Summerhill Infant School

SUMMERHILL INFANT SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 10 th – 13 th June 2002

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SUMMERHILL INFANT SCHOOL

Inspection number: 230767 Full inspection carried out under section 10 of the School Inspections Act 1996 This report may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that all extracts quoted are reproduced verbatim without adaptation and on condition that the source and date thereof are stated.

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SUMMERHILL INFANT 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. Summerhill Infant School - 3

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Clouds Hill Road St George Bristol

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: The Governing Body

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Name of chair of governors: Mr Peter Banks

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: December 1997 Summerhill Infant School - 4

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Aspect responsibilities

21596 Andrew Clark Registered inspector Mathematics Information and communication technology Design and technology Physical education Special educational needs What sort of school is it? How high are standards? How well are the pupils taught? How well is the school led and managed? What should the school do to improve further?

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Aspect responsibilities

9884 Maureen Roscoe 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? 11976 Heather Toynbee Team inspector English Geography How good are curricular and other opportunities?

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Aspect responsibilities

11816 Geoff Jones Team Inspector History Religious education 22261 Barbara Doughty Team inspector Science Art and design Music The Foundation Stage English as an additional language

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Aspect responsibilities

Schoolhaus Ltd Suite 17 BPS Business Centre Boughton, Nottinghamshire NG22 9HQ

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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:

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Aspect responsibilities

The Complaints Manager Inspection Quality Division

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Aspect responsibilities

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE Summerhill Infant School - 5

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 7

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

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HOW HIGH ARE STANDARDS? 11

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

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AREAS OF THE CURRICULUM, SUBJECTS AND COURSES 27

Summerhill Infant School - 6 Summerhill Infant School - 7

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Summerhill Infant School is about average size with 262 boys and girls on roll. It is in the north-east of Bristol and most of the pupils come from areas close to the school. Pupils come from a mixture of rented and some owner-occupied accommodation. At present approximately 17 per cent of pupils are eligible for free school meals, which is broadly average. In previous years this has been a higher percentage. About five per cent of pupils speak English as an additional language, which is high. The percentage of pupils on the register of special educational needs is above average at 25 per cent, including two pupils with a statement of special educational needs. The school has recently had significant changes to the staffing in Years 1 and 2, including the deputy headteacher, who has just been appointed. Children’s attainment on entry to the school is below that typical for their age.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

Summerhill Infants is a good school that gives good value for money. The leadership and management by the headteacher, key staff and governors are very good. The quality of teaching and learning is good and, as a result, pupils of all abilities make good progress. Consequently, the pupils do well to reach standards which are as good as they are nationally.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

What the school does well • The pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is excellent. • The youngest children in reception are well prepared for the rest of their schooldays because of the very good provision and opportunities to learn through observation and exploration. • The overall quality of teaching and learning is good. • The high quality of leadership and management creates a very good ethos for pupils to learn in. • Pupils’ behaviour is very good and classrooms are well managed. • Pupils with special educational needs make good progress.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

What could be improved • The standards of pupils’ handwriting and the presentation of their work. • Continuing to raise standards in all subjects as well as maintaining the keen focus on English and mathematics. The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan.

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

The school has made good improvement since the last inspection in December 1997. Standards of pupils’ work have improved and the quality of teaching and learning is higher. The provision for science, information and communication technology (ICT) and geography is now good and standards have risen. Steps to measure how well pupils are doing in subjects other than English and mathematics are in place, but do not yet have an impact in raising standards. There is now an appropriate balance between subjects. Summerhill Infant School - 8

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STANDARDS

The table shows the standards achieved by pupils at the end of Year 2 based on National Curriculum test results.

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STANDARDS

Performance in: all schools similar schools Key

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STANDARDS

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

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STANDARDS

Pupils of all ability make good progress from when they start school because of the good teaching. They make good progress because of the good quality of teaching and learning. Standards in reading, writing and mathematics were average in 2001 when compared with national test results. They are above the standards of similar schools and well above for reading. Although there have been year-on-year variations, results have risen at least as well as they have nationally since the last inspection. The school has had particular success in improving standards for lower attainers so that almost all pupils reach the level expected for their age. Pupils with special educational needs and those with English as an additional language also make good progress. High attaining pupils are challenged by their work and also make good progress.

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STANDARDS

The standards of work seen for current pupils are good for speaking and listening and for reading. They are average for writing. Pupils read fluently and independently. They explain their ideas clearly and listen carefully because of the teachers’ good questioning. Pupils write for a wide range of purposes but handwriting is not always well formed and of consistent size. Standards of mathematics are average overall. Pupils are good at explaining the strategies they use and solving problems. Standards in science are average and progress is good. Pupils have a good understanding of how to conduct an investigation and record their results. The standards in ICT are sound and pupils have good basic skills. Standards are good in physical education and history. They are average in other subjects.

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STANDARDS

The children make good progress in the reception classes. The very good teaching often inspires them. By the time they start Year 1 most pupils are working at expected levels for communication, language and literacy, mathematics, knowledge and understanding of the world, creative and physical development. The children’s personal and social development is good so they are well prepared for the next stage.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Attitudes to the school Very good. Pupils are thoughtful and attentive. They have high self-esteem as a result of the very good ethos for learning.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Very good. Pupils are considerate to each other and polite. Pupils with identified behaviour problems are managed well.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Personal development and relationships Very good. The pupils take responsibility and learn to share and co- operate with others. There are excellent relationships through the school.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Attendance This is below average and affects the progress some pupils make.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

The warm and challenging ethos of the school promotes very good attitudes and behaviour. The pupils’ awareness of others is very good. The attendance of a small number of pupils is unsatisfactory. Summerhill Infant School - 9

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

Teaching of pupils in: Reception Years 1 – 2

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

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

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

The quality of teaching and learning is good overall. The teaching of English is good and very good for mathematics. This is because of strong planning guidance and a good pace to lessons. The skills of literacy and numeracy are generally well taught as teachers question pupils closely and provide good opportunities for reading and writing. However, the teaching of handwriting is not systematic or thorough enough. The teaching in the reception classes is very good because the new team are very aware of the attainment of the children and plan for all areas of learning well. The reception classrooms are very bright and challenging. The planning throughout the school is a significant strength, clearly identifying what pupils of all ability will learn and the activities to challenge them. In the excellent lessons, teachers maintain a brisk pace whilst allowing pupils plenty of opportunity to discuss their working strategies. As a result pupils are eager to learn and work at a

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

good pace. The lessons make pupils of all abilities think very hard. The teaching of pupils with special educational needs and those with English as an additional language is good as work is planned in suitably small steps and support assistants are well prepared and trained. Teachers provide good opportunities for pupils to co-operate and take the initiative. As a result pupils become good independent learners.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

The quality and range of the curriculum Good. Learning in all subjects is very well planned for and good emphasis is placed on literacy and numeracy. There is a good range of activities for pupils’ out-of-school time.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

Provision for pupils with special educational needs Very good. Teachers plan very good activities based on an accurate assessment of pupils’ needs. Support staff are well trained.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

Provision for pupils with English as an additional language Good. Lessons are planned carefully for pupils’ needs and the school uses the resources of outside agencies when required.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural, development Excellent. The school’s motto ‘Rise to each challenge – shine with success’ is central to the ethos and promoted at every opportunity. There is a strong sense of awe and wonder in collective acts of worship and pupils are given very good moral guidance. The pupils learn about their own and other cultures through many subjects.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

How well the school cares for its pupils Staff are very caring and there are good procedures to ensure pupils’ welfare. There are very good systems to measure pupils’ attainment in English and mathematics and they have a positive impact. Assessment is not as well developed in other subjects.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

There is a good partnership with parents. They are kept well informed about their child’s progress and are warmly welcomed into the school. The curriculum meets statutory requirements and there is now a good balance between subjects overall, although more use could be made of time in the morning to teach subjects other than mathematics and English. The curriculum for young children in reception is very good, incorporating all areas of learning. The teaching staff are very aware of the individual needs of the pupils and work closely as a team to offer all pupils the best. Summerhill Infant School - 10

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

Leadership and management by the headteacher and other key staff The headteacher provides an excellent sense of direction for continued improvement. The new deputy headteacher and other key staff provide very good support.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities The governors have a very good awareness of the school’s strength and weaknesses. They are very well informed by working closely with subject leaders and other staff.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

The school’s evaluation of its performance There is detailed analysis of a wide range of test results and other attainment data. The monitoring of lessons is systematic and informative and teachers regularly monitor pupils’ work. The guidance for this does not place enough emphasis on handwriting and the presentation of their work.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

The strategic use of resources There is very good use of high quality resources for English and mathematics. The new ICT suite is used regularly, although not enough use is made of classroom computers. The classrooms are attractive and thoughtfully used.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

Staffing levels are good and support staff are deployed well. There are sufficient good quality resources for most subjects. Accommodation is satisfactory. Displays are good and very good in reception as they both celebrate pupils’ achievement and provide interesting challenges.

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PARENTS’ AND CARERS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

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PARENTS’ AND CARERS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

• Children enjoy school • Teaching is good • The school is well led • The children become mature and responsible. • Homework • Activities for out-of-school time.

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PARENTS’ AND CARERS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

The inspection team fully endorses the parents’ positive views. The team does not agree with the parents’ concerns. Opportunities for extra-curricular activities are better than those normally found in infant schools. Homework makes a good contribution to children’s learning as teachers set interesting and regular tasks in many subjects. Summerhill Infant School - 11

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

1. Pupils of all abilities achieve well. Standards are below average when they start school and they attain the national average by the end of Year 2. Although there have been some year-on- year variations the trend of improvement has been at least as good as it has nationally. In 2001, the most recent year for reported test results, standards were above those of schools in similar circumstances.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

2. Achievement in the reception classes is good and children make good progress towards the levels expected for their age. This is a direct result of very good teaching and improved provision. By the time the children start in Year 1 they have established a firm foundation for future learning. The majority of children are working at the expected levels for communication, language and literacy, mathematics, knowledge and understanding of the world, creative and physical development. Children with special educational needs also make good progress towards the challenging targets set for them. The team of teachers is newly established and provision for this stage has been a priority for development. The success of this is evident in the progress that current children are making.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

3. An important feature of the improvement in standards is in that of the less able and those with special educational needs. There are few pupils who are working at levels below that expected for their age by the end of Year 2. The teaching carefully targets the needs of these pupils and their earlier learning is successfully built upon.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

4. Speaking and listening skills are above average and achievement is good for all abilities. Most pupils answer questions in clear sentences and listen attentively to teachers and other pupils. They respond well to the good opportunities provided.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

5. By Year 2, test results in 2001 were average overall but well above those for similar schools. The standards of the pupils currently in school are above average and pupils make good and sometimes better progress. By Year 2 pupils read fluently and with independence. The more able read with lively expression.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

6. In 2001 test results in writing were also average nationally and above those of similar schools. Few pupils failed to reach the standard expected for their age. In common with many schools, not many pupils exceed this level, although they did in reading. The current pupils in Year 2 are attaining average standards and there is evidence of more able pupils working at higher levels. Pupils write for a good range of purposes and often with imagination. Most basic skills are taught well both in English and other subjects. The pupils’ handwriting standards are not high enough. There is not sufficient focus on this through all lessons. Consequently, too many older pupils are printing with some ill-formed letters that look untidy. Standards in spelling, whilst not weak, are not as high as they could be because teaching relies heavily on the learning of key words and basic spelling patterns. It does not allow enough opportunities for pupils to find out

