Pownall Green Primary School

POWNALL GREEN PRIMARY SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 21 st -22 nd November 2000

p.1

POWNALL GREEN PRIMARY SCHOOL

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.

p.1

POWNALL GREEN PRIMARY SCHOOL

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

p.2

INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Bramhall Lane South Bramhall Stockport Cheshire

p.3

INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: The governing body

p.3

INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: January 1997 Pownall Green Primary School

p.3

Team members

Mrs M R Shepherd, 11328 Registered inspector Mr C Herbert, 9652 Lay inspector Mrs S Gatehouse, 26945 Team inspector Mr D Walters, 17857 Team inspector

p.4

Team members

TWA Inspections Ltd 5 Lakeside Werrington Peterborough Cambs PE4 6QZ

p.4

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:

p.4

Team members

The Registrar Inspection Quality Division

p.4

Team members

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE Pownall Green Primary School

p.4

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

p.5

INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Pownall Green Primary School serves the village of Bramhall. It has been a Beacon 1 school for over two years. The school has the Basic Skills 2 award. A higher proportion of pupils than usual comes from outside the school’s catchment area. The school is much larger than the national average. There are 227 girls and 220 boys. In most year groups there are similar proportions of girls and boys except in Year 2 where there are many more girls than boys. There is some mobility of pupils with 10 per cent either leaving or joining the school last year. Attainment on entry is above average compared with the local education authority. Attainment is well above average in mathematics and some aspects of English but below average in personal and social development. Two per cent of pupils are eligible for free school meals which is below average. Two and a half per cent of pupils come from ethnic minorities and speak

p.6

INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

English as an additional language, which is higher than most schools. Sixteen per cent of pupils are on the special educational needs register which is broadly average. Over half of these pupils come from outside the catchment area. One and a half per cent of pupils have full statements, which is broadly average.

p.6

INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS This is a very good school with some outstanding features. Pupils enter the school with attainment above average and leave it well above average. Teaching is very good or better. The leadership and management by the headteacher are outstanding. Beacon activities enhance the quality of the school’s provision. The school provides very good value for money.

p.6

What the school does well

• Standards are very high in writing, mathematics, art and design and music and high in reading and science. • Leadership and management are very good. • Pupils with special educational needs make very good progress. • Pupils expect to work hard and behave very well. • Teaching is very good. • Provision for social development is excellent. Provision for moral and cultural development is very good. • Partnership with parents is very good.

p.6

What could be improved

There are no key improvement issues. The aspects below are very minor issues for development. These areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan. • The use of information and communications technology across subjects. • The accommodation. • Personal responses to reading.

p.6

HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

The school was last inspected in January 1997. Most of the very good and outstanding features have been maintained. The high standards have been sustained in art and design in Key Stage 2 and improved in Key Stage 1. Standards have improved in English, mathematics, science and music in both key stages. The excellent management of the headteacher is equally outstanding. The very good standards in attitudes, behaviour and relationships have been maintained. The rich and vibrant curriculum remains a strength of the school. The very good partnership with parents has been consolidated. There has been very good improvement in other aspects. The school has acquired Beacon status and the Basic Skills Award. Previous key issues have been thoroughly addressed. Rates of attendance are better. There is a higher proportion of very good or excellent teaching. The personal, social and health provision has

p.6

HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

improved. Care and welfare of pupils are further improved. Pownall Green Primary School STANDARDS The table shows the standards achieved by 11 year olds based on average point scores in National Curriculum tests.

p.6

Key

1998 1999 2000 2000 very high A* English A A* A B well above average above average A B Mathematics A A A* A average below average C D Science A A* A A well below average E

p.7

Key

Attainment in mathematics by the end of Key Stage 2 is in the highest 5 per cent of national results. Attainment in writing is very high and attainment in reading is well above average. By the end of Key Stage 1 attainment is very high in mathematics and well above average in reading, writing and science. Attainment by the end of Key Stages 1 and 2 in art and design is very high. By the end of Key Stage 2 attainment in music is very high and standards in personal, social, health education and citizenship are high. Trends over time have been consistently high. The school sets high targets and reaches them consistently. Standards in literacy and numeracy are well above average.

