Anderton Park Primary School

ANDERTON PARK SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 26 February – 1 March 2001

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ANDERTON PARK SCHOOL

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

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ANDERTON PARK 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. Anderton Park School - 3

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Dennis Road Sparkbrook Birmingham West Midlands

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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 H Champaneri

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: 29/09/1997 Anderton Park School - 4

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities 1471 Jane Randall Registered inspector Religious education Under Fives provision What sort of school is it? What should the school do to improve further? How high are standards? The school’s results and achievements How well are pupils taught? 9188 Jane McHugh Lay inspector Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development How well does the school work in partnership with parents? 30075 Mike Duggan Team inspector Science Information technology Geography 23262 Philip Martin Team inspector Mathematics 19774 Maura Docherty Team inspector English English as an additional language 2200 James Stirrup Team inspector Art Music Religious education How well does the school care for its pupils?

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

28320 Robert Willey Team inspector Design and technology Equal opportunities How good are the curricular and other opportunities offered to pupils? 29688 Mike Brammer Team inspector History Special educational needs How well is the school led and managed? Anderton Park School - 5 The inspection contractor was:

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

PkR Educational Consultants LTD 6 Sherman Road Bromley Kent BR1 3JH

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

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

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

The Complaints Manager Inspection Quality Division

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE Anderton Park School - 6

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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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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

The school is much larger than average and has 711 boys and girls including 39 full-time equivalent nursery pupils. It caters for pupils aged four to 11 and is near the city centre of Birmingham. Ninety nine per cent of pupils speak English as an additional language and about 25 per cent are in the early stages of English acquisition. Two pupils are refugees and 96 per cent of pupils are Muslim. Seventy- six pupils are on the school’s register of special educational needs with three pupils having statements of special educational need. The percentage of pupils receiving free school meals is 37 per cent but this figure fluctuates and does not fairly represent the nature of the intake and the school has been placed in the next band for comparison with similar schools. The attainment of pupils on entry to nursery is very low and this is mainly due to the fact that pupils at this age have very little or no English.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

The school is an improving school and is working hard to raise standards. Leadership and management are satisfactory and the school is effective in monitoring its own performance. Standards in English, mathematics and science are improving and better than the test results show. The overall development planning for English and science is good but, due to circumstances beyond control, a number of planned initiatives in mathematics have yet to be implemented. Ambitious targets have been set and the analysis of assessment data and the monitoring of teaching are bringing about improvements. The climate for learning is good and pupils have good attitudes to school. Pupils’ good behaviour has a positive effect on their learning. Pupils achieve well in the Foundation Stage and satisfactorily in Key Stages 1 and 2 in relation to their prior attainment. The school gives satisfactory value for money.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

What the school does well • Attainment in art and design is above national expectations. • The good standard of behaviour has significant effect on pupils’ learning. • Provision for spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good and adds to pupils’ self- esteem. • The school has established excellent links with the community and these are very supportive of pupils’ learning. • The school’s partnership with parents is very good and the school is increasingly successful in involving parents in the life of the school and their children’s learning.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

What could be improved • Attainment in English, particularly literacy, so that the good progress they make in English as an additional language can be built on to enable all pupils to respond more successfully to the linguistic demands of the whole curriculum. • Attainment and progress in mathematics. • Attainment and progress in science. The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan.

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

The school was last inspected in September 1997 and has made satisfactory improvement. Progress in English has improved and test results have risen marginally over the past four years but at a lower rate than the national trend. Attainment in mathematics is better than the results of 2000 and in numeracy is now close to national expectations but not in other aspects of mathematics. Inspection findings confirm an improving picture in science. The school is determined to raise standards and has set challenging but realistic targets for each year group and is on track to meet these. Attainment in art and design is now above national expectations. The school has made progress on most of the key issues for improvement in the previous report. There is an appreciable improvement in information and communication technology and standards are now close to those nationally expected. Standards and teaching in physical education are now satisfactory. Planning for subjects is now good and planning

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

across year groups and across the school is now in place. Lesson planning is good. Assessment Anderton Park School - 8 procedures are now satisfactory in Key Stages 1 and 2 and good in the Foundation Stage and English. The school sets targets for improvement. The school has successfully addressed the issue of a deficiency in the length of the school day in Key Stage 2 and this now exceeds the minimum requirements. There has been some progress in developing pupil initiative but there are still too few opportunities for pupils to be independent in their learning. The school has now recruited the required number of parent governors.

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STANDARDS

The table shows the standards achieved by 11 year olds based on average point scores in National Curriculum tests.

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STANDARDS

Performance in: all schools similar schools Key

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STANDARDS

English E E E D well above average above average A B mathematics E E E D average below average C D science E* E* E* E well below average E

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STANDARDS

When making comparisons with national results and with similar schools consideration needs to be given to the fact that most of the pupils in the school speak English an additional language. Comparison with similar schools is only in relation to the number of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and no other factors. The inspection findings are that attainment of pupils in English is below national expectations overall. These findings differ from the test results because pupils come into school as newcomers to English. They make good progress but inspection evidence shows that they have not all developed the full range of English language skills that are required at the end of each key stage to meet the language demands of the full National Curriculum. This is particularly so in terms of writing standards in composition and handwriting. They find the time restrictions of tests difficult, as they are

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STANDARDS

slower at putting ideas on paper. Inspection evidence in mathematics shows that attainment is below national expectations for pupils at the end of Year 2 and Year 6 in mathematics. Standards are close to this in numeracy but not in other areas of mathematics in the National Curriculum. This is better than the results of national tests in 2000. The school is working hard to improve these results with some success. Many are held back by their lack of higher-level English language skills. Inspection findings in science confirm an improving picture in both key stages where test results in 2000 were in the lowest five per cent nationally at the end of Key Stage 2. Inspection evidence indicates standards to be well below the national average at both key stages, but rising. Attainment in information and communication technology is close to national expectations. Attainment in religious education is line with that required

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STANDARDS

by the locally agreed syllabus. Standards in art and design are above national expectations. The trend in the school’s results over time is below that found nationally but there has been an improvement in English, the average score has improved steadily in mathematics, and science shows a significant increase since 2000. The school achieved its target in English in 2000 and exceeded it in mathematics. More challenging targets have been set for 2001 and the school is likely to achieve them. Pupils in the Foundation Stage and pupils with special educational needs make good progress. Pupils in Key Stages 1 and 2 achieve satisfactorily in relation to their prior attainment. Anderton Park School - 9

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Aspect Comment Attitudes to the school Pupils have good attitudes to school and to learning. Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Good behaviour supports pupils’ learning and pupils are polite and helpful. Personal development and relationships Relationships are good between all members of the school community. Pupils respect each other and adults. Attendance Attendance is unsatisfactory. This is due to the number of families that take extended holidays to Pakistan.

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

Teaching of pupils: aged up to 5 years aged 5-7 years aged 7-11 years Lessons seen overall Satisfactory Satisfactory Satisfactory 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 is satisfactory overall. Ninety-nine per cent of teaching is satisfactory or better. It is very good or excellent in 12 per cent of lessons, good in 45 per cent and satisfactory in 42 per cent. One lesson in Key Stage 2 was unsatisfactory. Some very good or excellent teaching occurs in all three stages. In the best lessons the pace of work is good. There are clear time limits for pupils to complete their work and teachers have high expectations. In the one unsatisfactory lesson insufficient attention was given to what pupils already knew and understood. The teaching of literacy is good and this is due to the good planning that is supported by the National Literacy Strategy’s framework. Teaching is well informed by ongoing assessments and matched to meet the learning needs of different groups of pupils. A good start has been made in establishing the National Numeracy Strategy. This

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

was begun a year later than usual to allow more time for the school to develop the National Literacy Strategy in relation to its special circumstances. The mental mathematics session at the beginning of lessons helps pupils to practise skills and often links well with the main part of the lesson. Group and individual work usually matches prior attainment. Time is used least effectively when the teacher does not pull the lesson together well enough at the end with an effective summary of what pupils have learned. Literacy and numeracy skills are not sufficiently planned as part of work in other subjects. The school meets the needs of all pupils satisfactorily, including the needs of the pupils with special educational needs and those learning English as an additional language. It has begun to identify those with very high prior attainment and, on occasions, makes some extra provision but these strategies are

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

Aspect Comment The quality and range of the curriculum The school meets the requirements of the National Curriculum and the locally agreed syllabus for religious education but the time allowed for subjects other than English, mathematics and science is too little for any more than basic compliance. Provision for pupils with special educational needs Provision is satisfactory. Individual educational plans need some improvement. Provision for pupils with English as an additional language Provision is satisfactory but the school does not have clear enough assessment strategies to identify those pupils who are apparently fluent but who are not yet able to use higher level language skills. Anderton Park School - 10 Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Provision is good. Extra-curricular activities support social development well and cultural development is fostered well through history, geography,

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

art, music and religious education. Pupils gain respect for others and learn about different times and places.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

How well the school cares for its pupils The school cares for its pupils well and provides a safe and secure environment. Assessment procedures are satisfactory overall and good in English and in the Foundation Stage.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

Aspect Comment Leadership and manage- ment by the headteacher and other key staff Satisfactory – the senior management team is becoming increasingly effective and the role of subject co-ordinators is developing well.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities The governors’ role in shaping the school is unsatisfactory. The school development plan is discussed but there is no monitoring of its implementation. The understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the school is satisfactory The school’s evaluation of its performance The school evaluates its performance through analysis of test data. It lacks the long-term strategic planning to carry improvements beyond the current year. Monitoring of teaching is good and contributing to the raising of standards. The strategic use of resources The school has made a good start in applying best value principles. The match of teachers and support staff to the curriculum is good. Learning resources are satisfactory and good for religious education and information and communication technology. Library provision is unsatisfactory. Accommodation is satisfactory and surplus

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PARENTS’ AND CARERS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved • Parents were pleased with all aspects of the school. • They particularly felt that their children liked school. • No issues were raised in the questionnaires or in the parents’ meeting.

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PARENTS’ AND CARERS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

The inspection team agrees with parents about most aspects of the school. They find that teaching and progress in lessons are satisfactory. Anderton Park School - 11

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

1. The inspection findings are that attainment of pupils in English is below national expectations overall. The 2000 results in the National Curriculum tests that pupils take at seven and eleven are below average in reading and well below average in writing at the end of Key Stage 1. They are well below average in English at the end of Key Stage 2 when compared with schools nationally. When compared with similar schools they are well above average in reading and average in writing at the age of seven. They are below average in English by the age of 11. The inspection findings differ from the test results because pupils come into school as newcomers to English. They make good progress but inspection evidence shows that they have not all developed the full range of English language skills that are required to meet national expectations at the end of each key stage or to meet the language demands of the full National Curriculum.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

This is particularly so in terms of writing standards in composition and handwriting. They find the time restrictions of tests difficult, as they are slower at putting ideas on paper. At seven pupils read fluently and with accuracy but do not always gain the full meaning. Higher attainers display a high level of comprehension such as recognising a confidence trick in the story of ‘Nail Soup’. At eleven many pupils, although again reading with accuracy, are not always able to comprehend meaning beyond the literal. However higher attainers can deduce the meaning of a word from its context and describe meaning through a choice of vocabulary.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

2. Inspection evidence shows that attainment is below national expectations for pupils at the end of Year 2 (age seven) and Year 6 (age 11) in mathematics. Standards are close to this in numeracy, but not in other areas of mathematics (algebra, shape, space and measures and data handling). This is better than the results of national tests in 2000 when attainment was well below national standards for pupils in Year 2, and very low for pupils in Year 6. The school is working hard to improve these results with some success. However, pupils do not yet know enough about the full range of mathematics outlined in the National Curriculum. Many are held back by their lack of higher-level English language skills. Attainment is similar to that of pupils in similar schools by the age of seven, and below by the time pupils are 11. By the time they are seven, pupils mentally recall addition and subtraction facts to 100. Many use this

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

knowledge to solve problems, for example, identifying the missing number in a ‘number sentence’ or when sharing objects. They work out what coins total certain sums of money up to £2:00. Pupils use basic mathematical vocabulary, but many find it difficult to explain what they are doing in class. By the age of eleven, most pupils have a sound understanding of place value and use this to round numbers to the nearest 10,000 and, in a few cases, beyond. They know the multiplication tables up to 10. Pupils recognise different types of numbers such as odd, even, square and prime numbers and investigate number patterns.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

3. In science in the 2000 teacher assessments at the end of Key Stage 1 the proportion of pupils reaching the expected Level 2 or above in science was very low in comparison with the national average. In comparison with similar schools it was well below. In the Key Stage 2 National Curriculum tests for the same year 46 per cent of pupils reached Level 4 or above, which was very low when compared with the national average. Since 1996, with the exception of 2000, the trend has been slightly downwards, but standards have always been very low or well below during this period. Factors contributing to these results include the extra allocation of literacy and numeracy time to support the Anderton Park School - 12 exceptionally high percentage (98 per cent) of pupils for whom English is an additional language, thus reducing science to one hour per week from September 1998 until January 2000. However, the limited facility of pupils’ literacy and language skills and the

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

slowness at which pupils can write is the dominant factor in the test results. Inspection findings confirm an improving picture in both key stages. Evidence, which includes an analysis of pupils’ past and present work, lesson observations and discussion with pupils, indicates standards to be well below the national average at both key stages, but rising. This judgement differs from the previous inspection which reported attainment close to the national average at Key Stage 1 and below at the end of Key Stage 2.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

4. The progress that pupils make in English has improved since the previous inspection and results have risen marginally over the past four years but at a rate lower than the national trend. The school met its literacy target for 2000 and is working effectively towards its more ambitious target for 2001. The school exceeded its target in mathematics in 2000 and has set a similar target to that in English for 2001 although there is little use of detailed assessment for each pupil to forecast challenging targets. The school is determined to raise standards in science, has set challenging but realistic targets for each year group at both key stages and is on track to meet these. The rate of improvement in test results over the last four years is below that seen nationally but there has been an improvement in English, the average points score has improved steadily in mathematics since 1998 and there was a significant increase in

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

science in 2000. Boys perform better than girls do in national tests but no marked differences were noted in lessons. Literacy and numeracy skills are used on occasion in other subjects but these opportunities are insufficiently rigorously planned to provide maximum opportunity for pupils to develop skills further in a wide variety of settings.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

