Alexandra Primary School

ALEXANDRA PRIMARY SCHOOL

Reporting inspector: Dr Alan Jarvis [2711]

p.1

ALEXANDRA PRIMARY SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 11 th – 14 th March 2002

p.1

ALEXANDRA PRIMARY SCHOOL

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

p.1

ALEXANDRA 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. Alexandra Primary School - 3

p.2

INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Western Road Wood Green London Postcode: N22 6UH

p.3

INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Appropriate authority. The Governing Body

p.3

INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Name of chair of governors: Mr Clive Boutle

p.3

INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: 7 th July 1997 Alexandra Primary School - 4

p.3

Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities

2711 Dr Alan Jarvis Registered inspector Foundation Stage How high are standards? How well are pupils taught? How well is the school led and managed? What should the school do to improve further? 19727 Eric Langford Lay inspector Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development How well does the school care for its pupils? How well does the school work in partnership with parents? 1963 Sibani Raychaudhuri Team inspector English Design and technology Geography History English as an additional language 1224 Graham Todd Team inspector Mathematics Art and design Physical education Special educational needs How good are curricular and other opportunities?

p.4

Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities

10270 Sandra Teacher Team inspector Science Information and communication technology Music Religious education 20951 Philip Littlejohn Team inspector Equal opportunities Truancy

p.4

Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities

Serco QAA Ltd Herringston Barn Herringston Dorchester Dorset DT2 9PU

p.4

Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities

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

p.4

Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities

The Complaints Manager Inspection Quality Division

p.4

Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE Alexandra Primary School - 5

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

HOW HIGH ARE STANDARDS? 11

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

p.5

INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

The school is a larger than average primary school. Two hundred and twenty-five pupils are currently on roll between the ages of five and 11 years. There are more boys than girls. Twenty children attend the nursery on a full-time basis and seven part-time. Just over one half of pupils come from minority ethnic groups and speak English as an additional language (EAL) with around one fifth being at an early stage of the acquisition of English. A further one tenth are Traveller. One third are on the register of special educational needs, which is above average; most of these pupils have learning or behavioural difficulties. Five pupils (an average proportion) have a Statement of Special Educational Need. The proportion of pupils who receive free school meals is well above average. There is a very high degree of mobility, four times the national average, with over one half of pupils entering or leaving in any one year. Many pupils

p.6

INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

live in temporary accommodation, being asylum seekers or refugees. Children’s attainment is extremely low at the start of the reception class. The current headteacher took up her appointment in September 2001. There have been few difficulties in filling vacant posts.

p.6

HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

The school provides an acceptable quality of education. It caters well for its highly mobile and ethnically diverse community. The new headteacher has brought much needed vision and is systematically addressing a backlog of work that needs to be done. The school is now heading in the right direction and has swiftened the rate of improvement seen this year. Standards in Year 6 are still too low, but improving. Teaching overall is satisfactory and is improving, as is the overall quality of leadership and management. It provides sound value for money.

p.6

What the school does well

• The leadership of the new headteacher has brought much needed improvement in many areas. • A harmonious teaching environment has been established in most classes, which enables all pupils from its very diverse ethnic community to be included, feel welcome and learn effectively. • Provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good and, as a result, pupils have good attitudes to school and are generally keen to learn. • Good inroads are being made into lateness and truancy, which is helping pupils with poor attendance to make better progress in their learning. • Good teaching in the Foundation Stage, which results in children achieving well. • Parents express a very high regard for the work of the school. Significant progress is being made to consult with them on the future direction of the school and provide them with up to date information. • Pupils’ behaviour has improved since the start of the school year, so they are learning better.

p.6

What could be improved

• Standards in English and mathematics to address the very low standards on entry and ensure good achievement. • The curriculum in science, information and communication technology (ICT), design and technology, history, geography, music and religious education so that standards and achievement are higher. • The overall quality of teaching, particularly in Years 2 and 6, so that standards are higher. • The work of the governing body so that they hold the school to better account. • The way most subject co-ordinators monitor and develop the work of their subjects to raise standards. • The use of assessment data and records so that it better guides teachers’ lesson planning. The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan. Alexandra Primary School - 7

p.6

HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

The school was last inspected in 1997. Strengths have been maintained but the rate of improvement has been unsatisfactory overall and more change could reasonably have been expected in the five-year period since the last inspection. Standards could still be higher in English, mathematics and science, but are improving in line with national standards. Some key issues from the last inspection have been tackled well; standards in English are now more secure, provision for pupils with EAL has been strengthened and pupils’ absence is now monitored more effectively. However, the full National Curriculum and agreed syllabus in religious education are still not covered. Most subject co-ordinators are not yet fully effective in their work. Assessment procedures are still not used well enough. The governors and past managers have not been as diligent as they could have been in monitoring the work of the school. ICT has not been embedded into learning. However, a more workmanlike approach to

p.7

HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

developments is now evident and a secure basis is being laid for long-term improvement. Teaching is better. There is a satisfactory capacity to improve.

p.7

STANDARDS

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

p.7

Performance in:

1999 2000 2001 2001 English E E* E C Mathematics E E* E B Science D E E D

p.7

Key

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

p.7

Key

Standards in the national tests, taken by pupils at the end of Year 2, have not kept pace with the general rise in standards found nationally and have been falling. In 2001, standards were in the bottom five per cent of all schools nationally in reading, writing and mathematics. Very low or low standards in these subjects have been evident for a number of years. The results of teacher assessments in science show that standards are also well below average. The above table shows that standards in the national tests in 2001, taken by pupils in Year 6, were well below average in English, mathematics and science compared to all schools nationally. This has been the general picture since the last inspection. Compared with similar schools, standards were average in English, above average in mathematics and below average in science; they were average overall. This picture masks the fact that standards in Year

p.7

Key

6 have been rising in line with the national trend, because pupils who have been in school for all of their education achieved satisfactorily with nearly all reaching average or better standards in English, mathematics and science. The total picture is compounded by wide fluctuation because of the very high mobility factor and very low standards on entry.

p.7

Key

Overall, children enter the nursery and reception classes with very low standards and personal skills, but some have average standards. By the time they are ready to start Year 1, standards have improved although they are below expectations based on the national Early Learning Goals in communication, language and literacy and mathematical development and below in their knowledge and understanding of the world and in personal and creative development. Standards in children’s personal, emotional and social development are in line with expectations. Achievement is good. Standards seen in Year 2 were well below average in reading, writing and mathematics, although this represents an improvement on last year’s national test results. Standards in Year 6 remain well below average in English, mathematics and science; however, this reflects satisfactory achievement from Year 2. More challenging, but realistic

p.7

Key

targets have been set in English and mathematics for pupils in Year 6. Standards are not as high as they could be because some pupils, particularly of Traveller or Black African backgrounds, have weak Alexandra Primary School - 8 attendance records and are sometimes badly behaved, which affects their learning. Standards in design and technology, geography, history, music and religious education are below average in Years 2 and 6 because the full Programme of Study is not systematically taught and developed, year by year. Standards in ICT remain weak and are well below average in Years 2 and 6. Standards in art and design and to a lesser extent physical education, are strengths. EAL pupils and those with special education needs are achieving satisfactorily. Through the school, overall achievement is good, given the very low starting point on entry.

p.7

Aspect Comment

Attitudes to the school Good. Most pupils are enthusiastic learners and enjoy school life. Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Good. Pupils and parents welcome the recent improvements in behaviour. Unsatisfactory behaviour is only evident in the current Year 6 class. Racism or other oppressive behaviour is minimal in most classes with unkind behaviour only seen in Year 6. Personal development and relationships Good. Most pupils are friendly and considerate to each other. Teachers provide help to promote co-operation and the self-development of pupils. There is a sound range of opportunities for personal development. Attendance Well below average. Slowly improving with far fewer instances of absence, lateness or truancy this year than last.

p.8

Aspect Comment

Pupils on the recently formed school council take their responsibilities seriously, but wider roles for Year 6 pupils to take a lead are underdeveloped. Pupils from a wide range of ethnic origins are keen to learn and work and play well together. Only boys, mainly White UK or Traveller pupils, have been excluded.

p.8

Teaching of pupils in: Nursery and Reception Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6

Quality of teaching Good Satisfactory Satisfactory

p.8

Teaching of pupils in: Nursery and Reception Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6

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 in: Nursery and Reception Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6

Teaching is satisfactory overall, with a high proportion that is good, but is not currently strong enough to raise standards further. Two-fifths of lessons observed were satisfactory with one half being good or very good; this is a substantial improvement on the last inspection. Just under one in ten lessons were unsatisfactory or poor, which is similar to that seen at the last inspection. Teaching and learning in the nursery and reception classes is consistently good and a strength of the school. Teaching by the more experienced teachers in Years 3, 4 and 5 is consistently good. Teaching in art and design in Years 3 to 6 is also good and a further strength. A key weakness is that teaching and learning in Years 2 and 6 are unsatisfactory because some pupils’ challenging behaviour is not managed satisfactorily. Pupils’ behaviour is managed effectively in all other classes. The teaching of English and mathematics is

p.8

Teaching of pupils in: Nursery and Reception Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6

satisfactory, as is that of science, history, geography and physical education. Teaching in all years in ICT is unsatisfactory because computers are not used enough in learning. Teaching in religious education is also unsatisfactory because the full Haringey Agreed Syllabus is not covered. Too few lessons were seen to judge teaching in design and technology, music and art and design in Years 1 and 2. Effective use is being made of the starts and ends of lessons. The learning needs of the diverse range of pupils are being met satisfactorily. Pupils with EAL and those with special educational needs (SEN) receive satisfactory support and so participate fully in lessons. School policies on attendance and punctuality are being implemented satisfactorily. The current arrangement of grouping pupils in same- age classes is proving beneficial. The main weakness in learning is that pupils are not clear enough

p.8

Teaching of pupils in: Nursery and Reception Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6

about how well they are doing and what they need to do to improve. Pupils’ learning is helped because Alexandra Primary School - 9 teachers reflect the ethnic mix of the local community and use their cultural strengths to illuminate teaching. Teachers are not yet planning effectively enough for the learning needs of higher attaining and EAL pupils.

p.8

Aspect Comment

The quality and range of the curriculum Unsatisfactory. Good curriculum in the Foundation Stage. The curriculum in the main school is unsatisfactory because ICT and religious education does not meet statutory requirements. Teaching time is lower than normal. Provision for pupils with special educational needs Satisfactory. Good in the Foundation Stage - satisfactory in Years 1 to 6. Special needs staffing is allocated well and the learning support assistants have clearly identified roles and responsibilities. Provision for pupils with English as an additional language Satisfactory. Improved since the last inspection. EAL pupils are inducted well into the life of the school. There are good procedures for monitoring their progress in learning. More staffing is needed to support them. Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Good. A strength. Provision for pupils’ moral and social development is

p.9

Aspect Comment

good; spiritual and cultural development is satisfactory. Pupils are made aware of their British heritage, but a wide range of other cultures are also emphasised. Provision for pupils’ personal, social and health education is satisfactory. How well the school cares for its pupils Good. Very good child protection procedures are in place. Academic progress is soundly monitored, but assessment information is not used well.

p.9

Aspect Comment

The National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies have been implemented satisfactorily but literacy, numeracy and computer skills could be used better across subjects. Parents have a very high regard for the school and relationships with parents have improved considerably and are now very strong. Very good procedures are in place for recording pupil absence.

p.9

Aspect Comment

Leadership and manage- ment by the headteacher and other key staff Satisfactory. The headteacher is tenacious in her drive for better standards. Her newly established senior management team is helping to move the school forward. Subject co-ordinators are not yet fully effective in improving or being accountable for standards. How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities Unsatisfactory. Governors are keen to improve the effectiveness of the work of their committee structure, but do not yet effectively monitor practice. They have not ensured that statutory requirements are met in ICT and religious education. However, recently appointed parental governors are starting to make a valuable contribution to developments. The school’s evaluation of its performance Satisfactory. Procedures for monitoring the work of teachers are starting to take root. Priorities are reflected well in the school improvement plan.

p.9

Aspect Comment

The strategic use of resources Unsatisfactory. Governors do not sufficiently target resources to help to raise pupils’ achievement. Spending decisions are not sufficiently linked to principles of best value. Alexandra Primary School - 10 There are adequate levels of staffing and levels of accommodation. Teaching assistants work well with teachers to the benefit of the pupils. Resources for learning are inadequate in most subjects and this adversely affects standards. The lack of a library or ICT suite is adversely affecting the quality of pupils’ learning.

p.9

What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

• Behaviour has recently improved and their children like coming to school. • The teaching is good and teachers expect pupils to work hard in most classes. • Parents like the range of improvements implemented since the new headteacher has been in post. • They would like a wider range of extra- curricular activities. • The leadership and management of the school. • Not enough homework is set.

p.10

What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

Inspectors generally agree with the positive views of parents. There are too few extra-curricular activities, but the headteacher has plans to rectify this in the near future. The concerns of a small number of parents about leadership and management are unfounded. Homework is generally satisfactorily set, but could be made clearer to parents. Alexandra Primary School - 11

p.10

The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

1. By the time pupils reach the end of Year 6, standards in the national tests are well below average, however this represents good achievement from the very low standards on entry. Achievement is good in the nursery and reception classes and satisfactory in the infant and junior years. There is not yet enough consistently good teaching in the school to raise the very low standards on entry to average levels.

p.11

The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

2. In order to understand why pupils’ standards are consistently well below average and achievement is good overall, but satisfactory between Years 1 and 6, it is extremely important to understand both the context of the school and how it has been managed and organised since the last inspection. The make-up of the current Year 6 class is also an important factor in why the national test results will not be as high this year.

p.11

The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

3. In terms of its context, the school educates a much broader range of pupils than normal. Teachers have to address the learning needs of these pupils before they can make adequate progress in the subjects of the National Curriculum. Of note are the:

p.11

The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

• exceptionally high proportion of pupils who are eligible for free school meals, who enter or leave the school in any one year, children whose parents are asylum seekers or who speak English as an additional language (EAL); • large number of mother tongue languages (32) that are spoken and ethnic backgrounds represented, including the ten per cent of pupils who are from Traveller families; • average proportion of pupils who are identified as having special educational needs, but the above average numbers who are receiving outside support.

p.11

The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

4. Although there is a small number of similar schools in England there are relatively few with such a combination of high levels of mobility, ethnic diversity and extremely low standards on entry. All these factors impair standards and achievement to varying extents. The school undoubtedly has an unusual richness and diversity of children to educate, but they also bring a wider than normal number of challenges for teachers. Its starting point in Year R is therefore much lower than normal and classes in other years can change their make-up quite suddenly.

p.11

The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

5. In terms of its leadership and management, the school has experienced a number of changes. The new headteacher has brought much needed permanence to leading the school forward, as in recent years it has also had another permanent and one acting headteacher. There have also been changes in the membership of the governing body, which has been strengthened in the past 18 months. These changes are only now providing a secure basis for raising standards and past impediments to change have limited progress in improving pupils’ achievement in recent years.

p.11

The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

6. In terms of organisation there have been periods when large numbers of asylum seekers’ children were suddenly admitted on roll. Until this year, classes were organised with children of different ages – classes are now organised so that they contain children of similar ages, which makes work easier to plan. However, this has led to the current Year 6 class being amalgamated from three other classes and they have not had the benefit from stable staffing through recent years. The class also presents more challenges than normal because 21 out of the 27 pupils are on the special needs register. Twelve have behavioural difficulties that sometimes impact adversely on their learning; some have poor attendance records.

p.11

The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

7. When children enter the nursery in the term after they are three, their overall emotional, behavioural and communication skills are considerably well below the expectations for children of that age, although there are a small number of children with much higher standards. For many children this is their first experience of play and learning within a structured environment and they make the best of the opportunities that are offered to them. Their learning is limited by their very Alexandra Primary School - 12 poor vocabulary, which hinders their thinking and understanding in a number of areas of the curriculum. However, the consistently good and sometimes very good teaching and stimulating inside and outside the curriculum are key reasons why they show good achievement. They leave the nursery with more confidence, having developed very good relationships with other children and adults.

p.11

The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

8. Children continue to show good achievement in the reception class, which most join during the term in which they are five years old. Attainment on entry to this class is also very low. However, by the time children are ready to start Year 1, standards improve and are likely to be well below expectations in communication, language and literacy and mathematical development, below in their knowledge and understanding of the world and physical and creative development, but in line in personal, social and emotional development.

p.12

The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

9. Children have a very secure start to their education in the nursery and reception classes and achieve well because of the following contributory factors:

p.12

The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

• the quality of teaching and learning is consistently good, based closely on the Early Learning Goals that set out what children might be expected to learn at this age; • much time is spent identifying and meeting the learning and emotional needs of individual children; • well established daily routines help children to feel secure; • support staff are deployed very well in both classes and their work is targeted at those children with language or emotional needs.

p.12

The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

10. Resources in the Foundation Stage are not good enough to raise standards. The assessment system is also not precise enough to identify strengths and weaknesses in learning across all areas of learning, which could be used to fine tune the curriculum experiences that are provided. Children's very low starting point in communication language and literacy, the high numbers with special educational needs or EAL are key factors why standards are low in later years. However, a successful start is made in the Foundation Stage to address these issues.

p.12

The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

11. Standards in the national tests for pupils at the end of Year 2 have not kept pace with the general rise in standards found nationally and have been in decline. In comparison with all schools nationally, they were in the bottom five per cent of all schools nationally in 2001 in reading, writing and mathematics. The reason for the decline has been the unsatisfactory quality of teaching in Year 2 and too frequent use of supply staff. Very low or low standards in these subjects have been evident for a number of years, which is not surprising considering the very low starting point at the start of Year 1, but standards should have at least kept pace with national trends. The results of teacher assessments in science also confirm that standards here are well below average.

