Birkbeck Primary School

BIRKBECK PRIMARY SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 11 – 13 November 2002

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BIRKBECK PRIMARY SCHOOL

Short 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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BIRKBECK PRIMARY SCHOOL

Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the School Inspections Act 1996, the school must provide a copy of this report and/or its summary free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. Birkbeck Primary School - 3

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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: Mrs P Wagstaff

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: 28 January 1998 Birkbeck Primary School - 4

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Team members

12487 John Lilly Registered inspector 9115 Terry Clarke Lay inspector 22058 Christine Richardson Team inspector 27895 Margaret Skinner Team inspector

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Team members

Open Book Inspections 6 East Point High Street Seal Sevenoaks Kent TN15 0EG

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Team members

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

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Team members

The Complaints Manager Inspection Quality Division

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Team members

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

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REPORT CONTENTS

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

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PART B: COMMENTARY

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER? 15 - 17

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PART B: COMMENTARY

PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS 18 - 22 Birkbeck Primary School - 6

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Birkbeck is a much larger than average primary school with 433 girls and boys on roll between the ages of two and 11. Children in the nursery attend on a part-time basis from age three, and the school has an additional day-care nursery for children between the ages of two and five years. The school roll has grown significantly over recent years and pupils have joined from further afield. This has led to a greater than average number of pupils joining the school other than in the reception year. The school serves a mixed and widespread area and most children come from homes where the social and economic conditions are broadly average, although the range is wide. An average number of pupils are eligible for free school meals. Overall, the attainment of pupils when they join the school is broadly average, although slightly more children are below average than above. The proportion of children on

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

the school’s register of special educational needs is average, although a higher than average number have statements. The proportion of children from minority ethnic cultures is above average; many of these children speak other languages although very few are at an early stage of learning English. The school has received Achievement Awards in 2000 and 2001 for rapidly improving standards.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

Birkbeck is already a very good school that does many things extremely well. It has the determination and skills to become an outstanding school. The headteacher provides outstanding leadership, and leadership and management, as a whole, are very good. Senior staff very effectively support the headteacher’s clear and determined drive for improvement and staff share a commitment to very high standards. This creates a secure and purposeful community in which relationships are very good, and adults and pupils work with ambition and concern for others. Staff and pupils work as a team, sharing good ideas and solving problems together. Teaching is very good and the school provides very well for personal development; as a result learning is very good. Pupils, whatever background, make very good progress and reach their potential. They grow to be happy, balanced, independent and mature young people. The school offers very good value for money.

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What the school does well

The school is still improving and provides extremely well for all pupils. Relationships are very good, pupils behave well and have very good attitudes to school and standards overall are high. Many strengths contribute to these high standards including: • The headteacher provides excellent leadership, and is ably and effectively supported by senior and other staff. • The curriculum is very good. It is comprehensive and significantly enriched by links with the community. • The teaching is very good and, consequently, pupils make very good progress. • Procedures for the assessment of attainment are very good and are supported by the very good care and positive guidance for pupils. • The provision for personal development is very good. • The very good partnership with parents makes a major contribution to the pupils’ learning. • The provision for pupils with special educational needs is very good and includes pupils

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What the school does well

who speak languages other than English and very able pupils. Birkbeck Primary School - 7

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What could be improved

Birkbeck does not have weaknesses as such and what follows are areas that are already good but need to become very good. • Provision for cultural development does not fully reflect the range of cultures present in British and world societies. • Target-setting procedures and subsequent planning do not sufficiently involve the pupils in setting their own targets, planning for their achievement and evaluating and recording their achievements. • Teachers’ expectations in the nursery are not as high as in the reception class. 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

Improvement since the last inspection (January 1998) has been very good. Standards have continued to rise and are now very high; improvement in art, music and physical education has been especially good. Teaching and learning are much improved and senior managers and governors have a clear idea as to how and where the school can further improve.