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

for themselves and make enough use of dictionaries or banks of words.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

7. Test results in mathematics in 2001 were average overall. They were above those of similar schools. Very few pupils failed to reach the level expected for their age and the percentage of pupils attaining higher levels was broadly average. The current pupils are also at average levels. The pupils of all ability achieve well. They are particularly adept at thinking quickly when given mental calculations such as sums in the two and ten times table. They also use a good vocabulary to explain their thinking. The very good teaching in most classes helps to develop these skills. Summerhill Infant School - 12 8. Standards in science have improved well since the last inspection. They are now average overall with many strengths. In particular, pupils have a good understanding of how to conduct an investigation and record their results. They sort and organise data well. Pupils show good independence in their work.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

9. There is no significant difference in the attainment of boys and girls over time. The few pupils with English as an additional language make similar progress to their peers. None of these pupils is at an early stage of English language acquisition. When required the school has sought external help. However, there is often sufficient support within the school.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

10. Pupils with special educational needs are given carefully targeted support based on carefully planned small steps. For example, the planning for a particular pupil involved being able to ‘select two objects which were related, such as a bucket and spade’ and eventually to match the number of objects to the correct digit.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

11. Standards in ICT are average overall and this is a significant improvement since the last inspection. Pupils are developing good skills in using computers, and control events on the screen. They make good use of handling data in science and in creating artwork. However, skills are not yet significantly contributing to learning in English and mathematics and some other subjects. This is partly because not all the available time in the suite is being used effectively and classroom computers are underused.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

12. Standards in physical education are above average, particularly for games’ skills. This is because of the very good planning by the subject leader and some specialist teaching for the older pupils. Standards in history are above typical levels by Year 2. Pupils have a good understanding of change over time.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

13. The standards in art and design, design and technology, geography and religious education are average. There was not enough evidence to make a judgement on overall standards in music. Although standards are at least satisfactory in all subjects, the school is now well placed to improve them still further by applying the keen focus that has been given to English and mathematics.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

14. Pupils’ attitudes, behaviour and personal development are very good because all, including those with special educational needs, display very positive attitudes towards their learning. Their response to the lessons observed was never less than satisfactory, and sometimes it was excellent. Pupils really enjoy their lessons and other learning experiences and this helps them to take full advantage of what the school provides.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

15. The school is a happy, colourful place, where pupils have respect for each other and behave very well. This is a much improved picture when compared to that of the previous inspection, except for levels of attendance which are now slightly below average.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

16. Pupils’ attitudes to school are very good. They rush through the doors each morning eager to start the activities laid out ready for them. They listen well in lessons and assemblies, and because their participation is actively encouraged they answer and ask questions with a good degree of reflection. Pupils offer mature evaluation of their own work, and they take pride in their achievements. This was clear in a Year 2 numeracy lesson where pupils were quick to recognise their progress using ‘number fans’. The majority of pupils concentrate for long periods. They enjoy the atmosphere of challenge posed in many lessons by the inspirational teaching, which sometimes is rewarded by pupils whooping in sheer delight and excitement.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

17. Pupils’ behaviour is usually very good and sometimes excellent in and out of lessons. Rarely, where pupils are unsure of what is expected of them in lessons, behaviour can be less than good. The system of behaviour management practised consistently by all staff has a positive Summerhill Infant School - 13 effect on the standard of pupils’ behaviour. They are considerate of others’ feelings. This is evident in the way pupils treat staff, peers and visitors with courtesy and consideration. Pupils do as they are asked and rise to what adults expect of them. They move about the school calmly, and, because social and moral issues are promoted very well, pupils know and keep the ‘golden rules’.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

18. Relationships are excellent. Staff and pupils enjoy one another’s company, and girls and boys work in pairs easily, without fuss. High levels of collaboration are seen as pupils work with a ‘speaking partner’ in assemblies and lessons, for example. They work purposefully in small groups too, such as when identifying the power source on battery-operated toys in Year 1.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

19. The majority of parents who returned the questionnaire agreed that their children enjoy school and work hard. Most parents feel that behaviour is good. Inspectors feel these comments are fully justified.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

20. Personal development is very good because it is planned for and actively encouraged by asking pupils for their opinions and help, in and out of the classroom. Independence is expected and well supported by good classroom organisation. This helps pupils make sensible choices when getting resources or putting them away. Pupils are learning to share their thoughts willingly, such as in assembly when setting out on an imaginary sea voyage. Levels of personal initiative – reflecting kindness and awareness of others’ needs and feelings – are very high. Comments pupils make show this, such as, “Oh sorry. If we hadn’t been chasing her she wouldn’t have tripped”, and a child in reception declaring that “he was a star”, then turning to help a friend struggling with a mathematical capacity problem.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

21. Pupils enjoy their posts of responsibility as ‘VIPs’. They patiently wait for their turn to enjoy all that this privileged role brings.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

22. Attendance levels are below the average, and the school is taking positive steps to address the problem. The school has asked parents to resist taking children out of school for holidays, and aims to work towards increasing attendance levels using its recently established monitoring systems. The majority of pupils are brought to school on time. Registers are well kept and meet all requirements.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

23. Teaching and learning are good throughout the school. Teaching is very good in the reception classes. The quality of teaching and learning has improved since the last inspection, particularly in English and mathematics. The good planning and close teamwork mean that teaching is of a consistent quality. A high percentage of lessons observed during the inspection were very good or excellent. Only a small percentage were less than good. 24. There are many strengths to the teaching common throughout the school. These include:

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

• Very good lesson planning. The team of teachers in a year group devise plans from detailed schemes of work. They are particularly effective because they clearly identify what pupils of different ability are expected to know, do and understand and the teaching methods to use to achieve this. The plans also identify the vocabulary teachers want pupils to learn. The subject leaders regularly monitor the curriculum plans and this increases their effectiveness. • Good introductions and ends to lessons. The purpose of lessons is clearly explained to the pupils, who are involved from the start. The teachers grab the pupils’ attention by a range of techniques. For example, in mathematics in Year 2, the teacher used a quick-fire quiz using different number lines to get the pupils thinking mathematically from the start. The time at the end of lessons is very effectively used to help pupils understand their own and

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

others’ achievement and to stimulate further thinking. This has been a target for development in the school. Summerhill Infant School - 14 • The good use of guidance from the National Strategies for Literacy and Numeracy to structure lessons and make effective use of time. • Teachers question pupils closely and explain ideas well to them. This is effective in science. Pupils develop a good understanding of how to conduct experiments and initiate ideas themselves. • The majority of lessons are well paced to keep the pupils interested and motivated but also allow time for them to practise what they have learned and retain information. • Teachers’ expectations for pupils to work hard and achieve good standards are generally high, but realistic. As a result, pupils work enthusiastically and diligently.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

25. The quality of teaching and learning in English is good. The quality of teaching and learning in mathematics is very good because of the pace of lessons and very effective use of the National Numeracy Strategy to guide teaching. A particular strength in the teaching of mathematics is very speedy and purposeful mental work at the start of most lessons which helps pupils to retain important facts and to think quickly and with accuracy. The basic skills of literacy and numeracy are generally taught well in other subjects. For instance, there are many good examples of different types of written work in history and religious education, such as note taking and précising. Punctuation is well taught. However, not enough attention is paid to pupils’ handwriting. It is not systematically taught and marking does not provide sufficient guidance for its improvement.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

26. Teaching and learning in the reception classes are very good. This is a result of very strong leadership by the co-ordinator and close teamwork. All aspects of teaching and learning are considered. For example, displays of work are not only attractive and reflect the children’s hard work, they also set challenges for them to think about. The lessons are very well planned so that activities match the children’s needs well. There is imagination and fun in lessons and children are motivated. For example, the use of puppets and soft toy characters gives a focus for children’s concentration. Relationships are very good and teachers and other staff work well together.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

27. In the excellent teaching across the school, the teachers maintain a brisk pace to the lessons. They are carefully planned to meet the needs of individual pupils. The pupils are very clear about what they need to do to succeed in the lesson and are motivated to try hard. Learning is based on first hand experience.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

28. In the infants, the needs of different pupils are met well in the majority of lessons. Teachers identify pupils who are particularly able and provide them with work that is more challenging, rather than more laborious. This results in well-motivated pupils who are eager to learn. This is very evident in mathematics and science lessons, when there is often opportunity for pupils to experiment and investigate.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

29. Pupils with special educational needs are taught well. There is very good liaison between teachers and support staff who work with particular pupils or groups of pupils. This means that support staff are well informed about the lesson and give those in their care every opportunity to experience a full curriculum. The management of pupils with identified behavioural difficulties is very good. Support staff are very patient and use good techniques to help these pupils confront their problems and choose to behave better. However, some temporary teachers use inappropriate techniques to gain pupils’ attention, such as talking too loud.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

30. The few pupils with English as an additional language are taught well and they make similar progress to their friends in most subjects. They are supported well in class and fully involved.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

31. The teaching of ICT skills is satisfactory. Pupils are effectively introduced to new ideas and given time and opportunity to build on their skills in the ICT suite. Teachers are largely confident in the use of computers. However, the subject is not yet fully integrated into teaching and learning in other subjects. Summerhill Infant School - 15 32. In the satisfactory lessons and the one poor lesson, the teachers kept the pupils listening passively for too long. They became restless and subsequently lacked the motivation seen in most lessons. The management of pupils was not effective enough. These lessons were often taught by temporary teachers.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

33. There are strengths in the marking of pupils’ work, particularly in English, because targets are set for improvement and achievement is fully recognised. However, marking is inconsistently used through the school, particularly to improve handwriting and general presentation. Homework is used well. For example, even when no formal work is set, pupils are given special things to think about and then asked about them the next day.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

34. The very good relationships and management of pupils contribute well to good learning. Pupils try hard and work at a good pace. They are often eager to share ideas and explain their reasoning. In mathematics and science, they work with good levels of independence.

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PUPILS?

35. At the time of the last report there were several areas identified for improvement within the curriculum as a whole. The school has successfully addressed many of these and, as a result, overall progress since the last report has been good. However, elements of assessment in some subjects, and a more appropriate balance of time for geography and history, have still to be addressed. Since the last inspection, an improvement in the time allocation to science has led to the now good standards observed in this subject.

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PUPILS?

36. Children in the reception classes have a very stimulating, well-balanced and varied curriculum that helps them learn very well. Teachers in these classes plan all the experiences with great thought and very effectively meet the needs of all children. Pupils in the infants are taught all National Curriculum subjects and religious education, fully meeting statutory requirements. The school has used national guidance effectively as the basis for improving its planning and as a result it has established a good curriculum. It ensures that pupils build on their knowledge, skills and understanding year by year as they move through the school. The time allocated to geography lessons is used well, but is not yet sufficient for pupils’ ideas to be recorded in any great depth.

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PUPILS?

37. The inspection team agrees with the great majority of parents who feel that the school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. Pupils have good opportunities to be involved in out-of-school events. These include clubs for football, music and other interests such as circus skills and Spanish. The curriculum is enriched by a series of visits to places of interest such as the local museum and zoo and, further afield, to Clevedon and the seaside. The local area, including the park, is used as an effective resource during geography lessons. A strength of the school is the number of visitors who are invited to share their expertise with the children, giving great enjoyment and considerably widening the pupils’ experience. These people include a storyteller, a theatre group and musicians playing multi-cultural instruments.