p.7

Aspect Comment

Attitudes to the school Attitudes are very positive. Pupils are very enthusiastic about their work.

p.7

Aspect Comment

Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Behaviour in lessons and around the school is very good. Pupils are very courteous to each other and to adults.

p.7

Aspect Comment

Personal development and relationships Pupils have an excellent understanding of how their own actions affect others. They have great respect for other pupils’ feelings, values and beliefs.

p.7

Aspect Comment

Attendance Attendance is well above average. Pownall Green Primary School

p.7

Teaching of pupils: aged up to 5 years aged 5-7 years aged 7-11 years

Lessons seen overall: 25 very good very 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.

p.8

Teaching of pupils: aged up to 5 years aged 5-7 years aged 7-11 years

Seven tenths of the teaching is very good. It is consistently very good in the Foundation Stage and in Key Stage 1 and over a tenth of the teaching in Key Stages 1 and 2 is excellent. There is a small proportion of teaching that is only satisfactory in English in Year 3. Teachers work very effectively with the very good quality support staff and other adults. They teach basic skills very effectively within the context of interesting tasks. This ensures a high level of intellectual and creative effort from pupils. The quality of English and mathematics teaching is very good. Literacy and numeracy are taught particularly well in the half termly topic work. Teachers manage their pupils very well. Foundation Stage 1 teachers combine formal activities very effectively with independent activities and learning through play.

p.8

Teaching of pupils: aged up to 5 years aged 5-7 years aged 7-11 years

Teachers have high expectations for all pupils. This produces a high level of acquisition of skills and knowledge and a very good level of productivity. Teachers produce very clear individual educational plans for pupils with special educational needs. They organise their work very effectively. Teachers challenge more able pupils very effectively.

p.8

Aspect Comment

The quality and range of the curriculum The quality of the curriculum is very good. All aspects of the curriculum are covered very thoroughly. The half-termly topics are very well organised to develop skills across the curriculum. Whole school productions are used very effectively to develop speaking and listening and music.

p.8

Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils with special educational needs Provision for these pupils is very good. Pupils are identified early and the school provides very effective individual programmes for each pupil. Teachers work closely with the support assistants and they are both very skilful in working with these pupils. Outside agencies are used very well.

p.8

Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils with English as an additional language Provision for these pupils is very good. They are supported very effectively.

p.8

Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Provision for social development is excellent. Provision for moral and cultural development is very good. Provision for spiritual development is good.

p.8

Aspect Comment

How well the school cares for its pupils Provision for monitoring and improving behaviour is very good. Assessment systems are used very effectively to raise standards. Pupils’ educational and personal development is monitored very carefully.

p.8

Aspect Comment

Partnership with parents There are very effective links with parents. The quality of information for parents is very good.

p.8

Aspect Comment

1 The fF oundation sS tage begins when children reach the age of three and finishes at the end of the reception class year. It is a distinct stage in preparing children for later schooling and is based on six areas of learning. These mainly refer to communication, language and literacy; mathematical development; and personal, social and emotional development, but also includes knowledge and understanding of the world; physical and creative development. Pownall Green Primary School

p.8

Aspect Comment

Leadership and management by the headteacher and other key staff The leadership and management by the headteacher are outstanding. The new deputy headteacher is very effective. The key stage co- ordinators play an important role in the school. Most co-ordinators are very effective.

p.9

Aspect Comment

How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities The governors have a very good understanding of the school. They fulfil their responsibilities very effectively.

p.9

Aspect Comment

The school’s evaluation of its performance Monitoring strategies are excellent. They are used very effectively to maintain and raise standards.

p.9

Aspect Comment

The strategic use of resources Resources are used very efficiently. The school uses the principles of best value very well.

p.9

Aspect Comment

Accommodation The library and car park are too small.

p.9

What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

• The leadership and management are good. • They can approach the school with questions or problems. • Their children like school. • The school has high expectations. • Teaching is good. • Behaviour is good. • The range of activities outside lessons. • The amount of homework. • Information about their children’s progress. • Provision in the Foundation Stage. • Pupils with special educational needs are not identified sufficiently early.