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STANDARDS

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

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Key

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

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Key

Overall, most pupils join the school with slightly below average attainment and most leave Year 6 with high attainment. Almost all pupils make very good progress. For some years, standards in national tests and assessments at the end of Year 2 declined, but there was a significant improvement in 2002. In this year, results were above the national average in reading and in line with the average in writing and mathematics. Compared with similar schools, they were very high in reading and in line with this average in writing and mathematics. The attainment of current pupils in Year 2 shows continued improvement. Standards in national tests at the end of Year 6 improved rapidly following the last inspection but declined a little in 2002. This was because the prior attainment of the pupils was lower, and several pupils with low attainment had joined the school other than in the reception year. Bearing this in mind, there is still a strong upward trend, confirmed by the attainment of

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Key

current pupils in Year 6. In subjects other than English, mathematics and science, almost all pupils attain the expected standards by the end of Year 6, and most exceed them. The targets that the school agrees with the local education authority are very challenging but sometimes unrealistic. The school has its own challenging targets for year groups and for individual pupils that better reflect prior attainment and are, therefore, more useful.

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Aspect Comment

Attitudes to the school Pupils have very good attitudes to school and play their full part in its success.

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Aspect Comment

Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Behaviour is good overall, and usually very good. Bullying is very rare. There have been no recent exclusions.

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Aspect Comment

Personal development and relationships Provision is very good and, therefore, pupils develop very well, especially socially. Relationships between pupils and adults and amongst pupils are very good. Pupils appreciate and value others from cultures different from their own.

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Aspect Comment

Attendance Attendance is good, but some pupils are late for school, despite the determined efforts of the school to rectify this.

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Aspect Comment

A considerable strength of the school is the team spirit between teachers and pupils. Pupils play a significant part in the school’s success, showing a developed sense of responsibility and initiative. The school council gives pupils many responsibilities and real decisions to make and follow through. Pupils, with great maturity, help to decide which pupils should receive special recognition. The school council is currently designing a ‘buddy’ system.

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Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6

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

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Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6

Teaching is very good and a considerable strength of the school. Of the lessons observed, all were at least good and over half were very good. Pupils’ prior work shows that this is usually the case. The key strengths of the teaching are: 1) the planning; 2) the use of assessment to show pupils how to improve; and, 3) the way teachers use skilled management and manage classes well by using challenging questions to give the lessons pace and challenge, and pupils pride in their achievements. Overall, the teaching of literacy and numeracy throughout the school is very good, with an especially effective focus on building speaking and listening skills. Teaching of pupils with special educational needs and of those learning English as an additional language is very good, as is the teaching of children in the day-care nursery unit. Consequently, all girls and boys, including those from different cultures and backgrounds, are given very good opportunities to achieve.

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Aspect Comment

The quality and range of the curriculum The curriculum meets in full the requirements of the National Curriculum and for religious education. It is greatly enriched through activities outside lessons and through links with the community.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils with special educational needs Provision is very good both within lessons and through other specialised teaching.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils with English as an additional language Teachers identify these pupils and plan effectively to meet their needs. Until recently, provision of specialist guidance and teaching was lacking but it is now very good.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Provision is very good overall. For spiritual and moral development, it is very good, and for social development excellent. Provision for cultural development is good but not so precise and focused. For example, there needs to be clearer and more visible recognition of achievements, creativity and community practices in communities other than English.

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Aspect Comment

How well the school cares for its pupils Procedures for the care and welfare of pupils are very good. Care for the children’s health, safety and protection are strengths of the school.

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Aspect Comment

Parents value the school very highly and are very involved in its success. They make a major contribution, through fund raising and supporting their children’s learning, to the very high standards their children achieve. Relationships between school and home are very good, although parents from minority ethnic communities tend to be less involved with the day-to-day life and work of the school. Education links with business, local churches, the adjacent community education centre and many other schools significantly enrich the curriculum and make it very relevant to pupils’ present and future lives.

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Aspect Comment

Leadership and management by the headteacher and other key staff The headteacher provides excellent leadership for staff and pupils. Senior staff and all adults work as a team with vision and ambition, ensuring that the school is very well managed.

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Aspect Comment

How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities The governing body is very well led. It fulfils its responsibilities well, working in an efficient, effective and very involved manner.

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Aspect Comment

The school’s evaluation of its performance The school is so successful because staff evaluate their performance and practice rigorously and continuously. Once they identify a need to improve, staff act immediately to put things right.