p.12

The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

12. The results of the national tests for English, mathematics and science for pupils in Year 6 in 2001 showed significant improvement over those in 2000. Using the average National Curriculum points score (which is the best measure) attained by pupils, the figures show that standards improved in English and mathematics from being in the bottom five per cent of all schools to being well below average, but those in science remained well below average as they were the previous year. The proportion of pupils who reach the higher levels in these subjects is small. Standards reached by Year 6 in 2001 in the national tests were satisfactory when compared with schools with similar numbers of pupils eligible for free school meals – these standards were average in English, above average in mathematics and below average in science. These low standards are not surprising considering the high mobility, poor attendance of some pupils and the numbers of pupils with

p.12

The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

special educational needs and with English as an additional language.

p.12

The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

13. However, standards, although low, have not been static; in the past four years the proportion of pupils reaching Level 4 or better have generally been improving in the national tests taken in English, mathematics and science in Year 6. The underlying trend in improvement is similar to that seen nationally despite the complex intake. Past results at the end of Year 6 have shown that standards can fluctuate widely, year by year, often as a result of sudden influxes of asylum seeker children or larger numbers of pupils on the special needs register. Alexandra Primary School - 13 14. Achievement in 2001 at the end of Year 6 was satisfactory overall. The school’s results are in line with those expected for schools with a similar number of pupils eligible for free school meals. Pupils who had been in the school since the reception class (around one quarter of the class) all reached average standards in English, mathematics and science and achieved satisfactorily from

p.12

The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

their national test results recorded when they were in Year 2. The two higher attaining pupils reached above average standards in all three subjects and achieved satisfactorily. Pupils in the class who were on the register of special educational needs or with EAL also achieved satisfactorily. Some pupils had been in the classes for between one term and two to three years. These were often asylum seekers with weak English skills; their standards in English, mathematics and science were often below or well below average, but records indicate that they made satisfactory achievement in many areas.

p.13

The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

15. Standards seen in Year 6 confirm that achievement remains satisfactory. Achievement is satisfactory in English and mathematics, unsatisfactory in science, but satisfactory overall, given that standards were well below average at the end of Year 2 and remain so in Year 6. This takes into account the impact of mobility and the numbers of pupils with special educational needs. Scrutiny of work and teacher’s records confirms that achievement in these important ‘core’ subjects is satisfactory overall. Again, the vast majority of pupils who have been in the school since the reception class (about one half of the class) and who are not on the register of special educational needs are likely to reach at least average standards in the national tests. The higher attaining pupils are on course to reach higher levels and are achieving satisfactorily. Pupils with special educational needs and with EAL are also achieving satisfactorily.

p.13

The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

16. Standards seen in English – well below average at the end of Years 2 and 6 – show some improvement, but could be higher. Achievement is satisfactory. Standards in Year 2, although weak, are a little better than in last year’s national tests because of better teaching of phonics. Speaking and listening skills remain very weak in the first two years and continue to be so in Years 3 to 6 because there are few planned opportunities for pupils to develop them. Pupils’ reading skills start from a very low base, but by the time they reach Year 6 many have developed a real interest in books, with some attending the local library. However, progress in reading is handicapped by the lack of an effective and functioning school library. More time has been given to improving writing, which has been weak across the school. Spelling and the development of imaginative writing are in particular need of focus, but by the later years, pupils are starting to

p.13

The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

write in a variety of forms and some improvement is emerging. The overall teaching of English is satisfactory, but good in some classes in Years 3 to 5 where better progress is being made. Standards in writing are not helped because opportunities to develop these skills are not planned within other subjects of the curriculum. ICT is insufficiently used to develop pupils’ wider literacy standards. Staff need to be resolved to continue to improve standards and achievement in English as it remains the key to better learning for many pupils.

p.13

The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

17. Standards seen in mathematics - well below average at the end of Years 2 and 6 - are also improving as a result of the improvements in teaching and better use of assessment, but could be higher still. Achievement is satisfactory. In all years there is a good emphasis on developing mathematical language and the close support given to bilingual pupils and those on the register of special educational needs helps them achieve satisfactorily. Much work in Years 3 to 6 consists of teaching essential number work and this helps many pupils to consolidate their standards. Standards are weaker in problem solving, handling data and using and applying mathematics in other subjects of the curriculum. Insufficient use is made of ICT to help to improve pupils’ mathematical skills. Teaching in mathematics, although satisfactory, is not yet good enough to raise standards further. Like English, mathematics is a key subject for the pupils and teachers

p.13

The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

need to build on the good progress already made and continue to raise standards even though current achievement is satisfactory.

p.13

The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

18. Standards seen in science – well below average at the end of Years 2 and 6 - although improving in line with the national trend of improvement, could be higher. Although achievement is satisfactory overall, higher attaining pupils in particular are capable of reaching higher standards by the end of Year 6 than they currently do. This is because the subject has not been Alexandra Primary School - 14 systematically developed since the last inspection and teachers do not consistently follow the scheme of work. As a result, pupils are given insufficient opportunities to develop their understanding through regular exposure to investigative work. Standards are helped by the generally satisfactory teaching in most years, but this too needs to be stronger if standards are to be raised. Assessment strategies and information and ICT are not well used as tools to raise standards.

p.13

The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

19. Standards seen in ICT remain well below average and have shown little improvement since the last inspection. Achievement is unsatisfactory in all years. However, standards are poised to improve because at last the school has acquired enough computers to allow sufficient in each classroom. Staff confidence in their use has been improved as they have all been in receipt of recent training. The development of ICT is a focus of the current school development plan. Although some examples were seen during the inspection of computers being used, sufficient progress will not be made until all teachers routinely plan opportunities for their use in the weekly lesson planning. The development of the subject continues to feature on the school improvement plan and is being more proactively co-orientated. One factor that affects standards is that compared with pupils in many other schools few children have access to a computer at home. The lack of an ICT suite within the

p.14

The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

school and timetabled teaching – which is now commonly found in similar sized schools – results in pupils not developing their computer skills on a regular basis.

p.14

The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

20. Inspection findings show that by the end of Years 2 and 6, standards seen in design and technology, geography, history, music and religious education are below average and that pupils’ achievement is unsatisfactory. Therefore, standards are lower than they should be in these subjects. This is partly due to the emphasis that has been given to English and mathematics in the curriculum at the expense of these subjects, but also as the total teaching time is less than that recommended not enough time can be allocated to these subjects. Standards have also been affected because the curriculum, resources and teaching have not been systematically developed and managed since the last inspection.

p.14

The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

21. Standards in art and design and physical education are relative strengths. Standards are average in art at the end of both Years 2 and 6 because of good subject management; those in physical education are below average at the end of Year 2, but average at the end of Year 6. Achievement is generally satisfactory in these subjects, but good in art between Years 2 and 6. Standards are higher here partly because pupils do not have to rely as heavily on their written skills. As a result, many have an opportunity to shine.

p.14

The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

22. Standards of work seen in Years 1 to 6 and improvements that are evident in some areas are linked to the quality of teaching seen. The quality of teaching in Years 2 and 6 is currently not strong enough to be influential in raising standards in these crucial years. In other years there is much good teaching, which is resulting in pupils making good progress in learning.

p.14

The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

23. In the past there have been significant variations in the attainment of boys and girls at the end of Year 6, where girls outperform boys in attaining the expected level in national tests by 30 per cent. Only in mathematics are standards similar, but girls outperform the boys at the higher level. At the end of Year 2, the performance of girls is better than that of boys in reading and writing. Boys’ standards in writing at the end of Year 2 declined in 2001, but the school is addressing this. Also at the end of Year 2, girl’s standards in spelling are stronger than boys. The trend for girls has been upwards and for boys, downwards. However, during the inspection the differences in standards seen between boys and girls were much less marked.

p.14

The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

24. Pupils with special educational needs are reaching standards commensurate with their abilities, relative to their prior attainment and most are making satisfactory progress against the targets set for them. There are five pupils with a Statement of Special Educational Need. The school has identified a further 83 pupils with special educational needs under the Code of Practice guidelines. Their achievements are satisfactorily monitored by the special educational needs co-ordinator.

p.14

The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

25. The standards and achievement of some groups of pupils are adversely affected by poor attendance. In Years R to 2, white UK pupils underachieve compared to their peers, especially in Alexandra Primary School - 15 spelling and reading, due to their limited time in school. In Years 3 to 6, white UK pupils perform better than in Years R to 2 except in mathematics. Similarly, Turkish and Bangladeshi pupils (refugees and asylum seekers) underachieve compared with their peers. Traveller pupils underachieve in the later years due to sporadic attendance and some poor behaviour, although attendance of Traveller pupils overall is improving. Otherwise, in lessons seen, pupils who attended school on a regular basis showed no difference in the progress they were making that related to their ethnicity.

p.14

The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

26. Standards have been helped by the improvements in teaching that are evident since the last inspection and the recent improvements in behaviour. The use of support staff has a beneficial impact in the early years, but occasionally they could be better deployed to help support behaviour management in later years. Standards are still adversely affected by the lack of a consistent approach to using assessment information across subjects to help teachers to plan better lessons; there are also inconsistencies in marking procedures, which are currently being tackled by staff. A shortage of resources in many areas and insufficient monitoring of attainment and progress by co-ordinators in their subjects are also reasons why standards and achievement are not higher.

p.15

Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

27. In general, pupils enjoy coming to school and the majority display good attitudes to the school and their work. Most listen well, demonstrate good levels of commitment to their work and show themselves to be willing and enthusiastic learners. Where good teaching takes place, many are able to sustain good levels of concentration during their lessons and collaborate well with other pupils in both group and paired activities. These features have a positive impact on standards.

p.15

Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

28. This is particularly noticeable in the nursery, where the high level of interest and natural desire to learn shown by the pupils, contributes significantly to the good progress they make. Of worthy note are the very positive attitudes to learning displayed by pupils with English as an additional language and the many children of refugees and asylum seekers who attend the school. However, the immature attitudes and lack of self-discipline of a number of the older pupils in Year 6 has a negative effect on their individual learning and general class progress.

p.15

Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

29. Overall, the standard of pupil behaviour to be seen in and around the school is good and serves to enhance the developing relationships that exist between staff and pupils. This represents an area of improvement since the last inspection, where behaviour was satisfactory. However, the behaviour of the older pupils still sometimes mars the overall picture as it did at the last inspection.

p.15

Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

30. Nearly nine in ten parents think behaviour is good. In lessons seen, pupils’ attitudes and behaviour was judged to be good or better in three-quarters of lessons and very good in around one sixth. Some unsatisfactory or poor behaviour was seen in Year 6, where there are many pupils with behavioural difficulties, but this is not reflective of the calm and well behaved pupils seen in other classes.

p.15

Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

31. The good behaviour to be seen in the classroom is very much the product of the positive teaching strategies being delivered in the school and contrasts significantly with the rapid deterioration in pupils’ behaviour and learning where the school’s behaviour policy is not consistently applied by staff. The inappropriate and challenging behaviour of a small number of older pupils, in particular Year 6 pupils, can have a disruptive impact on class learning and presents a poor role model to younger pupils. Where behaviour is unsatisfactory or poor this is partly due to weak behaviour management in the Years 2 and 6 classes rather than to any connection with poor literacy or numeracy skills. In general, the well-structured system of behaviour rewards and sanctions are clearly understood by pupils and are proving to be effective in supporting the ongoing development of the overall good behaviour and discipline.

p.15

Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

32. Staff work hard to promote an anti-bullying and anti-racism culture within the school and past incidents of such inappropriate behaviour are considered by parents and pupils to have been Alexandra Primary School - 16 swiftly and effectively dealt with by staff to the benefit of all involved. There was some evidence of oppressive behaviour and pupil harassment seen during the inspection, but this was isolated and confined to Year 6, where conflicts and unkind behaviour arise between Traveller children and those from other cultures. A testament to the success of the school’s drive to improve behaviour is the considerable reduction in the number of pupil exclusions.

p.15

Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

33. A major feature of the school is the strong relationships and respect that exist between pupils and between pupils and adults. The great majority of pupils are friendly and considerate towards each other, to staff and visitors and many demonstrate by their actions and through conversations that they know right from wrong. Many pupils display a natural sensitivity, courtesy and awareness to the needs of others and good examples were seen in the school of unsolicited help and support being offered to other pupils and adults alike. Asylum seeker children are readily integrated and are made to feel at home. The majority of pupils were seen to collaborate well with each other, happily take turns without question and willingly share and treat property and learning resources with care.

p.16

Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

34. Pupils of both sexes generally have a positive attitude to each other and their teachers. Only in Year 6 do pupils show negative attitudes to other pupils, particularly those from a different ethnic group. Discussions with pupils revealed that most considered the school to be a safe environment, free from any gender, faith or racial harassment, bullying or hostile behaviour. They are clear on strategies that they would use if ever they or anyone else felt threatened. They were also clear on procedures to make pupils new to the school feel welcome and included. The school council is a positive example of the social development of pupils.

p.16

Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

35. Pupils respond appropriately to the satisfactory range of personal development opportunities that are provided. For example, teachers provide pupils with various responsibilities and duties within the classroom environment to help to promote their self-development. During the inspection a number of pupils were seen to volunteer themselves as helpers, examples being some Year 3 pupils tidying away resources in the nursery at lunch-time and other mixed year groups offering to pick up litter in the playground. Year 6 pupils ring the school bell for break times and help to put out and clear away chairs in the hall.

p.16

Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

36. Of note is the creation of the school council and the good development opportunities and responsibilities the activity of this body will provide to the elected Year 2 and above class representatives. However, the school does not have a practice for scheduled, whole-school roles and responsibilities to be undertaken by Year 6 pupils as part of their personal development and preparation for life after school, although activities undertaken are monitored.

p.16

Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

37. The attendance statistics for the school are very low at 84.8 per cent and well below the national average of 93.9 per cent for similar schools. However, the high level of children from refugee and asylum seeker families who attend the school and are subsequently relocated, contributes significantly to the high pupil mobility within the school. The extent of the time delays experienced by the school in being notified of such moves and of being instructed to remove these pupils from the school roll, results in high levels of unauthorised absence being recorded. As a consequence, the published attendance statistics for the school are misleading and do not reflect the actual level of pupil absence.

p.16

Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

38. Attendance has improved significantly in 2001-2002. The headteacher has undertaken an extensive analysis of reasons for absence that has been matched to gender, ethnic group, attainment and year group. This has enabled absences to be followed up much more quickly. In addition, since the education welfare officer resumed her duties in January 2002 a far more accurate assessment has been available of reasons for non-attendance, which is also being pursued.

p.16

Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

39. Since the keeping of detailed information on absence has started, there does appear to be a correlation between poor attendance and low attainment in the Traveller pupils. This is not evident in any other ethnic group. Traveller attendance figures worsen as pupils get older, but even in Year 6 there has been a significant improvement in attendance since January 2002. Analysis of Alexandra Primary School - 17 attendance figures reveals no gender, year group or class difference in attendance. The ethnic group with the highest percentage absence is the Traveller pupils, but the accuracy of these figures in the absence of an education welfare officer cannot be guaranteed. High mobility could well be the reason for unexplained unauthorised absences. There is evidence of extended periods of absence in Bengali families that may represent visits to India, included in the authorised absence. The school needs to ascertain the true nature of these absences and the reasons given

p.16

Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

40. The nature of and reason for the majority of exclusions is assault on other pupils or adults or verbal abuse. The largest number of incidents happened among last year’s Year 5 pupils. In Year 6 they still demonstrate very challenging behaviour and ongoing rivalries between different ethnic groups. They are very immature in their personal development and the average pupils in the class are approximately two years behind national expectation in overall attainment.

p.17

Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

41. All exclusions have been of male pupils, the highest incidence being in last year’s Year 5, and the ethnic groups with the most exclusions are white UK and Traveller pupils. The school is tackling educational inclusion well. Traveller pupils are often recorded as using racial abuse to other ethnic groups. The Traveller Support Service worker reported that travellers see themselves as a separate ethic group. The school could do more to recognise this through additional contact with the Traveller community.

p.17

Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

42. The school has worked hard to promote the benefits of punctuality and good attendance to parents and has recently gained support from the education welfare service in addressing the poor pupil attendance associated with a few disaffected family groups. Analysis of pupil attendance for the current academic year up to the time of the inspection shows a continued trend of improvement in pupil attendance and reductions in the incidents of late arrival. There is no evidence of internal truancy.

p.17

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

43. The quality of teaching is satisfactory overall with a high proportion of good teaching. Teaching is having a better impact on pupils’ standards and achievement than at the last inspection, but is not yet good enough to improve achievement through the school.

p.17

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

44. During the inspection, 68 lessons were observed with around two in ten being satisfactory. However, one half were good or very good; this is a substantial increase from that reported at the last inspection where only one in ten was good or better. Just under one in ten lessons were unsatisfactory or poor, which is a similar proportion to that seen at the last inspection.

p.17

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

45. The overall quality of teaching is leading to good achievement by Year 6, but it is not yet strong enough to raise achievement further. Teachers have already shown that when they focus together on issues such as behaviour management or the introduction of the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies then improvements ensue, but there is scope to further promote better teaching, using the recently introduced system for performance management. The clear pockets of consistently good or very good teaching evident in some classes should be systematically shared as one way of improving teaching.

p.17

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

46. The quality of teaching in the nursery and reception classes is consistently good. This is a strength that has been maintained since the last inspection. As a result, pupils learn and achieve well in these years. This is very important because many of the children enter with extremely low self-esteem and literacy skills and a strong start is needed if they are to successfully cope with the curriculum in Year 1.

p.17

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

47. Teaching and learning in English are satisfactory through Years 1 to 6; teaching in mathematics is satisfactory in Years 1 and 2, but good in Years 3 to 5 and satisfactory in Year 6. There are more strengths than weaknesses. Both subjects have benefited from strong input from external consultants and some improvement is evident since the last inspection. Teachers now use a three-part lesson structure in both subjects consisting of setting objectives and starter activities, Alexandra Primary School - 18 the main learning activity and a plenary session, which is helping pupils’ learning. This structure is generally working well and is starting to spread to other subjects. Literacy lessons sometimes extend for more than one hour, which limits effectiveness and cuts into teaching time for other subjects. Teachers make insufficient use of literacy and numeracy across subjects.