p.9

What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

The inspectors agree with the positive comments from parents. They disagree with the improvement issues. The range of activities outside lessons is very good. The amount of homework is appropriate. Information about pupils’ progress is good. The provision in the Foundation Stage is very good. Pupils with special educational needs are identified very quickly.

p.9

What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

The governing body is responsible for drawing up an action plan within 40 days of receiving the inspection report, showing how the school will tackle the improvements needed. This action plan will be circulated to all parents at the school. Pownall Green Primary School

p.9

Standards are high with very high attainment in mathematics and art and design

1. Children make good progress in the Foundation Stage. Teachers provide a very good balance between formal work and structured play that ensures the development of skills across all the Early Learning Goals. 2 By the end of the reception class, most children are above the expected level for five year olds. There is an average proportion of pupils at higher levels of attainment on entry to the school. More able pupils are challenged to fulfil their potential and by the end of the reception year many children are attaining well above expectations.

p.10

Standards are high with very high attainment in mathematics and art and design

2. The combination of practical and formal work is continued very successfully through the school. In mathematics in Key Stage 1 pupils apply their mathematical understanding very confidently across a range of different contexts. They have very good mental mathematics skills and respond quickly to teachers’ questions in the National Numeracy Strategy lessons. Pupils have very good skills of recording their mathematics because they carry this out regularly. In Key Stage 2 pupils are taught in ability groups for mathematics. The groups are organised very carefully and both of them receive work that challenges their thinking and practical skills. In Year 6 a high proportion of pupils record their results using their own methods. They handle numbers at speed in mental mathematics sessions. They approach mathematical problems with enthusiasm and have a high level of accuracy in their answers. For example, they ordered numbers to

p.10

Standards are high with very high attainment in mathematics and art and design

two decimal points correctly and checked whether their results were reasonable. Numeracy standards are high across the curriculum as teachers plan carefully to include mathematical development in the half-termly projects.

p.10

Standards are high with very high attainment in mathematics and art and design

3. Standards of writing are very high across the school. Pupils take a great pride in their handwriting and presentation because the school has very high expectations of the final product. Pupils are provided with high quality project books to record their work each half term, which is a great incentive to maintaining consistently high quality work. Throughout the school pupils use grammar at a higher level than expected as it is taught regularly in interesting contexts. For example, in Year 2 pupils were taught how to write a formal letter whilst writing a reply to a letter, which had arrived through the night sent by the class dragon. By Years 5 and 6 pupils have very good skills in writing for different audiences across varying styles. In Year 5 pupils have a very good understanding of persuasive writing. They define this style in detail and use it with subtlety within different topics. For example, in a poem about advertising two pupils wrote, “…The fine print is

p.10

Standards are high with very high attainment in mathematics and art and design

sending your plans haywire, You’re on a one way train to Canvas Town”. By Year 6 pupils write extended stories skilfully, developing themes using vocabulary with imagination and precision. Poetry writing is of a particularly high standard with several pupils reaching Level 6, which is very high. In a poem about the Minotaur a pupil wrote, “It waits lonely in the heat of its lair, tormented by nightmares”. Pupils’ reading and speaking and listening standards are well above average in both key stages. Speaking and listening skills develop very effectively through the very good quality drama productions. Standards of literacy are high as the school plans thoroughly for its use across the curriculum.

p.10

Standards are high with very high attainment in mathematics and art and design

2 Early learning goals - these are expectations for most children to reach by the end of the foundation stage. They refer mainly to achievements children make in connection with the following six areas of learning: communication language and literacy; mathematical development; and personal, social and emotional development; knowledge and understanding of the world; physical and creative development. There are many goals for each area of learning ;, for example, in language and literacy pupils should be able to write their own name and other things such as labels and begin to write simple sentences. Pownall Green Primary School 4. Standards in science are well above average across the school. The school has worked on raising standards in science so they match the standards in English and mathematics. Pupils carry out scientific investigations with confidence. They have a very good knowledge of the different aspects of science, which stems from the teachers’ own

p.10

Standards are high with very high attainment in mathematics and art and design

subject knowledge. This is supplemented very effectively in Year 6 by the expertise of a parent who works with Year 6 pupils every week and shares in lesson planning.