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Aspect Comment

The strategic use of resources The school has faced considerable financial problems as it has grown, and has managed its finances very well. Finances and other resources are well and prudently invested for the school’s immediate and longer- term needs. Birkbeck Primary School - 10 There are adequate numbers of qualified staff to meet the requirements of the curriculum and they are very effectively deployed. The teaching assistants are very effective. Arrangements for staff development are very good. The accommodation is good and has been very well developed to provide a stimulating and attractive place in which to learn. The site manager and cleaners keep the school in a clean, safe and ‘sparkling’ condition. Learning resources are of good quality and range. Staff and governors compare the school’s performance rigorously with others, seek out good ideas and advice from elsewhere and are always searching for new ways to improve. The school’s administration team makes a very

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Aspect Comment

important contribution to the effectiveness and efficiency of the school.

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improved

• The leadership of the school • The ‘inspiring’ teaching that helps their children do their best • Their good working partnership with the school • The good behaviour and attitudes of pupils • The way the school helps their children mature • The systematic setting of homework • Behaviour in some classes • The responsiveness of provision for special educational needs

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improved

Inspectors agree with the positive views of parents. They find that appropriate and relevant homework is set systematically and the tasks communicated well to parents. Provision for special educational needs is very good and highly responsive. The pupils are typical children and some, therefore, do not find it easy to behave well. Even so, good class management and strong guidance usually ensure high standards of behaviour. All concerns raised by parents were investigated. Birkbeck Primary School - 11

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supported by senior and other staff

1. The headteacher shares her vision of where the school needs to go and what high quality schooling means. She is an excellent role model for staff and pupils alike. By virtue of effective management and very effective staff development, she skilfully enables senior managers and other staff to perform equally effectively. Delegation is skilfully managed. This creates a close-knit team that shares good ideas and problems, and a school that is best described as a purposeful, determined and very caring ‘family’ that commits itself to helping every member, child or adult, to succeed.

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The curriculum is very good, and is significantly enriched by links with the community

2. The curriculum is very well planned and is, in consequence, broad, balanced and relevant. Teachers show pupils how each part contributes to others and how what they learn relates to life in society. Trips and visits, a good range of clubs and activities, and strong links with the community enrich the learning. This is because pupils see the importance and purpose of what they are asked to learn. The way teachers deliver the curriculum helps each pupil, whatever their ability, background or needs to benefit from what is on offer. Provision for personal development including personal, social and health education of high quality, helps pupils to understand the deeper meaning and purpose of what they learn and to apply it to their own lives.

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The teaching is very good and, consequently, pupils make very good progress

3. Teaching is very good and much improved since the last inspection. Of lessons and teaching situations observed, all were at least good and more than half were very good. Pupils’ previous work shows that this is generally the case. Teaching of Year 6 pupils is excellent but it is almost as good in several other years. The key strengths in all the teaching are:

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The teaching is very good and, consequently, pupils make very good progress

• Very good planning for each lesson and over time.

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The teaching is very good and, consequently, pupils make very good progress

• Very good questioning that develops pupils’ speaking, listening and thinking skills.

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The teaching is very good and, consequently, pupils make very good progress

• Very effective use of assessment to set targets and show pupils how to improve.

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The teaching is very good and, consequently, pupils make very good progress

• The way teachers link the learning activities and level of challenge to the needs of each individual.

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The teaching is very good and, consequently, pupils make very good progress

• Very effective class management that drives high expectations, pace and excitement in learning.

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The teaching is very good and, consequently, pupils make very good progress

• Very effective partnership between teachers and skilled teaching assistants.

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The teaching is very good and, consequently, pupils make very good progress

• The excellent relationship between teacher and pupils; they share responsibility for everyone’s achievement. Birkbeck Primary School - 12 4. Many parents referred to the teaching as ‘inspiring’, and many lessons showed inspectors why they described the teaching in this way. Many lessons generate an excitement in learning that motivates pupils to achieve their very best, not simply because they want to please their teacher but because they are excited when they succeed, however challenging the task. The teaching of literacy and numeracy is very effective, not only in focused sessions but in all subjects. Teachers use information and communication technology very well, and teaching of the various skills is very good. A core strength is that teachers treat every subject or lesson as important and significant; for example, this extended to a social education lesson for pupils not taking part in the

