep their children in school, and to avoid going away - particularly in May, when the National Curriculum tests take place. However, the wording of the school handbook does not emphasise strongly enough that the education of the children is of paramount importance. Some lack of punctuality was observed during the inspection.

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The Foundation Stage of learning in reception

40. The Foundation Stage of learning is not so well embedded in the reception year as it is in the Early Years Centre. The reception classes in the previous years did not have a curriculum fully based on the Desirable Learning Outcomes; hence, the transition this year to the Early Learning Goals is especially hard. Due to the local education authority admissions policy, there is only one class for the September intake; the new teacher has no teachers in parallel classes with whom to plan, unlike those in Years 1 and 2. Knowledge of the particular methods of teaching the Early Learning Goals is in need of development, particularly the promotion of pupils’ independence when they choose their own activities, and recording and assessing them; although planning is satisfactory, the integral use of assessment is not developed well enough. Chapel End Infant School and Early Years Centre - 22

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

41. In order to improve further, the headteacher and governors should:

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(1) build on existing very good provision in the Early Years Centre to complete the implementation of the Foundation Stage in the reception year by joint planning for curriculum and assessment, and interchanging staff;

p.22

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(2) continue to raise standards in English, particularly writing, by ensuring teachers have a clear understanding of the expected levels of attainment, especially the sub-divisions of Level 2, so that more children reach the higher level;

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(3) improve attendance by making it clearer to parents that children’s education is paramount. Chapel End Infant School and Early Years Centre - 23

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Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 20

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Poor Very Poor

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

The table gives the percentage of teaching observed in each of the seven categories used to make judgements about lessons .

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils on the school’s roll Nursery YR – Y2

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 55 203

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils eligible for free school meals 0 61

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Information about the school’s pupils

Special educational needs Nursery YR – Y2

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 0 34

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 0 6

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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 88

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 17

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 17

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Attendance

National comparative data 5.4 National comparative data 0.5 Chapel End Infant School and Early Years Centre - 24 Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. Chapel End Infant School and Early Years Centre - 25

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 1 for the latest reporting year 2000 45 45 90

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

National Curriculum Test/Task Results Reading Writing Mathematics

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Boys 28 35 37 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 38 40 41

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

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

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Boys 34 37 37 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 41 40 38

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Percentage of pupils School 83 (76) 86 (80) 83 (90) at NC level 2 or above National 84 (82) 88 (86) 88 (87)

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

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 23 Black – Caribbean heritage 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – African heritage 7 Black – African heritage 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Any other minority ethnic group 21 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. Chapel End Infant School and Early Years Centre - 26

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 9 Financial year 1999/2000

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 22.5

p.26

Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: YR – Y2 Total expenditure 612,543

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 9 Expenditure per pupil 2,411

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 201.5 Balance brought forward from previous year 46,074

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Balance carried forward to next year 52,677

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Qualified teachers and support staff: nursery

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 3

p.26

Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 26.3

p.26

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 6.4

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 238

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Teachers and classes Financial information

FTE means full-time equivalent. Chapel End Infant School and Early Years Centre - 27

p.26

Results of the survey of parents and carers

Percentage of responses in each category

p.27

Results of the survey of parents and carers

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

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

My child is making good progress in school. 60 31 4 0 5

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

Behaviour in the school is good. 49.5 41.5 2.5 0 6.5

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 49.5 32.5 9 0 9

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 52 29.5 8 4 6.5

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 71.5 25 2.5 0 1

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 75.5 19.5 1 0 4

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school works closely with parents. 57.5 31.5 5 1 5

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school is well led and managed. 68 27 1 0 4

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 66.5 26 2.5 1 4

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 27.5 31 14.5 6.5 20.5

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