p.11

Standards are high with very high attainment in mathematics and art and design

5. Standards in art and design are outstanding. From the reception class to Year 6 pupils are taught specific skills and have regular opportunities to express their creativity across a range of media. There are very high expectations of the technical expertise of each pupil and of individual responses to tasks. For example, in Year 6 pupils devised intricate mazes combined with complex patterning and multi-media techniques. All work is displayed to a very high standard to celebrate pupils’ efforts.

p.11

Standards are high with very high attainment in mathematics and art and design

6. Standards in music are very high by the end of Key Stage 2 as a high quality music specialist teaches across the school. Pupils sing tunefully and with a range of dynamics. They perform as soloists, in duets or groups to large audiences with confidence. In Key Stage 2 they develop skills in composing and playing across a range of musical instruments. A high proportion of pupils play musical instruments at a good standard.

p.11

Standards are high with very high attainment in mathematics and art and design

7. Standards in personal, social and health education are high. There is a very well structured programme of work throughout the school. Skills are developed very effectively through oral discussion and written projects. By Year 6 pupils write with sensitivity about their rights and responsibilities.

p.11

Leadership and management are very good

8. The leadership and management by the headteacher are outstanding. Parents appreciate this leadership and identify her qualities as being a calm, methodical team builder with an innovative approach to solving problems. She keeps abreast of government and local initiatives and modifies them skilfully to the particular needs of the school. She works closely with the senior management team and co-ordinators to review and improve provision. She introduces innovations with care and sensitivity within the context of management and teaching teams. She has set up excellent monitoring systems to track the progress of the changes and review strategies. She then ensures that systems are implemented consistently across the school. This ensures a continual rise in standards. She uses the strengths of the school to very good effect. For example, she has used the award of Beacon status very effectively to extend the communication

p.11

Leadership and management are very good

skills of staff through sharing school systems with a wide audience in the region, particularly with the local university. She has set up efficient administration systems, delegates carefully and engenders a high level of shared commitment to succeed from the staff.

p.11

Leadership and management are very good

9. The new deputy headteacher is very effective. She has implemented very good assessment systems and supports the developments of the school very efficiently. Co- ordinators play crucial leadership roles. They have a very good understanding of their subjects and work hard to support the teaching team. The Key Stage 1 co-ordinator has a very good understanding of the strengths and development needs of this key stage. There are extremely effective monitoring systems set up across the school that feed directly back into improving provision. It includes regular monitoring of teaching, pupils’ work and planning. High quality written feedback is given to individual teachers. Monitoring by the English co-ordinator is particularly good.

p.11

Leadership and management are very good

10. The governing body has a very good understanding of the strengths and developments of the school. They work in partnership with the headteacher and co-ordinators to produce Pownall Green Primary School a high quality school development plan. The governing body has a wide range of professional expertise, which is used to very good effect in supporting developments within the school.

p.11

Pupils with special educational make very good progress

11. These pupils are identified early and are then given carefully structured programmes of work to match their needs. The special educational needs co-ordinator works closely with the staff to initiate and monitor individual and whole school systems. Support staff are deployed carefully to support individuals, establishing high quality relationships with their pupils. These staff work in close partnership with the teachers. Interesting tasks are set in parallel to the main class to ensure these pupils’ inclusion in whole class discussion. The school goes to considerable efforts to engage the use of outside agencies. They are very imaginative in using adult expertise to support these pupils’ individual circumstances. The school has gained the Basic Skills Award for their provision for pupils with special educational needs.

p.12

Pupils expect to work hard and behave very well

12. Pupils have very positive attitudes towards their work. They settle quickly to tasks and concentrate well until they are completed. They rise to the challenges set by teachers and listen carefully to advice from both teachers and other pupils. They co-operate well to produce shared tasks. For example, in science in Year 5 pupils worked in small groups to prepare and present their findings related to the way sound travels.