p.17

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

48. Teaching and learning in science are satisfactory - and have been maintained at this quality since the last inspection – but with some weakness evident in Year 6 because of weak behaviour management. The approach used with pupils is not sufficiently experiential with investigative work at the forefront of teaching and ideas are not systematically developed year by year and so standards are not as high as they could be. Some teachers’ subject knowledge is weak and this also leads to pupils developing unclear ideas about, for example, why liquids flow at different rates.

p.18

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

49. Teaching and learning in ICT remains unsatisfactory – as it was at the last inspection – because insufficient use is made of computers throughout all subjects. However, teachers are now much better placed to remedy this as there are computers in each classroom. Teachers have had training and there has been a focus on how computers could be used in literacy and numeracy lessons. Some emerging uses of ICT were seen in art to produce images and in geography to work out averages and record data using spreadsheets. Although computers were in evidence in many classrooms over the course of the inspection week, individual pupils spend insufficient time using them to develop their skills. The current arrangements are not working as well as they would if some dedicated time were timetabled for discrete ICT lessons.

p.18

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

50. Although there was insufficient evidence of teaching and learning in art and design in Years 1 and 2, that seen in Years 3 to 6 was good, maintaining the quality reported at the last inspection. The quality of teaching and learning in history and geography is satisfactory with strengths in Years 1, 3, 4 and 5.

p.18

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

51. No judgements could be made about the quality of teaching in design and technology or music because too few lessons could be observed. In the small number of lessons that could be seen, teaching in individual lessons was generally not the main cause of unsatisfactory achievement in these subjects. Rather it was because of insufficient time being made available on the curriculum, which in turn leads to teachers only focusing on parts of the work that need to be covered. For example, standards are not high enough in music because the profile of the subject is limited and teachers do not make enough use of musical instruments and concentrate too much on singing.

p.18

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

52. The teaching of religious education is unsatisfactory throughout Years 1 to 6 because the full Haringey Agreed Syllabus is not taught and work is not well matched to pupils’ needs.

p.18

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

53. Teachers’ planning – which had some weaknesses at the last inspection – is receiving attention and becoming more structured, but the methods currently used are not working as well as they could. Planning is good in the Foundation Stage. Good examples of individual lesson plans were seen elsewhere, but the major weakness is that overviews of how work is to be covered over longer periods of time are underdeveloped. This has been a priority for the headteacher and senior management team who have been working strenuously to improve it. Year group planning ensures that there is an equality of provision within year groups. All pupils have equal access to resources. Planning does not yet ensure that work develops progressively year by year, particularly in science, ICT, religious education and the foundation subjects of art and design, design and technology, history, geography, music and physical education. However the current development

p.18

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

of a curriculum map is helping to rectify this.

p.18

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

54. Teaching in Years 2 and 6 is unsatisfactory and is a key weakness. The teachers who are currently deployed to these classes do not have the specialised skills associated with these landmark years, which will ensure that the pupils are well prepared for their national tests. This is one of the main reasons why standards are not higher. An important task for the headteacher is to ensure that her best teachers are allocated to these classes. Alexandra Primary School - 19 55. Pupils’ learning in Year 2 has been adversely affected by staff absence and a high usage of supply staff. For example, in one lesson seen, they were being taught religious education by a supply teacher and learning was unsatisfactory because the narrative style used was too difficult for the majority of pupils to understand. In a further lesson, the class was satisfactorily taught at short notice by the ethnic minority support teacher, which deflected her from her normal duties with

p.18

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

pupils who are learning English as an additional language. Class teaching by the normal Year 2 teachers, such as that seen in a physical education lesson, lacked pace and challenge and weak behaviour management resulted in some pupils wasting time.

p.19

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

56. Teaching and learning in the current Year 6 is also unsatisfactory. The pupils in the current Year 6 class have been brought together this year from three classes of pupils of different ages into a single group of pupils. The class contains a high proportion of pupils who are on the register of special educational needs with behavioural difficulties and these pupils present challenges in behaviour management for the class teacher. A number of Traveller and black Caribbean pupils are competing for attention, which results in friction between them. Although the headteacher and Year 6 teacher have worked very closely together and the behaviour of this class has improved, approaches to behaviour management failed in several lessons to ensure that satisfactory learning took place.

p.19

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

57. Teaching and learning are consistently good and sometimes very good in a number of classes. Both the Year 3 teachers teach consistently well and occasionally very well, as do the more experienced teachers in Years 4 and 5. Teaching in Year 1 and other classes in Years 3 to 5 is again never less than satisfactory with examples of good or better teaching seen in each class. The good or better teaching was characterised by clear planning, well established class routines and high expectations that lead to brisk learning and clear gains in pupils’ knowledge, understanding and skills.

p.19

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

58. Teachers manage pupils’ behaviour well, except in Years 2 and 6 classes. Appropriate strategies are used to ensure that pupils are focused on their learning and any behavioural issues that arise in other classes are handled well. Support staff are used to good effect in this respect. As a result, the majority of pupils are keen and eager to learn and relish coming to school. For example, asylum seeker pupils in various classes appreciated the educational opportunities that were being provided, showed great respect for their teachers and wasted no time in their learning.

p.19

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

59. Learning is satisfactory overall and there are more strengths than weaknesses. In most lessons pupils were on task, listened carefully to their teacher and worked productively. Learning was often helped by the way pupils were grouped in class and through the support given by learning assistants. Clear learning routines have been established in nearly all classes. The main weakness in learning is that pupils are not clear enough about how well they are doing and what they need to do to improve. Most marking, for example, does not help them to gain an understanding of where to pinpoint their efforts to get better. Recent guidelines for the marking of literacy and numeracy are helping to address this. Some teachers are not sufficiently aware of the capabilities of their higher attaining pupils and need to be clearer about the work they set for them. Independent work, which is a good feature of the nursery and reception classes, is not sufficiently

p.19

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

60. The organisation of pupils into same age classes is proving beneficial and teachers have adapted their planning to this well. For most of the time since then last inspection pupils have been organised into ‘vertically grouped’ classes in which pupils of different ages are taught. This was necessitated by the constant influx and outflow of pupils and the sometimes sudden enrolment of large numbers of refugee children. This year, pupils in Years 1 to 6 have been placed together according to their age, which helped teachers to plan more effectively for pupils’ learning needs. The current method of organisation should be continued if the budget allows.

p.19

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

61. Staff act as very good role models for the pupils and parents and reflect the ethnic mix of the local community. This helps them to teach and celebrate the richness and diversity of many of the various cultures the school serves and they do so spontaneously. For example, support staff help pupils to learn by speaking to them in their mother tongue. In a Year 1 geography lesson, a Alexandra Primary School - 20 bilingual assistant helped the large numbers of pupils whose main language was other than English by explaining the context of the lesson in their home language. Ethnic diversity is celebrated through display and celebration such as in the reception class where the children have learnt about the Chinese New Year and festivals of a variety of faiths. A good range of music was sung in a Year 5 lesson, which included a ‘calypso’ song, an American song by Bob Dylan and the traditional song ‘London’s Burning’. The culture of Travelling families is celebrated through

p.19

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

display for younger, but not older, children.

p.20

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

62. The quality of teaching and learning for pupils with special educational needs is satisfactory. The learning support assistants have clearly identified roles and areas of responsibility. They provide satisfactory support for individuals and groups of pupils and liaise closely with the teachers. The school is committed to inclusion for all. Similarly, pupils with English as an additional language and pupils with special educational needs receive satisfactory support from learning support and classroom assistants to enable them to participate fully in lessons and gain full access to the National Curriculum. Teachers use praise and a variety of rewards such as stamps, stickers and smiley faces to encourage individual pupils. Teacher expectation is not high enough, however, particularly in challenging the highest attaining pupils.

p.20

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

63. Learning support assistants bring expertise to bear and enhance teaching and learning in many lessons. There is good teamwork evident in the nursery and reception classes and this is beneficial to learning; for example, when one of the support teachers spoke in her mother tongue to a pupil just starting to learn English, to help them to understand numbers up to five. In classes in Years 1 to 6 assistants are carefully deployed to the pupils who are most in need of support and this helps the whole class to be taught without interruption. Learning support assistants are not required to keep careful records of pupils’ learning and achievements to help inform future teaching and assessment and this is a weakness.

p.20

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

64. Teachers use seating arrangements well to promote effective learning. The majority of teachers group their classes in no more than four groups to aid them in delivering an appropriate challenge for each group according to attainment level. With the exception of Year 6, pupils in most classes work and learn well together regardless of gender or ethnic group.

p.20

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

65. Teachers generally make effective use of the first and final ten minutes of each lesson. Most teachers ensure that pupils enter the class quietly, often carrying out an activity such as reading while the register is being called. The first ten minutes of core subjects such as mathematics and English are used for quick mental practise or a recall of previous learning. Most teachers use the last ten minutes of the lesson for an effective plenary session, to recap the main learning objectives of the lesson, but this is not as effective as the ten minute introduction.

p.20

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

66. Teachers constantly implement school policies on punctuality, but unsatisfactory or poor behaviour management in Years 2 and 6 result in school policies on behaviour failing to be implemented. They are aware of which pupils are absent or have been excluded and they are given appropriate work to catch up. This may involve additional support from a classroom assistant or additional work for the pupil to complete at home. Keeping of registers is in line with good practice. Teachers call the register at the start of the morning and afternoon sessions and are responsible for their own class throughout the day. Pupils who return from an absence are required to provide a note explaining the reason for absence; failure to do so results in a telephone call or letter home requesting a reason for absence. Absences of three or more days without authorisation are routinely reported to the education welfare officer. All staff are aware of pupils

p.20

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

who are returning from exclusion; appropriate steps are taken on their return.

p.20

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

67. Some features of teaching have received too little attention since the last inspection. The quality of teaching still varies between different year groups and within different subjects. This is because there has been too little monitoring of classroom teaching or sharing of good practice, although the introduction of performance management is starting to address this weakness. Although homework is generally set satisfactorily, this too could be strengthened particularly in later years and the homework policy made clearer to parents. Alexandra Primary School - 21 68. Overall strengths in teaching outweigh weaknesses. However, improvements can be made, which will help improve standards, by:

p.20

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

• marking pupils’ work more consistently so that pupils know what they have to do to improve; • better matching learning to the needs of higher attaining pupils and challenging them to learn at a high level; • helping pupils to have a better understanding of their own learning and what they might be able to achieve; • using ICT more effectively.

p.21

HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS?

69. The overall quality of the curriculum is unsatisfactory. Insufficient progress has been made in addressing the key issues from the last inspection, which highlighted major shortcomings in the curriculum in ICT, history and religious education. The lack of a robust curriculum in science, ICT, the ‘foundation’ subjects and religious education is impairing standards.

p.21

HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS?

70. The curriculum in the Foundation Stage, including religious education, for the children in the nursery and reception classes is good and is well rooted in the learning areas that are specified for children of this age. Close attention is given to the ‘Stepping Stones’ which indicate the steps in learning that are expected to take place and the Early Learning Goals, which are the expected standards that should be reached by the majority of children. Much thought has gone into planning and children have full access to a wide range of good quality learning experiences. Particular emphasis is given to developing children’s personal and social skills and their literacy and numeracy standards and as a result most are much more favourably placed to start the National Curriculum in Year 1 than they were on entry.

p.21

HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS?

71. In Years 1 to 6, statutory requirements are still not being met for ICT, because control technology and monitoring are not taught. Teachers are not using computers effectively in all subjects of the curriculum and there is very limited use of new technology such as the Internet and digital photography. As a result, standards are not as high as they should be in ICT and computer skills are not being used to help learning across the curriculum. In religious education, the school is failing to meet the requirements of the Locally Agreed Syllabus.

p.21

HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS?

72. In Years 1 to 6, the actual teaching time per week is considerably lower than the national average. The allocation of time to different subjects varies considerably; for example, some of the literacy and numeracy lessons are too long, whilst history, geography, design and technology and religious education receive too little teaching time. There have been two consequences of this. Firstly, the school has rightly given due priority to developing English and mathematics, which are very important considering many pupils’ weak attainment in these areas when they join the school. This has been beneficial as the curriculum in these areas is stronger than at the last inspection and standards have been rising. However, some time is occasionally wasted when the literacy and numeracy lessons unnecessarily overrun. Secondly, there has been no clear view on how long the school day should be or how time should be allocated between subjects. The

p.21

HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS?

consequence has been that too little time has been allocated to most of the ‘foundation’ subjects. Teachers have therefore selected only parts of the programme of work in these subjects and standards in many of these are not as high as at the time of the last inspection.

p.21

HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS?

73. Statutory requirements are met in collective worship, sex and drugs education and personal, social and health education (PSHE) and these make a sound contribution to standards. The curriculum for PSHE is satisfactory, but needs to be more carefully planned and delivered. This has already been identified as an area for development in the school improvement plan. During the inspection some planned lessons for PSHE were not taught.

p.21

HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS?

74. The school has satisfactorily introduced the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies. This initiative has assisted teachers greatly with their planning and provided some much needed structure to the teaching of English and mathematics. The strategies have had the impact of improving and bringing more consistency to teaching in these subjects and the effect of this can Alexandra Primary School - 22 be seen in the rising standards. The school has received good support from the LEA to implement these strategies.

p.21

HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS?

75. The school ensures that all pupils have equal opportunities. Good attention is given to ensuring that the curriculum is accessible to all pupils regardless of their gender, race, background or attainment level. The school is committed to inclusion for all. The previous inspection report noted that pupils identified as having special educational needs were withdrawn from lessons far too often. This issue has been successfully addressed; pupils are now not missing important parts of their lessons.

p.22

HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS?

76. The curriculum is usually satisfactorily adapted and modified through planning to meet the specific learning needs of pupils with special educational needs and those with additional language needs, such as the bilingual learners. They are adequately prepared for the next stage of their education. Some of the pupils who start the school with little English make rapid progress with their learning and achieve well. The school is implementing the new Code of Practice satisfactorily and all identified pupils have individual education plans. The targets on the plans are generally sound, but in some classes they are not precise enough and therefore of little use to track progress; this is a similar judgement to the one made at the last inspection.

p.22

HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS?

77. The provision for pupils with EAL and pupils with special educational needs ensures full access to the curriculum. A more rigorous system of assessment to guide planning needs to be implemented to help in identifying individual pupil needs if standards are to rise further.

p.22

HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS?

78. The inspectors agree with parents that provision for extra-curricular activities is unsatisfactory and this is not helping standards. At present extra-curricular opportunities are limited, but the school has plans to develop these from the start of the summer term 2002 starting with clubs such as drama, nurturing, recorders, netball and football. In Year 6, booster classes give the pupils the opportunity to be taught in small groups on one day each week. This has worked well and this initiative is helping to raise standards in the key areas of literacy and numeracy.

p.22

HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS?

79. The school has satisfactory links within the community. For example, a student from the Quicksilver Art Gallery visits each week and is helping pupils to develop three-dimensional display work. The Chair of Governors teaches country dancing in several classes. There are sound links with Alexandra Park Secondary School and this helps pupils to prepare for their next stage of education. One of the teachers from the secondary school taught Spanish to Year 6 pupils earlier this year. In addition, there is close liaison with Year 7 teachers and the special educational needs co-ordinator from the local secondary school, which helps to ease transfer.

p.22

HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS?

80. Personal development is a priority at Alexandra and is supported by care from the headteacher and all teaching and support staff. The school seeks to develop a range of beliefs and values, particularly those of care and respect and differentiation between right and wrong. These are shown both materially inside the building, through the use of flowers and plants, in displays and intrinsically through the caring relationships between adults and pupils and their peer groups. Discussions about thoughts and feelings also permeate through the use of circle time.

p.22

HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS?

81. Overall, provision for spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good and there are many more strengths than weaknesses. This has been maintained since the previous inspection and leads to pupils generally having good attitudes to school and being keen to learn.

p.22

HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS?

82. The provision for spiritual development is satisfactory. The school provides opportunities for spiritual awareness through assemblies, but time for reflection is brief, prayers are rarely said and stories are not often read from the religious scriptures. Religious education lessons give pupils limited opportunities to reflect on the beliefs and practices of several major world faiths. Spirituality is fostered in some lessons; for example, some pupils were inspired to write imaginative poetry in English. The school environment has the potential to encourage pupils to develop an awareness of natural beauty and pupils plant seeds and watch them grow. Opportunities to appreciate art, literature and music are more limited and constraining standards. Alexandra Primary School - 23 83. Daily assemblies are used to build pupils' confidence and self-esteem; for example, through a celebration of birthdays, achievements and ‘good work’. The theme of ‘Spring and New Life’ was

p.22

HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS?

emphasised in a stimulating visit from a representative of the Salvation Army. He compared the beauty of the children to the beauty of God’s flowers and encouraged the pupils to contribute to the life of the school. Younger pupils received a similar message through the use of props, which taught them what to look for in spring. They were engaged with puppets of: a bird, a lamb, flowers, a kitten and rabbit. This use of visual aids is particularly effective for many of the pupils to understand the message because they have limited English language skills. However, opportunities are often missed that enable pupils to reflect on their experiences in a way that develops their spiritual awareness and self-knowledge. The taught curriculum in each subject does not plan for spiritual development.

p.23

HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS?

84. Provision for moral development is good. The use of moral themes, such as the importance of helping others, leads pupils to recognise the needs of people less fortunate than themselves. Such themes are emphasised in school assemblies and pupils take part in regular fund-raising events for charitable causes. On occasion, moral issues are considered within subjects; for example, in geography and science as part of studies on pollution and other environmental issues. Within religious education lessons, moral issues are discussed in relation to respect and friendship; for example, where pupils discuss the qualities of a special person in their class and study aspects of citizenship. Rules of good behaviour are in evidence around the school and are referred to when necessary to reinforce good behaviour. This has helped in the improvement in behaviour this year.

p.23

HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS?