5. Standards in information and communication technology are close to those that pupils of seven and 11 are expected to reach nationally and this is a considerable improvement since the previous inspection. In Key Stage 1 pupils log on and operate the mouse successfully to select choices, combine text and colour. By the end of Key Stage 2 they are competent in a range of skills and familiar with a variety of programs. They successfully download graphics and align text from CD-ROM and use web search engines to access information. They use digital cameras and print photographs. Information and communication technology is developing well as a tool for learning in other subjects. Attainment in religious education is in line with that required by the locally agreed syllabus. By the age of seven most pupils know stories from different world faiths and relate these to daily life. By the age of 11 pupils have

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

gained knowledge and respect for world faiths and can compare and contrast aspects of these with their own faith. They understand symbolism and what religion means to individual people.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

6. In art and design pupils achieve standards that are above those normally expected at the age of seven and well above at the age of 11. They explore the paintings of famous artists and use their techniques as a basis for their own work. Work with textiles is good and pupils produce very imaginative computer generated art. In design and technology attainment is in line with national expectations and linked well with other subjects. The making of Aboriginal shakers linked well to work on sound in science and to art and music. Attainment in history and geography is below national expectations mainly because of the reduction in time for the subjects when concentrating on the introduction of the national Literacy and Numeracy Strategies. There are some good links with other subjects but little evidence of pupils writing at length. Standards in music are satisfactory. Whilst there are regular opportunities for

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

pupils to listen to music from different traditions and cultures there are limited opportunities for pupils to talk about music and to appraise it. Pupils achieve standards Anderton Park School - 13 in line with national expectations in physical education and this is an improvement since the previous inspection. Few pupils will achieve the requirement for pupils to swim 25 metres by the age of 11. Pupils demonstrate real pleasure in dance and pupils in year 6 can put together an imaginative piece of contemporary dance with a partner.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

7. Pupils in the Foundation Stage (nursery and reception) make good progress in all the areas of learning required by the national Early Learning Goals (personal, social and emotional development, communications, language and literacy, mathematical development, knowledge and understanding of the world, creative and physical development). Many pupils enter nursery with skills that are well below average and most do not speak English. Whilst good progress is made, many pupils will not meet the national Early Learning Goals, except in personal, social and emotional development, creative and physical development at the end of the reception class. This is mainly because they are still learning English as an additional language although most can make themselves understood for daily routines. Most pupils achieve the required levels in aspects of learning that are less dependent on an understanding of language such as forming letters, writing their name or counting to ten.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

8. Pupils with special educational needs make satisfactory progress. Their needs are identified at an early stage. In lessons these pupils make similar progress to their peers and are well supported by classroom assistants.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

9. The high standards of behaviour and the increasing confidence of pupils are positive features in the improving standards in the school. The school is aware of where it needs to improve and a number of initiatives, particularly in English, are showing an effect in raising standards. The reduction of time for art and design, design and technology, music, geography and history is an issue of which the school is well aware and the latest school development plan seeks to remedy this. The school is hardworking and has the capacity to continue to improve its standards.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

10. All pupils, including those who are not yet five, pupils with English as an additional language and those with special educational needs, display good attitudes to learning. In the nursery, children are happy and confident and concentrate well. They work together to solve problems. For example, one child involved in a task cutting out shapes was having difficulty manipulating the scissors. Another child suggested she hold the scissors in the other hand and then held the paper to enable her to successfully complete the task. In the majority of lessons seen throughout the school pupils concentrate well, show an interest in whatever tasks are set them and are keen to learn. Pupils with special educational needs have good attitudes to school. They are attentive and follow instructions well. They work well together and behaviour is good. Anderton Park School - 14 11. Pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school is very good. There are no

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

instances of exclusion. Pupils are polite, keen to talk to visitors and show respect for the books and resources they use. It is evident by their behaviour that they are aware of procedures and the classroom rules they help formulate each year. On the very few occasions where behaviour is less than expected, pupils shout out, wander around the class and resort to physical means to resolve disagreements.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

12. Relationships are good between all members of the school community. Pupils are pleased with each other’s success. One such example was in a year 5 English class when pupils broke into spontaneous applause when one of their classmates accurately recited from memory Edward Lear’s poem ‘The Owl and the Pussycat’. The different groups mix together well both in class and in the playground and when disagreements do occur they are resolved quickly by the school. There are many examples of praise and encouragement being used to promote positive behaviour. However the school’s policy for behaviour and bullying has not been reviewed for a number of years and consequently there is some inconsistency in the way in which it is applied. The school is aware of this and review is planned.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

13. In addition to the jobs all pupils willingly perform in each class, older pupils are encouraged to develop their sense of responsibility and good citizenship through their membership of the school council. This initiative, although still developing, is already having an effect on pupils’ attitudes towards each other, showing the important part they play in society. They meet regularly with staff and recently focused on the topic of bullying, suggesting ways in which the school could raise awareness and resolve issues. With the assistance of the parent partnership worker they have recently made positive improvements to the local environment by identifying the locations of household appliances that have been ‘dumped’ in the community and arranging for their removal.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

14. At the time of the previous inspection insufficient opportunities for pupils to work together or take responsibility for thinking problems through for themselves were identified as weaknesses. There has been some good progress in this area by the development of initiatives such as the school council, and in one year 5 class where they have produced guidelines to enable them to be a ‘good response friend’, evaluating and improving each other’s work. However, this improvement only reaches parts of the school community. There is still a culture of dependence upon adults and no whole school approach towards pupils gaining increasing independence and responsibility for their own learning.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

15. The level of attendance at school is unsatisfactory. For many periods during the year pupils attend regularly but the large number that take extended holidays continues to give the school cause for concern. Whilst improvement in this area has been made since the previous inspection, figures remain below the expected level. This has a direct effect on the progress that pupils make over the course of their time in school. Punctuality during the week of inspection was satisfactory.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

16. The high expectations of good behaviour, regular attendance and the emphasis on promoting a family community do much to encourage and support the good behaviour seen and contribute to the purposeful atmosphere of the school and the good progress made by pupils. Anderton Park School - 15

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

17. The quality of teaching is satisfactory overall. Ninety-nine per cent of teaching is satisfactory or better. It is very good or excellent in 12 per cent of lessons, good in 45 per cent and satisfactory in 42 per cent. One lesson in Key Stage 2 was unsatisfactory. Some very good or excellent teaching occurs in all three stages. In the Foundation Stage 55 per cent of lessons are good and five per cent very good or excellent. In Key Stage 1, 36 per cent of lessons are good and eight per cent very good or excellent and in Key Stage 2, 45 per cent are good and 12 per cent very good or excellent. This is an improvement since the previous inspection when teaching was only 88 per cent satisfactory or better.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

18. In the Foundation Stage teachers and all support staff work well together and understand the learning needs of young children. Both in the nursery and in the reception classes there is a suitable mixture of adult-directed and child-initiated activities and staff interact appropriately to develop both language skills and understanding. For example, in the nursery the teacher asks children working with the water, “Will it fill the jug?” encouraging children to think and predict. In the reception classes children work in large and small groups with their teacher or another adult to learn the sounds of letters or to learn to count and match. Systems for assessing children’s achievements are good in the nursery and reception classes and day-to-day assessment is particularly good. The information gained is used well to plan individual goals for each child and tasks for each group.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

19. At all stages of the school relationships between teachers and pupils are good, which helps teachers to maintain interest and control and keep pupils on task. Teachers manage pupils well and praise helps pupils to try hard with their learning. In the most effective lessons teachers use good questioning skills to recap on previous learning, draw ideas from pupils and assess what pupils know and understand. The enthusiasm of teachers is passed on to pupils and stimulates learning. This was demonstrated well in a religious education lesson where a Christian teacher showed her own copy of the Koran in English and told how it was a gift from a special friend. The class discussed what ’example’ meant both their in own lives and that from great leaders such as Mohammed or Martin Luther King. Objects of religious interest and video recordings were used very well to stimulate and exemplify. Another good example of

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

the way in which the good use of resources contributed well to learning was seen in the use of a ‘big book’ with large pages and text intended for a class to read together. Real fruits enhanced pupils’ understanding of the text and the use of role-play extended understanding of the story. In the best lessons the pace of work is good. There are clear time limits for pupils to complete their work and teachers have high expectations. Teaching in the one unsatisfactory lesson gave insufficient attention to what pupils already knew and understood. Consequently the lesson held little interest and pupils became noisy and inattentive. The quality of marking varies although it is usually up to date. At best it gives pupils clear targets for improvement. Sometimes teachers do not ensure that pupils follow up their comments. Homework plays a suitable part in pupils’ learning, particularly in reading.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

20. Teachers understand the importance of giving pupils learning English as an additional language as much visual and practical access to the meaning of the work being undertaken. They use whiteboards well, focusing on the key words and sentences in the enlarged text pupils are studying. They question pupils well to elicit the meanings of what they have read and talk about the impact of the literary and idiomatic language they are encountering. Teachers provide real objects, cut-out figures, photographs and visual stimuli to support the learning so that pupils are able to understand more than if Anderton Park School - 16 they were trying to learn through spoken English alone. The school deploys a special teacher to work with groups of pupils, generally in small groups in the nursery book- room or in the school library. There are also several classroom assistants who give pupils good support as they explain their early learning experiences in their mother

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

tongue. The special teacher plans her work to support and consolidate the curriculum in the classrooms, focusing on the needs of pupils in the very early stages of learning English. She records pupils’ progress carefully and her assessment records and profiles of pupils developing English language competence are useful. While intensive support for these pupils is beneficial, there is no particular advantage in withdrawing very young children from their peers to work on very similar activities to those planned in the main classrooms. There is insufficient emphasis on partnership teaching with the class teachers and specialist language teacher working together, with the specialist demonstrating appropriate methodology throughout the session for the benefit of both adults and pupils. As the more advanced language demands of the broad curriculum for older pupils become less accessible, there is insufficient focus in planning and

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

support to ensure that teachers make quite clear to all pupils the meanings of complex language and unfamiliar concepts. Pupils are not supported well enough as they come to understand and learn new skills.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

21. The teaching of pupils with special educational needs is at least satisfactory and, when pupils are withdrawn in small groups, it is good. For pupils in Years 3-6, the policy of setting for literacy and numeracy and the support of the classroom assistants help pupil progress. Individual education plans often lack targets that are specific and measurable. This makes it more difficult for the school to monitor progress of pupils with special educational needs and to plan specific work to match their needs.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

22. The teaching of literacy is good and this is due to the good planning that is supported by the National Literacy Strategy framework. Teaching is well informed by ongoing assessments and matched to meet the learning needs of different groups of pupils. Literacy skills are not sufficiently planned as part of work in other subjects although there are some good links made, for example in Year 6 where the class story was designed to link with the Victorian topic in history and this helped pupils to understand more of their history. There is insufficient emphasis on drafting or editing work or responding to marking. Work is often over-prescribed and opportunities are missed to encourage individual expression and creativity.

p.16

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

23. A good start has been made in establishing the National Numeracy Strategy. This was begun a year later than usual to allow more time for the school to develop the National Literacy Strategy in relation to its special circumstances. The mental mathematics session at the beginning of lessons helps pupils to practise skills and often links well with the main part of the lesson. Whole class sessions are most successful when pupils use number cards or fans to respond to questioning as it offers teachers a way of knowing who is successful and that all pupils are involved. Group and individual work usually match prior attainment. Time is used least effectively when the teacher does not summarise the lesson effectively at the end to indicate what pupils have learned. Insufficient planned links are made with other subjects for pupils to use their mathematical skills in a wide range of contexts. Anderton Park School - 17

p.16

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

24. Teaching in science is satisfactory. Lessons are well planned and are often stimulating. Teachers’ enthusiasm contributes well to pupils’ sense of enquiry and lessons are particularly enjoyed when there are good opportunities for practical work.

p.17

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

25. The quality of teaching in information and communication technology is satisfactory. Teachers generally have a good subject knowledge and present information clearly. Pace is occasionally slow with over-direction by the teacher. Close links are established with other subjects. The quality of teaching in religious education is good. In most lessons teachers use the pupils’ strong faith as a starting point for other learning. They relate work well to daily life and ensure that the few pupils who are not Muslim are always securely part of the lesson. Objects of religious interest are used well to encourage interest and understanding. Teachers’ own knowledge is good.

p.17

HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT?

26. No judgements were made on the quality of teaching in art, design and technology, history, geography or music as too few lessons were seen in each subject to make a sound judgement. It is apparent from the scrutiny of work and discussion that teachers are secure in their understanding and knowledge of these subjects and some good work takes place despite the limitations on time for these subjects in the last three years. The quality of teaching in physical education is satisfactory and this is a significant improvement since the previous inspection. Teachers have high expectations of pupils, display personal enthusiasm and provide challenging and demanding activities.

p.17

PUPILS?

27. At the previous inspection the curriculum was stated to be broad and balanced. At present National Curriculum requirements are met along with the requirements of the locally agreed syllabus for religious education. The school has successfully addressed the issue of a deficiency in the length of the school day for pupils between seven and eleven and this now exceeds minimum requirements and national average time for the age group. However, time distribution in relation to subjects is not well balanced. Over 63 per cent of curriculum time is devoted to the core subjects of English, mathematics and science. This rises to 76 per cent in Year 6 and represents a high allocation of time when compared with other schools. Consequently the other subjects have considerably less time than in most other schools. A number of subjects comply with minimum requirements for content and only just meet National Curriculum

p.17

PUPILS?

requirements. As foundation subjects are taught in unit blocks this often means considerable time gaps between one unit of work and the next and a resultant lapse in knowledge, skills and understanding. Planning for subjects is now good and planning across year groups is in place. This was a weakness at the time of the previous inspection that has improved. Planning for pupils aged five to seven often links subjects together and this increases learning and makes best use of time. In Year 1 pupils were observed learning to cut fruit safely in a design and technology lesson. This work linked well with work on fruit and seeds in science and with observational drawing in art. The linking of subjects is less evident in work with older pupils where subjects are often taught separately although some good practice does take place, for example in Year 6 where work in history and work in the literacy hour were linked well.

p.17

PUPILS?