p.12

Pupils expect to work hard and behave very well

13. Standards of behaviour are very good as teachers use the school’s systems very consistently and have very high expectations of pupils. In lessons pupils are courteous to each other and to adults. In reception children learn to carry out tasks independently, sharing the resources and taking turns sensibly. This continues through the school with pupils developing more responsibility. For example, small groups of pupils work together over lunchtimes and playtimes to compose, select appropriate instruments, practise and perform pieces of music. Pupils move smoothly between different parts of lessons. In the National Numeracy Strategy lessons pupils respond enthusiastically to the mental mathematics sessions and then change to concentrating quietly on individual tasks. Behaviour around the school is very good. Pupils move from the outside classrooms into the main building in an orderly manner no matter what the weather conditions are. They

p.12

Pupils expect to work hard and behave very well

behave very sensibly at lunch times and play times.

p.12

Teaching is very good

14. Teachers work very effectively with support staff and other adults. This ensures a high level of support for pupils in their group work, with well-focused questioning to extend individual pupils’ thinking. For example, in a reception lesson the teacher led the group work in science, the teaching assistant guided children through colour mixing and the other adult monitored the investigations in the sand and on the computer. All the children in these groups extended their speaking and listening skills very effectively, as well as gaining understanding of the different content in the tasks.

p.12

Teaching is very good

15. Teaching of basic skills is very good. Teachers provide carefully balanced programmes of work across the curriculum and use the half termly topics very effectively to enrich pupils’ understanding. Very innovative and stimulating tasks are planned to capture pupils’ imagination. For example, in Year 5 pupils were required to market an imaginary planet using two and three-dimensional graphics. This developed skills of persuasive, analytical and imaginative writing, mathematical and information and communications technology skills and art and design techniques. Pownall Green Primary School 16. Teachers have high expectations of all their pupils. They challenge the high attainers to do even better and support pupils with special educational needs very carefully. Teachers use the assessment systems very effectively and set individual targets for pupils to raise standards. Teachers mark pupils’ work very effectively. They celebrate

p.12

Teaching is very good

the strengths of the work and outline specific targets for future developments. In most lessons teachers set a very fast pace across the whole lesson and pupils respond to this enthusiastically with high levels of productivity. For example, in the excellent lesson in mathematics in Year 6, pupils achieved a large amount of work both oral and written. The headteacher places great value on very high standards of presentation and content and all teachers are very successful in perpetuating these expectations. Teachers regularly emphasise the importance of pupils producing high quality written and graphical work and set very high standards in their own displays in classrooms and around the school. For example, teachers in Years 4 and 5 produced a very high quality display with a combination of textiles, paintings, three dimensional work, design and technology, science and pupils’ writing all based around water.

p.13

development is very good

17. The school provides a wide range of opportunities for pupils to develop social skills. Pupils develop a very good understanding of citizenship. Every class from Year 1 has their own councillor, who represents their views regularly on the school council. These pupils take their responsibilities very seriously as the issues raised can affect the whole school. For example, pupils’ suggestions to purchase wheely bins were very successful in raising awareness of litter and reducing litter on the school site. Pupils have a wide range of opportunities to extend their social skills within lessons and outside of school. They are expected to initiate activities. For example, a small group of pupils negotiated with the music teacher to perform a new piece of music in assembly. Pupils take part in high quality whole school performances regularly.

p.13

development is very good

18. Pupils are given very good opportunities for moral development. This is included very effectively in the personal, social and health and citizenship programme. Pupils have a very good understanding of the importance of rules and the way they affect their everyday lives. Pupils develop a high level of awareness of the effect of their actions upon others as the school has very effective systems for discussing any incidents involving conflict between pupils in their ‘no blame’ anti bullying policy. Pupils are given excellent opportunities to identify feelings in response to positive or negative experiences. For example, in Year 6 pupils identified feelings associated with each of these experiences. They then considered the outcomes of their own actions on others. Cultural development is very good as teachers plan carefully to include this across the curriculum. For example, pupils study a wide range of artists within their art lessons and learn about

p.13

development is very good

myths and legends within their geography and history lessons.