85. Provision for pupils’ social development is good. The school is successful in fostering the social development of its pupils and is working hard to create a strong sense of community. The governors and staff are very conscious of the need to encourage good behaviour. They strive hard to promote the conditions in which a caring environment can be fostered and maintained and work hard to develop trust between adults and pupils. Pupils are encouraged to relate well to each other in different contexts around the school. Older pupils are reminded to look after younger ones. They receive some opportunities to take part in organised social activities, such as plays, music concerts and carol singing. Limited opportunities are provided for the older pupils to use their own initiative and take on more mature responsibilities, although a good start has been made with the new school council.

p.23

HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS?

86. The school’s provision for cultural development is satisfactory. Pupils are made aware of their British heritage; for example, through their work in country dancing, local history and geography. Older pupils learn Spanish and younger pupils read stories and sing songs from countries such as West Africa and Australia. Staff are good role models and use their own expertise well in describing life in Ghana or by involving the pupils in a Purim (Jewish festival) celebration. However, the school does not fully celebrate the rich ethnic mix within the community, by involving parents from differing cultures, inviting visitors from different faith communities or using the local environment to help pupils to learn and understand more about their own and other cultures. Despite this last shortcoming, the school is satisfactorily preparing pupils for life in a multiethnic society.

p.23

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

87. The school’s provision for the care and welfare of the pupils in its charge is good and represents an improvement in this area since the last inspection in 1997. The good support and welfare has been a key factor in helping to improve behaviour and attendance during the current year. Assessment, however, is not being used well enough to raise pupils’ achievement.

p.23

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

88. Very good child protection procedures are in place, which are well understood and acted upon by staff in the best interests of the pupils. These procedures have been strengthened since the last inspection. There is a school governor with responsibility for child protection and the school has established very good working relationships with the various external support agencies. Teachers and support staff are familiar with the child protection procedures and are aware of and alert to the need for vigilance in monitoring the well-being and welfare of the pupils in their care. All staff are Alexandra Primary School - 24 expected to respond in a discreet and sensitive manner to any personal queries or concerns raised with them by pupils and to ensure confidentiality.

p.23

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

89. Pupils feel safe and happy in school and have the confidence and independence to raise any queries and concerns they may have with staff. Effective strategies have been established to identify and support those pupils identified as having special educational needs and for the ongoing review of their targets and progress in consultation with their parents, but more work is needed in this area for EAL pupils.

p.24

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

90. There is a good provision of fully trained first-aiders in the school and good arrangements are in place for the effective management and reporting of all pupil injuries that occur during the school day. Examples were seen during the inspection week of the quality of care and attention given by qualified first-aid staff in school and of the trust and reliance in them shown by injured pupils. Effective management arrangements are in place for the correct recording and administration of prescribed medicines to pupils, as and when requested by parents.

p.24

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

91. The school has established good health and safety procedures that embrace the whole spectrum of the pupils’ time in the school. Risk assessment techniques are well embedded in school routines and the requirements for inspections of equipment and electrical systems are part of the school’s annual schedule. Fire evacuation drills are undertaken on a regular basis. During the inspection period, staff and pupils demonstrated good health and safety awareness in and around the school. Some minor health and safety issues noted during the inspection were brought to the attention of the headteacher and Chair of Governors.

p.24

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

92. The headteacher, site manager and nominated governor carry out regular health and safety audits of the school and ensure that any perceived problems are quickly addressed. Health and safety reports, along with recommendations for discussion, are presented to the governors’ meeting each term. The school premises are maintained to a good level of cleanliness and provide a safe and secure environment.

p.24

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

93. The lack of support from the education welfare service over the past fifteen months has been crucial in the school’s inability to establish clear reasons for pupil absence. The school received no support during the spring and autumn terms in 2001 and only two months’ support during the summer term. Due to this, the school was unable to ascertain whether pupils were absent or, due to the very high levels of mobility, the pupils had moved to another school or authority. As the school was unable to remove such pupils from their registers until confirmation of them having left was established, pupils were being recorded as absent when in fact they were being educated elsewhere. It is only since January 2002 with the re-establishment of the education welfare officer for the school that a true picture of attendance has been made possible. The school now receives fortnightly visits from an experienced officer. She is investigating all absences after five days.

p.24

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

Already this term four cases of absence turned out to be pupils moving to other schools or authorities without the school’s knowledge. The lack of support from the Education Welfare Service over a period of time has therefore been a crucial factor in accuracy of figures on attendance and has limited the school’s ability to effectively work with parents to improve attendance.

p.24

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

94. Very good and effective whole-school procedures are in place - satisfactory at the last inspection - for the recording and reporting of all incidents of pupil absence. These are leading to improved attendance. Registers are correctly maintained and pupil registration practice fully complies with statutory requirements. The school has recently secured a close working partnership with the education welfare service to monitor absence trends and to investigate and address all recorded unauthorised pupil absence from school. The school has been successful in developing initiatives for raising parent awareness to the need for punctuality and significantly reducing the incidents of pupils’ late arrival. Governors receive termly attendance reports and are involved in the review of absence trends and pupil non-attendance. The link between attendance, behaviour and academic progress is being monitored and this will be evaluated at the end of the summer term 2002.

p.24

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

Alexandra Primary School - 25 95. The good and well-established behaviour management routines help to enhance and promote the self-image of pupils and contribute greatly to the overall good attitudes to learning displayed by the majority of pupils. Great emphasis is placed on promoting good behaviour and the school operates a number of incentives to encourage and reward pupils’ good work and behaviour, both in and around the school.

p.25

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

96. There is good practice, whereby the whole-school behaviour policy is to be discussed and personalised within each classroom at the beginning of each year to provide pupils with a meaningful focus of the school’s high expectations for behaviour. The clear and well-documented behaviour procedures are understood by pupils and parents and successfully used to promote the overall good level of behaviour to be seen in and around the school.

p.25

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

97. The school has a philosophy of zero tolerance towards bullying and racism and has worked hard to promote a culture of anti-bullying amongst pupils. The school has established good working relationships with staff from the local behaviour support service to help support and develop those pupils identified with more challenging behaviour. During the inspection some pupils in Year 6 showed oppressive behaviour towards each other, however, overall pupils feel safe and happy in school and past incidents of inappropriate behaviour are judged by pupils and parents alike to have been swiftly and effectively dealt with by staff. The school keeps detailed records of all incidents of bullying and racism. Bullying records include both verbal and physical intimidation. The records note the nature of the incident and the action taken. Action is effective, as the number of reported incidents has decreased.

p.25

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

98. The school keeps accurate records of all racist incidents. Sixty-six per cent (a high percentage) of incidents involve Traveller pupils making racist remarks to other pupils or staff. The Traveller support worker states that Traveller pupils feel their own ethnic identity is not recognised and whilst not condoning their racist remarks feels this may be a contributory factor. She feels that more could be done to understand Traveller culture and is willing to assist the school in this development.

p.25

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

99. Teachers and support staff know their pupils well and makes satisfactory provision to support them in their learning and personal development. All staff display a high level of care and concern for the pupils and a good rapport and respect exists between pupils and staff.

p.25

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

100. The identification and assessment procedures for pupils with special educational needs are sound and fully meet the requirements of the Code of Practice. Good help is received from outside agencies, such as the behaviour and psychological services. Pupils' records are well kept.

p.25

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

101. Satisfactory procedures have been established for measuring pupils’ attainment and progress using some end of year and national testing. An analysis of results has enabled the school to identify strengths and weaknesses together with any significant variation in the performance of boys and girls or different ethnic groups.

p.25

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

102. The use of assessment to guide curricular planning is unsatisfactory. The analysis of results in testing is giving staff information on the strengths and weaknesses in English and mathematics, but less so in science. Insufficient use is being made of this information to plan lessons meeting the needs of all attainment levels, focusing on those areas where pupils require extra teaching. This use of assessment to guide planning is not yet being used to best effect to raise standards and achievement.

p.25

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

103. The use of assessment to guide planning in subjects other than those mentioned above is also an area for development. The school needs to develop its systems for tracking individual pupils’ progress. All staff need to be secure in their judgements of the level at which pupils are working and to set realistic yet challenging targets for the future. The school will then be in a position to measure the progress made by individual pupils throughout the school and notify this information to parents through annual reports and meetings. Procedures for monitoring and supporting pupils with special educational needs or English as an additional language are satisfactory. Alexandra Primary School - 26

p.25

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

104. Parents are very supportive of the school, hold the staff in high regard and believe their children receive a good level of care and education. The school has worked hard to promote and develop the strong partnership arrangements with many parents from its wide community and to encourage and support their involvement in all aspects of their children's education and personal development.

p.26

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

105. Overall, the impact of parents’ involvement in the work of the school is satisfactory and developing, with some good examples of parent contribution to pupil learning to be found in the nursery class. The impact is stronger than at the last inspection. The school welcomes and encourages all parents to become involved in their children's learning and is keen to promote greater partnership working between parents and teachers. The headteacher has made a good start to involving parents by seeking their views on a future ‘Visionary’ statement.

p.26

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

106. Parents are kept fully aware, in six languages, of all the school is doing to improve behaviour and attendance. Parents are being invited to work with the school to bring about the improvement. In most instances, parents will be contacted after three days of absence, but where the school has any cause for concern parents may be contacted on the first day of absence. Contact will be by letter or phone call. After five days the education welfare officer will be involved. This process has become much more effective since the beginning of the spring term 2002, with the provision of an education welfare officer. Parents are invited into school if their child seriously misbehaves or is excluded to discuss the action that has been taken and why it has been necessary. The school stresses that the co-operation of school and parent is essential in helping the pupil.

p.26

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

107. Most parents have signed up to the home-school agreement and many parents take the opportunity of commenting on their child’s progress in their home reading books. However, a minority of parents continues to have little involvement with the school and displays no inclination in supporting their own children’s learning and development in the home.

p.26

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

108. Teachers make themselves available at the end of the school day to listen and talk with parents about any concerns or queries they may have. A number of parents praised the willingness and flexibility of teachers to arrange meeting times to suit parents’ availability for discussions about their child’s progress in school.

p.26

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

109. The school appreciates greatly the voluntary contribution of some 12 regular parent helpers and is grateful for the time and valuable input they provide to supporting pupil learning, both within the school and on out-of-school activities. The majority of these are active in the nursery class and their presence enables staff to provide quality learning experiences for the pupils. The school has benefited further from the many parents who have freely given their time and skills in creating flowerbeds around the school and helping to plaster and paint the internal accommodation. All this activity, freely donated by parents and governors, helps to improve and enhance the pupils’ learning environment. The recent practice for whole-school presentation shows being performed in school both helps to bring more parents into the school to watch their children perform and also helps to raise a positive picture of the school in the local community.

p.26

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

110. The school is right to celebrate the success of the ‘Friends’ association, which has played a major part in bringing parents and staff closer together as partners in the education and development of pupils. There was no such association at the time of the last inspection. A good example is the success achieved in improving pupil attendance and reduction in the incidents of late arrival at school. The ‘Friends’ are very active in organising regular fund-raising social events, all of which are well attended and provide quality opportunities for informal discussions between parents and staff about the progress of pupils. In addition, the ‘Friends’ provide a valuable conduit for making parents’ views known to the school.

p.26

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

111. The quality of information provided to parents is good and improving. In addition to regular written communications, the parents benefit from the informal opportunities presented at the end of each day to discuss their children’s progress with their teachers. The provision of information to parents Alexandra Primary School - 27 represents an area of significant improvement since the last inspection in 1997. Although the school is working hard to involve parents in the review of individual education plans, which are drawn up for those pupils with special educational needs, the meetings are not yet well attended.

p.26

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

112. Parents are kept well informed on a regular basis through the school newsletter, produced twice per half term and the many ‘dear parent’ letters sent home on all aspects of school life, from school events and pupil activities to school visits and pupils’ achievements. The school prospectus and the governors’ annual report are well detailed and provide valuable reference documents for parents about various aspects of the school. However, while full of relevant information, these documents fall short of statutory requirements in not detailing information such as governor names and re-election dates and the provision for pupils withdrawn from religious education lessons. Very good use is made of the parent notice boards in and around the school to ensure that parents are aware of the latest letters sent home and to provide timely reminders of forthcoming events and activities.

p.27

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

113. The school has organised a number of parent information workshops on subjects such as uniform, child protection and the school vision and there is a good practice of canvassing parent views on proposed changes to school policy. Plans are well advanced to establish a regular ‘parents’ forum’ to enable greater parental involvement in and contribution to, the development of the school.

p.27

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

114. The formal parent and teacher consultation procedures are well organised each term, attended by most parents and provide good opportunities to keep parents informed and involved in their child’s education and personal development. End-of-year progress reports are well detailed in respect of pupils’ progress in the core subjects, but provide little information relating to the foundation subjects and are inconsistent in identifying areas of weakness on which pupils need to work.

p.27

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

115. The ongoing development of the school's partnership arrangements with parents is helping to promote closer working relationships with parents and to raise a positive awareness amongst parents to the valuable contributions they can make to improve the pupils’ learning environment and individual development opportunities.

p.27

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

116. The previous inspection found that the leadership and management of the school was effective, but there were shortcomings in the way in which teaching and the curriculum were being developed and subject co-ordinators were being helped to manage their subjects and improve standards. The school improvement plan was also not strong enough and the role of the governors in monitoring and strategic development was underdeveloped. In several areas the governors had not ensured that statutory requirements had been met.

p.27

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

117. The headteacher has been in the school for just under two terms. This followed a period in which the current deputy headteacher had led the school in an acting capacity during which the last permanent headteacher was on leave of absence. When she took up her post, the current headteacher inherited a legacy of past practice that rapidly needed modernising. Since the last inspection few of the management systems had been upgraded.

p.27

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

118. The overall leadership and management of the headteacher and key staff are satisfactory rather than good, because the weakness in subject co-ordination reported at the last inspection remains an issue to be addressed.

p.27

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

119. The headteacher has brought a breath of fresh air to the school. She is tenacious in her desire to drive up standards and improve all aspects of provision. Although there is a large backlog of work to do, the pace of change is being systematically managed as priorities are discussed and established. A very good steer is being given to leading the school forward and an impressive amount of work has been done in a relatively short time. A clear and accurate analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the school has been undertaken and wide ranging consultations with staff, parents and governors are leading to the formulation of a new visionary statement that will guide and direct the future work of the school. A high priority has been given to improving Alexandra Primary School - 28 behaviour, attendance and punctuality in the school and this has generally led to a marked improvement in pupils’ attitudes to school. The majority of staff have accepted the necessary

p.27

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

steps she has introduced to help the school to move forward and secure improvements in pupils’ achievements. She has gained the full confidence of the governing body and parents who welcome the ways in which the school is improving and they are fully behind the changes she is implementing.

p.28

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

120. The headteacher has improved several important strands of management. The governors are now receiving much better information on which to base their discussions and this will help them to work with the headteacher to develop a clear way forward. Most staff have welcomed the direction that is being established and are clear about the priorities facing the school. As a result, there is a clearer understanding of what needs to be done and when.

p.28

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

121. Staff with management responsibilities make a satisfactory, but developing, contribution to the work of the school. The deputy headteacher has clear strengths in supporting the headteacher with administrative matters, legal matters and in general daily management, but is less skilled at leading and directing work. The deputy’s roles and responsibilities are not clearly set out. A new senior management team has been established, which is becoming influential in managing other staff and supporting the headteacher across a broad front, but most importantly in monitoring and developing the quality of teaching and learning.

p.28

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

122. The last inspection reported weaknesses in the leadership and management of subjects by subject co-ordinators and was a key issue for action. Although some welcome improvements are evident this year, there has been unsatisfactory progress in addressing this important weakness. The work of subject co-ordinators is now good in the Foundation Stage, English, mathematics and art and satisfactory in physical education, but elsewhere it is unsatisfactory. The main reason for weak subject management is historical in that the leadership of individual subjects has been rotated amongst teachers much too frequently. This has not allowed individual co-ordinators the time to develop an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses in their areas and take appropriate action. Co-ordinators of the ‘foundation’ subjects were allocated their roles last September and have not been given sufficient training to undertake their roles well. Greater

p.28

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

stability has now been established and most co-ordinators are allocated areas that they are competent to lead. Where co-ordination is currently good, such as in English, mathematics and art, it is because of the work that has been done in establishing a realistic plan for improvement and in the monitoring of termly plans by; for example, the literacy and numeracy co-ordinators, which has helped them to guide staff in their work. Subject co-ordinators have not audited or monitored the standards being reached and the quality of teaching within their areas. As a result, they are not able to act on all information that could be available to them.

p.28

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

123. The management of the special educational needs provision is satisfactory. The funding received by the school for identified pupils is well spent; the majority of the money is used to fund staff. The co-ordinator is on maternity leave. Her post is being covered on a temporary basis for two days each week. The main focus of the temporary co-ordinator is improving the quality of individual education plans by making the targets more specific to the learning needs of the pupils. The school improvement plan shows the intention to revise the special educational needs policy, so that it complies with the new Code of Practice from September 2002. The special educational needs co-ordinator has led a successful training session about the new code. Statutory requirements for all pupils with a Statement of Special Educational Need are fully met.

p.28

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

124. The governors have not ensured that the statutory curriculum is in place in ICT and religious education. These were key issues at the last inspection and remain so. The overall contribution made by governors to fulfilling their statutory duties is, therefore, unsatisfactory.

p.28

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

125. However, governors have been successful in establishing a caring ethos and a harmonious climate within which a very wide range of pupils can learn. This is one of its key strengths. They and staff have not turned any pupils away, have welcomed the diversity of intake and established racial harmony. Governors have been proactive in contributing to the life of the school and assisting the headteacher with behavioural incidents and parents who have queries or complaints. Alexandra Primary School - 29 126. The work of the governing body does not ensure that the systems used for management are fully effective and so needs to be modernised. The full governing body and sub-committees meet regularly and the quality of debate is robust. However, there is no annual calendar of meetings with clear terms of reference for each to enable a smooth flow of information to take place. The governors are not yet working proactively with the headteacher to harmonise the financial, school

p.28

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

improvement planning and performance management cycles so that they mutually support each other and help to focus the resources of the school on the key priorities for improvement. There is no overall plan for governors’ own professional development to help them to improve their efficiency and effectiveness.