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PUPILS?

38. The school has successfully implemented the National Strategy for Literacy. Over the past few years this has had a positive effect upon raising standards from below the national average to being at least in line in comparison to all schools nationally. The very strong emphasis on reading and writing is promoting good progress in both of these areas. However, as pupils grow older, a cursive style of handwriting does not develop satisfactorily and the presentation of work often lacks sufficient care. The National Strategy for Numeracy has been introduced well by the school. Grouping by ability within lessons has ensured that all pupils learn at their own pace and this has improved the effectiveness of teaching numeracy skills. As a result, the pupils’ ability to use mathematics to investigate and solve problems has improved since the last report. Summerhill Infant School - 16 39. Presently, pupils’ literacy and numeracy skills are used satisfactorily to support work in other

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PUPILS?

subjects and this is an aspect that the school plans to further develop through cross-curricular links.

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PUPILS?

40. Provision in the new computer suite has greatly enhanced the school’s learning resources for ICT, but these facilities are not yet fully in use. The use of computers to support teaching and learning in the classrooms is not as well developed as it might be. The school is aware of the need to develop this aspect of its work and has good plans for improvement.

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PUPILS?

41. Across the school, there is very good provision for pupils’ personal, social and health education. These issues have a high profile in the curriculum. The school has achieved ‘Schools for Health’ status, which gives it access to a range of good, supportive materials for learning. Sex and health education and the dangers of drug misuse are taught mainly within the science curriculum. In addition, the school makes good use of outside agencies, for example the school nurse and the community policeman, to support its work. Assemblies, individual opportunities and class discussion sessions are used extremely effectively to focus on personal and social issues such as friendship and self-worth. The school truly lives up to its main aim, emblazoned throughout the building, which is ‘Rise to each challenge - Shine with success’.

p.16

PUPILS?

42. The school is excellent at including all pupils and is firmly committed to ensuring all have full and equal access to all aspects of school life. There is very good provision for pupils with special educational needs and those for whom English is an additional language.

p.16

PUPILS?

43. The school is very successful in establishing and maintaining links with the wider community. There are good links with individuals and leaders of different religions, including Christianity and Judaism. Liaison with the local Sikh Temple is particularly strong and, because several pupils belong to this faith, this is especially useful. A local firm encourages members of its staff to become Book Buddies at the school. These come into school in their own time to hear individual children read, providing valuable extra support for pupils. Residents who have lived in the neighbourhood for a long time are invited to share their memories with the pupils and some bring in old artefacts they own. These contributions are particularly useful in geography and history lessons and bring these subjects to life for the pupils. Members of the police force are involved in school initiatives and make a valuable contribution to aspects of personal,

p.16

PUPILS?

44. The school has a good relationship with its partner institutions. Liaison with the junior school is given particular importance at the age of transfer and this helps pupils to settle more easily when they move there. The headteachers and special educational needs co-ordinators from each school meet on a regular basis and there are valuable links already in some subject areas. These initiatives all help to establish a useful continuity and consistency in teaching and learning between the two schools. There are good links with the local Beacon school to develop collaborative learning in science. Shared exemplar practice and expertise have proved beneficial in giving staff fresh ideas about, for example, art techniques. Children enter the reception classes confidently because close links have been established with nurseries before the children start school.

p.16

PUPILS?

45. The previous report found that the provision for pupils’ social and moral development was good and that satisfactory provision was made for their spiritual and cultural development. There has been a great improvement since then and, overall, the provision is now excellent. The school’s extremely high aims and values are reflected in every aspect of its life. The very good spiritual development of pupils is carefully and sensitively nurtured not only through assemblies but also within other areas of the curriculum. Assemblies provide many high quality opportunities for pupils to reflect on deep issues about their own and other people’s lives. They successfully explore values and beliefs through well-planned themes. In one assembly on the theme of ‘Journeys’ the headteacher spoke of things outside children’s experience, describing the vastness of the ocean and a tiny boat bobbing up and down on the

p.16

PUPILS?

Summerhill Infant School - 17 waves. Using props she brought the situation to life and encouraged the children to use their senses to imagine sounds, situations and atmosphere beyond their own knowledge and to have special thoughts about God’s World. For a few moments the pupils were transported elsewhere in a relaxed and spiritual silence. In some assemblies, the children are encouraged to talk and listen to each other or to celebrate together other pupils’ successes. On all these occasions pupils sing tunefully and enthusiastically with a real feeling for the words. They sometimes burst spontaneously into song as they leave the hall to some well-known piece of music. Due to the exceptionally strong emphasis the school places on children caring for each other and the many ways that it uses to raise their self-esteem, the pupils show a great respect not only for themselves but also for others. Across the curriculum, pupils experience

p.17

PUPILS?

many instances when a sense of awe and wonder is evoked by a beautiful or amazing experience. A photograph showing a child’s face as she watches a butterfly emerging from a chrysalis and another of a boy enjoying the scent of a rose, are evidence of this. As part of their work in science, children in the reception classes have great fun blowing bubbles and are greatly impressed with their size and the way in which they float away.

p.17

PUPILS?

46. Overall, the behaviour of the pupils is very good and this is largely due to the school’s excellent provision for moral development. It is upheld by the school’s highly positive policies for behaviour and dealing with bullying and enhanced by a good partnership between school and parents. The school has a very good system of rewards that encourages pupils not only to work well but also to behave and care for others. Some awards are particularly innovative in nature, such as one for the quietest table during a dinnertime, and pupils respond very well to these. All the adults working in the school carry out sanctions with extreme consistency. Pupils feel these are fair, as they are well aware of, and understand, the principles that distinguish right and wrong. Very good classroom management is constantly reinforced by the display of class rules that the teacher has agreed with the pupils.

p.17

PUPILS?

47. The provision for pupils’ social development is excellent. Many opportunities are taken in assemblies, in class discussions and in religious education, to develop pupils’ skills in this direction. The very strong caring atmosphere in the school, and the excellent relationships that everyone has with each other, all contribute to pupils having a kind and thoughtful approach to everything and everyone. In many subject areas, the pupils collaborate well in pairs and in groups, sharing their ideas and helping each other to achieve a good result. In discussions, older pupils have progressed beyond just sharing their experiences with each other and then verbally reporting back on their personal thoughts. They now listen carefully to what they are told and are happy to put forward their partner’s views and ideas rather than just their own. Pupils take responsibility very well when required to do so. For instance the monitors very

p.17

PUPILS?

proudly take the registers to the office. The system in each classroom whereby one pupil is a VIP for the day enhances this sense of responsibility. On that day each must set his or her own challenge for improvement in classwork and later show some evidence that this has been met. The social skills shown by pupils at dinner time are good. Inspectors eating with the children found pupils could carry on sensible and appropriate conversations and look after their ‘guests’ well. Pupils show great politeness to each other. When one girl sneezed loudly in a numeracy lesson a boy said “Oh, bless you”, to which the reply was “Thanks”.

p.17

PUPILS?

48. The work of the school is considerably enriched by a curriculum that is used well to widen pupils’ awareness of their own rich heritage and that of others. This ensures that the provision for pupils’ cultural development is very good. Through history, geography and religious education lessons, pupils learn about events, places and customs both in the present and the past. This work is enhanced by visits to places of interest and by interesting visitors to the school, including a theatre group presentation about the life of Florence Nightingale. Pupils gain a wide knowledge and appreciation of the work of famous artists and learn about the music of different composers and musicians. They are introduced to music from European and ethnic cultures, as well as popular music such as ‘Let’s Work Together’ at the end of a sharing assembly. Pupils are invited to events which take place at the junior school. These

p.17

PUPILS?

include a music and dance session by pupils from the local secondary school and a boogie concert put on by the Bristol Music Service. Pupils from different cultures and backgrounds Summerhill Infant School - 18 play and work extremely happily together side by side in the school and all are made to feel valued. In assemblies and religious education, pupils learn about the customs and beliefs of other faiths, such as Judaism and Sikhism, as well as those of Christianity. Links with people of different faiths and a variety of places of worship greatly benefit this area of provision. Good displays of books and artefacts around the building, but particularly in the new library area, capture pupils’ interest and reinforce the school’s very good cultural values.

p.17

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

49. The school’s provision for the overall care of its pupils is good. The procedures for the monitoring of academic performance and personal developments are very good. Educational and also personal support for pupils is very good. These areas have improved since the previous inspection.

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

50. The school provides a friendly and supportive environment where staff show tender dedication to pupils. Tolerance and respect for all, regardless of background or gender, are taught and learnt well. This is achieved through the implementation of agreed good practices which promote the best interests of pupils, raise self-esteem and make a positive contribution to the progress pupils make.

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

51. There are strengths in the way the school promotes and recognises good behaviour. Pupils know class and school ‘golden rules’ and the majority follow them because they are brought regularly to their attention in subtle ways. Good behaviour and improved effort are monitored and promoted well through a good system of rewards or praise, and appropriate sanctions where necessary. Midday assistants provide constant care and encourage children in their games and friendships. The school deals with instances of unkindness positively by supporting well the pupils involved and maintaining intolerance towards all types of bullying.

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

52. Child protection procedures are followed effectively. Pupils’ health and safety are promoted well through aspects of the personal, social and health education curriculum and attention paid to first aid treatments and hygiene standards. Statutory requirements relating to health and safety are met in part. The school is aware of the need to extend the scope of its procedures for risk assessment, which are currently under-developed.

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

53. Pupils with special educational needs have very good support and are well catered for. They make good progress as a result. Very good procedures are in place to monitor and support pupils’ personal development. Parents have regular times for hearing about the progress their children have made.

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

54. Tighter monitoring systems for attendance and punctuality have been introduced and are having some impact on the below average levels of attendance. Targets have been set to help focus the school’s approach to improving attendance levels.

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

55. Parents are pleased with the good level of care provided and report that it results in their children becoming confident learners and responsible individuals. Inspectors agree.