There are too few opportunities for pupils to develop independent learning skills and to think for themselves. Anderton Park School - 18 28. There are policy statements and schemes of work for all subjects and for other aspects of school life and all pupils have full access to the school’s curriculum. The school has effectively adopted the National Literacy Strategy and this is effective in improving attainment. The National Numeracy Strategy was introduced one year later than in other schools and is gradually improving skills. Pupils in Key Stage 2 are set for literacy and numeracy and pupils are taught in ability groups. Groups are of equal size and this generates larger groups of lower attaining pupils than is usual in schools. Booster classes operate during Year 6 in order to raise attainment for targeted groups of pupils in English and mathematics and the school has identified a further group of

p.17

PUPILS?

pupils in each year group for extra support.

p.18

PUPILS?

29. The planning for work in the Foundation Stage (nursery and reception classes) is in line with the national Early Learning Goals and the school has successfully implemented this latest national guidance.

p.18

PUPILS?

30. Provision for pupils with special educational needs is satisfactory. Pupils who are identified have appropriate attention to meet their needs. Their individual education plans are reviewed regularly and they receive appropriate support. There is a below average number of pupils on the register and, given the attainment of pupils on entry to the school, it is a possibility that a significant number have not had their needs recorded and addressed.

p.18

PUPILS?

31. Provision for English as an additional language is satisfactory but the school does not have clear enough assessment strategies to identify those pupils who are apparently fluent speakers but who are not yet able to use higher level language skills such as inference or more complex sentence structure.

p.18

PUPILS?

32. The governing body reviews provision for sex education annually. The current policy is that the school does not teach sex education and this is in accordance with the wishes of the majority of parents. Health education and drug awareness issues are appropriately met within the science curriculum and within the programme for personal, social and health education. . 33. A very good range of extra-curricular activities is provided. As well as a wide range of sports activities, including football, netball, gymnastics and table tennis, there are clubs for art, sewing, singing, computers, cookery, homework and conversational French. Clubs often operate during lunchtime as many pupils have after-school commitments at the mosque. These activities make a very good contribution to the development of personal and social skills and contribute significantly to pupils’ learning.

p.18

PUPILS?

34. The school has a number of visitors and visiting groups during the year contributing to all subjects. A visiting theatre group runs half-day workshop sessions for all classes. The school has regular visits from an ‘artist in residence’. Local football and cricket clubs lead activities for pupils to improve their skills. Visits take place to places of local interest and link well with the curriculum. These visits include the Central Mosque, an Anglican Church, the Grand Union Canal (in conjunction with work on barges and the Victorians), Lund Roman Fort as well as visits to the National Indoor Arena and local visits to the park and shops. Pupils in Year 6 have a residential visit to Wroxton College in Oxfordshire that enhances independence, self-confidence, social and cultural development.

p.18

PUPILS?

35. The school has established excellent links with the community. There are curriculum links with Birmingham Council through ‘Footsteps for Peace’, and the ‘The Human Anderton Park School - 19 School’ award with the local health authority. The school has participated in programmes and campaigns on local television, radio and through the local press. There are links with a local university, Careers and Education Business Partnership and the school is currently establishing links with a local car manufacturer. The on- going nature of community links was well reflected in the opening of a new computer- based facility under the auspices of ‘Parent Partnership’, during the inspection. Former pupils, who are benefiting from the new provision directly in pursuing vocational courses there, attended the opening. The school has received national awards, most recently a National Primary Centre Award and a pupil won a ‘Tate Modern’ national

p.18

PUPILS?

award. Teachers, the community education manager, school community teacher and assistants support the efforts of the headteacher in this area very well. The school continues to develop new and exciting links with the community to help parents understand better how to help their children.

p.19

PUPILS?

36. The school has established good links with other schools and groups. The nursery has good links with the neighbouring playgroup and a ‘Tots and Toddlers’ group. This helps to provide a smoother transition from pre-school to the nursery. Pupils are well supported in their transition from primary to secondary school. Visiting secondary staff, Local Education Authority curriculum materials and visits to the secondary school remove much pupil anxiety about transfer. The school has developed international school links with Hungary and Italy. Postal and E-mail contacts have enabled exchange of pupil work. Artwork from Anderton Park School is currently on display in schools in Budapest and Vicenza. Pupils and teachers from Budapest make their first visit to the school during the summer term.

p.19

PUPILS?

37. Provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. The school has maintained the good provision identified at the time of the previous inspection.

p.19

PUPILS?

38. Provision for pupils’ spiritual development is satisfactory and is supported by well- planned acts of collective worship and by visitors and visiting groups. A theatre group led the assembly for pupils in Key Stage 2 during the inspection and pupils listened with rapt attention and wonder to the story of ‘David and Goliath’ from the Old Testament of the Bible. Spiritual development is well supported across the curriculum and particularly through multi-faith aspects of religious education. In religious education pupils develop a good knowledge of world faiths and an understanding of the place of religion in everyday life. They learn respect for other faiths and discuss the similarities and differences between them. Pupils in Year 1 responded with wonder when their teacher sliced an apple to reveal a star shaped centre.

p.19

PUPILS?

39. The provision for pupils’ moral development is good. Pupils understand the difference between right and wrong and respect and care for each other. Pupils take part in drawing up their own set of class rules. Older pupils discourage poor or bad behaviour amongst younger pupils. There are many instances where pupils discuss issues that help them gain a moral awareness and a sense of citizenship. In a Year 4 class, pupils were presenting arguments in relation to preserving services to the community. They worked collaboratively to produce a consensus of opinion as to the arguments to be used. The debate helps pupils to develop a good sense of communal responsibility. The lesson was well supported by a community education assistant. Pupils in the nursery considered the story of ‘Goldilocks’ and her behaviour when she arrived at the bears’ house. They felt that her behaviour was unacceptable and that she showed little

p.19

PUPILS?

respect for people or property. Other lessons focus on self-esteem and pupils listen respectfully to the views of others. The recently reviewed policy and scheme of work for personal, social and health education is already beginning to have an effect on the Anderton Park School - 20 discussions within classes throughout the school. Teachers and assistants provide good role models for pupils.

p.19

PUPILS?

40. Provision for social development is good. Pupils are encouraged to be supportive of each other and work collaboratively in pairs or in groups. Pupils in the school from minority cultures are well integrated and participate fully. Boys and girls work together when required. This was demonstrated well in a dance lesson where pupils made up and performed sequences using English country-dance steps. They learn to care about their environment and to value the people within it. Pupils support charitable activities such as Barnardo’s, Comic Relief and Children in Need. However, older pupils are afforded too little opportunity to undertake responsibility within the school. Extra-curricular activities such as football, netball and singing club support teamwork and develop social skills well. The school has a school council that has pupil representatives from Key Stage 2 classes. This provides a useful platform for pupils to

p.20

PUPILS?

discuss issues arising from within school. It gives pupils responsibility and increases their awareness of citizenship.

p.20

PUPILS?

41. Pupils’ cultural development is fostered well through the curriculum and provision is good. Work on Ancient Greeks in history links well with myths studied in literacy. Work on Ancient Egypt links well with design and technology work in constructing pyramids and sarcophagi. Pupils learn about the Victorian experience of travelling on a barge along the Grand Union Canal and imagine what life would be like. They design and make model barges in art and design and technology. Younger pupils learn of their school and local environment, whilst older pupils learn of contrasting geographical locations through a residential visit to Oxfordshire. Pupils learn of different art forms. They appreciate Aboriginal art in making musical instruments. They learn about the styles of different artists such as Monet and Lowry. They listen to music from different places, cultures and times. During inspection week Chinese flute music greeted pupils

p.20

PUPILS?

arriving for assembly. They participate in dance festivals and music workshops. They learn about faiths, beliefs and cultural traditions through religious education. Pupils enjoy a wide range of cultural experiences within and outside school.

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

42. The school cares for its pupils well and provides a safe and secure environment. The overall procedures for childcare and for ensuring pupils’ welfare are good. Teachers and non-teaching staff are all aware of procedures for identifying pupils at risk, and the strategies to support them. The headteacher is the designated person responsible for child protection.

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

43. Health and safety procedures are generally good. A member of staff acts as health and safety officer. She produces monthly health and safety reports. The headteacher and the building site manager quickly address any issues for concern. The Local Education Authority carries out a number of safety risk assessments periodically. The building site manager and his team of cleaners provide staff and pupils with a clean and safe working environment.

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

44. Arrangements for monitoring and supporting pupils’ personal development are satisfactory, though inconsistent. Pupils with special educational needs are well supported and provided for and this is equally so for pupils with English as an additional language. Appropriate help is given to pupils with special educational needs whether they have physical, behavioural or learning difficulties. Liaison with outside agencies is effective. Arrangements for monitoring and support for all aspects of the curriculum and for personal development in the Foundation Stage are good. Teachers have a Anderton Park School - 21 clear understanding of children’s levels of development and set appropriate targets for improvement. Whilst without question teachers have a clear understanding of the personal development of pupils in their classes in Key Stages 1 and 2, there are no formal procedures for identifying areas for improvement or the setting of personal

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

45. There is an effective policy for pupils’ personal, social and moral development and citizenship. This aspect is taught by class teachers in ‘Circle Time’ when pupils sit together to discuss issues about life skills, with the Community Education worker providing some good workshops on a range of issues. This was observed during the period of the inspection, when pupils in Year 4 explored the rights and responsibilities of being a good citizen, as they examined the contribution that various services, such as education, transport, or health make to a local community.

p.21

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

46. Procedures for the assessment of pupils’ attainment and progress are satisfactory overall, with good examples taking place in the Foundation Stage and in English throughout the school. This is a significant improvement since the previous inspection. Assessment of children’s skills on entry to the nursery is thorough and used as a base for ongoing assessment of learning. A Local Education Authority entry assessment is carried out when pupils enter the reception classes. Day-to-day assessment enables teachers to plan an appropriate curriculum for all children to help them progress towards the nationally expected Early Learning Goals at the end of the reception year. All children are given individual targets for improvement and teachers know on which skills children need to work. Pupils in Key Stages 1 and 2 are involved in regular termly assessments for both reading and writing. Results are used to set individual targets for

p.21

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

a selection of pupils, with these same pupils being tracked across terms. In mathematics there are half-term assessment tasks. In science there are termly assessments. Resulting information is used to predict future levels of attainment, although individual targets for improvement are not set. Procedures for assessing other subjects are in an early stage of development and are used in an inconsistent manner. Whilst in some subjects pupils’ learning is assessed at the end of half-termly units of work, in others teachers simply apply assessment comments to their weekly teaching plans. The school uses optional national tests in Years 3, 4 and 5. Information gathered from these is examined in detail and is used to inform and alter what is taught.

p.21

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

47. The procedures for monitoring and promoting good behaviour are satisfactory. There is an effective system of rewards and sanctions and clear rules for behaviour, both within the school and at lunchtimes. These are on display both in classes and around the school. Although pupils are free from harassment and good relations exist between pupils there are no specific formal procedures to record incidents of bullying or racism and to identify strategies for addressing them when and if they occur. This issue is to be addressed by the next school development plan. Anderton Park School - 22 48. Regular attendance at school is expected. Since the inspection of 1997 the school has done much to improve individual attendance. Each half-term the parents of pupils whose attendance falls below 90 per cent receive a letter informing them how many actual lessons their child has missed through absence. A firm stance is taken over the

p.21

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

length of extended holidays abroad resulting in improvement in this area. The award of a shield and extra playtime to the class highlights the importance of regular attendance with the best attendance each week. Initial progress made since the previous inspection brought attendance figures to a satisfactory level. However, despite this work the figures have again started to decline.

p.22

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

49. There was some concern during the previous inspection regarding recording and monitoring of attendance and this concern remains. Registers are marked in accordance with the requirements of the computer system. However, the school procedure of monitoring does not, in its present form, enable senior staff to be aware of how efficiently the system is working in practice. They do not have ready access to information on day-to-day attendance or over a period of time, or whether staff are consistent in monitoring punctuality.

p.22

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

50. The partnership with parents to support pupils’ learning is very good and is a strength of the school. Parents and carers speak very highly of the school and what it achieves. At the time of the previous inspection, whilst the important partnership the school has with the community was acknowledged, there was limited success in involving its parents. Much thought and effort has gone into this area during the last few years. Through the hard work and dedication of the community teacher and other staff, parents have become increasingly confident and involved in a partnership with the school. Parents have made story sacks for use in the nursery and at home. A bi- lingual book and tape ‘Rani the Elephant’ has been produced with the help of the parents and received much acclaim within the community and was noted nationally.

p.22

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

51. Sensitive to the needs of parents not yet confident in participating in these areas, who still wish to support their child’s education to the best of their ability, the school holds regular workshops giving information and advice on a variety of topics. During the week of the inspection an excellent workshop was held for the parents of pupils in Year 1 on how they can help their child at home by simply talking to them and doing everyday normal tasks together. Whilst the printed information available for parents to take away was only in English, as with all documents the school provides, written information is available in community languages upon request. Many workers at the school are multi- lingual and take part in these workshops, preferring to use verbal means of communication so they can enlarge upon explanations where appropriate. These workshops are well attended and the weekly ‘Drop in’ session is a valuable form of two-

p.22

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

52. Much parental consultation took place in the development of the home-school agreement, which is a well thought out document specific to the needs of Anderton Park School. The school prospectus has been reviewed since the previous inspection and is now very good. The omissions from the prospectus at the time of the previous inspection have now been included with the exception of parents’ right to withdraw pupils from religious education and collective worship.

p.22

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

53. The school has effective procedures for liaison with parents of pupils with special educational needs and provides a good level of support on an informal basis. Anderton Park School - 23 54. At the time of the previous inspection pupils’ end of year progress reports were broadly satisfactory. This judgement remains the same. Reports are variable in quality throughout the school. Whilst telling parents what children have done and, on occasion, whether progress made is sufficient, they do not indicate what the child has to do next in order to make progress.

p.22

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

55. The very strong support of parents and the community to engage in a partnership with the school to support its aims does much to raise standards, enhance the self-esteem of pupils and contributes well to their development in all aspects of school life.

p.23

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

56. The leadership and management of the headteacher and key staff are satisfactory. The school has a positive climate for learning that is seen in the good attitudes of the pupils and the very good support for the school expressed by parents. The headteacher is strongly committed to working in partnership with other bodies, including a local college, to provide a programme of community education to address the needs and aspirations of the area that the school serves.