p.29

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

127. The governors’ understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the school is unsatisfactory, but improving. Although members of the governing body have been attached to subject areas and receive useful information from subject co-ordinators they need to gain more first-hand information and hold staff more accountable for the areas of work they lead. The recent appointment of three able and enthusiastic parent governors to the Chairs of the finance, curriculum and buildings committees is a welcome advance and they are already formulating plans to improve the work within their spheres of responsibility.

p.29

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

128. The governing body has not been successful in holding the school to account for its performance. This is evident because not all the key issues for action identified at the last inspection have been tackled with rigour. However, the school has shown that when it decides to tackle an issue carefully this can be successfully done. For example, provision for pupils who are learning English as an additional language, standards in English and the procedures for tackling pupil absence have been tackled well and, as a result, are helping to contribute to rising standards. To their great credit, governors have also accommodated large numbers of asylum seekers’ children and ensured that the budget has been secure during times of great turbulence. However, there has been much too little progress in ensuring that all curriculum requirements are met, in fully implementing quality assessment procedures and ensuring that the past management of the

p.29

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

school developed the roles of subject co-ordinators.

p.29

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

129. The rate of school improvement has been too slow, but is quickening now. In the past there were no effective systems for managing the performance of teaching staff or monitoring the work of subject co-ordinators. This is now being rectified. All staff, including the headteacher, now have performance management targets that are targeted at addressing the areas for development within the school development plan. A programme of lesson observations is being established and is becoming influential. The system for performance management is therefore improving and taking root. The careful evaluation of performance of staff at the end of this year’s cycle should provide valuable management information on which to build developments. Governors have full confidence in the headteacher and are fully behind the improvements she is seeking. Relationships with the local education authority link adviser are productive and are helping to provide a range of

p.29

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

information and guidance to inform decision making.

p.29

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

130. The headteacher is being held to better account by the governors for developments and is providing them with clear and detailed information on standards and developments. Governors’ committee meetings are becoming more structured and taking place more regularly, which should ensure that progress can be more carefully tracked. Governors have been attached to subject areas and are very keen to ensure that they visit the school in order to find out first hand how provision and standards in their nominated areas are being managed. Past development plans have not been monitored well enough. The current school development plan correctly focuses on the majority of areas the school needs to address and has a stronger sense of strategic development. Teachers are clear about what the plan contains and the implications for them. The links between this and the performance management process, especially in identifying teacher’s

p.29

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

professional development needs and the key tasks for subject co-ordinators, needs to be strengthened.

p.29

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

131. Good progress has been made in improving the effectiveness with which behaviour and attendance are managed. The governing body has been fully involved in the processes for monitoring both Alexandra Primary School - 30 behaviour and attendance, but there is no evidence that they have been involved in preventing a pupil’s exclusion. The school has formulated a policy for the management of attendance and is in the process of reviewing behaviour including the development of a bullying policy. There has been significant improvement in both areas, resulting in better attendance and punctuality and fewer exclusions. Records show that incidences of harassment and bullying have also decreased.

p.29

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

132. Insufficient use is made of ICT for management and within the curriculum. Computers are not used extensively enough for management purposes because of a lack of equipment. For example, the headteacher and other senior staff do not have enough computers to assist them in their roles. Spreadsheet software needs to be used more effectively to help analyse and evaluate the growing data the school collects on pupils’ performance. Although there is now Internet access in each classroom, the school e-mail system is not working, which hinders external communication. Staff have received some training on how to use the various computer programs, but compared with many other schools the range of software resources available to them is narrow. The governors and headteacher feel that the bureaucratic demands made on them such as by the Haringey Local Education Authority regarding the admissions and funding of large numbers of asylum

p.30

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

seeker children are now handled satisfactorily.

p.30

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

133. The amount of money spent on each pupil is high compared with the national average, but contains an appropriate London weighting. Extra money is also received for supporting pupils with special educational needs and for EAL pupils. The school is currently working to a balanced budget, but is unclear about the total income it has at its disposal and the sources of that income. This is mainly because the system that is operated by the local education authority is not well understood by the governors and headteacher. As a result, it is difficult for the headteacher and governors to plan their use of money. In addition, it has been hard for the governors to be assured that specific grants have been used effectively. The change to a cheque book system in the near future should help the school to control and monitor its finances much more effectively, but this will also necessitate the need for a bursar to be appointed to administer the system. In recent

p.30

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

years the budget has always been in credit, but money is now tight.

p.30

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

134. The extent to which the principles of best value are applied is unsatisfactory and limited to seeking cost effective arrangements in some of the contracts it awards. However, the other constituent parts of best value (challenge, consult and compare) are much less well developed and not discussed on a systematic basis. Governors and staff do not seek out how best practice found in other schools might help them. They need to consult more widely on important spending decisions and be more assured that best value for money is being provided internally through the money given for responsibilities allocated to teachers and curriculum development. Some examples of seeking out competitive prices are evident, but this could be extended. The finances of the school have not been audited for some years and there is no record of the last time they were done; a financial audit is long overdue.

p.30

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

135. Staffing levels are satisfactory, although the school has experienced a turnover of staff in recent years. Most teachers are experienced and qualified. Two of the current teaching staff are overseas trained and en route to qualified teacher status. Satisfactory provision is made for the induction of staff new to the school, which helps to ensure continuity of approach from all staff. Both teachers and teaching assistants reflect the community the school serves. Learning support assistants are deployed satisfactorily to support pupils with special educational needs. Arrangements for the professional development and training of staff are sound, but staff still need more help in becoming confident with computers. The overall quantity and quality of learning resources are unsatisfactory. There is no library that can be used to extend pupils’ reading skills and a lack of an ICT suite is holding back standards. The accommodation is satisfactory with spacious classrooms, which

p.30

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

make movement around them easy, especially for older pupils. Displays in classrooms and halls provide a stimulating learning environment and are used well to celebrate the achievements of the school and its pupils.

p.30

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

136. The amount of money spent by the school is high compared with the national average. This is because of its location and the extra money it receives for pupils with special educational needs and EAL. The budget and the extra money are used soundly and the school ensures that Alexandra Primary School - 31 achievement of the diverse range of pupils the school serves is satisfactory overall. Because of the good attitudes and behaviour and the satisfactory, but improving teaching and satisfactory overall management the school provides sound value for money. Alexandra Primary School - 32

p.30

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

137. In order to further raise standards and improve the quality of education offered, the headteacher, staff and governing body should:

p.32

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

1. continue to raise standards in English and mathematics to address the very low standards on entry and ensure good achievement by:

p.32

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• ensuring that teaching of these subjects is consistently good and providing good resources to teach them; • using ICT within the subjects and across the curriculum to raise standards; • increasing the opportunities for speaking and listening and imaginative writing to take place; • tackling the weaknesses pupils have in problem-solving, data handing and using and applying mathematics; • improving the school library and ensuring that it is used effectively.

p.32

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(paragraphs 16, 17, 47, 72, 74, 173-183 and 184-189)

p.32

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

2. improve the curriculum in science, ICT, design and technology, history, geography, music and religious education so that standards and achievement are higher by:

p.32

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• ensuring that statutory requirements are met in ICT and religious education; • fostering a more investigative approach to science; • developing a suite to enhance the teaching of ICT; • allocating sufficient time for the full curriculum to be taught in the foundation subjects; • raising the profile of music and instrumental tuition; • reviewing the length of the taught curriculum and how time is allocated between subjects.

p.32

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(paragraphs 18, 19, 20, 26, 49, 69, 71, 72, 124, 167, 183, 188, 190-195, 198, 203, 211, 213-220, 221-227, 234 and 235-237)

p.32

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

3. raise the quality of teaching in Years 2 and 6 and teaching overall so that it has a bigger impact on pupils’ standards by:

p.32

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• reviewing the match of teachers to classes, paying particular attention to Years 2 and 6; • further improving the quality of teaching in English, mathematics and science; • using the recently introduced systems for performance management to set challenging objectives for teaching and enabling teachers to meet these targets; • sharing the best practice more widely; • providing training to all teachers in the subjects in which they are weakest, particularly ICT and RE.

p.32

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(paragraphs 26, 45, 47, 48, 49, 52-68, 129, 181, 188 and 193)

p.32

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

4. strengthen the work of the governing body so that they can hold the school to better account by:

p.32

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• continuing to strengthen the work of the full governing body and its’ sub-committees by clarifying terms of reference and establishing clear flows of information; • working with the headteacher to bring the vision statement to fruition and compiling a longer- term strategic plan to enable this to be realised; • harmonising the financial, developmental and performance management cycles so that the information acquired through these is mutually supportive; • gaining a clearer overview of the budget and managing this to the principles of best value; • monitoring the work of the school more closely and so using this to inform decision making.

p.32

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

5. improve the work of subject co-ordinators by: Alexandra Primary School - 33 • clarifying their roles and responsibilities; • ensuring that members of the senior management team monitor and support their work more effectively; • ensuring that they are more accountable for improvements in provision and standards; • ensuring that co-ordinators receive sufficient training to enable them to undertake their roles effectively.

p.32

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(paragraphs 121, 127, 129, 153, 183, 189, 196, 200, 203, 212, 220, 227, 233 and 237)

p.33

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

6. use assessment data and records more extensively to help guide teachers lesson planning by:

p.33

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• improving the quality of marking so that pupils know what they have to do to improve; • ensuring that all teachers analyse all available data and use this analysis to help plan better lessons; • further developing the emerging systems for tracking pupils progress; • ensuring that pupils have a better understanding of their own learning and are given realistic targets for learning.

p.33

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(paragraphs 26, 59, 102-103, 152, 183, 189, 203, 211, 219, 226, and 237)

p.33

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

The following minor issues should also be considered by governors for inclusion within the action plan:

p.33

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• raise the awareness of Traveller culture. (paragraphs 25, 41, 56, 86 and 98)

p.33

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

* The school has already identified the need to further improve ICT, religious education, the roles of the subject co-ordinators and the use of assessment information within its development plan. Alexandra Primary School - 34

p.33

English as an Additional Language (EAL)

138. The school has just over one half of its pupils who speak English as an additional language (EAL). The main home languages spoken by these pupils are Turkish, Bengali, Kurdish, Somali, Albanian and Arabic. In addition, there are a further 27 languages spoken by the pupils at Alexandra Primary. Two-thirds of all EAL pupils are at the early stages of English acquisition and some of them enter the school halfway through the year. Some of them are refugees, who may have been traumatised by recent experiences, have disrupted education or not have been to school at all. Consequently, many of the EAL learners start from a very low base.

p.34

English as an Additional Language (EAL)

139. The provision for EAL has improved since the last inspection. It is sound now. The standards of work produced by the pupils receiving EAL support are well below national expectations, as they have not yet acquired enough English to work at a level expected for their age. However, they make at least satisfactory progress in language acquisition, given that they are beginners in English on entry to the school.

p.34

English as an Additional Language (EAL)

140. Since September 2001, a permanent EAL teacher for four days a week and a bilingual teaching assistant have been working under the Ethnic Minority Achievement Grant (EMAG). These staff mainly support EAL pupils in Years 1 and 2 and in the Foundation Stage. The EAL teacher also offers induction sessions to newly arrived EAL pupils in Years 3 to 6. The school has responded to the needs of refugee and asylum seeking pupils effectively by developing an induction policy and clear procedures for integrating pupils who are admitted after the school year has started.

p.34

English as an Additional Language (EAL)

141. The quality of teaching under EMAG is satisfactory. Bilingual support helps younger pupils in Years 1 and 2 to understand the content of the lesson fully and participate in activities. The EAL teacher has a secure knowledge of how to develop the English language skills of bilingual learners. They identify the needs of pupils through careful assessments. There are good procedures for assessing and monitoring EAL pupils’ progress. Regular targets are set for pupils and their progress is monitored. The EAL teacher uses suitable methods and visual resources, which enable pupils to develop understanding in English. During the inspection, the EAL teacher led most lessons in Year 2, where the class teacher and the EAL teacher were supposed to teach the class jointly to enhance EAL pupils’ learning. In practice, they did not teach in partnership; instead the EAL teacher took the class and this was not an efficient use of specialist provision for

p.34

English as an Additional Language (EAL)

EAL. The EAL teacher has a good relationship with the pupils, which helps to develop their confidence. However, EAL teaching points are not always present in class teachers’ planning and teaching.

p.34

English as an Additional Language (EAL)

142. EAL pupils’ attitudes to school and learning are good. They are well integrated into the life of the school. They respond well to support given and participate well in group activities. They behave well and their relationships with teachers and other pupils are also good. Boys and girls and pupils from different ethnic groups, work harmoniously. The school has established good links with the parents and made arrangements for translation and interpretation for them. Information is provided in at least six languages for parents who do not speak English.

p.34

English as an Additional Language (EAL)

143. The current level of EAL staffing is not adequate to meet the growing needs of pupils and the school is aware of this. The school has been investing in training the class teachers in the teaching of EAL, but this initiative has not made an impact on the practice in the mainstream yet. Alexandra Primary School - 35

p.34

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

p.35

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 28

p.35

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

p.35

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactor y Poor Very poor

p.35

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

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

p.35

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Pupils on the school’s roll Nursery YR - Y6

p.35

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 24 241

p.35

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals - 139

p.35

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Special educational needs Nursery YR - Y6

p.35

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 0 5

p.35

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 4 84

p.35

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

English as an additional language No of pupils

p.35

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of pupils with English as an additional language 133

p.35

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils

p.35

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 31

p.35

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 94

p.35

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

School data 7.5 School data 7.4 Alexandra Primary School - 36 National comparative data 5.6 National comparative data 0.5

p.35

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. Alexandra Primary School - 37 Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2) Year Boys Girls Total

p.36

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 1 for the latest reporting year 2001 17 18 35

p.37

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

National Curriculum Test/Task Results Reading Writing Mathematics

p.37

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Boys 9 8 13 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 11 12 13

p.37

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Percentage of pupils School 57 (58) 57 (55) 74 (79) at NC level 2 or above National 84 (83) 86 (84) 91 (90)

p.37

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

p.37

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Boys 10 12 10 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 12 13 11

p.37

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Percentage of pupils School 63 (58) 71 (79) 60 (66) at NC level 2 or above National 85 (84) 89 (88) 89 (88)

p.37

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

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

p.37

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

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

p.37

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 2 for the latest reporting year 2001 24 19 43

p.37

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

National Curriculum Test/Task Results English Mathematics Science

p.37

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Boys 10 15 15 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 13 11 13

p.37

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Percentage of pupils School 61 (27) 66 (38) 74 (54) at NC level 4 or above National 75 (75) 71 (72) 87 (85)

p.37

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

p.37

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Boys n/a n/a n/a Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls n/a n/a n/a

p.37

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Percentage of pupils School n/a (32) n/a (62) n/a (70) at NC level 4 or above National 72 (70) 74 (72) 82 (79)

p.37

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year. Alexandra Primary School - 38 Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

p.37

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Black – Caribbean heritage 31 Black – Caribbean heritage 2 0

p.38

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Black – African heritage 29 Black – African heritage 0 0

p.38

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Any other minority ethnic group 0 Other minority ethnic groups 2 0

p.38

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

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.38

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Teachers and classes Financial information

p.38

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 12.2 Financial year 2001

p.38

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 19

p.38

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Education support staff: YR – Y6 Total income 875,770

p.38

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Total number of education support staff 10 Total expenditure 807,995

p.38

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Total aggregate hours worked per week 292 Expenditure per pupil 2,781

p.38

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Qualified teachers and support staff: nursery Balance brought forward from previous year -27,979

p.38

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 1 Balance carried forward to next year 39,796

p.38

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 20

p.38

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Total number of education support staff 1

p.38

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Total aggregate hours worked per week 32.5

p.38

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of teachers who left the school during the last two years 5

p.38

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Number of teachers appointed to the school during the last two years 6

p.38

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

Total number of vacant teaching posts (FTE) 0

p.38

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

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

p.38

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

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

p.38

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS

FTE means full-time equivalent. Alexandra Primary School - 39

p.38

Percentage of responses in each category

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

p.39

Percentage of responses in each category

My child is making good progress in school. 57 37 3 0 3

p.39

Percentage of responses in each category

Behaviour in the school is good. 47 42 6 0 6

p.39

Percentage of responses in each category

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 54 29 11 0 6

p.39

Percentage of responses in each category

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 58 31 6 3 3

p.39

Percentage of responses in each category

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 67 22 3 3 6

p.39

Percentage of responses in each category

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 61 25 6 6 3

p.39

Percentage of responses in each category

The school works closely with parents. 56 25 11 3 6

p.39

Percentage of responses in each category

The school is well led and managed. 57 20 9 6 6

p.39

Percentage of responses in each category

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 63 29 6 0 3

p.39

Percentage of responses in each category

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 23 26 14 23 14

p.39

Other issues raised by parents

Many parents have noticed the improvements being brought about by the recently appointed headteacher and the better behaviour this year, except in Year 6. Parents spoke warmly of the work of the ‘Friends’ association. Some parents expressed concerns about how child protection matters were dealt with. All matters raised by parents were investigated and are included in the report. Alexandra Primary School - 40

p.39

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

144. Children start in the nursery in the September after their third birthday. Staff spend valuable time making home visits to find out more about the families and children in order that they can plan for the children’s learning needs. Parents and carers are made to feel very welcome and work alongside their children, especially in the early stages, which helps the children make a very secure start.

p.40

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

145. Although some children have good experiences of play, access to toys and books and have attended mother and toddler groups, many children have had very few experiences to socialise with other children and mix to learn through structured and unstructured play. A very high proportion of children enter the nursery with extremely low self-esteem and many live in accommodation that is bereft of stimulus. There is a preponderance of children with special educational needs, with little knowledge of speaking English or who have come to the country under traumatic circumstances.