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

56. The school has a good partnership with parents because many parents make a good contribution to their children’s learning at school and at home. Many parents described their positive views about the school and what it provides. This is an improvement since the previous inspection when this aspect of the school was judged satisfactory. 57. Parents are invited through the prospectus and at regular meetings to be as involved in their children’s education as they wish. The response to the questionnaire and at the meeting reflected a good level of loyalty and support for most of the school practices. Most parents feel welcome to approach staff with their concerns or suggestions. Some parents are less positive about homework and the provision of activities outside lessons. Homework is regularly Summerhill Infant School - 19 provided and there are various after-school activities during the year. Some parents would

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

welcome information on how to support their child’s learning at home.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

58. The quality of information provided for parents is good, as are the annual reports on pupils’ progress, which describe areas for further development. Many parents appreciate the friendly, frequent newsletters they receive. There is scope for enlivening the prospectus and extending the range of information for each class, because not all parents feel they are kept sufficiently well informed. There are some omissions from the governing body’s annual report to parents, which need addressing.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

59. The good links with parents show in their close involvement with the school, and confidence in the pastoral care system. They see the improvements this brings to their children’s attitudes and behaviour. Parents of children with identified special needs are actively encouraged to attend the annual or informal reviews of progress. Parents respond very well to such invitations to these and other school-based events. There is an active Friends Association which raises considerable funds for the school and provides, through its social occasions, a good link with the community. Parents and staff are justifiably proud of the adventure play area that their joint effort helped to produce. These positive relationships with parents have not been sufficiently exploited to good effect in reducing absence rates so that the school’s targets for attendance can be reached.

p.19

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

60. The leadership and management are very good. As a result, the school has many very good features and has made good improvement since the last inspection despite significant staff changes. The headteacher and new deputy headteacher are an effective team, providing a clear direction for improvement with enthusiasm and careful strategic planning. They receive very good support from the key staff, who fulfil their roles with enthusiasm and purpose. The governing body governs very well.

p.19

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

61. The headteacher leads through careful planning and very good management systems. She has very high expectations of all staff and provides strong structures to enable them to fulfil their roles. She knows staff and pupils well through a good range of monitoring procedures. This enables her to manage this large school effectively. She acts as a very good role model through excellent acts of collective worship and a significant contribution to teaching. There is very good delegation of responsibilities. Subject leaders make a good contribution to school improvement. This is achieved by clear job descriptions supported by systems for monitoring and evaluating achievement. Staff are given responsibility for financial management of their area and reasonable time is allocated to manage this. As a result, the professional development of staff is very good. Specific areas for improvement, such as the development

p.19

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

of core skills, or behaviour, are often managed through teams. They work within a precise framework of activities and monitoring. This means that management time is used purposefully and often reviewed. The procedures for observing pupils’ work and raising teacher expectation are not as strong in some subjects which have not had the focus given to English, mathematics, science and ICT.

p.19

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

62. A strong feature of the school is the ethos for learning based on the school motto, ‘Rise to each challenge – shine with success’. This is prominently displayed throughout the school and frequently referred to in ways which are meaningful to pupils. The headteacher and staff use it well to give the pupils a sense of identity and pride in their achievements.

p.19

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

63. A strength in the planning for further improvement is that it is shared with all interested parties and this increases its success. It is displayed for parents in the main entrance way in an eye- catching and simple way. The minutes of the governors’ meetings are also openly available to staff. This has had a positive impact in creating the school’s unique ethos. The priorities for improvement are appropriate. Summerhill Infant School - 20 64. The subject leaders for English, mathematics and science fulfil their responsibilities very well. The priority given to these subjects is very high and the subject leaders respond with enthusiasm. For example, they use time and funds well to evaluate the teaching and learning in their subjects thoroughly through direct observations and analysis of work. They produce detailed reports suggesting areas for improvement, such as the development of procedures to

p.19

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

assess pupils’ progress in English. They make sure that the teachers have good quality resources for teaching and give good guidance on their use. The subject leaders respond quickly to weaknesses that are identified in the monitoring. A common weakness that has been identified is the pupils’ use of ICT skills in different subjects and this has become a focus for development, which is already showing promising signs. Other subject leaders are also effective. For example, the standards in physical education are a direct outcome of the detailed and good quality planning that the subject leader provides alongside very good support for staff.

p.20

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

65. The governing body is very involved in the school and in shaping the direction it takes. Commitment to improvement is very high. There are well-structured meetings allowing time to be focused on the school’s identified needs as well as initiatives and communications from external sources, such as the local education authority. The headteacher provides a very detailed report on all aspects of the school’s work. This includes regular feedback from subject leaders and detailed analysis of tests and other monitoring procedures. The governors react quickly to any concerns and devote energy to their resolution. They discuss issues in depth and make useful suggestions for improvement. This provides good support to the headteacher in her management of staff. The finance committee meets regularly and receives good information on the school’s current financial situation. This enables the governors to manage the finances well and to assign funds where they are needed most. Individual

p.20

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

governors are linked to different subject areas and they take these responsibilities seriously. They are very well informed and make a good contribution to school improvement planning. The governors linked to special educational needs and other issues for inclusion are very well informed.

p.20

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

66. The school’s self-evaluation and analysis and use of information are good. There is a wide range of assessments and tests used for English and mathematics. Subject leaders evaluate them in detail and the headteacher monitors closely the overall patterns of progress. This is translated into steps for action and targets for improvements for each year group. These are used well in the school improvement plan so that, in all practical cases, the criteria for success are accurately measurable. The headteacher also gathers the views of all members of the school community, such as parents and pupils, through questionnaires and regular discussions. Although pupils’ work is monitored effectively, there is a tendency to focus on too narrow an area. As a result some important aspects of pupils’ learning, such as handwriting and general presentation, are not monitored closely enough through other subjects. This has

p.20

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

67. There is good management of special educational needs. Teachers are fully involved in assessing pupils’ abilities and planning for their needs. The funds available for pupils with a statement of special educational needs are used well to ensure that there are good levels of trained adult support. The special educational needs co-ordinator provides good support, particularly in ways of managing challenging behaviour. Resources are very good and support staff make a significant contribution to the achievement of these pupils.

p.20

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

68. The induction of new teachers and other staff is very well managed. The headteacher monitors progress and provides very good support. She sets realistic targets for newly qualified teachers to meet and ensures the resources and time are available for them to succeed.

p.20

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

69. Staff are deployed well. There is a very strong team structure and team leaders are part of the management system. They play a significant role in ensuring continuity in planning and in the Summerhill Infant School - 21 development of teaching and learning. As a result of this teamwork the expectations of pupils are uniformly high and basic skills in almost all subjects are very well taught. The teaching assistants are well trained and highly valued. This contributes to the success in the teaching, particularly in reception and for special educational needs. There are many opportunities for staff to take initiative and contribute to improvement. This has been a significant factor in minimising the negative impact of staff changes, which have affected almost all year group teams. Resources are good and maintained well. The accommodation is satisfactory and is used well. The bright and well-maintained classrooms make a good contribution to pupils’

p.20

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

learning. Very effective use is made of the limited space for physical education and for lunch- time games. The school has a specialist area for ICT.

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

70. The focus on improvement has been largely, and appropriately, on the core subjects of English, mathematics, science and ICT and on provision for the youngest children. The school is now well placed to look towards the development of other subjects to give the pupils a richer learning opportunity still. For example, although assessment procedures are now in place for all subjects, they are not yet used to drive up achievement in other subjects, particularly for the most able. There are also short periods of time in the mornings between lessons which tend to be used for further English opportunities. There is scope to explore the use of this time to develop other subjects as well.

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

71. The school has very clearly defined aims that are based on the development of the whole child. Through skilful management and enthusiastic leadership these are effectively achieved. As a result of the very good leadership and management, the school gives good value for money and is very effective. Summerhill Infant School - 22

p.21

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

72. In order to improve standards further the headteacher, staff and governors should:

p.22

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(1) Improve standards of handwriting and general presentation by: • ensuring progress in handwriting is systematically planned for; • promoting good standards of handwriting in all subjects; • monitoring the quality of handwriting in pupils’ work in all subjects; • raising teachers’ and pupils’ expectations for careful presentation of work in all subjects. (Paragraphs: 6,25,38,96,107)

p.22

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(2) Continue to raise standards in the non-core subjects by: • implementing rigorous and realistic assessment procedures to make sure that teachers know how well pupils are doing and can plan work to challenge them fully; • review and revise as required the use of time through the school day, particularly in the morning, to ensure every opportunity is taken to promote learning in the non-core subjects. (Paragraphs: 13,35,36,61,120,124,129,145)

p.22

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

As well as the key issues, the governing body should also consider the following lesser issues for inclusion in the action plan

p.22

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

Using ICT in other subjects (Paragraphs: 11,40)

p.22

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

Taking all possible steps to improve attendance (Paragraphs: 22,59) Summerhill Infant School - 23

p.22

Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 27

p.23

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactor y Poor Very Poor

p.23

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

The table gives the number and percentage of lessons observed in each of the seven categories used to make judgements about teaching. [When the total number is substantially less than 100, add] Care should be taken when interpreting these percentages as each lesson represents more than two] percentage points

p.23

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 265

p.23

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 44

p.23

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 2

p.23

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 66

p.23

Information about the school’s pupils

English as an additional language No of pupils

p.23

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with English as an additional language 12

p.23

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils

p.23

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 12

p.23

Information about the school’s pupils

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

p.23

Attendance

National comparative data 5.6 National comparative data 0.5

p.23

Attendance

Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. Summerhill Infant School - 24

p.23

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

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 1 for the latest reporting year 2001 46 38 84

p.24

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

National Curriculum Test/Task Results Reading Writing Mathematics

p.24

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

Boys 39 41 42 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 36 38 38

p.24

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

Percentage of pupils School 89 (82) 94 (86) 95 (88) at NC level 2 or above National 84 (83) 86 (84) 91 (90)

p.24

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

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

p.24

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

Boys 39 43 43 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 37 36 36

p.24

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

Percentage of pupils School 90 (85) 94 (89) 94 (85) at NC level 2 or above National 85 (84) 89 (88) 89 (88)

p.24

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

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

p.24

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – Caribbean heritage 0 Black – Caribbean heritage 0 0

p.24

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – African heritage 0 Black – African heritage 0 0

p.24

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Any other minority ethnic group 17 Other minority ethnic groups 0 0

p.24

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

This table refers to pupils of compulsory school age only. This table gives the number of exclusions of pupils of compulsory school age, which may be different from the number of pupils excluded. Summerhill Infant School - 25

p.24

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 10.5 Financial year 2000-2001

p.25

Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 29

p.25

Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: YR – Y2 Total income 554143

p.25

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 8 Total expenditure 536341

p.25

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 219.5 Expenditure per pupil 2158

p.25

Teachers and classes Financial information

Balance brought forward from previous year 23491

p.25

Teachers and classes Financial information

Balance carried forward to next year 41294

p.25

Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers who left the school during the last two years 4

p.25

Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers appointed to the school during the last two years 4

p.25

Recruitment of teachers

Total number of vacant teaching posts (FTE) 0

p.25

Recruitment of teachers

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

p.25

Recruitment of teachers

Number of unfilled vacancies or vacancies filled by teachers on temporary contract of less than one term (FTE) 1

p.25

Recruitment of teachers

FTE means full-time equivalent. Summerhill Infant School - 26 Results of the survey of parents and carers

p.25

Recruitment of teachers

Percentage of responses in each category

p.26

Recruitment of teachers

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

p.26

Recruitment of teachers

My child is making good progress in school. 59 39 2 0 0

p.26

Recruitment of teachers

Behaviour in the school is good. 52 39 7 0 2

p.26

Recruitment of teachers

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 36 45 18 0 0

p.26

Recruitment of teachers

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 43 45 9 2 0

p.26

Recruitment of teachers

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 75 23 0 2 0

p.26

Recruitment of teachers

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 68 30 0 0 2

p.26

Recruitment of teachers

The school works closely with parents. 45 52 0 2 0

p.26

Recruitment of teachers

The school is well led and managed. 61 34 0 0 5

p.26

Recruitment of teachers

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 55 41 2 0 2

p.26

Recruitment of teachers

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 23 48 16 5 9 Summerhill Infant School - 27

p.26

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

73. The provision for the children in the reception classes is very good, and better than it was at the time of the last inspection. This is mainly because of the very effective teamwork, which ensures consistency of high quality provision across all three classes. The very effective organisation of the indoor and outdoor learning areas provides meaningful things for the children to do and learn from. Consequently, all of them usually do well during their first year in school and, by the end of reception, nearly all securely attain the early learning goals in each of the six areas of learning. This means that they are well prepared for their work in Year 1.