p.23

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

57. The school’s senior management team is increasingly effective and the role of subject co-ordinators is being developed well. They are responsible for the improvement of their subjects and have time away from their classes to facilitate this. For the literacy and numeracy co-ordinators this is half a day each week.

p.23

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

58. The school lacks strategic planning to continue to raise standards. The school development plan, from which staff training needs are identified, is written for the current year only. The longer-term view has been discussed but is not recorded. Curriculum time allocations make it impossible to meet the requirements of some foundation subjects. Until recently this has also been the case with science.

p.23

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

59. The provision for pupils with special educational needs is managed satisfactorily. Liaison between the special educational needs co-ordinator, class teachers and learning support assistants is good. Most support for pupils is carried out in the classroom, with some time away from the class as necessary. Learning support assistants, many of whom have been trained, make a valuable contribution. The co- ordinator works very hard on behalf of pupils. She is aware of the need to improve the writing of individual education plans and to increase the number of pupils whose needs are appropriately identified. The school has identified its more able pupils and some very limited provision is made such as one pupil working with the year above in mathematics.

p.23

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

60. The governing body has made progress since the previous inspection when a key issue was to examine ways of recruiting further members and the required number of parent governors and of involving them in the life of the school. This has been achieved. The governors’ role in shaping the direction of the school is unsatisfactory. The school development plan is discussed but there is no planned programme of visits to assist in monitoring its implementation. Governors’ understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the school is satisfactory. They have a clear grasp of some of the main strengths but are unsure of which areas are most in need of development. 61. The procedures for monitoring teaching are good. It is organised systematically and teachers receive formal feedback. The role of curriculum co-ordinators is being developed well and includes time to monitor teaching. There are good induction

p.23

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

procedures for staff who are new to the school. The school has a significant role in training new teachers, as it is one of the core schools for West Hill College. Five staff Anderton Park School - 24 are trained mentors for this work. The school’s strategy for appraisal and performance management is good and draws upon experience gained in the training for the ‘Investors in People’ award.

p.23

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

62. The school’s use of new technology is satisfactory overall. There are computerised systems for pupil registration and records but it is not yet used for tracking pupil progress and target setting. A recent audit report confirms that financial management is effective and that financial systems are satisfactory. The school has made a good start in applying best value principles. The school provides satisfactory value for money.

p.24

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

63. The match of teachers and support staff to the curriculum is good. It is to the pupils’ advantage that so many staff are able to speak the pupils’ own home language. There is sufficient accommodation for the number of pupils on roll and the school hopes to replace temporary classrooms with a purpose built block. There is very good use of surplus accommodation for community education. Overall, resources are satisfactory, but they are good for delivering the National Literacy Strategy and for religious education and information and communication technology. Library provision is unsatisfactory. The outside play area for nursery is well marked for playground games but space is taken up by a large, unusable sandpit. Anderton Park School - 25

p.24

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• Raise the attainment of pupils in English, particularly literacy, so that the good

p.25

curriculum by:

1) modelling ways of working to help pupils respond more successfully to subject- specific written tasks;

p.25

curriculum by:

2) reviewing the English as an additional language support so that the efforts of specialist staff are focused more on these key tasks, particularly in Key Stage 2;

p.25

curriculum by:

3) providing more opportunities for pupils to read beyond the set texts so that they experience a wide range of literature showing how authors imply layers of meaning;

p.25

curriculum by:

4) improving the school library provision to facilitate to encourage pupils to read more widely and to allow pupils the opportunity to explore their own interests;

p.25

curriculum by:

5) developing a programme of work which addresses the key skills of reading with comprehension and writing with a clear, joined style.

p.25

curriculum by:

1) ensuring that the full range of mathematical requirements is taught;

p.25

curriculum by:

2) improving teachers’ understanding of what needs to be taught and how to teach it;

p.25

curriculum by:

3) refining the current assessment procedures to identify what each child needs to know in order to improve his or her attainment;

p.25

curriculum by:

4) using this information to set targets for each pupil’s achievement;

p.25

curriculum by:

5) improving teachers’ understanding of how to extend pupils’ understanding and use of the language of mathematics, particularly that relating to exploration and investigation.

p.25

curriculum by:

1) focusing more clearly on scientific enquiry;

p.25

curriculum by:

2) using the good teaching as a model throughout the school;

p.25

curriculum by:

3) regularly and rigorously using the results of assessment to plan pupils’ future work;

p.25

curriculum by:

4) increasing the amount of pupils’ work, especially in Key Stage 2.

p.25

curriculum by:

These issues are securely contained within the latest school development planning. Anderton Park School - 26

p.25

OTHER ISSUES WHICH SHOULD BE CONSIDERED BY THE SCHOOL

• Implement the development planning for restoring an appropriate amount of curriculum time to religious education, music, art and design, design and technology, history and geography and improve the links between subjects.

p.26

OTHER ISSUES WHICH SHOULD BE CONSIDERED BY THE SCHOOL

• Devise and use formal procedures for recording any incidents of bullying and racism.

p.26

OTHER ISSUES WHICH SHOULD BE CONSIDERED BY THE SCHOOL

• Ensure that registers are readily available in case of emergency and that staff monitor punctuality efficiently.

p.26

OTHER ISSUES WHICH SHOULD BE CONSIDERED BY THE SCHOOL

• Improve the individual education plans for pupils with special educational needs.

p.26

OTHER ISSUES WHICH SHOULD BE CONSIDERED BY THE SCHOOL

• Increase the governors’ role in shaping the direction of the school.

p.26

OTHER ISSUES WHICH SHOULD BE CONSIDERED BY THE SCHOOL

(paragraph 60) Anderton Park School - 27

p.26

Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

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

p.27

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Poor Very Poor

p.27

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

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

p.27

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils on the school’s roll Nursery YR – Y6

p.27

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 39 633

p.27

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 246

p.27

Information about the school’s pupils

Special educational needs Nursery YR – Y6

p.27

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 2 1

p.27

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 4 72

p.27

Information about the school’s pupils

English as an additional language No of pupils

p.27

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with English as an additional language 706

p.27

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils

p.27

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 52

p.27

Information about the school’s pupils

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

p.27

Attendance

National comparative data 5.2 National comparative data 0.5

p.27

Attendance

Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. Anderton Park School - 28

p.27

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 1 for the latest reporting year 2000 54 41 95

p.28

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

National Curriculum Test/Task Results Reading Writing Mathematics

p.28

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Boys 45 39 44 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 31 31 32

p.28

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Percentage of pupils School 80 (73) 74 (75) 80 (76) at NC level 2 or above National 83 (82) 84 (83) 90 (87)

p.28

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

p.28

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Boys 40 39 22 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 29 29 15

p.28

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

Percentage of pupils School 73 (71) 72 (74) 39 (65) at NC level 2 or above National 84 (82) 88 (86) 88 (87)

p.28

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 1

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

p.28

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 2 for the latest reporting year 2000 49 36 85

p.28

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

National Curriculum Test/Task Results English Mathematics Science

p.28

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Boys 22 28 23 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 17 15 16

p.28

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Percentage of pupils School 46 (49) 51 (43) 46 (29) at NC level 4 or above National 75 (70) 72 (69) 85 (78)

p.28

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

p.28

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Boys 18 24 16 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 12 13 12

p.28

Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Percentage of pupils School 35 (30) 44 (27) 33 (33) at NC level 4 or above National 70 (68) 72 (69) 79 (75)

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Attainment at the end of Key Stage 2

Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year. Anderton Park School - 29

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – Caribbean heritage 0 Black – Caribbean heritage 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black – African heritage 0 Black – African heritage 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Any other minority ethnic group 6 Other minority ethnic groups 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

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

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 21 Financial year 1999-2000

p.29

Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 30

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: YR – Y6 Total expenditure 1289856

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 17 Expenditure per pupil 1815

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 355 Balance brought forward from previous year 12451

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Balance carried forward to next year 25778

p.29

Teachers and classes Financial information

Qualified teachers and support staff: nursery

p.29

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 2

p.29

Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 19.5

p.29

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 1

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 25

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Teachers and classes Financial information

FTE means full-time equivalent. Anderton Park School - 30

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

Percentage of responses in each category

p.30

Results of the survey of parents and carers

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

p.30

Results of the survey of parents and carers

My child is making good progress in school. 56 42 1 1 1

p.30

Results of the survey of parents and carers

Behaviour in the school is good. 54 39 3 0 4

p.30

Results of the survey of parents and carers

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 48 36 11 4 2

p.30

Results of the survey of parents and carers

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 53 40 6 1 0

p.30

Results of the survey of parents and carers

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 54 37 3 2 4

p.30

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 68 26 1 1 4

p.30

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school works closely with parents. 55 36 4 1 3

p.30

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school is well led and managed. 64 28 1 1 6

p.30

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 62 31 4 1 2

p.30

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 53 29 8 0 10 Anderton Park School - 31

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Personal, social and emotional development

64. The school has maintained the satisfactory quality of provision described at the time of the previous inspection and children continue to make good progress. On entry to the nursery children have a wide variety of skills but most are well below average particularly in social and language skills. Most children do not speak English. Children enter the nursery at the beginning of the school year in which they are four and attend for five mornings or afternoons each week. At the beginning of the year in which they are five they enter full-time school in the reception class.

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Personal, social and emotional development

65. Teaching in the Foundation Stage (nursery and reception classes) is satisfactory. All lessons were at least satisfactory and good or better in 60 per cent of lessons. Teachers, nursery nurses and teaching assistants work well together and understand the learning needs of young children. On occasions children in the early stages of language acquisition are withdrawn from class and taught in isolation from their peers. This denies them the opportunity to learn from other children and makes them feel different. Often the vocabulary work undertaken was the same as that learned by the rest of the class but lacked the class focus. Learning was well supported for example, when a teaching assistant in the classroom explained the class story to a boy with little English and helped him to learn the words prior to participation in the class activity. He was then able to join his peers. Not all activities are available daily in the nursery and

p.31

Personal, social and emotional development

some activities have limited learning potential such as colouring-in printed pictures. The outside area is secure but has limited space for creative play and the large number of wheeled toys and a large but unusable sandpit further limits the space. Both in the nursery and in the reception classes there is a suitable mixture of adult-directed and child-initiated tasks and staff interact appropriately to develop language skills and understanding.

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Personal, social and emotional development

66. Systems for assessing children’s achievements are good in the Foundation Stage. Initial assessments take place on entry both to the nursery and to the reception classes and these are built up into a record of achievement for all the six areas of learning in the national Early Learning Goals. Day-to-day assessment is particularly good with adults focusing on groups of children and how well they achieve in lessons. This information is used well to plan activities and individual goals for each child. For example it may identify which children need more practice in writing their name.

p.31

Personal, social and emotional development

67. Provision for personal, social and emotional development is good. Children learn to relate to each other and to adults. Some children have attended the playgroup that takes place within the school grounds and the nursery teacher has close links with this and with a mother and toddler group. Children learn to share and take turns and develop confidence and independence. In the nursery they work in groups to roll a ball and say who is their friend. They learn to talk only when they have the ball. They learn to dress and undress for physical activity and to eat and drink snacks in a sensible manner. They taste new foods and learn about special days such as Pancake Day. By the end of the Foundation Stage most pupils can listen in a group session for an appropriate length of time and know classroom routines. They concentrate appropriately for their age on tasks chosen by the teacher although there is limited time

p.31

Personal, social and emotional development

and space for selecting and pursuing their own ideas and creative thinking. Most Anderton Park School - 32 children meet the required learning goals for this age group.

p.31

Communication, language and literacy

68. The teaching of communications, language and literacy is good and children make good progress. Teachers rightly concentrate on this aspect of learning as many children have little or no English on entry to the nursery. In the nursery children learn to make marks with pencils and crayons. They learn many new words and develop language skills through role-play. They share books with adults and learn that print has meaning. In the reception classes children share large class books with an adult. They learn to form letters and recognise and write their name. They match sounds to letters. By the end of the reception year most children know ‘title’ and that stories start at the front of the book. They make sentences with a sentence maker and copy them into their book. Higher attaining pupils can make good attempts at writing independently and spell simple words by their sounds. Most children meet the national expectations

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Communication, language and literacy

of the Early Learning Goals in letter formation and in reading simple books. However reading is mainly at the level of recognising and decoding words and often lacks an understanding of the meaning of the book. A few children read at a higher level than this. Speaking and listening skills and understanding of English are below the expectations for the age group for all but the highest attainers, mainly because children are still learning English as an additional language although most can make themselves understood for daily routines.

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Mathematical development

69. Pupils make good progress in mathematical development and teaching is good. In the nursery there are many opportunities to count and match. Children were engaged in a game with five skittles and counted, “How many did you knock down?” and “How many left?”. They learn number songs and this helps them to learn to count. They explore the properties of sand and water and test how many small jugs fill a large one for example. They learn about weight and balance when they make pancakes. Skills continue to develop in the reception classes. Children order numbers to ten and match words to numbers. Higher attaining children are beginning to understand simple addition, for example by playing a game with two dice. ‘Zero’ is taught correctly and most children are confident in the numeracy aspects required to meet the national expectations of the Early Learning Goals. However children are less able to achieve

p.32

Mathematical development

the required goals in the aspects of mathematics that are more dependent on an understanding of language such as that of position. This is because the level of English they have is not yet developed enough to cope with some of this work.

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Knowledge and understanding of the world

70. Progress in knowledge and understanding of the world is good and teaching is satisfactory. In the nursery children learn about houses that look different from their own. They identify the parts of a house and learn the vocabulary associated with this. They enjoy role play area such as the home area and play with dolls representing different racial groups. They use a range of construction materials to make models and set up garages and play with cars. They explore the properties of sand, water and modelling materials. They cook pancakes for example, and learn that foods change when mixed and cooked. They learn the importance of hygiene when cooking. They visit places of interest such as the ‘Take a Tumble’ play area and gain an understanding of life outside their limited environment. In the reception classes children extend their knowledge and understanding, for example by exploring how and why

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Knowledge and understanding of the world

substances melt. Teachers ensure that children observe and interpret what they see Anderton Park School - 33 and extend vocabulary well. In a cooking session a child with hearing impairment was well integrated into the activity. Visits and visitors enhance learning significantly. A visit to the Botanical Gardens provided opportunities for pond dipping. The ‘animal man’ introduced children to animals such as hedgehogs, snakes and toads and children enjoyed the subsequent craft work and computer art. Visits to the local area enable children to learn the words for everyday objects such as the post box. Children’s knowledge and understanding of the world is in line with that expected nationally but they often have difficulty in expressing this clearly due to their stage of English language acquisition.