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The teaching is very good and, consequently, pupils make very good progress

5. Consequently, pupils become keen and eager learners, able and willing to manage and take responsibility for their own learning. They work equally well alone, in pairs and in collaborative groups. They show great care and pride in their work. This very good picture is not because the pupils are naturally unusually able or keen to learn. They are typical children who need to learn how to learn and, some of whom, find it difficult to work hard, concentrate and behave well. They make very good progress because they catch the enthusiasm of their teachers, share their high expectations and find the work meets their needs. Teaching in the nursery is good; it is well planned and delivered. It lacks, however, the very high challenge, excitement and precision children find in the reception year. Consequently, the transition as children move from the nursery to very challenging teaching in the reception class is not as smooth as it needs to be. Children

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The teaching is very good and, consequently, pupils make very good progress

do not make as much progress in the nursery as they do in the reception year. Support for pupils with special educational needs and those with English as an additional language is very good, both within lessons and also through specialised teaching. Similarly, pupils with special gifts and talents are given opportunities to flower and develop their skills. For example, individual instrumental players perform in lessons and assemblies and others are involved with the school council, school newspaper and sports competition. The arrangement into groups of similar ability in some lessons in the upper years helps significantly to focus on the needs of the very able and those requiring extra support. Across the school, additional sessions in, for example, the use of computers to improve spelling, broaden very effectively the opportunities to achieve. Learning benefits considerably from the way the school helps pupils to mature, and

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The teaching is very good and, consequently, pupils make very good progress

from the support they receive from parents with, for example, homework.

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very good care and positive guidance for pupils

6. Staff assess attainment and progress rigorously, accurately and systematically. This provides a firm foundation for evaluating the effectiveness of teaching and the progress made by pupils. In turn, this enables teachers to set challenging targets for pupils in each lesson and over time. Consequently, the school and teachers have a very good awareness of where pupils are doing well and where improvement is still needed. This allows pupils to understand how well they are doing and how they can improve their work, but this side of the partnership offers room for further improvement, for example by involving pupils more fully in setting and achieving targets.

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very good care and positive guidance for pupils

7. This very good assessment allows teachers to show pupils where and why they succeed, for example through marking. This use of assessment is equally effective in lessons where teachers test progress through questioning and show pupils how to move their learning forward. Overall, current assessment procedures provide a very good foundation for further improvement and development by involving the pupils more.

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The provision for personal development is very good

Birkbeck Primary School - 13 8. At the heart of the school is its care and concern for each individual as a person. Provision is carefully planned and activities are skilfully implemented. Assemblies of high quality reinforce and act out the community spirit of the school, promoting values and recognising achievement. They enable pupils to express their feelings and consider their beliefs, while also giving them opportunities to consider the world with wonder. Assemblies support effective religious education, and this helps pupils develop spiritually as people who see the importance of faith and belief in their own lives and that of others. The school sets high moral expectations through full school and class rules that pupils help develop. Teachers help pupils distinguish between right and wrong, and act in a right way. Consequently, pupils are very caring of others but realise that this is not always easy to achieve. Both these very good aspects develop excellent social

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The provision for personal development is very good

awareness. Through the very dynamic school council and the many responsibilities given to pupils, they learn to take responsibility and show independent initiative. Trips, residential experience and ‘work experience’ in Year 6, when pupils support younger pupils, help pupils to taste the realities of adult life. Overall, the provision supports very good personal development that, in turn, empowers the pupils’ learning considerably.

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The provision for personal development is very good

9. Birkbeck is a culturally rich school with many opportunities for artistic, musical, dance and craft creativity. Good religious education, history and geography give the pupils a breadth of awareness and appreciation. Even so, there is insufficient explicit expression of creative achievement in other cultures and specific demonstration of the contributions different faiths and cultures make in the world and British society.

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The partnership with parents makes a major contribution to the pupils’ learning

10. There is a very active parents’ association that arranges many activities and raises significant sums of money. This forges strong links between home and school. Staff welcome and value these links. Good information from the school helps this partnership forward and the school seeks the views of parents about ways to improve. Reading logs and homework diaries provide additional means of helping parents become involved in their children’s learning.