p.27

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

74. Children do so well in reception because of very good teaching and learning in all of the areas. During their regular planning meetings, staff talk about what children already know and use this knowledge to decide what they need to be taught next. This is so that they can plan appropriate activities for the children and, when they intervene in children’s work, know what questions to ask and what skills to develop. In addition, the classrooms are bright and colourful and full of interesting things for the children to look at and touch. Exciting learning opportunities indoors and out enable children to acquire skills, knowledge and understanding effectively through observation and exploration. These experiences are provided consistently well in all three reception classes and because of this all children make the same good progress regardless of which class they are in.

p.27

Personal, social and emotional development

75. This area of learning is promoted exceptionally well because children learn within an atmosphere of trust, responsibility and high expectation. The teachers and teaching assistants set children excellent examples of how to work with others. This results in children successfully working as part of a group or class. The daily sessions, during which children choose from a selection of activities, give them responsibility and develop their skills of independence well. Children have the freedom to explore things around the room, such as ponder at how sand trickles through the hole in a sieve and why the plastic fish always float to the top of the sealed plastic container, whichever way up it is tipped. This develops their curiosity and encourages them to ask questions about why things are as they are.

p.27

Personal, social and emotional development

76. Children concentrate and behave exceptionally well. For example, during one session, observed for over an hour, not one child was seen to go off task and excellent learning took place. Because of the trust adults place in the children, they, in turn, learn to trust each other. For example, in one lesson, six children had each made a hand puppet fish the day before. They proudly passed these around the circle so that their classmates could see how they had made them. They beamed with pride, confident that their fish would be treated with extreme care, which they were. When all of the children had seen at least one of the fish, the teacher said gently, “If you have a fish in your hand, just hold onto it for me”. Not one fish was damaged, although the children held onto them for several minutes whilst the teacher talked about another activity.

p.27

Personal, social and emotional development

77. Resources are plentiful and well labelled and this means that children can access them easily. The displays on the classroom walls celebrate children’s work well and are personalised with photographs of the children at work, with captions explaining what they are doing. Consequently, by the end of their first year in school, most children are confident and secure learners who enjoy coming to school and have a curiosity to find out more about their world.

p.27

Communication, language and literacy

Summerhill Infant School - 28 78. There is a good balance in this area of learning between teaching the formal techniques of writing, spelling and reading and the acquisition of these through play. Children are very confident readers and writers because they know how to read and spell words using their well- developed knowledge of letter sounds. They have a go at reading unknown words by spelling them out and take word lists home to learn, which help them with their reading in school. Most of the words they spell independently are phonetically plausible, such as ‘btrfliy’ for ‘butterfly’ and ‘wavs’ for ‘waves’. There are words around the room to help with spelling, but children do not make enough use of these and consequently, go on spelling many words inaccurately, even at the end of the year. For example, in one lesson, children were writing about the seaside. There were words on the wall to help them but teachers did not remind them about

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Communication, language and literacy

these or ask them to have another go at spelling words using them. As a result, children spelt many words incorrectly.

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Communication, language and literacy

79. Very good planning of literacy lessons, using work from the national teaching guidelines and the Foundation Stage curriculum, means that lessons usually move at a brisk pace. Teachers adapt the activities to suit children at different levels and because of this children make at least good, often very good, and sometimes excellent progress during lessons. For example, the teacher encouraged the brighter children in one lesson to use contextual clues and the less able to use the pictures to work out which words she had covered up on one page of a book they were reading together. In addition, teachers’ suggestions about how individual children can improve their work such as, “Use full stops”, show greater expectations for some than for others, based on what children can already do. Children write for many different purposes, such as instructions to make sandwiches, descriptions of how the beans they planted grew

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Communication, language and literacy

and changed over time, and records of events like their trip to the zoo. However, because handwriting is not taught systematically enough, words are not always consistent in size and accurately positioned on the page and this spoils the presentation of the work.

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Communication, language and literacy

80. Good opportunities for speaking and listening mean that children are good communicators by the end of the reception year. Teachers model good communication skills when they talk with children and each other. This helps children to learn how to communicate with others and consequently most of them confidently chat with classmates whilst doing their activities, discussing, for example, how many plastic fish they think will fit into their different containers and how they are going to make their treasure chest lid open and close. Teaching assistants help those children who find communicating with others difficult by, for example, sitting next to them and helping them put together answers to the teacher’s questions. This means that these children take a full part in class question and answer sessions and in general discussions, for example, during one assembly when children were talking about litter on the

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Mathematical development

81. Most children attain the early learning goals by the end of reception. This is because, as in all of the other areas of learning, activities are planned with precision and care, based on what children already know, understand and can do. This means that teaching develops children’s skills systematically over time and work is adapted appropriately to suit those who learn at different rates. This is possible because teachers take care to involve all children in the activities. They ask questions to probe children’s understanding and they and the teaching assistants watch the children carefully in order to measure their understanding and adapt the work if necessary.

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Mathematical development

82. There are lots of things around the classrooms to help the children with their mathematics work, such as number lines and things to count. There are opportunities to use money in the beach shop and some exciting activities involving filling and half filling containers with coloured water. Mathematical language is promoted well so that children confidently talk about what they are doing. Focused questions extend children’s thinking such as, “Do you think this cup filled half full will be the same amount as this (smaller) cup half full?” When filling different sized containers with different sized plastic fish, one child quickly realised that if she Summerhill Infant School - 29 exchanged the large fish for smaller ones, she would get more in her container, whilst another announced exasperated to the group, “You can’t get the sea-horse in here!” Children sat spellbound as the teacher demonstrated half filling, filling to almost full, and filling to

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Mathematical development

overflowing. “Is it getting heavy?” one asked as his classmate struggled to hold the container for the teacher as she poured more and more water into it. “It’s too full!” another exclaimed as the container overflowed.

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Mathematical development

83. Children rise to teachers’ high expectations and work hard. This is because they know what they are doing and most importantly, why. Cards on which the teachers have written, “I am looking for …” and “This is because ….” in this and other areas of learning, tell the children what is expected of them and why it is important that they work hard. Learning is fun when one teacher, for example, uses a hand puppet to help her to count the number of beads she has laid out in a row on the floor. When the puppet counts “1, 2, 3, 6” the children scream with delight and when he finally manages, after several attempts, to count successfully from 0 to 18, they applaud. In another lesson, children excitedly anticipate which number ‘teddy’ will slowly raise up from behind the board next.

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Mathematical development

84. By the time they leave the reception classes, most children confidently count up to 20 and add two sets together. They fill in missing numbers on a number line to 20 and identify one and two more than a given number. They subtract one number from another, but are not as secure with this, or as confident when finding one and two less than a given number, as they are with addition. They identify longest, tallest and shortest and create and continue patterns made with coloured shapes. However, their formation of numbers is underdeveloped, mainly because not enough is done to correct mistakes when they are made and to develop number writing systematically over time.

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Knowledge and understanding of the world

85. This area of learning is taught exceptionally well. This is because children’s work is based on learning through first hand experience, which makes it more meaningful to them and easier to understand the ideas being taught. For example, they look at real snails and watch the trail that they leave on their hands and their pieces of writing paper. “This snail ate my paper with its tongue,” wrote one child, with an arrow pointing at the hole it had made. They label their drawings of snails, developing the skill of communicating information needed later in their science work. They look at how things change over time, such as beans growing in yoghurt pots and have bred butterflies and watched them emerge from their cocoons. They have collected mini-beasts from the school grounds and looked for patterns on, for example, ladybird’s wings.

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Knowledge and understanding of the world

86. Learning opportunities prepare children extremely well for their Year 1 work in science, history, geography, design and technology and ICT. For example, teachers encourage children to always design models first before making them using the construction equipment, such as treasure chests made in one lesson, paying good attention to detail. They have explored the work of ‘people who help us’, aided by visits from the local police, fire-fighters, and the school’s lollipop person.

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Knowledge and understanding of the world

87. Computer skills are well developed. Children confidently drag and drop pictures of mini-beasts on screen to sort them, choosing their own criteria, such as those that ‘crawl’, ‘fly’ and ‘slide’. They add text to their picture work such, “It has one sting”. They know how to delete letters using the keyboard and can confidently move the cursor around the screen using the ‘mouse’. They move from one program to another and print their work by clicking on the appropriate icon. They know how to program floor robots in order to make them move in particular directions.

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Physical development

Summerhill Infant School - 30 88. Children manipulate small objects with skill and good control, such as scissors, glue spreaders and paintbrushes. They cut materials confidently when making treasure chests from cardboard boxes, for example, and join them with sticky tape or staples, showing good control. They throw and catch beanbags and balance them on different parts of their body, for example, their arms, legs and heads. They dress and undress for physical education lessons without much adult support, many of them folding their clothes neatly in a pile, ready to put on again when they return from their lesson.

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Physical development

89. Children have a good awareness of space and avoid bumping into others when running around the playground and hall. They are developing an understanding of the effect of exercise on their bodies when, for example, the teachers asked them to “Put your hand on your heart and tell me if it’s beating faster”.

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Physical development

90. Very effective lesson plans mean that children’s skills are developed systematically during lessons and over time. For example, in a creative dance lesson seen, children practised different movements in response to the teacher’s scrapes and bangs on the tambourine before putting them together in a dance sequence reflecting how water swirls and splashes, flows and drips. They moved with good co-ordination, control and imagination.

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Creative development

91. Children show good imagination in their work and play. Their models are unique because, although they are given ideas of what to do and how to do it, they usually make the choice of which materials to use and how to join them together. They show imaginative use of joining different materials in different ways such as gluing, sticky taping and stapling. Role-play areas stimulate lively talk through make-believe situations. For example, photographs of the class hospital show children entering enthusiastically into the role of doctor, patient and nurse.

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Creative development

92. Painting is taught particularly well. Children mix colours to show different tones and accurately represent what they see. This is because teachers encourage children to look at the work of famous artists and copy their style. For example, in one lesson seen, the children looked at a painting of waves. The teacher’s probing questions made them think about what the painting portrayed and how the effect of the waves rolling had been created. “Which way do you think her paintbrush went?” and “Did she put one colour blue on or lots of blues?” led to children stroking the brush in spiral movements and accurately mixing different shades of blue to create in particular the “white bubbles” made as the waves crashed on the shore.

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Creative development

93. Children’s drawings are usually accurate and well detailed. Their drawings of snails are of a high standard and the clay models they made of them show clearly how children had noticed the differences between the shapes of their different snails. Children’s computer-generated pictures contain good detail.

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ENGLISH

94. Standards are good in speaking and listening and reading, and average in writing. The great majority of pupils make good progress from below average attainment on entry to the reception classes. Each year, at the end of Year 2, only a small percentage of pupils fail to reach the expected level for their age in reading and writing. This shows that the majority of less able pupils, and those with special educational needs or English as an additional language, also make good progress and achieve well compared with their earlier attainment.