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Physical development

71. Progress and teaching in physical development are good and children meet the required levels. Nursery children have a secure area for outside activity and also use the school hall. They use bats and balls and run and jump. They learn to hold pencils and paintbrushes and to join pieces of construction kits together. They learn to use scissors to cut. In the reception classes they skip and hop in time to music. They learn to move to eight beats and stop for eight beats. They respond to rhythm and keep in time to the music. They learn to dribble a ball and all but the lower attaining children manage this successfully. They experiment with bats and balls and make up games. Some children use textured balls to help them in control when catching and throwing. The teacher gave clear teaching points for development and used peer demonstration well. Choices for experimenting also included skipping ropes, jumping stick, beanbags

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Creative development

72. Creative skills develop in line with national expectations for the age group. Teaching is satisfactory. In the nursery children use paint and cut and stick paper, card and other materials to make pictures and patterns. On occasions children colour-in printed pictures at the expense of being creative and experimenting with a variety of different techniques. Opportunities for mixing their own colours are not readily available and there is only one kind of paint. They use the computer to generate art in connection with an animal topic. Children sing and listen to music but there are too few opportunities to experiment with instruments. In the reception classes children mix paints and model with play dough. They made handprints for leaves and masks to frighten the birds when they took part in a ‘Language Alive’ project with a live ‘scarecrow’. They took part in a music workshop with visiting staff when they were able

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ENGLISH

73. The inspection findings are that attainment of pupils in English is below national expectation overall. The 2000 results in the National Curriculum tests that pupils take at seven and eleven are below average in reading and well below average in writing at the end of Key Stage 1. They are well below average in English at the end of Key Stage 2 when compared with schools nationally. When compared with similar schools they are well above average in reading and average in writing at the age of seven. They are below average in English by the age of 11. The inspection findings differ from the results of the tests because pupils speaking English as an additional language have difficulty in completing the tests in the given time. Pupils come into school as newcomers to English. They make good progress but inspection evidence shows that they have not all developed the full range of English language skills that are required to

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ENGLISH

meet national expectations at the end of each key stage or to meet the language Anderton Park School - 34 demands of the full National Curriculum. This is particularly so in terms of writing standards in composition and handwriting.

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ENGLISH

74. The progress that pupils make in English has improved since the last inspection and test results have risen marginally over the past four years but at a lower rate than the national trend. The school met its literacy target for 2000 and is working effectively towards its more ambitious target for 2001. This sets a challenge for the school, which it is addressing through its Language Curriculum Development Plan. The plan includes a programme of training in assessment and moderation to help staff raise expectations and make reliable assessment judgements in order to use these to inform planning for a range of prior attainment. This also applies to pupils with special educational need and pupils at an early stage of English language acquisition.

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ENGLISH

75. In speaking and listening attainment is satisfactory overall with good social oral skills but pupils are less confident in speaking in a structured manner. Pupils express their views well and with confidence. Younger pupils listen carefully to their teacher and are keen to talk together during group work, for example in a Year 1 class children challenged a teacher’s assertion that a guava was hard and purple by reminding her that the inside was soft. By the time they are seven pupils are keen to offer answers to challenging questions, particularly when they are encouraged to answer in more depth, for example in a Year 2 class pupils demonstrated their understanding after listening to a ‘cry wolf’ story called ‘Harry and the Wolf’. They were able to explain why the final cry of “Wolf!” was ignored by Harry’s friends and also understood the author’s ironic “C’est la vie” at the end of the story. By eleven pupils express views well and with confidence.

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ENGLISH

For example, pupils make good links between a story they were reading called ‘A Street Child’ and their history studies work on Victorian childhood. They compare and contrast details of settings and the experience of poverty from both sources. One pupil, reflecting on both readings, asked a question to clarify his understanding, “Did the sun never shine in Victorian times?” Discussion in groups is often lively and pupils collaborate well, even when not directly supervised.

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ENGLISH

76. At seven pupils read with accuracy and fluency but do not always attain expected standards in comprehension. The higher attainers bring expression into their reading by taking note of punctuation. Some readers displayed a high level of comprehension, for example in reading the story of ‘Nail Soup’ they recognised that a confidence trick was being played against the old woman. Pupils read with confidence from enlarged texts, particularly when teachers intervene to help them improve. They are able to deduce the meaning of unfamiliar words or phrases, for example, ‘living in the lap of luxury’, from pictures and contextual clues and from their own experience of sitting on someone’s lap. Others recognised authors’ use of joining devices, for example ‘before long’, to avoid the less interesting ‘and then’. In one class the children understood that wolves in stories do not have a name because no one ever gets close enough to ask

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ENGLISH

them. Anderton Park School - 35 77. At eleven pupils are reading fluently and accurately, though they are not always able to comprehend the meaning beyond the literal. Some Year 6 children can put across a meaning through a particular choice of vocabulary, for example a ‘dull teacher’ drones or lectures. They can also deduce the meaning of a word from its context.

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ENGLISH

78. At seven pupils are reaching satisfactory standards in writing. Work in books includes writing for a range of purposes, for example setting out classroom rules, an account of an Eid party, a list of instructions to find hidden treasure and rewrites of popular stories, often from a minor character’s perspective. In their literacy folders there is evidence of pupils completing group tasks at an appropriate attainment level from the National Literacy Strategy’s teaching framework. They demonstrate growing confidence with spelling, often choosing plausible spelling even when they are inaccurate.

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ENGLISH

79. At eleven pupils are writing more creatively, for example using metaphors and similes for comparison in their descriptive work. They are beginning to use more sophisticated punctuation within a sentence, for example commas to indicate subordinate clauses or to set out a dialogue. They compare different media, for example the book and film of ‘Matilda’ and compare and contrast the detail about the two presentations. In some stories pupils are able to communicate more directly with an implied reader by including asides within brackets. Linking English language work with the wider curriculum was well demonstrated with pupils writing newspaper articles about floods. They are beginning to understand different types of text in newspapers, from catchy headlines to single-sentence captions and a range of journalistic styles to build up interest. Some pupils compared the political fortunes of Tony Blair with the blustery

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ENGLISH

weather in the West Midlands. Pupils are using a range of written forms – poetry, biography, descriptions and letters – but there is little evidence of them working on a first draft, responding to teachers’ marking, or editing to improve a final version. For this reason pupils fail to reach the standard expected by the time they are eleven.

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ENGLISH

80. The majority of pupils make good progress in English as a consequence of the good teaching they receive. Pupils with special educational needs are well supported by the specialist learning support staff. Higher attaining pupils make satisfactory progress overall, but in the Years 3-6 progress is constrained when work is over-prescribed and opportunities are missed to encourage individual expression in writing.

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ENGLISH

81. When pupils receive additional support from the specialist language assistants they make very good progress. For example, in a Key Stage 1 class, during the retelling of ‘Handa’s Surprise’, pupils presented the story as a drama. Children were supported in their work by learning assistants who targeted support at the appropriate attainment level with good results by using real objects and well planned follow-up activities. Pupils were able to retell the story with confidence and evaluated the quality of their work with good judgement: “I was a really good parrot in the story, wasn’t I?”

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ENGLISH

82. Teaching is good in both key stages. Teaching was good in 50 per cent of lessons, very good or excellent in 23 per cent and satisfactory in the rest. This good teaching is due to the good planning which is supported by the National Literacy Strategy’s teaching framework. Teaching is well informed by ongoing assessments and matched to meet the learning needs of pupils at different levels of attainment. Teachers use good questioning to check pupils’ understanding and to help them make progress. Aware of the needs of bi-lingual pupils, the majority of teachers and classroom assistants use strong visual support to allow pupils good access to the meanings of the task or text. In one class a story was told in both Urdu and English and with cut-out figures that were moved as the story unfolded. This provided pupils with excellent support for meaning as well as acknowledging pupils’ linguistic heritage within the

p.35

ENGLISH

Anderton Park School - 36 classroom. With this excellent foundation the deeper meanings of the story and the sequence of events could be explored more fully. Teachers use enlarged texts, pictorial clues and whiteboards to very good effect to record pupils’ ideas or to demonstrate a teaching point. For example, in one class pupils were able to punctuate a text on a whiteboard, which gave all pupils additional support for learning and in another to substitute connectives and adjectives in a written text to improve its overall effect. These strategies not only consolidated the learning but also kept pupils’ interest in the lesson and inevitably modelled ways of writing for pupils to use in their own work. Teachers show high levels of skill in questioning through which they demonstrate a strong belief in pupils’ capacity to make progress. In an excellent Year 5 lesson pupils were encouraged to raise questions about the nonsense poem ‘The Owl and the Pussy

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ENGLISH

Cat’ and were curious when their definition of a ‘runcible spoon’ suggested that it was in fact a fork. There is insufficient use of pupils’ ability to make good progress by helping them to read with better comprehension and or ensuring that pupils acquire sufficient English language skills to allow them to meet the demands of the broad curriculum. There is insufficient emphasis on pupils refining writing skills, adjusting their style and content to the subject requirements and using reading and writing skills to become more independent learners.

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ENGLISH

83. Teaching is supported by a good range of resources for English, for example whiteboards, sets of books for group reading and guided reading, and enlarged texts to help pupils focus on the learning objectives in their literacy curriculum. While accepting that classrooms are rather small, the class libraries for Years 1-2 are of an unsatisfactory standard. Libraries for Years 3-6 are now given up to sets of text for group reading. Neither constitutes a real invitation to pupils to read a wide range of interesting texts. The library too is of a poor standard, with books unattractively displayed and with a limited range of texts. During the inspection there was little evidence of pupils using the library to develop their capacity for personal study or to find information from a wide range of resources to enrich their learning. This is of particular importance since discussion with children from all age groups makes clear that pupils

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ENGLISH

do not have the opportunity to visit the public library to pursue their studies or interest in books.

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ENGLISH

84. Pupils’ attitude to learning is very good in both key stages. The National Literacy Strategy has been well implemented and daily routines are established. Pupils listen attentively and concentrate well. They are very responsive to teachers’ questions and rise to the challenge when invited to explore an idea in more depth. Behaviour is very good, even when pupils are not directly supervised. Collaboration is well established and pupils work well together and build on each other’s ideas. For example, in a Year 1 class pupils felt great satisfaction from working on strings of adjectives to describe a fruit (‘a beautiful juicy passion fruit’), building on each other’s description and improving it.

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ENGLISH

85. Teachers’ assessment in English is extensive and good records are kept of pupils’ progress. Work samples are moderated within year groups and are used well to help teachers evaluate levels of attainment accurately and to monitor progress. Assessment is also used to inform planning and to match the curriculum to meet pupils’ prior attainment. Pupils have individual targets and progress towards meeting them is recorded. Intervention strategies to secure improved standards are being implemented, including booster classes for Years 2 and 6 and intensive support for pupils who are close to meeting national standards. Additional classroom learning support staff are employed in classes throughout the school with very good effect. Anderton Park School - 37 86. The co-ordinator provides very good direction for the work and development of the subject. She has worked with the senior management team to identify what needs to

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ENGLISH

be done to raise standards, particularly by the time pupils are eleven. The Language Curriculum Development Plan has identified strategies to support this key task and includes monitoring and planning, evaluation of coverage, the English curriculum within the National Literacy Strategy, additional opportunity for extended writing and termly assessment to track individual and group progress to inform planning. These developments are having positive effects on the standards of teaching. Work in books, including the literacy folders, is satisfactory overall but is limited in its coverage, and while reading is fluent and accurate, many children are unable to answer questions about what they are reading or to respond beyond the literal meaning.

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ENGLISH AS AN ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE

87. The provision for pupils with English as an additional language is good, with teachers understanding and taking account of the language needs as well as other learning needs of pupils. The school assesses pupils on entry and charts their progress throughout the Foundation Stage. Pupils are provided with good opportunities to listen and speak and work in small groups. The additional adult support ensures maximum opportunity to make progress in English is provided as they develop through their early learning experiences.

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ENGLISH AS AN ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE

88. The school deploys a special teacher to work with groups of pupils, generally in small groups in the nursery book-room or in the school library. There are also several classroom assistants who are able to give pupils good support as they induct them into their early learning experiences. The special teacher plans her work to support and consolidate the curriculum in the classrooms, focusing on the needs of pupils in the very early stages of learning English. She records pupils’ progress carefully and her assessment records and profiles of pupils developing English language competence are useful. While intensive support for these pupils is beneficial, there is no particular advantage in withdrawing very young people from their classmates to work on very similar activities to those planned in the main classrooms. There is insufficient emphasis on partnership teaching with the class teachers and specialist language

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ENGLISH AS AN ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE

teacher working together, with the specialist demonstrating appropriate methodology throughout the session for the benefit of both adults and pupils.

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ENGLISH AS AN ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE

89. Pupils in the Foundation Stage achieve and sustain progress. They conduct conversations making simple meanings clear, picking up key vocabulary quickly. In the nursery pupils were able to identify parts of the house and its furniture, linking it to their own home experience, for example “Ali’s house!” or “We have bunk beds”. A group of children were willing to speculate where people sleep when talking about a bungalow. Through working within a theme, ‘my home’, as part of their ‘knowledge of the world’ learning experience, pupils were offered a good range of reinforcements of key vocabulary and opportunities to describe in English what they already know about home and family life. Progress in Key Stage 1 is good. Pupils listen well and are keen to learn. They are able to recall details of the story, ‘Handa’s Surprise’, and with support, rewrite it, using an impressive array of adjectives with obvious pleasure. They can

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ENGLISH AS AN ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE

recall detail, for example the parrot stretching out its beak to pick up fruit, and demonstrate their understanding through drama. Pupils were provided with a story framework to sequence the events. The story itself was well chosen since the repeating sequence gave children the opportunity to hear the same range of language more than once, which helped them with retelling and rewriting. The teacher was able to model ways of recording the detail to good effect. Anderton Park School - 38 90. By the time they are seven pupils’ technical reading and writing skills are satisfactory. While reading with adult support from the enlarged texts of the literacy hour children use good expression and understand the meaning of what they are reading, including meanings beyond the literal. The strong visual dimension and good questioning by teachers help pupils learning English in this task. This is particularly important when

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ENGLISH AS AN ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE

they read the more complex English to which they have little access except in school. Linguistic features, such as ‘before long’, are sometimes taught specifically and this is useful in order that pupils can understand their function in a sentence. In one Year 2 class pupils were beginning to notice authors’ techniques to build up tension in a story, for example the use of a line of dots at the end of a page and parts of the text in bold or italic print. Again, this is particularly important for children who are also learning to read Koranic Arabic in their mosque schools where more importance is placed on their religious study than on reading with expression. Teachers making links in pupils’ learning, for example by focusing on a number of similar stories provided further consolidation. In this way pupils learning English as an additional language are given the opportunity to revisit the language of previous work and build up confidence.