p.13

Partnership with parents is very good

19. The school works very hard to work to involve parents in the life of the school and parents appreciate this. Parents are kept very well informed about what is taught each year. They receive a high quality booklet showing it in detail, followed up by year group meetings. Communication is very good with parents because they have open access to teachers before and after school. Parents play a valuable role by working with teachers in lessons. The school provides very clear guidance for their role in different activities. For example, they have detailed instructions for supporting pupils’ reading and high quality formats for producing the individual project books used throughout the school. Parents of pupils with special educational needs are kept very well informed about their Pownall Green Primary School children’s progress. Complex arrangements are made for these pupils to take parents’

p.13

Partnership with parents is very good

views into account. There is a very active Parents’ Association, which arranges a wide range of social activities and supports the school very well in raising funds.

p.14

The use of information and communication technology across subjects

20. Teachers’ planning for the development of information and communication technology is satisfactory. In most half termly projects there are opportunities for pupils to develop expertise across the curriculum for information and communication technology. Pupils develop the expected level of skill and knowledge by Year 6. However, teachers miss opportunities for pupils to extend and consolidate their skills across different lessons. For example, in Key Stage 2 in English pupils do not expect to take turns in word processing their writing. This is an inefficient use of the hardware. Planning for the use of computers needs to be included more explicitly across lessons, particularly in literacy and numeracy. Pupils need to be more organised more effectively to take turns on computers across different types of lessons. Systems need to be established in classes more consistently across the school for pupils to take responsibility for identifying their own turn for working

p.14

The accommodation

21. The school library is too small for the size of the school. It is impossible to take whole class sessions to extend pupils’ reference and research skills. This reduces the rate of progress of pupils’ skills in this area. Teachers cover this aspect of the curriculum in their classrooms well and provide a good range of non-fiction texts for the half termly projects. Pupils handle these texts very confidently. They understand the way libraries are organised but are unable to consolidate this understanding in the context of a larger library where their understanding would be put into practice. Fiction libraries are set up carefully in classrooms. Pupils develop very good skills of selecting books within this context. However, opportunities for pupils to discuss and select fiction books across different classes are restricted due to the lack of space. The school has identified funding to build a new library and computer suite in the spring. The use of these new facilities will

p.14

The accommodation

need to be planned very carefully to make efficient use of the additional space.

p.14

The accommodation

22. The amount of space in the car park is too small. It is barely large enough for the staff. The school has very effective links with the community, which increases the amount of space needed for visitors. The Beacon activities involve a large number of visitors to see the school’s very good practice and this also puts additional pressure on the car parking facilities. The school has clear plans for improving this provision but has not yet been successful in securing funding for this project.

p.14

Personal responses to reading

23. Pupils’ standards of reading are well above average. By Year 6 they analyse texts used in groups or as a class with subtlety. Pupils develop technical skills of tackling unknown words very well in Key Stage 1. They develop fluency and expression in their reading. They answer questions about the meaning of the texts with confidence. However, pupils do not all have the same level of confidence when giving their personal responses to reading. They identify key features of characters in fiction texts but do not relate these characters to their own experiences. They compare books from different types of fiction but do not identify their own preferences so confidently. Pupils keep a clear diary of their rate of progress through their choices of fiction, poetry and non-fiction books but they do not identify their responses to different features of the books on a regular basis. They do Pownall Green Primary School

p.14

Personal responses to reading

not always transfer the skills of analysing books to their own personal responses to their reading.