p.40

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

146. Children start the nursery with standards that are very low overall, particularly in their emotional, behavioural and communication skills. Teaching and learning are consistently good and sometimes very good in all areas of learning. As a result, achievement of all groups of children is very good in children’s emotional and behavioural skills and good in all the other areas of learning. Informative and useful records are kept, which help to track children’s progress across some, but not all, areas of learning. The good teaching and achievement of the children has been maintained since the last inspection.

p.40

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

147. There is a very rich and stimulating nursery curriculum that focuses on the learning needs and capabilities of individual children. Children make a very good response to the activities that are provided and they work hard. This is particularly noticeable for those children who have had very little prior experience of structured education and in the inspection these children were absorbed in their learning both inside and outside the classroom. Scope and freedom is given for children to develop their leaning independently or with other children with staff intervening judiciously when required. The quality of the curriculum has been improved since the last inspection.

p.40

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

148. During the inspection a number of parents were seen supporting in class, including a parent from a Travelling family. The help given was extremely beneficial both for their own children and others in the class. All staff in the nursery work very well together and identify and meet the needs of all children extremely well. Careful attention and extra support is given when needed to children with special educational needs, those who have recently joined the school or those with no English speaking skills. The care, welfare and support of all children is given a very high premium, as it was at the last inspection.

p.40

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

149. A small number of parents choose not to transfer their children to the adjoining reception class in the September before they reach the age of five, but most do. The nursery and reception staff work extremely closely together and are successful in ensuring that children transfer to the reception harmoniously. The children in the reception class relate very well to their teacher and learning support assistants and are keen to learn.

p.40

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

150. Children enter the reception class with standards that are well below the expected levels except in their personal and social skills, which are below average. However, there is a wide range of ability within the current class, as there has been for many years, with a preponderance of children with very low abilities, but some children are working to much higher standards. By the time they reach the end of the reception year, most children are still likely to be working well below the national expectations in communication, language and literacy and mathematical development, but below expectations in their physical and creative development and gaining a knowledge and understanding of the world and at the national expectations in their personal, social and emotional development. Alexandra Primary School - 41 151. Planning for the Foundation Stage curriculum is well rooted in the guidance for this age group. The

p.40

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

two teachers plan their work thoroughly. The success of their teaching plans is evaluated every term in order to ensure that work given to children is well matched to their stage of development with work being well targeted to individuals or key groups of children within the class. In some weekly and daily planning, teachers do not make advantage of ‘stepping stone’ guidance, so progress is not always as good as it might be. The success of the planning is that children feel confident in working with sustained interest when either selecting their own activities or working on more structured activities with their teacher or support assistant.

p.41

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

152. Throughout the nursery and reception classes teachers, with the support of their assistants, identify what each child can and cannot do in both informal and formal ways. The systems of formally recording this information does not summarise what each child has mastered against all the ‘stepping stones’ or Early Learning Goals. As a result, teachers do not have a comprehensive overview of standards, which they could use to better evaluate the progress and achievement that individual or groups of children make.

p.41

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

153. The co-ordinator of the Foundation Stage has been leading the development of her area well since last September. She has a clear focus on raising standards and developing all aspects of provision. A very useful development plan has been drawn up, with a correct focus on improving standards in communication, language and literacy and mathematical development. Limited finances are allocated to support aspects of the plan. Although some aspects of the curriculum are adequately resourced there is a shortage of outdoor equipment to support the six areas of learning, deficiencies in resources for language and mathematical development, construction equipment, software and a floor turtle for them to control and direct. The outdoor resources have been improved since the last inspection, but shortages of some critical indoor resources remain.

p.41

Personal, social and emotional development

154. Achievement is very good in this area of the curriculum because of the good teaching, careful identification of need and very good liaison with parents. Staff in the nursery and reception classes ensure a high emphasis is placed on developing children’s skills in this important area of the curriculum. As a result, these are successfully developed. It is a credit to the very hard work of staff that the care they take in addressing the needs of such a diverse range of children results in children becoming much more integrated and confident in themselves.

p.41

Personal, social and emotional development

155. Many children join the nursery with little experience of learning and have very close bonds with only a small number of adults or other children. Children in both classes are very happy to come to school. On occasions, some children are a little upset when they have to separate from their parent or carer, but such instances are handled sensitively and with kindness such as seen with a child who had recently returned from India.

p.41

Personal, social and emotional development

156. Relationships in both classes are very good. Children feel valued. The children in the nursery class seek out others to share experiences and mix pleasantly with other children. In the reception class, children are clear about the daily routines and have a good sense of belonging to the class. They take turns; for example, when working in the role play area and sharing tasks in caring for their ‘babies’.

p.41

Personal, social and emotional development

157. In both classes seen, the children were relishing the activities that were presented to them and worked very hard during lessons, play and breaks. Children in the reception class are motivated to learn and willing to try out new activities. In the reception class, most maintain their concentration well and sit quietly such as when listening to their daily story.

p.41

Personal, social and emotional development

158. Children in both classes make very good gains in developing confidence and developing an awareness of their own needs and feelings. In the nursery during ‘circle time’ children were comfortable about talking about their feelings with some saying they were feeling ‘happy’ or ‘slightly dizzy’ after play. Children in the reception class show an affiliation to their own culture, Alexandra Primary School - 42 but also are developing an understanding of others. Most behave very well and there are few upsets. When these occur they are dealt with very efficiently by staff.

p.41

Communication, language and literacy

159. By the end of the reception class, standards are likely to be well below average in this area of learning, despite good teaching, because of the high proportion of children with special educational or language needs. However, this represents good achievement from the very low levels on entry to the nursery class. The higher attaining children have already met most of the Early Learning Goals in this area and are starting to work on higher level work.

p.42

Communication, language and literacy

160. Children enjoy stories and show interest in books. In the nursery, children came in from outdoor play and spontaneously chose books to read and settled down before their daily story. They handle them the correct way up and know the start of the story from the end. Story telling by the teacher was enlivened by the use of puppets. In the lesson seen, the teacher told a story about how hot cross buns were made linking this to the practical work they were undertaking during the week. The class contains large numbers of pupils at an early stage learning English and some of these found it hard to follow the story, but were attentive and picked out some of the key words being used, such as ‘wheat’ and ‘dough’. In the reception class there is a wide range in pupils reading abilities.

p.42

Communication, language and literacy

161. In writing, lower attaining pupils in the reception class can ascribe meaning to marks on paper and can; for example, make a ‘J’ shape. They are learning to trace the letters of their own name, but need to develop better fine motor control. The small number of higher attaining pupils are further ahead in their writing. They can write their own name and are starting to write some simple sentences using correct punctuation. One such girl has made a book about zoo animals and another, which is ‘All about me’ Although all words are not spelt correctly the sentences such as ‘I lik to eta hamburger and banana an pears an cherries’ or ‘my sister is hav a hapy bifday’ have clear meaning and structure and handwriting is correctly formed.

p.42

Communication, language and literacy

162. Lower attaining and the younger children show less confidence in conversation and often use gestures or one word answers to questions such as when talking about events in their lives or work they have done. Children in the reception class readily converse during role play and outdoor play. Most are starting to use talk to pretend imaginary situations and pay some attention to how one event leads to another. The higher attaining children can hear and say the initial and final sounds of words and know all the letters of the alphabet. Most of the class do not have such well developed skills, but careful support is helping them to make good progress from their low levels of attainment on entry.

p.42

Mathematical development

163. Achievement is also good in this area in both the nursery and reception classes. Children in the nursery use dominoes to help them learn to count and are starting to learn numbers up to five, practising these when counting the numbers of currant buns they have made or using yellow ducks in water play. They use counters playing simple games and puzzles together. Some of the higher attaining children are able to make patterns with shapes and talk about how they fit together. In outdoor play, they learn about shape and space whilst negotiating an obstacle course.

p.42

Mathematical development

164. In the reception class some children are just learning numbers one and two or cannot count up to five and so are at an early stage in their development. Other children use dice to recognise numbers and add two numbers together. Pupils of average ability can say that three is bigger than two and add together three and one to make four. Many children can add up to ten, but the higher attaining children can count almost up to one hundred. Good teaching was seen when one of the support staff worked closely with some lower attaining, early English speaking children and helped them to develop confidence in counting by using a caterpillar with numbers and letters on its legs. Although some children could not count in the correct order the majority could count up to ten and were making clear gains in their learning. Alexandra Primary School - 43 165. The higher attaining children have developed a very good sense of adding and taking away. For

p.42

Mathematical development

example, when given new problems to solve they can add and take away numbers between one and nine from any number between ten and 99 with the help of a number chart. They can find pairs of numbers that would make 15 in total and work in their books shows that they are given lots of practise on counting, using numbers and talking about shapes.

p.43

Knowledge and understanding of the world

166. Achievement is also good in this area. Children experience a good range of activities to help them to use computers, explore and investigate or design and make.

p.43

Knowledge and understanding of the world

167. Sensory work happens regularly through learning through play inside and outside with children handling sand, water and natural materials and investigating their texture and other properties. They explore a variety of objects and how they work and look at how things grow. For example, in the reception class, children have planted seeds, pineapples and potatoes in pots and can see how the roots are forming; outside they have some plants that have been put out to grow. Reception aged children use construction kits to build a variety of shapes, but a wider range of such equipment is needed to broaden the range of skills. Although activities are provided in which they have to select the tools and techniques they use to assemble an object, such as when they built a castle, a wider range of tools and materials is needed to help to build a wider range of objects. Children in both the nursery and reception classes have some opportunity to use

p.43

Knowledge and understanding of the world

computers. Many of the older children show an interest in computers and can use simple software and perform simple functions such as using a mouse. However, the lack of a programmable toy and a wide range of software to help them in their language and number work is limiting standards that can be reached and the extent to which the Early Leaning Goals can be met. Children in the reception class have developed a sound sense of time and place through trips to the shopping centre and local park. Some trips wider afield would be welcomed particularly to non-urban environments. The recent celebration of the Chinese New Year is a good example of how parents are used well to help to celebrate the diversity in the local community.

p.43

Physical development

168. Achievement is also good in children’s’ physical development. Children in the nursery move around the large outdoor play area with confidence. They are able to ride bikes and other vehicles forwards and backwards safely with very few collisions. They catch balls and pull and push toys often working well in pairs and enjoying the games they play. They are becoming aware of their bodies and how to keep healthy and know what to do if they are unwell or tired. In the reception class, pupils used the space in the hall to move in a variety of ways ‘in a jungle’, such as slithering like a snake, swinging like a monkey or swimming like a crocodile. The very good teaching here, which had particularly good pace and variety, ensured that all children were included in activities and that they also learnt by observing the actions of others. For example, on way back to the classroom, children had to travel by hopping, skipping or jumping. Learning would

p.43

Physical development

have been even better if children had been given the chance to work more independently for part of the lesson.

p.43

Physical development

169. Children’s use of pencils and paintbrushes is developing appropriately within the nursery class and in the reception class they are given plenty of opportunity to use a variety of tools, scissors, markers and pencils to help them to improve their fine motor control.

p.43

Creative development

170. Achievement is also good in children’s’ creative development. In this area where they are less reliant on language and numbers skills they are able to shine.

p.43

Creative development

171. Children in both classes are starting to build a repertoire of songs although their singing skills are still at an early stage. This term the reception class children have been exploring the sounds made by different musical instruments. They have made their own music bringing together their Alexandra Primary School - 44 own quartet and orchestra. They explore colour, shape, texture and form using a range of materials resulting in good quality drawings, paintings and models.

p.43

Creative development

172. Children in the reception class show that they can express and communicate their thoughts and feelings in a variety of work. Recently they have been making a timeline that traces how babies are born and grow into children and then adults. Their understanding has been helped by a visiting gynaecologist. During the inspection, several girls worked through what they had learnt through role play in which a baby was delivered and the birth celebrated by the class.

p.44

ENGLISH

173. Standards in Year 2 in last year’s national tests were very low in reading and writing, but those seen in the inspection were well below average. Pupils’ speaking and listening skills are below average. Thus standards have improved. This is because the implementation of the National Literacy Strategy and the teaching of phonics are having an impact on raising standards. The pupils in Year 2 achieve satisfactorily because they start Year 1 with standards that are well below those normally seen at that age and many of whom are at the early stages of learning English as an additional language. Both boys and girls and pupils of all abilities are making satisfactory progress.

p.44

ENGLISH

174. Standards in Year 6 in the last year’s national tests and those seen in the inspection were well below average. Since the last inspection, standards have increased in line with the national trend. A very small number of higher attaining pupils reach standards in reading that are above average. Standards in speaking and listening continue to be a weakness because of the lack of planned opportunities for pupils to develop these skills. Improving standards in English has been a priority for the school since September 2001, introducing additional writing time and target setting for pupils. Although standards are improving within Years 3 to 5 and achievement is good in those classes where there is good teaching, these initiatives have not met with much success in Year 6. This is especially true of writing where standards of the higher attaining pupils are much lower than those of reading. Achievement of pupils of all abilities in Year 6 is generally satisfactory and

p.44

ENGLISH

there is little difference between the boys’ and girls’ standards. Given the very high proportion of EAL pupils, many of whom join the school part way through Years 3 to 6, pupils achieve satisfactorily in all aspects of English by the time they are in Year 6. This is an area of improvement since the previous inspection.

p.44

ENGLISH

175. By Year 2, higher attaining pupils are keen to talk in front of others and ask questions, whilst some lower attaining pupils and many early stage EAL learners lack confidence and remain silent. In the lesson observed in Year 2, the EAL teacher skilfully included the pupils by asking them to tell the names of the fruit and animals in ‘Handa’s Surprise’ in their home languages and in English. The pupils in Year 5 discussed fluently how to use language of persuasion in a shared writing of a fable where the snake had to persuade the elephant to give up the coconuts. By Year 6, only high attaining pupils are able to explain the difference between instructions, speculations or definite outcomes in conditional sentences using ‘if’.

p.44

ENGLISH

176. The clear focus on the teaching of phonics in Years 1 and 2 helps boys and girls to make satisfactory progress in learning letter-sounds, but many are not able to use them in reading new words. The higher attaining pupils in the current Year 2 read fluently with understanding and can sound out unfamiliar words. They can also talk about the characters, plots and main events of the story. Average and lower-attaining pupils find it difficult to talk about the books they read. All groups of pupils show interest and enthusiasm for books and enjoy reading stories, but cannot distinguish between fiction and non-fiction books and do not have library skills appropriate for their age.

p.44

ENGLISH

177. Pupils achieve satisfactorily in reading in Years 3 to 6, particularly in Years 3 to 5 where the teaching is generally good with effective questioning to check pupils’ understanding and elicit answers from them. By the time the pupils are in Year 6, a very small number of higher attaining pupils who read very fluently and accurately with expression and understanding approach above average standards for their age. They can discuss the main points and themes of the books they Alexandra Primary School - 45 read. They are able to compare the styles of different authors such as J K Rowling and Anne Fines. The proportion of pupils achieving at nationally expected levels is well below. Many pupils like to read books at home and some attend the local library in the absence of one at the school. The pupils generally know how to use an index and contents to find information from books and other sources.

p.44

ENGLISH

178. Pupils’ standards in writing are satisfactory by Years 2 and 6 as they start from a low base. The school has placed a considerable emphasis on improving pupils’ writing skills, which have been weak across the school. There is additional time given on the timetable to develop different kinds of writing. In Year 1, pupils write about ‘myself’ using model sentences. In Year 2, only the high and middle attaining pupils write retelling of stories or a sequence of sentences based on what they read. They can write in grammatically correct sentences with punctuation appropriate for their age. Their handwriting is well-formed and legible, but not joined-up yet. There is little evidence of different types of writing appropriate for their age.

p.45

ENGLISH

179. Given the limitations of the pupils’ skills in Year 2 they make satisfactory achievement in writing in Years 3 to 6. Basic skills of writing are established for high and middle attaining pupils in Year 6, who write using complex sentences and correct punctuation, but do not write at length developing ideas. Although they learn to write in joined script, their writing is often not organised in paragraphs and presentation is unsatisfactory. In the current Year 6 about one half reach average standards for their age. The pupils in Years 3 to 6 are learning to write diaries, holiday accounts, fables and traditional tales. However, their writing is often not imaginative; words are not chosen carefully to create effect. They enjoy writing poetry; for example, the food poems in Year 3 show how pupils describe the colour, looks and taste of some everyday food:

p.45

ENGLISH

‘Food is bright orange beans on toast Food is broccoli looks like trees…’.

p.45

ENGLISH

180. There are examples of pupils’ writing displayed attractively throughout the school, celebrating their achievement. The pupils in Year 4 write descriptions of characters from ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’. In Year 5, the pupils learn to write in different forms using explanation and persuasion. Some of this writing is linked to other subjects of the curriculum such as geography. Pupils take spellings for homework and learn to spell many words correctly, but have not developed strategies for improving spellings.

p.45

ENGLISH

181. The quality of teaching has improved since the previous inspection. It is satisfactory in Years 1 and 2 and good in Years 3 to 6, but the strengths lie in Years 3, 4 and 5. One half of the teaching seen was good; the rest was satisfactory and there was no unsatisfactory teaching. Teachers’ planning follows the National Literacy Strategy closely and tasks are matched to pupils’ needs to include all pupils in the lesson. In Years 1 and 2, the teachers make good use of pictures and visual objects to develop the understanding of early stage EAL learners and ask questions to check their understanding in English. However, planned opportunities for developing speaking and listening of EAL pupils are limited across the school. In the most successful lesson seen in Year 5, the teacher was effective in drawing on pupils’ previous learning and the pupils were keen to show what they could remember and ready to learn new things. Much of this teaching was

p.45

ENGLISH

dynamic, maintaining a brisk pace through well-planned, timed activities. Where teaching was less successful, routines and procedures had not been established well to engage a number of pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties. These pupils often disrupted the learning of others. However, in most lessons, teachers have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour and manage them effectively. Consequently, pupils behave well and show good attitudes to work. Pupils with special educational needs have individual education plans with clear targets in language and literacy, which are followed by support staff and this results in well-focused support. The EAL pupils in Years 1 and 2 receive adequate specialist support as well as support in their home language and they make satisfactory progress. In Years 3 to 6, EAL learners do not receive any specialist support. Although they make satisfactory progress, better progress could be made

p.45

ENGLISH

in these years through using EAL teaching strategies in the mainstream. Alexandra Primary School - 46 182. Teaching of literacy within other subjects of the curriculum is generally unsatisfactory. Although subject-specific words are identified and displayed around the classroom, they are not systematically developed nor are repertoires of writing skills planned and taught within subjects. Some attempts are made in art and music where teachers help to develop pupils’ knowledge of words used in art or encourage pupils to use reference books to find out about different types of musical instruments.