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ENGLISH AS AN ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE

91. In Key Stage 2 pupils continue to make good progress, particularly with the support of learning assistants. However there are times when the learning context is beyond the linguistic capability of pupils, even when a basic level of understanding is established. For example, when children were working with non-fiction books learning about the function of contents pages and indices, their understanding of ‘black scab on apples’ was limited - and would be to most young urban pupils – whereas pupils could relate to the meaning of ‘dough’ from their own family experience. The literary language of the texts is also less accessible. For example in a Year 6 class pupils were looking at how an author suggests the passing of time: ‘The grey of snow clouds turning into the soft rain clouds of Spring’ was difficult compared with an expression like ‘later in the year’ with which they may be more familiar.

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ENGLISH AS AN ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE

92. Key Stage 2 pupils’ work does not always meet expected standards, though their language repertoire is broad and they continue to make progress in their English language acquisition. There is insufficient careful support, particularly in writing, so that pupils can respond to the language demands of the broad curriculum at an appropriate level. Writing reveals unsatisfactory standards, particularly outside the control and structure of the literacy hour. Reading, while fluent and accurate, is often not understood well enough with the result that pupils cannot respond to questions which test their overall comprehension, a key skill in their assessment tests at the end of the key stage. There is insufficient intensive support for pupils at this stage to help them read and write with sufficient speed at a satisfactory level with a clear joined hand, demonstrating the rules of written English and different text types. The current

p.38

ENGLISH AS AN ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE

deployment of specialist staff does not focus sufficiently on this need. Anderton Park School - 39 93. Teachers understand the importance of giving pupils learning English as an additional language as much visual and practical access to the meaning of the work being undertaken. They use whiteboards well, focusing on the key words and sentences in the enlarged text pupils are studying. They question pupils well to elicit the meanings of what they have read and talk about the impact of the literary and idiomatic language they are encountering. This is essential support for those pupils whose family life is conducted in languages other than in English. Teachers provide real objects, cut-out figures, photographs and visual stimuli to support the learning so that pupils are able to understand more than if they were trying to learn through spoken English alone. Good examples of this were observed throughout the school, shown when pupils were

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ENGLISH AS AN ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE

handling two-dimensional shapes when talking about circles. Others were using real objects to classify materials and taking part in a dramatic presentation of a story to understand a sequence of events and the surprise ending. As the more advanced language demands of the broad curriculum for older pupils become less accessible, there is insufficient focus in planning and support to ensure that teachers make quite clear to all pupils the meanings of complex language and unfamiliar concepts. Pupils are not supported well enough as they come to understand and learn new skills.

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MATHEMATICS

94. The inspection findings are that attainment overall is below national expectations for pupils at the end of Year 2 (age seven) and Year 6 (age 11). Standards are close to national expectations in numeracy, but not in other areas of mathematics (algebra, shape, space and measures and data handling). This is better than the results of national tests in 2000 when attainment was well below national expectations for pupils in Year 2, and very low for pupils in Year 6. The school is working hard to improve these results with some success. However, pupils do not yet know enough about the full range of mathematics outlined in the National Curriculum. Many are held back by their lack of higher-level English language skills. Attainment is similar to that of pupils in similar schools by the age of seven, and below by the time pupils are 11. Boys do better than girls in the national tests. This gap widens as pupils get older. However, in

p.39

MATHEMATICS

most lessons, girls’ and boys’ work is of a similar standard.

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MATHEMATICS

95. By the time they are seven, pupils mentally recall addition and subtraction facts to 100. Many use this knowledge to solve problems, for example, identifying the missing number in a ‘number sentence’ or when sharing objects. They work out what coins total certain sums of money up to £2:00. Pupils use basic mathematical vocabulary, but many find it difficult to explain what they are doing in class. Older pupils correctly use conventional mathematical symbols in their work. Many pupils recognise and know the names of a number of two and three dimensional shapes and simple fractions. A majority of pupils is on target to reach the expected level by the time they are seven, but a significant minority will not reach this standard.

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MATHEMATICS

96. By the age of eleven, most pupils have a sound understanding of place value and use this to round numbers to the nearest 10,000 and, in a few cases, beyond. They know the multiplication tables up to 10. Pupils recognise different types of numbers such as odd, even, square and prime numbers and investigate number patterns. Year 4 pupils excitedly use their understanding of the concept of odd and even numbers and their ability to double and halve numbers up to 100 to investigate number patterns. Older, higher attaining pupils, recognise other sequences such as triangular numbers. However, as with pupils up to seven, there is a significant minority of pupils who do not reach the appropriate level for their age. Pupils read word problems and most understand basic mathematical vocabulary and explain the way they carry out mental calculations, but few are able to explain what they are doing concisely and accurately in

p.39

MATHEMATICS

Anderton Park School - 40 written or spoken form. They do not have sufficient opportunities to carry out practical mathematical activities or to investigate problems that directly relate to their own lives and experiences. There is not enough work in areas of mathematics such as shape, space and measure or data handling in a systematic way to sufficient depth. Pupils do not have sufficient opportunities to use their numeracy skills in other subjects. Consequently, they have even fewer opportunities to practise these in relevant situations.

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MATHEMATICS

97. The quality of teaching is satisfactory overall in both key stages. Thirty-one per cent of lessons were good, 11 per cent very good or excellent and the rest satisfactory. This leads to satisfactory quality of learning for most pupils during lessons. Teaching for pupils in Years 1 and 2 is satisfactory, with some good features. Lessons are usually thoroughly planned. Teachers use resources well to support their teaching and pupils’ learning. In a Year 2 lesson, the teacher had prepared cards with the questions for the whole class session written in words as well as numbers and symbols. This helps pupils build soundly on their mathematical understanding. Usually, the pace of lessons is brisk and this, coupled with pupils’ willingness to learn and positive attitudes, encourages them to persevere at their given tasks and make sound progress. Pupils with special educational needs are supported well so their quality of learning matches

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MATHEMATICS

that of the rest of the class. At times however, pace falters and parts of the lesson are overlong. In these cases, pupils lose interest and do not learn as well as they could. Teachers usually set work that matches pupils’ prior attainment but a scrutiny of work reveals that this is not consistently done.

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MATHEMATICS

98. From Years 3 to 6, teaching is satisfactory. It is good or better in 54 per cent of lessons. Teachers structure lessons well and are careful to encourage the use of appropriate mathematical vocabulary. For example, pupils are encouraged to solve mathematical problems that are written in words, but often their own recording does not reflect this. Pupils are not always given enough opportunities to practise and use mathematical language to examine thoroughly and investigate the different concepts they meet. This is particularly important for those pupils with more limited English as an additional language. Teachers tell pupils what they are going to be learning about in a lesson. This helps them to understand what they are doing and why they are doing it, thus enhancing their quality of education. The better lessons are conducted at a good pace, and pupils are given deadlines within which to complete particular tasks. This

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MATHEMATICS

encourages them to apply themselves to their work and think quickly, for example, when rounding the price of cars to the nearest £1 000. They respond well to this type of challenge. Teachers usually manage their classes well, so all pupils, including the overwhelming majority who use English as an additional language, and those pupils with special educational needs make similar progress. However, in one lesson, the teacher allowed a group of boys to take most of her attention at the expense of the learning of other pupils, particularly the girls. Teachers evaluate their work regularly and use the information appropriately to modify the work planned. Marking is generally up-to-date. In some cases, marking offers pupils useful guidance but this practice is inconsistent across the school. Consequently, pupils do not always have targets for which to aim, or a clear understanding of how they can improve.

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MATHEMATICS

Anderton Park School - 41 99. The school has made a sound start to the implementation of the National Numeracy Strategy. This began a year later than in most schools as it was felt that the particular local circumstances required longer for the school to implement the National Literacy Strategy securely. They have successfully adopted the suggested lesson structure. The mental mathematics sessions at the start of the lesson are useful in helping pupils to practise existing skills and often link well to the main theme of the lesson. Whole class work is usually appropriately planned but is occasionally too long, for example when the teacher is explaining and practising strategies for finding the next numbers in a sequence. Whole class sessions are more successful when the teacher asks pupils to use resources such as number cards or fans to respond to questioning; for example when finding doubles and near doubles across the 100 ‘barrier’. In this way, the

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MATHEMATICS

teacher can identify who is successful and who might need further support and all pupils are involved in the session. Group and individual work usually matches pupils’ prior attainment. Teachers use the time at the end of each lesson with varying degrees of success. It is used well when the teacher reviews what has been done and reminds pupils of what they have learned, for example when a Year 4 teacher reviewed the work that pupils had done on factors and finding fractions and emphasised the use of appropriate vocabulary. Time is used less effectively when the teacher does not pull the lesson together well enough. For example, when drawing conclusions following an investigation on ‘number snakes’ the explanation petered out with no effective summary to help to fix the work in pupils’ minds.

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MATHEMATICS

100. The school makes sound use of information and communication technology in mathematics. Younger pupils use practice programs that fit well with the work being done by the rest of the class, for example identifying number patterns. Older pupils create simple line graphs using spreadsheets.

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MATHEMATICS

101. During the inspection, the focus of mathematics was on number patterns and investigations, in accordance with the National Numeracy Strategy. A scrutiny of the work done this academic year shows that whilst sufficient work is carried out on numbers and number operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, work in other areas of the mathematics curriculum is sketchy and unconnected. Pupils have a basic understanding of, for example, the properties of two and three-dimensional shapes or in drawing and interpreting graphs. However, this understanding is not deep enough and a number of lower attaining pupils has only a hazy idea of these concepts. However, the school recognises that one or two pupils are particularly good at mathematics. One of these pupils is provided for well, for example working in a Year 6 group when in Year 5.

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MATHEMATICS

102. Subject co-ordination is good. The subject leader is knowledgeable and fully committed to improving standards of attainment. However, due to circumstances beyond his control, a number of initiatives have not been fully implemented. For example, pupils’ attainment is measured and recorded, but in a general way, providing an overall mathematics level used to forecast pupils’ probable results in tests. There is little use of assessment information to find out what each pupil knows in each area of the mathematics curriculum so that they can be set challenging targets in order to raise attainment. Anderton Park School - 42

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SCIENCE

103. In the 2000 teacher assessments at the end of Key Stage 1 the proportion of pupils reaching the expected Level 2 or above in science was very low in comparison with the national average. In comparison with similar schools it was well below. The proportion gaining the higher Level 3 was also well below. In the Key Stage 2 National Curriculum tests for the same year 46 per cent of pupils reached Level 4 or above, which was very low when compared with the national average. Of these 6 per cent gained a Level 5, which was below the national average. Since 1996, with the exception of 2000, the trend has been slightly downwards, but standards have always been very low or well below during this period. Factors contributing to these results include the extra allocation of literacy and numeracy time to support the exceptionally high percentage (98 per cent) of pupils for whom English is an additional language, thus reducing

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SCIENCE

science to one hour per week from September 1998 until January 2000. However, the limited facility of pupils’ literacy and language skills and the slowness at which pupils can write is the dominant factor in the test results.

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SCIENCE

104. The school is determined to raise standards and has set challenging but realistic targets for each year group in both stages. At the present time the school is on track to meet these forecasts. A thorough analysis of strengths and weaknesses has enabled the school to target appropriate resources and training and introduce new strategies. A good start has been made on improving scientific enquiry. It has raised teachers’ expectations, increased the pace of lessons and the rate of pupils’ learning and understanding.

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SCIENCE

105. Inspection findings confirm an improving picture in both key stages. Evidence, which includes an analysis of pupils’ past and present work, lesson observations and discussion with pupils, indicates standards to be well below the national average at both key stages, but rising. This judgement differs from the previous inspection which reported attainment close to the national average at Key Stage 1 and below at the end of Key Stage 2.

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SCIENCE

106. By the age of seven pupils recognise that different creatures require a specific type of habitat and that they adapt to the environment. They learn the components of a balanced diet and begin to relate the constituents to nutrient value. They also understand that materials, when heated or cooled, can change, and some can predict what is likely to happen. Many higher attainers build on previous learning of how materials can be grouped into a variety of categories, for example natural and manufactured. The majority of pupils can identify conditions necessary for life and illustrate life cycles, for instance of a frog or a caterpillar. Although all pupils carry out experiments to a simple format, nearly half, whose oral and written English language skills are still developing, record small amounts of work that are often below average.

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SCIENCE

107. In Year 6 at the end of Key Stage 2 work shows that about 50 per cent of pupils should gain the expected Level 4 with a minority going beyond. Throughout the key stage they continue to use their scientific skills more confidently, especially in scientific enquiry, which is an improvement since the previous inspection. Higher attaining pupils understand fair testing and explain accurately the outcome of varying factors, such as the effect of light, water and temperature, on the growth of green plants. They know that some changes are reversible but most are not. Pupils name correctly the parts of plants and many know their function. By Year 6 they know the adverse effects of smoking on health. Higher attaining pupils have a good knowledge and understanding of a range of scientific facts, including the representation of circuits in drawings and diagrams and balanced and unbalanced forces. They use precise scientific names for

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SCIENCE

Anderton Park School - 43 the skeleton, major body organs and the function of the solar system, and understand that force is measured in Newton’s. As English is an additional language for all these pupils, the average and lower attaining pupils have limited understanding of these processes. Pupils’ learning, including those with special educational needs, is satisfactory in both key stages, and the skills of experimenting, investigating, observing and recording are improving.