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ENGLISH

95. Speaking and listening skills are above average. Pupils enjoy the many opportunities they are given to develop these and make good progress. They are keen to be involved in question and answer sessions led by their teachers, answering clearly in sentences rather than just words or phrases. Pupils listen politely to their teachers and to the views and ideas of other children and patiently await their turn to speak. Well-planned sessions at the end of literacy lessons Summerhill Infant School - 31 provide good oral opportunities for children to share their work with the rest of the class and this helps the rest of the class consolidate their own thinking and learning. Good discussions take place in groups and pairs and such activities strongly support the pupils’ personal and social development. Pupils learn to reach agreement with regard to how they will undertake tasks and arrive at consensus decisions harmoniously. For example, in one good Year 2

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ENGLISH

religious education lesson, each pair of pupils chose a beautiful picture of a place. Together they discussed this and wrote down why they thought the photographer had taken that particular shot. In discussions, older pupils have progressed beyond just sharing their experiences with each other and then verbally reporting back on their personal thoughts. They now listen carefully to what they are told and are happy to put forward their partner’s views and ideas rather than just their own.

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ENGLISH

96. Pupils are given good opportunities to write in many forms and for different audiences and, overall, their attainment in writing is average. They use their writing skills satisfactorily in support of other subjects besides English, although in geography too little time is given to carry this out in depth. The use of computers to word process pupils’ work is under-developed. Throughout the school, basic skills are taught well. Pupils are benefiting from improved methods of teaching based on the National Literacy Strategy. These have helped all pupils make sound progress in writing. As at the last inspection, there is a great emphasis on learning phonic skills. This, together with a structured system for learning key words, helps pupils to develop appropriate spelling skills. However, children still find difficulty in writing reasonably simple words that do not conform to simple spelling patterns. They are given

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ENGLISH

insufficient opportunities to build up banks of words for personal reference and the use of dictionaries and class and group lists to locate words is under-developed. In lessons, there is a strong focus on the correct use of punctuation. Many pupils by the age of seven are secure in their use of full stops and capital letters, with more able children confidently using speech marks. Many older pupils write stories showing an appropriate structure – a beginning, a middle and an end – and use imaginative words to describe their characters or settings. Throughout the school there is a lack of emphasis on learning good handwriting skills and an attractive presentation of work. This leads to pupils by the age of seven still printing their words rather than using a cursive style and to the untidy appearance of much of their written work. The school has recognised this unsatisfactory situation. There are plans to address these

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ENGLISH

problems through a new, more closely followed, handwriting scheme and a focus on neatness as well as content.

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ENGLISH

97. Standards in reading are above the average, judged by evidence during the inspection, and pupils make good progress in learning reading skills. Again, the National Literacy Strategy has provided ways of maintaining and improving the quality of pupils’ reading experiences. Sharing books together with their teacher or another adult on a regular basis has helped them become confident and competent readers. By the time they are seven, most pupils can read with good fluency and independence with very little adult support. When they encounter unfamiliar words they are able to tackle these using a phonic approach, by looking at the pictures for clues or guessing their meaning by reading the rest of the text. More able pupils read with little hesitancy and good expression. Nearly all children enjoy reading and can talk about the books they like and why. A new and attractive reference library has been established, but is not yet

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ENGLISH

used by the pupils. At the moment, this is limiting their ability to use their reading skills to find out different things for themselves in a library situation. Many parents give valuable assistance by hearing their children read at home, but the school has no current system whereby a meaningful dialogue about difficulties and successes can take place. A well-run book club encourages parents to buy books to supplement those brought home from school and this is well supported. ‘Book buddies’ – adults employed by a local firm – give up their lunchtimes to hear individual readers and the children concerned enjoy this special help.

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ENGLISH

98. The good quality of teaching observed at the last inspection has been maintained. There are extremely clear lesson plans. These not only underpin a consistency of approach and coverage across year groups but also give valuable support to temporary or supply teachers. Sessions at the end of lessons are well focused and sufficiently long for pupils to benefit from Summerhill Infant School - 32 sharing what has taken place. They allow teachers to reiterate the lesson objectives and assess the extent of pupils’ learning. The pace of lessons is good, with each part of the hour spent on literacy clearly defined. Teachers give clear instructions about what pupils are to do and so no time is lost in asking and answering questions. This means a teacher can focus on helping a particular group, in the sound knowledge that other pupils in the class are getting on with their work. Teachers use the correct terminology and pupils are now familiar with, and

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ENGLISH

regular users of, such words as ‘phoneme’, ‘grapheme’, ‘adjective’ and ‘noun’. All teachers have good questioning skills and they receive answers in a way that enhances pupils’ confidence and self-esteem.

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ENGLISH

99. Teachers match work effectively to the capability of pupils. They group pupils of the same prior attainment together and prepare appropriate work for them. Individual needs are met effectively through targets, which are shared with pupils and for which pupils have some responsibility. This makes a significant contribution to the development of their independent learning skills and their awareness of their own learning. Teachers mark written work carefully, suggesting ways in which improvements can be made and there is a good level of verbal guidance during lessons. Classroom assistants provide very good support for the pupils’ learning and are clear about what to do in lessons, because they are well briefed by the teachers. In one good instance of this, the teacher and classroom assistant read aloud together from a Big Book. Each played different characters and obviously the activity had been rehearsed beforehand. Teachers manage their pupils extremely well and have excellent

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ENGLISH

relationships with them. Pupils are treated with great respect and their work valued, and this encourages them to do their best. As they are very clear about classroom routines and what is expected of them, pupils settle quickly to their work and persevere at completing their given tasks.

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ENGLISH

100. The governor having responsibility for literacy takes a great interest in this area of the curriculum and gives the school active support in the planning and implementation of this subject. There is evidence that the subject was well co-ordinated and managed in the past, as the National Literacy Strategy is so firmly in place in all classrooms. A recently appointed subject leader has good ideas about how she wishes to make further improvements and has already made a start on these. For instance, the school’s very good resources for literacy, which include not only books, tapes and games, but a wide variety of puppets, have been carefully audited and arranged. All teachers have easy access to these. There is an appropriate emphasis on developing the library provision so that pupils can become more independent learners. Good systems for monitoring pupils’ work and the outcomes of national tests and school assessments, together with lesson observations, enable areas for

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ENGLISH

development to be effectively identified and addressed. The school sets itself challenging but realistic future targets based on this analysis and teachers strive to meet these each year. There is no complacency and much commitment to improving standards still further.

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MATHEMATICS

101. Standards are in line with the national average by Year 2. There are very few pupils who achieve less than the expected level for their age. The pupils achieve well from when they first started school. There is strong evidence that the pupils are beginning to achieve very well in lessons as the quality of teaching and learning continues to develop. The quality of teaching is very good overall and in many classes the pupils are working at a higher standard than normally expected. Pupils of all ability are making at least good progress. Those with special educational needs are very well supported and gifted and talented pupils are challenged by the opportunities to investigate mathematical problems. There is no significant difference in the attainment of boys and girls. There has been good improvement since the last report.

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MATHEMATICS

102. By Year 2, pupils are quick and accurate in their ability to calculate mentally. They have a good knowledge of the 2, 5 and 10 times tables and solve problems well using their knowledge. They have a very good vocabulary to support their mental work and accurately answer Summerhill Infant School - 33 teachers’ questions such as “What is the opposite of a multiple?” This is because of the strong focus given to vocabulary throughout the lessons prepared for in the teachers’ planning. The vocabulary is further improved by displays of pupils’ work with key questions such as “How many ways can you say….add?”

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MATHEMATICS

103. Teachers use a good variety of strategies to improve the pupils’ learning of key facts such as the sums to 20. These include games and challenges with numberlines, number squares and ‘flip-flop’ books. Teachers make learning fun so pupils become eager to learn. There is usually a very quick pace to these activities from a prompt start. In Year 1, for example, pupils count back and forth to a hundred in 10s as the teacher builds on excitement and anticipation as a game. On the one occasion where the pace was not maintained the pupils did not respond with the same skill and accuracy.

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MATHEMATICS

104. The pupils have a good all-round knowledge of number. For example, they understand that 2 times 5 is the same as 5 times 2, which is the same as 5 add 5. They know a range of methods to calculate a half of a number and that doubling is the opposite process. They have a good knowledge of even and odd numbers. The pupils are good at explaining how and why they come up with the answers they do. This is because teachers question the pupils closely: “How do you know that?” Teachers also allow pupils time to talk about their mathematical ideas throughout the lessons and encourage them to listen to each other. This not only helps the pupils to become more able in articulating their mathematical ideas, but also develops speaking and listening skills.

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MATHEMATICS

105. The pupils make good progress in handling data. They make some effective use of computer programs for this. The pupils use tally charts to record the outcomes of their investigations. This is because the teacher first of all provides model answers by working through a few purposeful examples and then sets the pupils off to find their own information. The class work addresses increasingly complex data so pupils are well prepared for their own work. However, the brisk pace is maintained so pupils are able to spend much of the lesson on their own investigations.

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MATHEMATICS

106. Pupils work at a very good pace in most lessons. They settle very quickly to their task because activities are often practical and challenging. They make good use of dice or playing cards as counters or objects for sorting.

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MATHEMATICS

107. By Year 2 pupils have a good knowledge of shape and symmetry. They use weights and measures accurately in subjects such as science and design and technology. They generally have good basic skills. For example, they fold neatly and accurately when making symmetrical shapes and patterns. However, there is one weakness closely related to that in English. The oldest pupils do not always form written numbers as carefully as they could. The percentage of pupils who reverse numbers such as 3 and 5 is higher than other aspects of their ability would imply. Not enough attention is paid to this feature in the marking.

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MATHEMATICS

108. There is very good provision for pupils with special educational needs and pupils with English as an additional language. Where pupils have a weakness in their understanding of number, individual learning plans are prepared to guide teachers and support staff. Teaching assistants give very good support by discussing simple strategies for pupils to use and encouraging them to try. Work is matched closely to their needs.

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MATHEMATICS

109. The quality of teaching is very good. Teachers have a very good knowledge of the subject and are very clear about how to help pupils learn. By setting a brisk pace and using time well, they keep pupils thinking and motivated. They question pupils very closely but give them ample time to explain their ideas. The pupils are very well managed so that they work hard throughout the lessons. A reason for the very good teaching is because the subject leader monitors both standards and the quality of pupils’ work effectively. She identified a weakness in the plenary, or end section, of the lesson. Through intensive training, this is now a strong feature of many lessons. There are good resources for the subject and classroom displays often, although not Summerhill Infant School - 34 consistently, contribute to the pupils’ learning. There is use of ICT although some opportunities are missed to use the suite. Through opportunities to work together and the sharing of

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MATHEMATICS

experiences, the subject makes a good contribution to pupils’ moral and social development.

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SCIENCE

110. The school has made very good improvements to teaching and learning in science and, consequently, standards have improved since the last inspection from below average to average and pupils now do well from the beginning of Year 1 to the end of Year 2. This is because more time than before is spent on science work and all aspects of the subject are now taught. Good subject management, with very good support from the subject governor, has brought about improvements to the provision for science throughout the school; statutory requirements are now met and the quality of teaching and learning is now good overall. The subject co-ordinator and governor have a good idea of what is happening in science through some lesson observations, but mainly through talking with pupils and looking at their work. They have a good idea of what needs doing and good capacity to bring further improvements because of this.