p.45

ENGLISH

183. Subject leadership is good. The school analyses test and task results well and has set appropriate targets for the subject. However, monitoring of teaching has just begun and it is too early to see the impact of this on developing consistency in teaching and learning. The procedures for assessing pupils are sound, but the use of information to guide curriculum planning is underdeveloped. Since the last inspection there has been satisfactory improvement. This is because the quality of teaching has improved and systematic assessment of pupils and target setting have been introduced to raise standards since the arrival of the new headteacher. Although learning resources are satisfactory for the subject, the absence of a school library restricts the development of research skills and independent learning, particularly for Years 3 to 6. Reading and writing remain major weaknesses in Years 1 to 6. Enrichment activities such as a book fair, visits

p.46

ENGLISH

from theatre groups and poets enhance pupils’ learning in the subject. Insufficient use is made of ICT within the subject. English makes a good contribution to pupils’ spiritual, social, moral and cultural development.

p.46

MATHEMATICS

184. Standards in mathematics are well below the national average. The 2001 national test results for pupils in Year 2 were very low and well below average when compared to similar schools. In Year 6, standards in the 2001 national tests were well below the national average. This position is very similar to the last inspection. However, the results show a general trend of improvement. Standards are above average when compared with similar schools, which have more than 50 per cent of free school meals.

p.46

MATHEMATICS

185. Inspection evidence confirms the above standards. A close analysis of the data shows that pupils who have remained at the school from the infants attain satisfactory standards. Boys’ and girls’ standards are similar. Some of the bilingual pupils make rapid progress with their learning over a relatively short period of time in the school. Although most pupils are making satisfactory gains in their learning, some are capable of achieving higher standards; for example, in several classes work for the higher attaining pupils is not challenging enough. The underachievement is closely related to the quality of teaching and the frequent changes of the teaching staff, as in the current Years 2 and 6 classes.

p.46

MATHEMATICS

186. For the pupils in Years 1 and 2, work is focused on developing number skills such as addition, counting in twos, fives and tens, recognising random numbers and number patterns, subtraction and shape. Work gradually becomes more difficult. By the time pupils reach the end of Year 2, most are becoming familiar with numbers up to one hundred. There is good emphasis in the teaching of developing mathematical language; for example, developing familiarity with the meaning of words and concepts such as 'more’ and ‘less', 'large’ and ‘small'. Bilingual learners and pupils with special educational needs receive satisfactory support and this is helping them to understand some of the more complex language such as multiples, digits and subtraction. In most classes, lessons start with mental arithmetic sessions. In a very good Year 1 lesson, the pace of the mental arithmetic session was brisk. The teacher engaged the pupils well, getting

p.46

MATHEMATICS

them to count forwards and backwards to 20 in twos using a number line. This was very effective and some pupils counted on their fingers, which helped them to see a pattern developing. However, in some lessons pupils sat for too long on the carpet; when this happens they became restless, lost concentration and at times misbehaved. When lessons were well planned, the pupils received work that was matched to their ability. For example, in Year 2, pupils of average ability sorted two-digit numbers into multiples of five whilst higher attaining pupils received more demanding work, recognising numbers over 100 that were multiples of five and ten. Alexandra Primary School - 47 187. The inspection of the pupils' work in the upper school shows that a great deal of the work consists of teaching basic number work. Decimal notation is taught when the addition of money is introduced; this knowledge is used effectively when teaching units of measurement such as litres

p.46

MATHEMATICS

and kilometres. In a very good Year 5 lesson, the teacher used the overhead projector and a clock face to teach pupils how to tell the time. Her very good explanations helped the bilingual learners to understand the use of the small and large pointers on the clock face and the associated language; for example, past and to the hour. Pupils achieved very well in this lesson. They showed their developing understanding of time by writing the answers to questions on their white boards, holding them up for the teacher to see. A pupil with autism was challenged to convert the digital time of 15:25 to analogue time. He thought about his response carefully and showed pleasure as the teacher congratulated him on answering correctly. In Year 6, the poor behaviour of several pupils impeded the progress of others in the class. In the lesson observed, the pupils were learning about area. One pupil suggested that the length and width should be added together to

p.47

MATHEMATICS

find the area whilst another thought that they should be taken away. There was far too much calling out. Some pupils were disrespectful to the teacher, answering her back and talking at the same time. Eventually most pupils learned that to find the area of a regular shape they had to multiply the length and the width. Other pupils in the same class were studying units of mass, but required a great deal of help from the support assistants and teacher when converting millilitres to litres and metres to kilometres. Their knowledge of measures was generally very weak.

p.47

MATHEMATICS

188. The National Numeracy Strategy is providing a clear structure for teachers' lesson planning. Teaching is satisfactory overall and there is a small proportion of very good teaching evident in Years 1 and 5 and good teaching in Years 3 and 4. The features of the best teaching are the detailed planning for pupils of all abilities, the good use of resources for practical mathematics and the high expectations of teachers. The weaker areas of the teaching are problem-solving and handling data. When solving problems, some pupils find that their reading skills let them down. Many find it very difficult to understand just what the questions are asking them to find out. A particular area of weakness is using and applying mathematics in other subjects of the curriculum. Little use is made of graphs, the interpretation of data in science and the use of timelines in history. An area where mathematical knowledge and understanding are well used was

p.47

MATHEMATICS

in a dance lesson when pupils counted and moved to the beat of the country music. The school has not considered using computers to communicate and display findings in tables and charts. ICT was not seen being used during the inspection and there was little evidence found in pupils' books. Insufficient thought has been given to using ICT to help bilingual learners and pupils with special educational needs to develop basic mathematical skills and concepts. The scrutiny of pupils' work shows that teachers' marking is often unsatisfactory; pupils are ill informed of how to improve their work or present it better.

p.47

MATHEMATICS

189. The co-ordination of mathematics is good. Since the last inspection, the monitoring of teaching and learning has improved and the school is working closely with the local education authority numeracy consultant to improve the quality of teaching. This is beginning to have an impact and standards are rising. Assessment procedures have been improved and pupils are being tracked more carefully as they move through the school. The weakness in assessment is the analysis and use of the data available to the school to inform teachers' planning. Classroom support assistants are satisfactorily used; most have clearly defined roles and work closely with the teachers. There has been satisfactory improvement since the last inspection.

p.47

SCIENCE

190. The results of National Curriculum tests for Year 6 pupils in 2001 were well below the national average and very few pupils reached the higher levels. This is similar to the standards reached at the time of the last inspection. These results are also below average in comparison with those of similar schools. Since the last inspection there has been a general trend in improvement in the standards recorded in the national tests. Boys did slightly better in science than girls, but in the latest tests this has evened out. Achievement over time is satisfactory, but standards could be higher. This is because of:

p.47

SCIENCE

• the high proportion of pupils who are mobile, which lowers overall standards; Alexandra Primary School - 48 • the high numbers of pupils who are still learning English and have difficulty explaining concepts in English, who are not always ready to grasp the language necessary to understand a scientific idea well; • teachers who do not always follow the scheme of work in a systematic way and so understanding is not built up step by step.

p.47

SCIENCE

191. Pupils in Year 6 carried out investigations into gravity and the effects of differing masses on the stretch of elastic bands. They made simple observations and recorded these on charts or in simple graphs. Their work on ‘Light and Shadows’ has been very similar to the work carried out in Year 3 and this has restricted their progress over time. Year 5 pupils have been investigating liquids and considering hypotheses and prediction. They tried to make their tests fair, but are still experiencing difficulties in considering more than one variable. Their work on forces has included air resistance and friction and they recognised when forces are balanced or not. They are beginning to carry out investigations with care and accuracy and are learning of the need to ensure that tests are fair. Pupils in Year 4 are experimenting with growth. They take delight in watching their beans and cress grow and are regularly measuring the rate of the growth of their

p.48

SCIENCE

bean shoots. They proudly displayed their work in assembly. This contributes to their personal development in helping to raise their confidence and self-esteem. The limited recording of science work has an overall impact on achievement over time. Standards are affected by the over emphasis on worksheets. Pupils are given few opportunities to design their own experiments or record their work in a scientific way using appropriate vocabulary and diagrams.

p.48

SCIENCE

192. Standards in teacher assessments for pupils in Year 2 in 2001 were well below the national average, particularly among pupils reaching higher than expected standards. Younger pupils knew that pushes and pulls are types of forces and that shadows change when light moves. They learned about food groups and what makes a healthy diet. Good consideration was given to those pupils who speak limited English with packets of food being used as a visual resource and the specialist ethnic minority achievement teacher taking the lesson. Pupils made simple observations, but were unwilling to attempt any explanation, however tentative, for these observations. Their problems in this area, however, reflect their difficulties with using English for purposes beyond their immediate experience. Standards in Year 2 have also been affected by staff turnover. Standards reached by all pupils are limited by weak presentation of work. Often,

p.48

SCIENCE

work is unmarked and there are few comments that show pupils how to improve their work.

p.48

SCIENCE

193. Teaching seen was satisfactory for pupils in all year groups. Only one unsatisfactory lesson was seen during the inspection. In the best lessons, teachers have good subject knowledge, use questions effectively, pace their lessons well and have high expectations of the pupils in terms of behaviour and learning. This enables pupils to work for sustained periods of time, carry out tests accurately and achieve appropriate standards. Where teaching is less effective, time in lessons is not used well and the behaviour of pupils is not well managed. This was particularly evident when a significant minority of boys in Year 6 spent too much time misbehaving and not completing their work.

p.48

SCIENCE

194. Most pupils respond well to their science lessons, listen carefully to their teachers and work well together. They answer questions well, speaking clearly and confidently with an accurate use of scientific language. There is, however, a small minority of pupils who, in spite of the teachers’ efforts, do not behave well, call out during lessons and do not concentrate on their work. Their general lack of appropriate social skills and acceptable levels of good manners is having a negative affect on their own and others’ learning and places an unreasonable strain on their teacher.

p.48

SCIENCE

195. The school is now using a commercially produced scheme of work and all aspects of the National Curriculum for science are successfully addressed, but, at the moment, there is no deliberate development of skills other than those related to the procedures of fair testing. The planning of the curriculum does not focus sufficiently on the development of knowledge and understanding systematically or build pupils’ investigative skills year by year using well chosen practical investigations. Generally science makes insufficient contributions to literacy and numeracy. Pupils write about their work and use reference books well when they need to, but such Alexandra Primary School - 49 opportunities are limited. Similarly, pupils use their mathematics knowledge in using graphs, but these are frequently not interpreted and few conclusions are drawn from the data. There is poor use of ICT to support the subject. The school grounds and local environment are underused.

p.48

SCIENCE

Assessment is not consistently used to help pupils to improve their work and set targets for the future and results from the national tests are insufficiently analysed to help to raise standards.

p.49

SCIENCE

196. Co-ordination is unsatisfactory and there has been unsatisfactory improvement since the last inspection. There is insufficient monitoring of teaching and learning. There are sufficient practical resources for science in the school, but insufficient textual resources. The subject makes a satisfactory contribution to the pupils’ social development through opportunities to work together and share resources.

p.49

ART AND DESIGN

197. Since the last inspection, standards have been maintained and are average for pupils in Years 2 and 6. There are a few instances where pupils attain above average standards; for example, the work in Year 3 on relationships, which is closely linked to personal, social and health education.

p.49

ART AND DESIGN

198. During the inspection, it was only possible to observe one part-lesson in Year 2. The judgement made about pupils’ attainment is therefore based mainly on the scrutiny of pupils' work and conversations with teachers and the subject co-ordinator. The pupils' work covers all the attainment targets in the National Curriculum, but a very limited range of media is used. The majority of work is being done in powder paint or water colour. A little work was seen in charcoal and pastels, but the range of work is limited because the resources for art are poor. There is a satisfactory range of three-dimensional work such as the Greek vases in Year 5 and the papier mâche tree in the hall, which is being made with the help of a student. The evidence from work on display and a scrutiny of pupils’ work indicates that teaching is good overall. Teachers plan well and often link their work to other subjects. Examples of this are the Year 2 symmetrical paintings

p.49

ART AND DESIGN

of butterflies and ladybirds that support the work done in mathematics and the paintings of Celtic crosses and brooches in Year 4 related to work in history. The displays of pupils’ work around the school are good. Their work reflects the multicultural nature of the school; for example, masks linked to study of black history and designs of Christmas cards in the main entrance. There is some evidence of the use of ICT such as the fish pictures in Year 4, but computers are an underused resource. More thought needs to be given as to how they can be used in art.

p.49

ART AND DESIGN

199. The pupils in Year 3 were learning about how different types of relationships can be depicted through photographs and works of art. Good teaching encouraged them to express their opinions and feelings. This helped the pupils to develop their English language skills as well as their appreciation of art. In a good lesson, pupils looked at Monet’s painting of the 'Bathers at La Grenouillère' and contrasted the costumes with those worn today. Good, probing questioning by the teacher enabled them to look at the different shades of colour and contrast the foreground and background of the picture. All pupils tried hard to incorporate some of the ideas in their drawings when they sketched figures from photographs. One pupil produced a high quality pencil drawing, showing the relationship between a man and his dog. Pupils with special educational needs were well supported and participated fully in the lesson. In Year 5, pupils were sketching different types

p.49

ART AND DESIGN

of containers. Good teaching, enabled three higher attaining pupils to make their sketches of a milk churn, plant pot and milk bottle more realistic by adding shading, which produced a rounded effect to the objects. Year 6 pupils were given the task of designing a hat for a character in a story. However, they achieved little because their behaviour was very poor, so much so that the teacher was unable to control them. Several pupils were very disrespectful towards the teacher.

p.49

ART AND DESIGN

200. The management of art is good. Teachers do not keep a portfolio of pupils’ work to record pupils’ achievements and use them to help to plan more challenging work. The school has yet to produce a policy for art; this is unsatisfactory, because it was an issue at the time of the last inspection. The school acknowledges that assessment is an area for further development. There has been satisfactory improvement since the last inspection.

p.49

DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

Alexandra Primary School - 50 201. No lessons were seen during the inspection as art and design was the focus for work in many of the lessons on the timetable. A limited amount of previous work was available for examination. Planning and displays were scrutinised and discussion took place with the co-ordinator of the subject. Judgements about standards have been made from the limited work on display as the school does not save or photograph work. On the basis of this evidence, standards are below average in Years 2 and 6 and achievement is unsatisfactory for pupils of all abilities in all years except Year 1. Standards in relation to the previous inspection report have declined in Years 2 and 6. As no lessons were seen it is therefore not possible to make a secure judgement on the quality of teaching and learning.

p.50

DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

202. It is evident from the examples of work produced by pupils that they mainly work on some aspects of designing and making artefacts using a range of materials. Their work is more closely related to art than to technology. In Year 1 pupils make puppets using paper plates and various materials. In Year 2 pupils use wood, plastic and cardboard to make their ‘Materials Totem Pole’, which cannot be bent. In Years 3 to 6, pupils continue to make artefacts ranging from paper flowers, photo frames, pop-up books, money containers and model Tudor houses. However, there are examples of work in Years 4 and 5 where pupils have to design, evaluate and modify their work in the light of their evaluation. For example, the pupils in Year 5 designed and made musical instruments and evaluated the selection of materials used for performance. Pupils are developing skills in cutting, joining and finishing to make a range of models and artefacts, but do not know how to make

p.50

DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

models using pneumatics, levers or pulleys. However, making and finishing skills are below average and the design process is only partly used. No evidence of appropriate levels of research, accurate measurement or development through evaluation was seen in the work sample during the inspection.

p.50

DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

203. Subject leadership is unsatisfactory. The curriculum is still under development. It meets statutory requirements as it is based on the National Curriculum. Resources are unsatisfactory and do not support the subject for control technology or computer design and therefore have a negative impact on standards. The school needs to consider saving samples of graded work to help teachers to make assessments and raise standards, particularly in Years 3 to 6. Accordingly, since the last inspection, improvement has been unsatisfactory.

p.50

GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY

204. Standards in geography and history are below average in Years 2 and 6. During the inspection, history and geography were on the timetable and history was observed in Years 2, 4, 5 and 6 and geography in Years 1, 3, 4 and 5. However, there was not a sound body of work available in either of the subjects to suggest that pupils have been taught these subjects systematically since the beginning of the school year.

p.50

GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY

205. The last inspection judged that standards in geography in Year 2 were average, but standards in history in Years 2 and 6 and geography in Year 6 were below average. Evidence from this inspection indicates that standards remain below average in history in Years 2 and 6 and in geography in Year 6. Standards in geography in Year 2 have deteriorated.