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SCIENCE

108. Teaching is never less than satisfactory, with 43 per cent of lessons being good. Teachers have a good knowledge of the subject and appropriate expectations of what pupils should do. Lessons are planned well and in many instances are stimulating and challenging. This is reflected in pupils’ sound progress both during lessons and over time. Teachers’ enthusiasm for and understanding of the subject contribute well to pupils’ senses of enquiry. A good example was noted in a Year 4 class evaluating an investigation about conditions for melting ice. Other factors that aid learning include the positive attitude and behaviour of pupils and well-managed classes. This was much in evidence in a Year 6 class during the planning of a reliable and fair test into the effect of light deprivation on green plants. Pupils’ attitudes to science are good. They enjoy lessons, particularly when the opportunity for practical tasks is provided. They handle

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SCIENCE

books and scientific equipment with care. Such an example was observed in a Year 3 class carrying out a fair test on ‘absorption’, using pipettes as measuring instruments. During instructions they listen well and many answer questions thoughtfully, as in a Year 2 lesson investigating materials. However, only relatively few seek to extend their knowledge independently or show the curiosity needed to understand scientific phenomena more fully. Even towards the end of Key Stage 2 many pupils find it difficult to put ideas forward, test and evaluate them despite teacher prompting, as was observed in a Year 5 lesson on ‘keeping healthy’.

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SCIENCE

109. Pupils, including those with special educational needs, are supported well. Teachers know their pupils well and tasks are usually organised carefully to enable them to develop knowledge and skills at appropriate levels. They question pupils carefully to assess understanding and ensure that the pupils know exactly what to do and what is expected of them. Such an instance was observed in a Year 2 class sorting materials into different categories. Teachers form good relationships with pupils and these help to create secure and purposeful working environments. Pupils’ learning and attainment in each topic is assessed and this information is used to plan the next stage of work. The quality of marking varies. At best it is positive, evaluative, sets clear targets and helps pupils to improve.

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SCIENCE

110. The co-ordinator is an enthusiastic advocate of the subject and provides effective support for the staff. He ensures that the curriculum is planned well and that appropriate balance, coverage and continuity ensue. He has carried out an extensive review of provision, factors impeding progress and a statistical analysis of pupils’ test results. Consequently a more rigorous assessment system is now in place, with pupils’ work and teachers’ planning being monitored regularly. He has devised a detailed policy and scheme of work that contains all the National Curriculum programmes of study. The teaching strategies he has acquired on a recent in-service training course are beginning to have a positive effect on scientific enquiry in all classes. The budget allocation is used prudently. He has a clear idea of pupils’ attainment over time and from data analysis has set targets for the end of each year

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SCIENCE

group. A system to track pupils’ individual progress is in its initial stage. Resources are sound and easily accessible. Overall the subject is managed well and the commitment to raising standards throughout the school is high.

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ART AND DESIGN

Anderton Park School - 44 111. Whilst it was only possible to observe one art lesson during the period of the inspection, observation of work in classrooms and around the school and photographic evidence of past work indicates that pupils in Key Stage 1 make good progress in the subject. They achieve standards above those normally expected for their age. Pupils in Key Stage 2 make very good progress and achieve standards well above those expected of pupils of a similar age. This is a significant improvement on the previous inspection report when attainment at the end of both key stages was deemed to be in line with national expectations. Pupils with special educational needs and those for whom English is an additional language likewise make good progress in the subject. These standards are achieved despite the limited time allocated to the subject.

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ART AND DESIGN

112. Pupils in Key Stage 1 are provided with the opportunity to explore and experiment in a range of media in different art forms. Pupils display satisfactory colour mixing skills and use them to good effect in the observational painting of leaves. They consider the works of a number of artists, including Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Klee and use this experience as a stimulus for their own work. Pupils often consider a single theme and explore it through a range of media and art forms. This can be seen in the pupils’ good quality work on the themes of ‘homes’ where they develop good pencil skills in the drawing of homes, collage pictures of houses using felt and fabric, and air-dried clay tiles of the fascia of houses.

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ART AND DESIGN

113. Pupils make very good progress in Key Stage 2. They engage in a wide range of imaginative activities that meet all elements of the National Curriculum for art. Pupils consider a good range of paintings from a number of challenging artists, including Arcimboldo, Picasso, Andy Warhol, William Morris and L.S. Lowry and produce some very good paintings in their style. In the single lesson observed pupils made satisfactory progress in their pencil drawing skills when, following on from a good introduction to the subject, pupils were provided with the opportunity to draw in the style of one of L.S. Lowry’s industrial scenes. They create some imaginative, collages; for example creating some imaginative self-portraits using dried pasta shapes and pulses. Work with textiles is good, with pupils in Year 4 producing some very attractive tie-dyed cushions. Pupils take part in weaving activities, and produce some very imaginative

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ART AND DESIGN

114. Exploration of art from other cultures and traditions, including Aboriginal, Chinese, African and Aztec art adds well to cultural awareness. There are good links with other subjects, in particular with history, with pupils producing some good painting and pottery work based upon the Romans, the Egyptians and the Vikings. The emphasis is always on using history as a stimulus for pupils’ artwork rather than art simply supporting it. Throughout the key stage pupils explore and refine skills, with pupils often using more than one media and skill within a single piece work. For example, pupils’ ornate and very colourful clay tiles and figures, provided them with the opportunity to develop their skills in both pottery and painting. Work in pottery and ceramics is one of the strengths of the school, with pupils in the well-attended pottery club producing high quality figures on a given theme. Anderton Park School - 45

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ART AND DESIGN

115. No judgement was made on the quality of teaching as only one lesson was observed. This lesson was well planned, organised and resourced. The teacher and student teacher gave good individual support to pupils, with the final part of the lesson being used in an effective manner to share and celebrate pupils’ work. Pupils approached their art lesson in a positive manner and showed real interest in the activities in which they were involved. They gave their full attention to their work, supported each other, and displayed real pride in their work.

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ART AND DESIGN

116. The subject is co-ordinated by a well-informed and very enthusiastic subject leader who leads by his own good practice. There is an effective policy for the subject and a very good scheme of work provides for pupils to take part in a wide and challenging range of activities. The school has hosted a number of artists in residence. These make a valuable contribution to the progress and attainment that pupils make. Pupils have received a number of awards for competitions and art projects, with for example, one pupil gaining a national award for his very high quality work based on canal art.

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ART AND DESIGN

117. The subject makes a valuable contribution to pupils’ cultural development. The very attractive art gallery in school, and the stimulating art work around the school make a significant contribution to the welcoming atmosphere and the overall climate for learning in the school.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

118. Pupils’ attainment is in line with national expectations for pupils aged seven and eleven. All pupils, including those with special educational needs and those learning English as an additional language make satisfactory progress. This is the same as the findings at the time of the previous inspection. By the age of seven, pupils cut, mould and fashion materials and make choices about suitable materials and tools appropriate for the task. They know of hinging and joining techniques and the need for hygiene when working with food. During the inspection, pupils in a Year 1 class learned to cut a banana cleanly and safely. This was a skill that few pupils had previously acquired. In a Year 1 class pupils could talk about how they had made playground equipment such as swings and seesaws. They had come to collective decisions on materials to be used and tools needed. Pupils work co-operatively and safely. By the age of 11, pupils have

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

built upon previously developed skills and can record elevations of their designs and comment upon construction problems. In a Year 3 class, pupils had designs for their vehicle in a design and technology folder. Designs showed elevations but were unlabelled. They contained comments on construction and gave a simple evaluation of the work done. This was a good record of the project and a sound recording of the essential elements of the task. The making of Aboriginal shakers by Year 4 pupils in design and technology is well linked to sound work in science, to art and to music. Pyramid constructions and sarcophagi in Year 5 linked the history topic with art and design and technology. There is too little evidence of pupils commenting on how their designs could be improved when the work is finished. Pupils enjoy the subject and work with care to produce finished products. They are proud of the models and

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

constructions they make. Pupils enjoy the challenge that design and technology lessons afford. They are well motivated to think carefully about their designs, make sensible choices of materials and tools and are beginning to evaluate their finished products. Anderton Park School - 46 119. Time allocation to the subject is a major constraint on attainment. The gap between one unit of work and the next can be long and this is detrimental to the development of pupils’ subject knowledge and skill acquisition. Pupils forget how they had produced things. The requirements of the National Curriculum in the subject are minimally met.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

120. Only two design and technology lessons were observed. Both were in Key Stage 1 and provided insufficient evidence upon which to make an overall judgement on the quality of teaching. Judgements on standards of attainment achieved by pupils are largely based upon work seen, talking to teachers and pupils, teachers’ planning and photographic evidence of previous work. There are numerous examples of pupils’ designs and of making techniques, but little in the way of evaluation of work in order to suggest improvements, particularly in Key Stage 2. Evaluation within Key Stage 1 is often verbal and geared to what pupils liked and disliked about their design.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

121. Assessment procedures are linked to the end of units. Assessment sheets are completed by the teacher and indicate what most pupils have achieved. These are broadly linked to the learning objectives for the unit and include statements relating to broad ability bands. Teachers keep informal notes of pupil progress. The school is building up a useful collection of photographs and is beginning to develop pupil workbooks.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

122. Co-ordination is satisfactory. The subject leader has only been in post since September. The subject had previously been without a co-ordinator for over a year. The new co-ordinator has already reviewed the policy document and scheme of work in order to meet the latest national requirements. The new scheme indicates links with other subjects well. The co-ordinator monitors the subject through teacher planning and collecting samples of pupils’ work. Resources are adequate for learning and each class has a tool board. Other resources are centrally and safely, located. The subject has made satisfactory progress, given the limitations of time and budget, since the time of the previous inspection.

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GEOGRAPHY

123. Due to timetable arrangements it was not possible to observe any geography lessons during the inspection. Evidence therefore consists of an analysis of pupils’ work, teachers’ plans and photographs, as well as discussions with pupils and teachers. This indicates that standards within and at the end of both key stages are below those which pupils of this age are expected to reach nationally. A similar judgement was reported during the previous inspection. Considering the very low English language and literacy base from which pupils start school, learning, including those pupils with special educational needs, is satisfactory. The time allocated to geography, one hour per term for one term per year, limits pupils’ opportunity to acquire the appropriate knowledge, skills and understanding of the subject. This decision was taken to increase the time required to introduce the national literacy and numeracy strategy.

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GEOGRAPHY

124. By the end of Key Stage 1 pupils in Year 2 have a satisfactory recall of subject knowledge and the skills involved. They know how to carry out simple mapping and describe their route to and from school, mentioning types of houses and street furniture. They know the effects that weather and temperature variation have on the types of clothes which people wear. In their study of the locality they draw maps of the school building and surrounding grounds. A minority understand the difference between human and physical features such as shops, houses, rivers and hills. Higher attaining pupils discuss both attractive and unattractive features in their neighbourhood and give reasons for their opinions. By the end of the key stage many pupils read Anderton Park School - 47 symbols accurately and use simple co-ordinates to identify locations on imaginary maps. In comparing two areas pupils in Year 2 study the differences and similarities in

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GEOGRAPHY

a Derbyshire village with their own city environment. Higher attaining pupils can identify on a map of the British Isles the countries and some major cities.

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GEOGRAPHY

125. At Key Stage 2 pupils continue to develop their mapping skills and by Year 6 can use co-ordinates with some higher attainers using four grid references. In their work on landscapes, they distinguish accurately between highlands and lowlands on a physical features map. They locate accurately the major cities such as Birmingham, Glasgow, or Manchester and describe some of the main differences between their locality and those of the contrasting Scottish Highlands or Welsh Mountains. Many understand that the features of these localities influence the way of life within them. In Year 3 pupils know the appropriate conditions necessary for arable, dairy or mixed farming. Comparing towns in St Lucia with their own area further develops an understanding of how climatic conditions influence ways of life and types of employment. Pupils in Year 5 have studied river systems and world climates and higher attainers explain ‘source’,

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GEOGRAPHY

‘estuary’ and ‘tributary’ well. In Year 6 pupils’ knowledge of other parts of the world is still under-developed, for example the different oceans, continents and their main physical features.

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GEOGRAPHY

126. Pupils’ attitudes to work are positive. They listen attentively and respond satisfactorily to questions. More confident pupils are eager to offer their own opinions, but quieter pupils require greater encouragement. Analysis of pupils’ work indicates overall sound teaching but in many classes there are limited opportunities for pupils to undertake research. The scope for free writing is therefore not always developed sufficiently and as a result higher attainers are not challenged consistently.

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GEOGRAPHY

127. The subject co-ordinator is knowledgeable and works hard to promote the subject. Evaluations are carried out at the end of each topic. The policy and schemes of work are detailed and based on the latest national guidance. Resources are adequate and easily accessible to pupils and teachers.

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HISTORY

128. Standards of attainment in history are below average for pupils aged both eleven and seven. Whilst current standards might appear to have dropped in comparison with the previous report, schools in the meantime have been asked to concentrate on literacy and numeracy at the expense of other subjects. At present though, not enough time is allocated to the subject to enable satisfactory standards to be achieved.

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HISTORY

129. Scrutiny of work in one Year 5 class shows good use of reference material to support literacy as pupils answer questions on animals, clothing, and farming in Ancient Egypt. A pupil in another class made good use of information and communication technology to find and print information on Ancient Egypt but there is little evidence of his own writing. In Year 4, pupils use worksheets to focus on different aspects of Roman life but no writing of their own is seen. Planning for pupils in Year 2 shows work on communications at different times while Year 1 develop the concept of old and new by looking at toys. Anderton Park School - 48 130. Teaching in the one lesson seen in Year 6 was good. The lesson was well planned, organised and structured and had good pace. The teacher had good subject knowledge and set the pupils the task of locating information about children’s work in Victorian England from different sources of information. Recording sheets are

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HISTORY

matched to levels of prior attainment and good support is given. Their behaviour and ability to work well in pairs enhance pupils’ learning. They are able to identify a variety of sources to substantiate their comments and have a good grasp of major figures, events and inventions in the Victorian era. Discussion with them indicates a good understanding of the chronology of major civilisations.