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SCIENCE

111. The planning of pupils’ learning is particularly effective and because teachers in parallel classes plan each lesson together, all pupils are taught the same scientific ideas at the same time. Teaching assistants join in the planning meetings and are well aware of what pupils are to learn. Consequently, they give extremely good support for all pupils and, in particular, those who find learning difficult. This leads to consistency in learning and equality of opportunity for all pupils regardless of their ability or which class they are in.

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SCIENCE

112. Teachers make it clear to pupils what they are going to know and be able to do by the end of the lesson and this means that pupils understand the need to work hard. This, in turn, means that pupils’ attitudes towards science are particularly good and pupils of all ages and abilities find the work interesting. The school finds other ways in which to stimulate pupils’ interest in science, such as through the very successful science week held last year. Year 2 pupils talked excitedly to inspectors about this event, recalling the ‘lady scientist’ who showed them how to make ice cream using liquid nitrogen. From her example, some of the girls, in particular, now aspire to become scientists! Pupils of all ages explain what they know with developing clarity and some appropriate use of subject vocabulary because teachers use correct subject terminology when explaining things to them.

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SCIENCE

113. Pupils have a good understanding of the process of investigation and their recording of the information and their findings is particularly well developed. This is because ICT is used effectively to teach children how to show information in different ways, such as on charts, tables, posters and diagrams. This means that pupils chose the most relevant one depending on what they want to say and to whom they want to say it. For example, Year 2 pupils have drawn diagrams to show the different parts of a plant, and compiled charts to show how far a toy car travelled down ramps put at different heights. Questions make pupils think carefully and challenge them to investigate, like the one that asked, “Does the slope change the distance travelled by the car, van, or lorry?” Teachers encourage pupils to first predict what the results might be, developing their reasoning skills well. For example, one child wrote “It will

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SCIENCE

go down the ramp faster the steeper it is.” Teachers’ comments make pupils think of explanations about why things might and do happen. These same pupils can now plan an investigation to test a given hypothesis, such as when asked by an inspector, “Is the height a ball bounces dependent upon the height from which it is dropped?” They knew that they needed to use the same ball and that the same person should drop it each time and to do it several times for accuracy. They explained how they would record the results “on a table” so that they could interpret them later.

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SCIENCE

114. Pupils’ independent skills are developed well, particularly lower down the school, where these skills have been built extremely well from starting school. Year 1 pupils, for example, find their own ways to sort musical instruments, such as those that are scraped, struck or shaken. Summerhill Infant School - 35 They investigate which materials are best suited to make an umbrella and know that card is more suitable than paper to make a label, “because it won’t bend”.

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SCIENCE

115. The quality of teaching and learning is good. Lessons are extremely well planned and prepared and this means that no time is lost. For example, in a Year 1 lesson during which pupils investigated light sources, different papers for pupils to use for their posters were put out and objects which give off light, such as torches, candles and electric table lamps, were readily available. This meant that the lesson moved at a brisk pace.

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SCIENCE

116. Knowledge, skills and understanding learnt in other subjects are used effectively to support work in science, such as measuring skills taught in mathematics and drawing skills learnt in art. The subject guidelines are used well to make sure that pupils in different year groups are taught what they should be and this means that teachers build successfully on pupils’ learning from one year to the next. Newly implemented records of achievement show teachers what pupils have learnt but these are too early yet to be totally effective. Although teachers encourage pupils to record their investigations and other science work, they do not always insist on neat enough handwriting and, sometimes, pupils’ work is barely legible. This spoils the overall effect and dampens the pupils’ pride in what they do. Links with the local Beacon school have helped pupils develop collaborative learning in the subject.

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ART AND DESIGN

117. As at the time of the last inspection, standards are broadly as expected by the end of Year 2. All aspects of the art and design curriculum are taught because the school uses the national teaching guidelines effectively to determine what pupils should know and when they should be taught it. Teachers in parallel classes plan together and this leads to consistency within year groups.

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ART AND DESIGN

118. The quality of teaching is satisfactory overall, but there are some strengths in particular in the teaching of observational artwork and because of this standards in this aspect are particularly good. Teachers draw pupils’ attention to detail and show them how to represent this accurately through, for example, effective use of shading and colour. As a result, the observational artwork around the school is of a high standard, not only of that done in art lessons, but also that used to support work in other subjects. For example, in religious education when Year 1 pupils drew portraits of their friends, they paid particular attention to hair colour and style and this meant that the pupils were recognisable from these portraits. They made attractive pictures during their work on tessellation in mathematics and pictograms of their favourite pets in science. Year 2 pupils’ intricate pictures drawn in history show

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ART AND DESIGN

explicitly the differences between Victorian buildings and modern ones and their illustrations of their ‘funny’ poems make these more attractive to the reader. Their use of line is effective and pupils use different pencils well to create, for example, strong and thin lines. They know that they “need to look carefully at shape and tone” to recreate exactly what they see. They look through magnifying glasses at, for example, the eye of a peacock’s feather so that they can draw it more accurately.

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ART AND DESIGN

119. Teachers make good use of ICT to support work in art. Pupils use computers confidently to create drawings and patterns and add text to explain what they have done. They study the work of famous artists and are starting to understand how they can use this to help them with their own artwork. For example, Year 2 pupils talked enthusiastically about their sculpture work in the style of Andy Goldsworthy and their pictures copied in the style of Bridget Riley. However, their knowledge is limited mainly to that of Western European artists and too little is done to develop their understanding of art from other cultures.

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ART AND DESIGN

120. The subject leader has an accurate perception of standards in art through looking at pupils’ work and informal discussions with colleagues and pupils. However, she does not have the opportunity to observe teaching and this means that she has limited idea and experience of Summerhill Infant School - 36 what is and is not working well. This lessens her influence in bringing about further change and the position is similar to last time

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

121. By Year 2 standards are similar to those typical for the pupils’ age. Only one lesson was observed during the inspection, but evidence was gleaned from discussions with staff and pupils and observations of work.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

122. The pupils have a good breadth of experiences in design and technology. They work in a range of different media and have systematically challenging opportunities to improve their basic skills. The lessons are planned well from strong guidance within the scheme of work. By Year 2, pupils value the need to plan when producing models. For example, in making finger puppets to act out a story, they produced very detailed and carefully labelled plans. These were largely realistic and pupils understood when they were over-ambitious. The more able pupils discuss well how they have to adjust their design to fulfil the requirements. The puppets made are of a high standard and involved using a range of joining methods including gluing, sewing and stapling. Pupils explain well why some joints are more appropriate than others.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

123. In Year 2, pupils have looked closely at different cranes and investigated the mechanisms they use. They produce good working models using construction kits and other materials. They make good use of ICT to produce some of their designs. They make very good progress towards this in Year 1. This is because lessons are planned with a very clear focus on the important features of design and technology and the teacher communicates this well to pupils. For example, pupils know that there are different mechanisms that can be used to make a moving picture such as flaps, levers, sliders and wheels. The teacher concentrates well on developing a useful vocabulary for the pupils so that they can explain their ideas.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

124. There are good resources for the subject which is well led. The planning is deeply rooted in developing pupils’ skills systematically. There are good links with other topics and subjects but the needs of the subject are dominant in teaching and learning. Pupils are given opportunities to practise their skills both in school and for homework. Procedures to measure important features of pupils’ attainment are in their infancy and do not yet make a significant contribution to learning. Standards and provision have been maintained since the last inspection.

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GEOGRAPHY

125. Standards in geography are as expected nationally by Year 2. Good improvements have been made in planning and assessment since the school was last inspected. Then there were some weaknesses in subject coverage, which was insufficient and did not meet the requirements of the National Curriculum. There was also a weakness in assessing pupils’ achievements. Since then the school has introduced a good scheme of work, based on national guidelines, and planning in the subject is now secure. An appropriate assessment system has been put in place. These improvements have allowed pupils full access to the geography curriculum and a means by which progression can be checked. Consequently all pupils, including those with special needs and those for whom English is an additional language, make sound progress in their knowledge and understanding about their own locality and places further afield. However, there is too little written and illustrative evidence in pupils’

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GEOGRAPHY

work about what they have done. This is partly due to the lower than average timetable allocation given to the subject and the desire of teachers to cover as much as possible practically within the lesson time available. The subject leader hopes to extend cross- curricular links, particularly with literacy, so that this aspect can be improved.

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GEOGRAPHY

126. In Year 1 children gain an understanding of simple maps by writing their addresses on postcards and correctly locating these on a plan of the locality. They draw a route to the local park and another to help a visitor find their way around the school. In their studies pupils Summerhill Infant School - 37 discuss local features that they either like or dislike and carry out a census of traffic using the busy road outside the school. They use their data-handling skills to make a block graph of their findings. Pupils follow up these activities by writing to the council suggesting that the road be made safer by the installation of humps that will slow down the traffic. In Year 2 this work is extended to give pupils a fair understanding of how places differ, for example, that the countryside is different from a town and that life on an island would be different from life in Bristol. In the Year 2 lessons observed, the pupils were asked to say where they had been on

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GEOGRAPHY

holiday and this led to interesting discussions about each destination. Their use of maps is extended through their work on Kenya and Switzerland and they show a simple understanding about different climates by what they plan to pack in their suitcases if going to these countries.

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GEOGRAPHY

127. Geography alternates with history on the timetable. Following the journeys of the school mascot, Oscar the owl, usefully spans the time between units of geography. Oscar sends back postcards from the places that he visits when he goes on holiday with various pupils and his destinations are displayed on a world map.

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GEOGRAPHY

128. Overall, teaching in geography is sound. Good lesson planning ensures a consistency in coverage in parallel classes, but its implementation depends very much on the expertise of the teacher concerned. In one very good Year 2 lesson, the teacher’s high expectations of behaviour and participation in discussion work led to pupils greatly extending their knowledge and understanding of other places. They also made valuable additions to their geographical vocabulary. Teachers arrange interesting practical work, often involving walks in the neighbourhood of the school and sometimes to places further afield. The resources for geography are satisfactory and include a good range of maps and some videos. People who have lived in the area for some time are invited to the school to share their memories with the pupils and this helps them understand ways in which the locality has changed. Many photographs are taken using the school’s digital camera and these are used effectively to

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GEOGRAPHY

illustrate work on display. Sometimes a computer is used to make these into individualised headings on the sheets used by individual pupils when recording their work. However, at present the use of ICT in this subject is under-developed either for research purposes or for recording work. One of the co-ordinator’s goals is to establish international links through e-mail contact with pupils or schools in other countries.

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GEOGRAPHY

129. There is an experienced subject leader, and other teachers who make up the humanities team support her. They carefully evaluate the results of their planning. Recently, this has led to the revamping of the order in which units are introduced in Year 1 and Year 2 and in future it is hoped there will be a better match between history and geography topics in both year groups. She has not been able to observe geography being taught in classrooms, but is always available to give help and advice to colleagues. The portfolio of work is at an early stage of development and lacks the annotation needed to make it useful as an aid to measuring pupils’ learning and gauging their progress. It is unclear, for example, how difficult the pupils found the work or how much support they were given. It does, however, contain some good photographic evidence of pupils engaged in geography activities. Parents are informed about

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GEOGRAPHY

what topics will be covered each term and this allows them to give valuable assistance by showing an interest and supporting the school in its work.