p.50

GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY

206. In both these subjects, pupils’ achievements are unsatisfactory by the end of Years 2 and 6. This is because there are weaknesses in the curriculum. While the school uses the nationally recommended schemes of work to support teachers’ planning and agreements about what will be covered during each year, there is no agreement about how historical and geographical skills will be developed as the pupils’ progress from year to year. This is because the school has rightly concentrated its efforts on raising standards in English and mathematics and has not yet agreed how pupils will be able to practise what they have learned in the literacy and numeracy lessons in history and geography. Although pupils learn satisfactorily in lessons, they do not build skills and concepts year-on-year and, consequently, do not achieve over time. Pupils with special educational needs and those with English as an additional language also make unsatisfactory

p.50

GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY

achievements, along with their peers. Alexandra Primary School - 51 207. The pupils in Year 2 develop their skills of historical investigation through studying old household objects of the past. They show an understanding of the concepts of ‘old’ and ‘new’ by comparing an old iron or a bed warmer with the modern one they use at home. They are learning to use words and phrases related to the passage of time, ‘a long time ago’, ‘long long ago’ and ‘now’ and ‘then’. They are also learning to represent the past through drawing and labelling pictures in words and short sentences. There are gaps in their skills and knowledge related to the passage of time and famous people. In Year 1, the pupils learn about the past through looking at old toys and comparing them with their favourite toys. The pupils from Years 3 to 6 develop an understanding of chronology by drawing timelines for different periods in history. They learn about peoples and

p.50

GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY

societies of the past and their impact on present day societies through studying the Vikings, Egyptians and Ancient Greeks. In a very good lesson in Year 5, the pupils contrasted the present day Olympics with the ancient Olympic Games. This showed their understanding of Ancient Greece, which they had developed through research. This good learning is not systematically developed and retained. By Year 6, only the higher attaining pupils are able to collect information from a range of sources and draw conclusions about the life at sea during the Tudor time. The pupils’ extended writing in history is not developed for all abilities due to their weaknesses in language and literacy.

p.51

GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY

208. The pupils in Year 2 know different kinds of homes; they can use terms such as ‘flat’ and ‘bungalow’. They also know how to get from their home to school. The standard of their work is not appropriate for their age. In Year 1, the pupils show an awareness of their local area and plot on a simple route where they live and what they see on their way to school. Some of the pupils know special features in their area such as the nearby Alexandra Palace.

p.51

GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY

209. In Years 3 to 5, the pupils learn satisfactorily in lessons, but their knowledge, understanding and skills required for studying a range of places and themes are not sufficiently developed by the time they are in Year 6. In Year 3, the pupils study weather around the world and the effect of weather on human activity. In Year 4, the pupils study about a village in India or carry out a class survey of how they spend their leisure time. The pupils in Year 5 study the water cycle and sources of water. They also develop appropriate geographical terms in looking at whether the High Street should be closed to traffic. From Years 3 to 6, there is very little evidence of map work.

p.51

GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY

210. The quality of teaching in history and geography is satisfactory. Teachers have a secure knowledge of the subjects and plan their lessons satisfactorily with available resources. They provide tasks that are well matched to the needs and interest of pupils. The strength of the most successful teaching was the planning to meets the needs of all groups of pupils through appropriate activities. Most of the geography lessons observed were based on pupils’ experiences of the world; for example, the pupils in Year 3 located the places they had visited on the globe or collected information on their favourite holiday places. Pupils show interest and enthusiasm for the subject. In history, teaching offers pupils the opportunity to develop skills of investigation. The pupils in Year 4 are learning to ask historical questions through planning research questions in literacy. Although teachers have begun to identify subject-specific words, they are not taught

p.51

GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY

consistently. Teachers generally know their pupils well and manage them satisfactorily.

p.51

GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY

211. The coverage in history was identified as an area for development in the last inspection and is still not systematic. The school has developed policies for history and geography since the last inspection. There are other weaknesses. The school does not keep samples of work to help teachers to make judgements about pupils’ progress. Resources are generally adequate in history, but unsatisfactory in geography. Limited use is made of ICT to support pupils’ learning in both subjects.

p.51

GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY

212. Leadership of the subjects is unsatisfactory and at an early stage of development.

p.51

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

213. By the end of Years 2 and 6, pupils’ attainment in ICT is well below average. Pupils’ achievement is unsatisfactory because teachers’ subject knowledge is weak and the computers with which the school is resourced are insufficiently used. The school does not comply with statutory Alexandra Primary School - 52 requirements because there are currently no opportunities for pupils to use control systems and manage programmable robots.

p.51

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

214. By the end of Year 6, standards are well below average, only the most able pupils, some of whom have computers at home, achieve acceptable levels in some aspects of computer literacy when compared with the national expectations. Skills in communicating through text and imagery are satisfactory only for some pupils, whilst skills in handling data and control are poor. Standards are also affected by insufficient opportunities to use ICT being incorporated into planning, limited time spent teaching skills and the inefficient use of the computers available.

p.52

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

215. Younger pupils are gaining confidence and enjoy using the keyboard and the mouse. However, they lack an appreciation of the value of ICT and do not understand the impact of technology upon their everyday lives. With the exception of word-processing and simulation packages, pupils have only a limited knowledge of the facilities within the program they are using. The higher attaining pupils in Years 1 and 2 can communicate information by making good use of the word-processing program; for example, when redrafting work in English. They can change the colour and size of the font to enhance the appearance of the text. By the age of seven, pupils are still developing their control skills when using the keys and the mouse to direct the cursor around the screen. This is well-below what is expected by that age. Higher attainers, when using an art program, can create attractive pictures using a variety of tools. With the help of an adult they save, access and print

p.52

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

their work. Pupils can control tape players to listen to stories and some use tape recorders to record their ideas.

p.52

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

216. Older pupils are not taught on a regular basis and do not all have regular turns on the computers in the classroom. Some pupils in Year 6 have never had a turn. Some aspects of each Programme of Study sometimes appear in other curriculum areas. For example, in geography, some pupils used the CD-ROMs to research information about rivers. In science, they found out about the body using an appropriate program. However, opportunities for pupils to use ICT skills across the curriculum for the purposes of data-handling, monitoring and modelling are insufficient and affect learning in these areas. Pupils used a word-processing package in their English work to write ‘headlines’ for a newspaper. They were confident when calling up the program from the ‘contents’ screen and used the centre, space and backspace keys appropriately. They used the mouse competently and switched between upper and lower case letters with ease. However,

p.52

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

insufficient use is made of computers for pupils with special educational needs and those for whom English is an additional language. A computer is not available for their use for research in the library. Higher attaining pupils are insufficiently challenged and do not forge ahead fast enough in their learning.

p.52

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

217. Pupils are enthusiastic about all aspects of ICT, but in discussions, few indicate that they have regular access to computers at home. They show real pleasure such as when they retrieved the appropriate information in an adventure game. Parents and pupils appreciate the newly acquired hardware and supporting software. Pupils are keen to exploit every given opportunity to use it. They work sensibly and carefully at the machines and higher attainers often help and support the less experienced pupils.

p.52

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

218. The quality of teaching is unsatisfactory because teachers do not incorporate ICT into their planning as a whole and most lack sufficient expertise. The scheme of work is not being followed closely and this results in pupils being unable to build on new skills as they progress from year to year. The potential provided by the resources in the classrooms are seriously underused and pupils are given insufficient time to learn and practise new skills. There are no resources to teach control and the digital camera is rarely used.

p.52

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

219. Most teachers lack ICT expertise and offer activities that are not always relevant or at the required level to build on pupils' prior learning. For example, pupils in Year 4 worked with an adventure program during their science lesson, instead of using the computer to aid their science learning. There is insufficient monitoring of the attainment of individual pupils to assist the planning of activities to match their needs. The absence of a systematic check in every class means that there is no guarantee that all pupils receive regular, sufficient and effective access to computers. Alexandra Primary School - 53 220. The leadership and management of ICT are unsatisfactory. This was a key issue in the previous inspection and improvement in the past four years has been unsatisfactory. The school has made improvements in resourcing, but progress on implementing the action plan has been too slow. Addressing and completing the staff training and using all the available resources to their full

p.52

MUSIC

221. During the week of the inspection, there were limited opportunities to observe music education, particularly in the oldest classes. Owing to the new guidelines for the core subjects, less time has been spent on music and it has been blocked with other foundation subjects. The profile of the subject is not high enough. This has had a detrimental effect on the quality of learning in all year groups, since the previous inspection.

p.53

MUSIC

222. Standards in Years 2 and 6 are below average. Pupils throughout the school have not reached standards that are in line with pupils of similar ages and their achievement over time is unsatisfactory. The emphasis in the lessons has been on singing and simple performance with untuned percussion instruments. Other elements of the National Curriculum, such as the use of ICT, understanding musical vocabulary, appraisal of music from different times and cultures, have been limited. The range of opportunities provided for the pupils does not sufficiently enhance their personal and spiritual development.

p.53

MUSIC

223. The quality of singing, from both boys and girls, is average throughout the school. They sing enthusiastically in music lessons, assemblies and school performances. By the end of Year 2, pupils have a wide singing range, pitching higher notes with accuracy and producing a well- rounded vocal tone. By the end of Year 6, pupils successfully hold an independent vocal line when singing in two-part harmony. The regular opportunities provided by the class teachers in Years 1 and 2 for singing during the lessons, further develop pupils’ musical confidence. For instance, special needs pupils were heard learning the letters of the alphabet through singing a catchy song and all the pupils sing hymns in a weekly assembly. By the end of Year 2, pupils successfully integrate musical accompaniments into songs. They improve rhythmic and melodic ideas that effectively match given moods. They do not understand concepts such as pitch, duration and

p.53

MUSIC

texture and they do not use these words with confidence when discussing music. By the end of Year 6, pupils have not developed well-controlled playing and listening skills. Their learning has been restricted through limited time spent on music education. The Year 5 class, sing a range of well known songs such as ‘London’s Burning’ and ‘Three Blind Mice’ in a round. However, they only used non-pitched instruments in a very basic way. Higher attainers are not successfully challenged through being given harder melodic parts on pitched percussion. Other pupils, including those with special educational needs also played simpler parts, using non-pitched instruments.

p.53

MUSIC

224. Pupils’ attitudes to learning and their behaviour are good. They enjoy lessons, contribute very well to practical sessions, where they play and sing and listen attentively to the music that is played to them. They express views and opinions about the music they hear. They use equipment safely and sensibly and return items to their proper place at the end of lessons. They work well in small groups as they prepare compositions and performances, such as the musical, end of term concerts.

p.53

MUSIC

225. Only three year groups were seen during the inspection, for short periods of time and no overall judgement of teaching can be made on the basis of these alone. In a very good lesson, the teacher made good use of the commercial scheme that involved pupils in researching from books the origin of the instruments. Other teachers made good use of their cultural origins by teaching their pupils American and African songs. Limited use is made of available instruments, with pupils of all ages using the same instruments. The electronic keyboards were not used. Teachers provide limited opportunities for the pupils to listen to the work of other composers and when music is played in the assemblies, it is not referred to. There is limited work comparing the differences between music from other cultures. The teachers have low expectations of the pupils Alexandra Primary School - 54 and do not encourage a discriminating response to heard music or a thoughtful use of available

p.53

MUSIC

resources in composition and performance work.

p.54

MUSIC

226. There is no written work by the pupils and this makes assessment difficult, not only for individual pupils, but also to ascertain the progress year by year.

p.54

MUSIC

227. Subject co-ordination is unsatisfactory. There has been unsatisfactory improvement since the last report due to the general lack of emphasis on the subject and insufficient monitoring to ensure that all intentions are carried out in every class. The low profile of music throughout the school is confirmed by the fact that no pupil is supported in learning a musical instrument, there are no music clubs and that the recorder group has been discontinued. However, productions at Christmas and Harvest enable pupils to come together to use their musical expertise. Opportunities are missed to promote pupils’ spiritual, cultural and multicultural awareness through music.

p.54

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

228. Standards in physical education are below average in Year 2. Since the last inspection, standards in Year 6 have been maintained and standards are average. A few pupils attain standards that are high for their age, but in some classes higher attaining pupils are not challenged enough. Pupils with special educational needs are included satisfactorily in lessons and most pupils achieve satisfactorily.

p.54

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

229. Pupils in Year 1 were developing their co-ordination. They listened carefully to instructions and followed the teacher’s lead when warming up. They responded well to the tambourine moving slowly in big steps and then faster as the rhythm was increased. Good teaching ensured that the pupils were kept very active and good management enabled successful teamwork when working in pairs. The teacher used pupils successfully to demonstrate the skills involved in throwing and catching bean bags. In another class, the pupils showed real enjoyment as they participated in a country dancing lesson. It was taught by the Chair of Governors who was accompanied by his friend on the harmonium, with the class teacher assisting. The lesson built very successfully on previous learning; for example, pupils quickly formed a Circassian Circle, found a partner and followed the music as they moved in and out of the circle. The very good accompaniment and

p.54

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

demonstrations by adults helped pupils to develop timing as they swung their partners and promenaded around the circle. The higher attaining pupils were mostly girls and they demonstrated good rhythm and steps as they moved to the Alexandra Jig. In Year 2, the pupils warmed up satisfactorily, hopping, skipping and jumping. Sound questioning helped most pupils to realise the effect exercise has on their bodies. However, not all pupils were attentive and the lesson gradually deteriorated, becoming very noisy. The pupils were not kept active enough because the teacher was unable to control them effectively; this resulted in a great deal of time being wasted. Pupils in this class have yet to develop the necessary social skills to work co- operatively in a group.

p.54

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

230. Satisfactory teaching in a Year 4 lesson, helped the pupils to model different asymmetrical shapes. The teacher and pupil demonstrations were particularly effective in helping the lower attaining pupils to understand what was required of them when travelling on the apparatus. The higher attaining pupils were able to show good quality symmetrical and asymmetrical shapes; this helped others to think about their own performance and how they could improve their movements. The pupils are being satisfactorily trained to get out and put away the apparatus, but are far too noisy when doing this. In Year 5, the lesson had to be held indoors because of the inclement weather. The pupils were developing their skills of holding a racquet and striking a ball. Again, in this lesson the teacher used the pupils satisfactorily for demonstration purposes; for example, how to move forwards, backwards or sideways to be in the best position to strike the ball. Pupils

p.54

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

in Year 6 were not observed swimming during the inspection, but records from the previous year showed that by the end of the school year the majority could swim 25 metres.

p.54

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

231. Most pupils dress appropriately and change quickly for their lessons. However, in Year 2, some pupils were observed participating in a lesson wearing their school clothes. This is unsatisfactory Alexandra Primary School - 55 as well as being unhygienic. The pupils enjoy physical education and most are keen and eager to participate in lessons. However, in some classes pupils do not listen carefully enough and chatter far too much; this wastes time by having to stop lessons and remind pupils of how to behave.

p.54

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

232. The quality of teaching is satisfactory overall. Of the five lessons observed, two were good, two satisfactory and one unsatisfactory. The features of the best teaching were the warm-ups at the beginning of lessons, the use pupils for demonstration purposes and good subject knowledge enabling skills to be well taught. In the unsatisfactory lesson the main weakness was a lack of control that led to unsatisfactory pupil behaviour.

p.55

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

233. The management of physical education is satisfactory and has improved satisfactorily since the last inspection. The school is following the national guidelines and has purchased a set of commercial lesson plans for all classes. The subject is being co-ordinated on a temporary basis and currently the opportunities for extra-curricular sport are limited; for example, there is no inter- school sport. The Year 6 pupils usually visit the outdoor pursuits centre at Pendarren, but this was cancelled last year due to the outbreak of foot and mouth disease.

p.55

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

234. Assessment is an area that requires further development. Insufficient thought has been given to the use of ICT; for example, the use of a camcorder and digital camera to improve and record pupils' performance.

p.55

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

235. Standards in religious education are below average in Years 2 and 6 and there are significant gaps in pupils’ knowledge and understanding. Provision does not meet the full requirements of the Haringey Agreed Syllabus for the subject, because pupils have very little knowledge and understanding of Islam, Judaism, and Hinduism. There has not been satisfactory improvement since the last inspection as this was a key issue.

p.55

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

236. The overall quality of teaching and learning are unsatisfactory. Analysis of pupils’ work shows that very little has been recorded since the start of the school year. There has been some work on Judaism, Hinduism and Christianity, but the work does not progress in difficulty as the pupils move up the school. For example, pupils have studied the Christmas story, but there are only minor differences in the detail in different year groups. Pupils in Year 6 have some knowledge of ‘Bible’ stories commonly taught to younger children, such as the story of ‘Joseph and his brothers’ or the parables of Jesus, but have more limited knowledge of the world’s leading faiths. There is very limited use of religious objects from a variety of faiths, both in teaching and display. Teaching varied from unsatisfactory to very good in the few lessons seen during the inspection. Strengths in the teaching include good opportunities for pupils to extend their biblical knowledge

p.55

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

through the study of the events leading up to Easter. Pupils were made aware of the feelings of Jesus through his betrayal and were asked to compare this with their own experiences. There was good progress made by pupils with special educational needs and those pupils for whom English is an additional language, when they discussed the meaning of words such as ‘confused’ and ‘betrayed’. One higher attaining pupil asked the question, ‘How can Jesus be the son of God if Joseph was his father?’. Younger pupils learned the meaning of celebration when they were visited by a former member of staff and her new baby. There was good provision for spiritual development in the wonder of a new baby and the creation of life. Weaknesses in teaching include insecure subject knowledge and poor behaviour management. The limited use of artefacts and visual aids makes a significant impact, particularly when pupils are in the early stages of English language

p.55

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

acquisition. For example, it was difficult for pupils in Year 2, to understand the Passover story when words like, ‘locusts’, ‘hail’ and ‘yeast’ were used, although, they did enjoy eating the matzot (unleaven bread).

p.55

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

237. Co–ordination of work across the school is unsatisfactory. Teachers do not yet assess pupils against the attainment targets of the Locally Agreed Syllabus. This leads them to planning work that is not always matched to pupils’ needs, including the needs of higher attaining pupils. Work in religious education does not make an effective enough contribution to pupils’ literacy skills. Pupils do not have enough opportunities to write independently and too much is copied. Work is Alexandra Primary School - 56 not always recorded and there are fewer displays than for other subjects. There are too few links between religious education and the literacy hour and limited use is made of computers in teaching the subject. There are too few resources for learning and pupils have too little contact with visitors from faiths other than Christianity. The co-ordinator is new to the role and has devised a plan for action that needs to be incorporated into the school improvement plan.

p.55