p.15

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

24. There are no major improvement issues. There are three very minor issues to further improve the high quality provision of the school. Governors, headteacher and staff should:-

p.15

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(1) use information and communication technology more effectively to consolidate skills across more lessons by:-

p.15

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• including tasks using information and communications technology in lesson planning more consistently across different subjects, particularly numeracy and literacy; • organising pupils more effectively to carry out tasks using information and communications technology on a more regular basis across different lessons;

p.15

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• implementing the plans to improve the library and computer suite facilities; • continuing to explore opportunities to improve the car parking facilities;

p.15

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(3) improve pupils’ personal responses to reading by:-

p.15

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• providing more opportunities for pupils to identify and express their personal responses to texts; • developing these skills earlier in the school and providing a framework for refining and extending their responses; • giving pupils more regular opportunities to share their preferences with each other; • using reading journals to track pupils’ personal progress. Pownall Green Primary School

p.15

Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

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

p.16

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Poor Very poor

p.16

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

12 72 12 4 0 0 0 The table gives the percentage of teaching observed in each of the seven categories used to make judgements about lessons.

p.16

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 447

p.16

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils eligible for free school meals 9

p.16

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 7

p.16

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 73

p.16

Information about the school’s pupils

English as an additional language No of pupils

p.16

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with English as an additional language 11

p.16

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils

p.16

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 24

p.16

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 23

p.16

Attendance

National comparative data 5.6 National comparative data 0.5 Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. Pownall Green Primary School

p.16

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Year Boys Girls Total Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 1 for the latest reporting year 2000 33 31 64

p.17

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

National Curriculum Test/Task Results Reading Writing Mathematics

p.17

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Boys 30 33 33 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 31 31 31

p.17

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Percentage of pupils School 95 (94) 100 (95) 100 (95) at NC level 2 or above National 83 (82) 84 (83) 90 (87)

p.17

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

p.17

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Boys 30 31 33 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 31 31 31

p.17

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Percentage of pupils School 95 (95) 97 (95) 100 (92) at NC level 2 or above National 84 (82) 88 (86) 88 (87)

p.17

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

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

p.17

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Year Boys Girls Total Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 2 for the latest reporting year 2000 31 33 3 64

p.17

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

National Curriculum Test/Task Results English Mathematics Science

p.17

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Boys 27 31 31 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 30 31 32

p.17

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Percentage of pupils School 90 (98) 98 (98) 100 (100) at NC level 4 or above National 75 (70) 72 (69) 85 (78)

p.17

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

p.17

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Boys 27 30 31 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 31 33 33

p.17

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Percentage of pupils School 91 (95) 98 (95) 100 (95) at NC level 4 or above National 70 (68) 72 (69) 79 (75) Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year.

p.17

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

3 1 GOne g irl was absent for all the tests. Pownall Green Primary School

p.17

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – Caribbean heritage 0 Black – Caribbean heritage 0 0

p.18

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – African heritage 0 Black – African heritage 0 0

p.18

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Any other minority ethnic group 11 Other minority ethnic groups 0 0 This table refers to pupils of compulsory school age only. This table gives the number of exclusions of pupils of compulsory school age, which may be different from the number of pupils excluded.

p.18

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 17.3 Financial year 1998 - 1999

p.18

Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 31.9

p.18

Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: YR – Y6 Total expenditure 735,928

p.18

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 18 Expenditure per pupil 1,614

p.18

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 328 Balance brought forward from previous year -3,265

p.18

Teachers and classes Financial information

Balance carried forward to next year 821

p.18

Teachers and classes Financial information

FTE means full-time equivalent. Pownall Green Primary School

p.18

Percentage of responses in each category

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

p.19

Percentage of responses in each category

My child is making good progress in school. 53 39 4 0 4

p.19

Percentage of responses in each category

Behaviour in the school is good. 48 47 2 0 3

p.19

Percentage of responses in each category

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 34 50 14 1 1

p.19

Percentage of responses in each category

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 33 51 14 1 1

p.19

Percentage of responses in each category

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 63 34 3 0 0

p.19

Percentage of responses in each category

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 65 30 3 0 2

p.19

Percentage of responses in each category

The school works closely with parents. 46 47 6 0 1

p.19

Percentage of responses in each category

The school is well led and managed. 69 31 0 0 0

p.19

Percentage of responses in each category

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 60 34 2 1 3

p.19

Percentage of responses in each category

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 27 34 20 9 10

p.19

Percentage of responses in each category

Parents expressed their appreciation of the very good progress that their children make in the school particularly in music and drama. They identified the individual support that children receive within a caring family atmosphere.

p.19