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HISTORY

131. The co-ordinator was not available during the inspection and co-ordination is covered by the headteacher. There is a suitable policy document. Some good links to art, information and communication technology and literacy are seen. There is little evidence of writing at length. The subject makes a positive contribution to pupils’ cultural development. Resources are satisfactory for learning.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

132. Standards of attainment at the end of Key Stages 1 and 2 are close to those which pupils of seven and 11 are expected to reach nationally. This is an appreciable improvement since the previous inspection when standards were reported to be unsatisfactory in both key stages. This is also more significant when consideration is given to the greater learning and teaching demands put on this subject during the last five years. It reflects the vigour and enthusiasm with which the issue has been tackled. A new computer suite has been installed with 19 computers and a fully integrated service digital network, enabling full time access to the Internet. Each class is time tabled for regular specialist teaching. Pupils have further opportunities to develop their skills on other computers placed strategically in each classroom. Equipment, including individual desks, is treated well and the routines of saving work are carried out

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

133. In Key Stage 1 pupils log on, using the correct password and selecting the appropriate icon for set-up. They operate the mouse competently to select choices, combine text and colour, for example ‘The Wanted Wolf’ poster in Year 2, and save and retrieve their own work. Pupils in Year 1 can use ‘file’ and ‘exit’, and ‘click’ and ‘drag’ to construct simple sentences from word banks. They successfully use appropriate programs to calculate addition and subtraction problems during mathematics lessons. Throughout the key stage they are beginning to experience control and modelling using the floor turtle. By the end of the key stage, pupils use word-processing skills and many can delete and edit text.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

134. By the end of Key Stage 2 pupils are competent in a range of skills and are familiar with a variety of programs. They combine text and picture, working independently using help sheets as necessary. They successfully download graphics and align text from CD-ROMs in their study of the Victorians and pupils in Year 6 use web search engines to access information. In Year 5 pupils can use a digital camera, down load and print the photographs, and many use a program to produce contorted images of themselves. Pupils in Year 3 use a program called ‘My World’ to investigate patterns of multiples while in Year 4 they can format and align text using bold, font and size. By the age of 11 they have a sound understanding of word-processing. They use these programs to write stories, labels and advertisements and in some cases to do projects; most notable examples are in the Year 5 class working on the solar system and the

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

Ancient Egyptians. They highlight, change text and import pictures. They are learning control and some pupils in Year 6 have used sensors to measure sound, light and Anderton Park School - 49 temperature. Modelling techniques are less well developed. The school is aware of this and procedures have been included in the scheme of work to address the issue. All required aspects of the subject are attempted and pupils’ learning, including those with special educational needs and for whom English is an additional language, is satisfactory.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

135. Pupils are generally enthusiastic about information and communication technology. They explain procedures well and some of the more experienced are able and eager to help others. This was particularly noticeable with a group of Year 6 pupils interpreting and retrieving information from Internet sites. These computer-based activities offer pupils good opportunities to work with minimal supervision, using initiative and higher attaining pupils often taking control of their own learning. Many have access to computers at home, and pupils in Years 5 and 6 can discuss the benefit of the Internet.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

136. Where computers are used to support teaching and learning in other subjects the level of competence is satisfactory overall. For example, in a Year 2 class pupils used a writing program effectively to stylise and edit text in poster form. Similarly in Year 4 pupils successfully typed in and highlighted text in a story about ‘Myself’. A further instance was noted in a Year 6 lesson where pupils accessed information from different web-sites to support a topic on Victorian England. Information and communication technology is used well in art and design. Pupils in both key stages are on course to attain the necessary skills, understanding and knowledge across all aspects of the programmes of study.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

137. Overall the quality of teaching is satisfactory with 30 per cent of lessons being good. In the best lessons teachers have good subject knowledge, present information clearly, have a clear focus on a specific skill to be taught, and close links are established with other subjects. Such examples were noted in a Year 2 class consolidating keyboard skills and in a Year 6 class using Internet research skills. Where teaching is less good, pace is slow with occasional over-direction by the teacher, thus limiting the opportunity for pupils to do sustained practical work. Teachers are becoming more confident and secure in the use of new equipment. Classes are managed effectively which ensures that pupils experience handling and communicating of information over a range of topics.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

138. The energetic and enthusiastic co-ordinator manages the subject well. She provides effective support for colleagues and helps to raise standards through in-service training and helpful documents, including an instruction booklet for all staff. Assessment is on- going throughout lessons and a system is in place to assess pupils regularly against the attainment targets of the National Curriculum programmes of study. This system has yet to be fully implemented. The policy and scheme of work provides a good basis for the further progress of the subject. Teaching and learning are monitored closely by the co-ordinator who regularly assists in lessons. Resources are good, including software packages to develop the subject and promote use across all subjects. They are well secured and maintained and are easily accessible to both teachers and pupils. Anderton Park School - 50

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MUSIC

139. Whilst it was only possible to observe a limited number of music lessons, these observations, plus teachers’ planning documents, indicate that all pupils, including those with special educational needs and those for whom English is an additional language, make satisfactory progress in the subject and achieve standards close to those expected for their age. Standards in the subject have been maintained since the previous inspection and are satisfactory.

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MUSIC

140. Pupils in Year 2 demonstrate an understanding of beat and rhythm and are able to identify a number of well-known nursery rhymes by listening to their beat. Pupils enjoy singing previously learned songs and are quick at learning new ones. They use simple untuned percussion instruments to accompany themselves in their singing activities. The sound progress made in a Year 2 lesson was very much influenced by the pupils’ good self-discipline and their very good working relationship with their class teacher.

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MUSIC

141. Good links between music and science were observed in a Year 5 lesson, with pupils using a number of musical instruments, which they made as part of their investigating sound studies in science, to explore rhythmic patterns. The pupils took particular pleasure in the fact that they were playing instruments that they had made themselves. Pupils worked in groups in a collaborative manner, using mainly percussion instruments, to explore, refine and improve their music making skills. The good progress made in this lesson owed much to their determination to focus clearly on the challenging activity set by the teacher and their ability to listen to and appraise each other’s work in a constructive manner. Pupils in another Year 6 class demonstrated satisfactory composing skills as they put together a sound picture to support the reading of a poem entitled, ‘The Storm’. Pupils could select appropriate percussion

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MUSIC

instruments for different parts of the storm and produced an interesting tone poem.

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MUSIC

142. Whilst there are regular opportunities for pupils to listen to a range of music from different cultures and traditions during assemblies there are limited opportunities for pupils to talk about music and appraise it. Although pupils enjoy singing, many of them lack the skills to interpret the lyrics in a sensitive manner and to use appropriate phrasing, intonation and breath control. Pupils approach their music lesson in an enthusiastic and committed manner. They particularly enjoy the opportunity to participate in practical activities. They listen to teachers’ instructions and are keen to please them. Pupils focus all their energies on the work in hand and display pleasure in performing to their friends.

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MUSIC

143. In the two music lessons observed teachers were secure in their subject knowledge, and conveyed it to pupils well. The two lessons observed were well organised and managed. Teachers have high expectations of pupils and provide them with the opportunity to refine and improve their music skills. The final part of lessons is used in an effective manner to share and celebrate what has been achieved. Teachers use praise in an effective manner to raise pupils’ self- esteem and confidence in their own abilities.

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MUSIC

144. Whilst the school is not in the position to provide extra musical tuition, pupils are given the opportunity to take part in a number of workshops and to listen to visiting musicians and groups. A well-attended voluntary singing group displayed real enthusiasm for their musical activities with the emphasis being very much on singing for fun.

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MUSIC

145. Co-ordination is satisfactory. Whilst there is an effective policy and scheme of work, the restricted amount of time available for the subject inhibits pupils’ ability to make Anderton Park School - 51 systematic progress in the subject and to achieve good standards.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

146. Pupils make satisfactory progress in physical education skills by the end of both key stages and achieve standards in line with expectations for their age. This is an improvement since the previous report when attainment in gymnastics, dance and games at the end of both key stages was deemed to be unsatisfactory. Pupils with special educational needs and those for whom English is an additional language also make satisfactory progress in the subject.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

147. By the end of Year 2 pupils develop dribbling skills with feet and bats and learn to control small balls around a given circuit. Pupils have an understanding of spatial awareness and the need to be concerned of those around them as they move around the hall. The satisfactory progress made in this lesson was very much influenced by the opportunity given to refine and improve skills through repetition and the good self- discipline displayed by pupils. Pupils in Year 2 demonstrate a enthusiasm for dance, as they develop skills linked to English country dancing well, demonstrating skipping, galloping and side-stepping, working well with partners, and combining these steps into a well-sequenced country-dance. The good progress made in this lesson was enhanced by the teacher’s good organisational and management skills that enabled pupils to make improvements in skills in a comparatively short period of time. The

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

teacher also used praise in a very effective manner to raise pupils’ self-esteem and confidence in their abilities.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

148. By the end of Year 6 pupils display real pleasure in dance, as shown by the co- operative manner in which they put together an imaginative piece of contemporary dance with a partner. Pupils worked well together, listening to each other’s opinion about the outline of their work, repeated, altered and refined their work, and put together some original performances. Pupils enjoyed the opportunity to watch others performing and were quick to praise their efforts through applause. Pupils in Year 5 display good gymnastic skills as they work in small groups in combining balances, rolls and bridges in order to make a sequence of movements. The high quality work produced by pupils was influenced by the positive approach that pupils took towards their work and their determination to refine and improve their skills. Pupils then moved on to combine these skills in an independent manner as they travelled over wall bars,

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

ropes and ladders. They were keen to display their efforts to the rest of the class and rightly took pride in their work.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

149. Pupils in Year 3 enjoy their visits to the local swimming baths and behave in a safe and sensible manner at all times. They listen to their teachers and instructors and are keen to improve their swimming skills. Although pupils made good progress in the individual lesson observed, very few pupils go swimming once provision for swimming comes to a halt at the end of Year 3. It is unlikely than many pupils will fulfil the requirements to swim 25 metres by the end of Key Stage 2. Swimming is provided in Year 3 in order to satisfy the religious requirements of some members of the local community. 150. The quality of teaching is satisfactory. Fifty per cent of lessons were good or better. This is a significant improvement on the previous inspection when teaching in Key Stage 2 was judged to be unsatisfactory. Lessons are well planned and organised. There is an appropriate format to include a warm-up and cool-down session. Both

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

teachers and pupils dress suitably and health and safety requirements are observed. In the best lessons teachers share the lesson objectives with pupils and check at the end if they have been achieved. They have high expectations of pupils and provide pupils with challenging and demanding activities. They provide pupils with the Anderton Park School - 52 opportunity to observe good practice and give good personal demonstrations of skills to be learned, displaying personal enthusiasm for the work and praise for pupils’ efforts. All this creates an active and rigorous environment where pupils work willingly and hard to please their teachers.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

151. Co-ordination of the subject is satisfactory. The policy, scheme of work and teachers’ planning indicate that the school provides pupils with the opportunity to enjoy all the required elements of the National Curriculum for physical education and to make systematic gains in learning. All pupils have equality of access to all aspects of the curriculum. The two school halls are used well although there is no access to playing fields. The school provides pupils with a satisfactory range of extra-curricular activities and pupils take part in a number of local competitions. With the exception of the issue of standards in swimming the school had addressed all the areas for development identified in the previous report. With its emphasis on team building skills and the need to work together, the subject makes a valuable contribution to pupils’ social development.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

152. Attainment in religious education meets that required by the locally agreed syllabus for religious education both by the age of seven and by the age of 11. All pupils, including those with special educational needs and those with English as an additional language make good progress in knowledge, skills and understanding. This reflects the level of progress made at the time of the previous inspection. By the age of seven pupils know many stories from different world faiths and relate these to daily life. The Islamic story of ‘The Wounded Swan’ led to discussions on caring for animals and the Christian parable of ‘The Good Samaritan’ led to thoughts about ‘what makes a friend’. Pupils are knowledgeable about their own Muslim faith and know about the ‘five Ks’ of Sikhism. They know the story of Esther and its connection with the Jewish festival of Purim and the Hindu story of Rama and Sita. By the age of eleven pupils have matured

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

in their understanding of the place of religion in life and what religion means to different people. They have gained respect for the beliefs of others and can compare and contrast these with their own faith. Pupils in Year 6 remembered well their visits to a Christian Church and to the Mosque. They understand symbolism, for example the Christian cross and the bread and wine. They make comparisons, for example the similarities between the way in which Muslims pray and the way in which Jews pray. They know about the Torah, the Bible and the Koran and draw again upon similarities. Pupils in Year 4 remembered the work on Martin Luther King and discussed discrimination. They were impressed by his saying, “Judge people not by the colour of their skin but by the message in their hearts” and could understand its meaning. Pupils in Year 6 stated that they enjoyed religious education and that it “helped you to learn the

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

ways of others”. The respect and understanding that pupils gain for others makes a significant contribution to their personal, spiritual, moral, social and cultural education.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

153. The quality of teaching is good. Four fifths of lessons were good or better. In most lessons teachers are skilled in using pupils’ own strong faith as a starting point for discussion about that of others. They also ensure that those few pupils who are not Muslim are included well in this. A good lesson in Year 5 did this very well with pupils making direct comparisons with their own and the Jewish faith. Objects of religious interest were used well to add interest and understanding. Language skills were developed incidentally through the use of a ‘big book’ that all the class could follow together. In an excellent lesson in Year 4 a very well chosen video recording of the life of Mohammed gave rise to much discussion. Pupils explored what ‘example’ means in relation to Mohammed and to daily life and this was related well to the messages of Anderton Park School - 53 other great religious leaders such as Jesus, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, of

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

kindness, respect and love. Worksheets were well prepared with a supportive word bank and an Arabic pattern around the border. Very good use was made of good quality pictures to enhance understanding. In the one unsatisfactory lesson work was insufficiently related to what pupils already know and understand. Tasks for pupils in Years 1 and 2 too often consist of filling in missing words on worksheets at the expense of more interesting and creative tasks.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

154. The co-ordinator is knowledgeable and enthusiastic and the scheme of work is helpful to teachers and well founded on the locally agreed syllabus. The school currently allows too little time for religious education but this is to be rectified in the next school year. Resources are plentiful and of good quality and add well to the learning experiences of pupils. Displays around the school value the main (Muslim) faith in the school and those of others well. Special festivals are recognised by these displays and they add well to learning.

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