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HISTORY

130. Although it was only possible to observe two history lessons, judgements have been made by examining a sample of pupils’ work and by talking to a small group of Year 2 pupils. The attainments of pupils in history are above national expectations. Pupils have developed a good understanding of how things have changed over a period of time and why the changes have Summerhill Infant School - 38 occurred. This is an improvement over the last inspection when attainment was judged to be in line with national expectations.

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HISTORY

131. Pupils have a good knowledge of a range of historical events. For example, they know how the Great Fire of London was started, how it spread so quickly and what changes it made in people’s lives after the fire. Their knowledge of Florence Nightingale’s work during the Crimean War is also good. This knowledge also includes the similarities and differences between nursing today and what it was like in Florence Nightingale’s time. Pupils know the main differences between Victorian and present-day schools in terms of the buildings and classroom practices. They know, for example, that the regime was strict in Victorian schools and that pupils sat on benches with no support for their backs. They record in their history books that if children spoke in a Victorian classroom they would be beaten with a cane. Pupils draw a time line for a small range of toys showing that they know the comparative ages. They

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HISTORY

are well able to give reasons for identifying specific toys as being older than others. For instance, they deduce that a wooden cup attached to a ball with a length of string was older than an ‘etch-a-sketch’ set because the former was made almost entirely of wood whilst the latter was made of plastic. Pupils compare washdays in the Victorian era to modern clothes- washing practices and have a good understanding of the differences between the two processes. They recognise that without electric washing machines and detergents people would have to use non-mechanical means to get clothes clean and dry and use items such as washboards, mangles and soap flakes. Pupils make good progress in their knowledge and understanding of history.

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HISTORY

132. The quality of teaching is good. Teachers have high expectations of what pupils can accomplish and also have a clear focus on the knowledge, skills and understanding that pupils should acquire. Pupils are encouraged, whenever possible, to compare ‘then and now’ so that the changes that have occurred over a period of time become apparent. They are provided with good opportunities to discuss why the changes have occurred so that pupils develop a good understanding of how and why things have altered. Teachers mark pupils’ work regularly and diligently and take the trouble to write helpful comments about how each pupil’s efforts could be improved. In the lessons observed, teachers managed the behaviour of pupils well and this helped them to work hard and concentrate. There was a high degree of challenge involved in the lessons and pupils were encouraged to think very carefully about the chronology of events.

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HISTORY

133. The subject leader has worked hard to improve the provision of the subject since the last inspection. A manageable assessment system that enables teachers to record judgement on each pupil’s attainment at the end of each unit has been introduced. This enables teachers to keep track of pupils’ progress. In addition, pupils’ work is monitored regularly and the findings are recorded on a pro forma sheet. At the same time the quality of teachers’ marking is monitored and evaluated according to the school’s ‘Responding to Pupils’ Work’ policy. The history curriculum is enriched for pupils by educational visits to places of historical interest such as the Folk Museum in Gloucester and the museum in Weston-super-Mare.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

134. By Year 2, standards are typical for the pupils’ age. This is a significant improvement since the last inspection when they were below. Word-processing and data-handling skills are now taught systematically. Pupils’ achievement is good. The quality of teaching and learning is good.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

135. By Year 2, pupils make good use of information from CD-ROMs. They pose their own questions to find out more about subjects they are studying. For example, in their work on the seaside they ask “How do crabs move?” and “How do crabs bury themselves?” They are skilfully trained to ask appropriate questions as the teacher demonstrates the main features of the software well. The pupils have a good idea how to use the content and index systems on the program and there are good links to similar facilities in books. The teacher makes good Summerhill Infant School - 39 use of time off the computer for pupils to prepare questions and suggest under what sections they may look.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

136. Pupils’ word-processing skills are satisfactory by Year 2, although they do not make enough use of this facility in their English lessons. They write with reasonable awareness of the keyboard. They manipulate the program to produce the font and colour that suits their needs. They are making very good progress towards good skills in word processing by the end of Year 1. These pupils show very good basic skills. They know how to log on, open the program from a menu, open their own file and start a new document. They do this with little or no support and the minimum of directions. Almost all pupils use the space bar appropriately, use the caps and caps lock keys and effectively use backspace and arrow keys. The Year 1 pupils are working above levels expected for their age and are well placed to continue this progress through Year 2.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

137. Pupils are making good progress in understanding how ICT is used to control machinery. By Year 2, they plan routes for a programmable robot to follow and understand well how to control the robot. There are good links with mathematics in this. In Year 1 the pupils have a good understanding of how household objects are controlled. This is because the teacher focuses very clearly on discussing how ICT is used to make things happen in the home and outside. The pupils make good use of ICT in art and mathematics. For example, they make very good pictures based on the tessellation properties of shape. They have made some use of computers in producing graphs and charts.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

138. The pupils have very good attitudes to the subject. They share resources well and assist each other at the computer. This makes a good contribution to social and moral development.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

139. The quality of teaching and learning is good. Lessons are very well planned with a clear focus on developing basic skills in ICT. However, lessons are always usefully linked to topics the pupils are studying. For example, Year 1 pupils developed their word-processing skills through history. The teachers have good subject knowledge. This is because of significantly improved resources since the last inspection and good training. The subject leader is an accredited trainer who has led basic training in this school and the juniors. This has enabled her to focus training on the school’s needs and develop good links with the other school.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

140. The addition of a computer suite has made a big difference to standards. It is generally used well and the subject leader monitors planning to make sure at least one activity is planned for every class each week. There are some opportunities missed to make full use of the suite or classroom computers in literacy and numeracy lessons. The subject leader has clear and appropriate plans for improvements. Good use has been made of funding for the subject through improved resources and training.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

141. The quality of planning matched to increased teachers’ confidence in the subject means that the school is well placed to continue to improve standards further.

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MUSIC

142. Pupils throughout the school experience an appropriate range of singing, playing, listening to music, performing and composing. Year 2 pupils know to think about the beat, rhythm, voice tone, and breathing technique when they sing. They have favourite instruments and accompany their singing using both tuned and untuned percussion. They know that these can be tapped, shaken or scraped and that these actions produce different types of sound from the same instrument. They listen to music and talk about how it makes them feel, such as happy or sad. Visiting musicians enhance learning further and opportunities for pupils to sing at church services, such as the Harvest Festival, give them the experience of performing for others. Summerhill Infant School - 40 143. Too little teaching was seen during the inspection to make a secure judgement about overall standards and the quality of teaching in music. The music subject leader, who teaches music

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MUSIC

to Year 2 pupils, was absent during the inspection which limited evidence on standards still further.

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MUSIC

144. However, in Year 1 the teaching was good. The teachers know the pupils well and are aware of their musical ability. In addition, the effectiveness of their very thorough joint lesson plans means that any non-specialist teachers in this year group can teach music effectively and pupils’ learning is secure. For example, in the one lesson seen, pupils explored high and low pitch successfully and sang and played with good enthusiasm. The learning resources were well prepared before the lesson started and this meant that the lesson moved at a good pace. The teacher managed the pupils extremely well because she knew how best to deal with them and this meant that they all concentrated well.

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MUSIC

145. Although there is a plan of action to bring about improvements to the subject, these are on hold until the subject leader returns. However, music teaching is not observed and this means that no one checks on the quality of teaching and pupils’ learning. Consequently, the improvements identified do not focus precisely enough on raising standards.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

146. Standards are above average by the end of Year 2. This is a direct result of very good long term planning and well-established subject leadership. The quality of teaching and learning is good. Standards have been maintained since the last inspection and improvement to the provision is good.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

147. By Year 2 pupils have a very good understanding of the need to warm up at the start of a lesson. They understand what effects exercise has on the body. They respond well to exercises well matched to their age and experience. General levels of stamina are good.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

148. The teachers use questioning very well to emphasise the main teaching points in lessons. As a result skills are developed well. For example, in games pupils learn to control a ball with a bat through a range of fun exercises, which subtly test different skills and help them balance and concentrate. Pupils make good progress in learning the steps of a country dance because of the teachers’ clear instructions and high expectations. The systematic planning helps pupils develop good co-ordination, which was very evident in a Year 1 skipping activity.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

149. By Year 2, pupils are very good at evaluating the quality of their own work and that of others because of the encouragement they are given to do this. They make suggestions as to how they can make their game or dance more complex and challenging. The opportunities for pupils to develop their own rules and games are particularly challenging to the more able.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

150. Pupils with special educational needs make good progress because the teaching assistants work closely with pupils when necessary to help them control behaviour and participate in full. In most instances there is no need for special provision because pupils are motivated by the pace and challenge of the lessons.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

151. The quality of teaching and learning is good and sometimes excellent. The subject leader makes good use of her own specialist skills for Year 2 pupils. By providing strong planning for every lesson she ensures high levels of consistency in the approach to teaching. The subject is very well resourced . There are clubs for football, dance and gymnastics, which make a good contribution to learning. There is also a good range of games activities available at lunchtime which are having a positive impact on standards.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

Summerhill Infant School - 41 152. Attainment in religious education meets the expectations of the locally agreed syllabus. This maintains the standards at the time of the last inspection. It was possible to observe only one lesson owing to the arrangement of the timetable and judgements have been made by examining pupils’ work and by talking with a group of Year 2 pupils.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

153. Pupils have a sound knowledge of a range of Christian festivals including Harvest Festival, Christmas and Easter. They know that people thank God for food and produce during harvest time and that Jesus was crucified and came to life again at Easter time. They understand that Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus at Christmas time. They have a satisfactory understanding of a range of Jesus’ parables. For example, they have a sound understanding of the story of the Prodigal Son and as a result know that it is important to learn to forgive others and the reasons Jesus had for telling the story. They also have a satisfactory understanding of the parable of the Good Samaritan and know that it was the most unlikely person who looked after the wounded person and replaced his money. Pupils have a satisfactory knowledge of Judaism. For example, they understand the significance of the Shabbat meal to Jews and know that the woman of the house lights white Shabbat candles at

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

sunset on Friday evening to mark the beginning of the Sabbath day. Pupils also understand that they belong to a range of groups ranging from being members of the school, a class, their own family, church groups and friendship groups.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

154. The quality of teaching is satisfactory. Pupils are encouraged to share their feelings with each other and to reflect on a range of different aspects of the locally agreed syllabus. For example, pupils are encouraged to reflect on the beauty of the Earth that surrounds them or to turn to their neighbour during assemblies in the hall and share their feelings about, for instance, coming to school. Teachers use a good range of approaches to enable pupils to learn effectively. They use video recordings of enactments of Jesus’ parables or aspects of Judaism. They encourage pupils to participate in role-play activities to enable them to have a deeper understanding of religious ideas. In one lesson the teacher used photographs of beautiful places that enabled pupils to reflect upon the awesome nature of the world. The local Anglican priest visits the school to help pupils act out a baptism ceremony or to explain

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

aspects relating to his vestments. Such activities enable pupils to develop knowledge and understanding through experience and this has a greater impact on their learning.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

155. No assessment procedures are in place for religious education and as a consequence teachers have no way of tracking how pupils’ knowledge and understanding are progressing. In addition, there is no monitoring of pupils’ work to check that the locally agreed syllabus is being covered sufficiently. The religious education co-ordinator has attended a training course but the impact of this is not yet apparent. The stock of religious education books in the school’s library has recently been updated and there is now a good range of books that are appropriate for the pupils’ age and interests.

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