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The partnership with parents makes a major contribution to the pupils’ learning

11. Some parents and governors feel that although relationships between home and school are good, the partnership with some parents needs further development. For example, many at the pre-inspection parents’ meeting felt that some parents condoned lateness to school and others felt that parents from ethnic minority backgrounds might feel excluded. The inspection team does not have enough evidence to make a judgement, but it is clear that these views represent areas for governors and the school to investigate further.

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The partnership with parents makes a major contribution to the pupils’ learning

The provision for pupils with special educational needs is very good.

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The partnership with parents makes a major contribution to the pupils’ learning

12. The co-ordinator for special educational needs is new but she builds on the previous good practice of colleagues who have left the school. The progress of pupils is accurately assessed and this leads to useful individual education plans. In addition to those who find learning difficult, support increasingly covers the needs of the very able, those learning English as an additional language and those joining the school from elsewhere. As with so much else in the school, no member of staff works in isolation. Teachers work closely with the co-ordinator, teaching assistants deliver very effective additional learning opportunities and, above all, each activity takes account of the overall development of the child.

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present in British and world societies

13. Provision for cultural development is good, but offers opportunities for further improvement. The artistic life of the school is rich, dynamic and varied, and offers many opportunities for individual and group performance and expression in, for example, music. Contributions by parents have significantly increased the learning resources for music so that the curriculum can represent a better range of music from different cultures. Even so, there are still insufficient opportunities across cultural activities to learn about and experiment with creativity from other cultures. At present, creative experiences tend to be European centred.

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present in British and world societies

14. Religious education covers the major faiths present in British society and there are very good links with local churches. Pupils of faiths other than Christian tell other pupils about their faith and practices, and assemblies mark the major faith festivals. Many classroom and general displays highlight particular aspects of a good range of world faiths. Even so, you do not see around the school the high impact displays that continually remind pupils of the rich variety of faiths present in society as, for example, seen in some other very good schools where more of the pupils are from other faiths. Similarly, there are too few examples of achievements in different cultures and societies, and the unique contribution made by, for instance, Africans or Asians.

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present in British and world societies

15. Learning resources and displays for art and design, music and literature do not yet provide sufficient variety of examples of, for instance, art and craft, musical instruments and recorded music, and literature in English from African, Afro American and Caribbean, and Asian writers. The school realises this and parents have made significant contributions to extending the range, for example in music. There is also too little literature in the languages of pupils who speak other languages other than English. Improving the visual promotion of cultural diversity would provide significant opportunities for parents from minority ethnic cultures to become and feel more involved with the work of the school and feel their culture was valued.

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recording their achievements

16. The school links very good assessment to useful and realistic targets for year groups, classes and individual pupils. This makes a significant contribution to raising standards, but is not as yet as developed as it should and could be.

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recording their achievements

17. Pupils agree targets for improvement and parents are also informed, but pupils and parents have yet to become sufficiently involved in setting and achieving these targets. This is because pupils have insufficient opportunities to set and write down their own targets on a frequent, perhaps weekly, basis. Consequently, the process of ‘review, plan and evaluate’ has yet to become sufficiently part of the way pupils take responsibility for their own learning. When inspectors saw teachers give pupils opportunities to evaluate each other’s or their own work, the learning gained a new and exciting dynamic, and both progress and attainment increased. As yet, the pupils do not have the skills to drive their own learning by asking ‘What works?’ ‘What does not?’ and ‘What must I learn next?’. Similarly, although teachers recognise and reward achievement, pupils are not given enough opportunity to record their own achievement,

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recording their achievements

deciding what is worth recording and what is not. When this was made possible, for example at the end of some lessons, the pupils’ motivation increased. Birkbeck Primary School - 15 18. The use of home-school books, that include not simply information but also create a two-way partnership in support of the pupils’ learning, is more developed in some very effective schools. These books bring together homework and reading records, targets and the plans for their achievement, and records of academic and personal achievement added to by both home and school. This approach is not fully developed at Birkbeck.

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Teachers’ expectations in the nursery are not as high as in the reception class

19. Provision in the nursery is satisfactory with some good features. The setting provides a caring and secure environment in which children develop and learn effectively. Planning and assessment are satisfactory and teachers and teaching assistants work as an effective team. Even so, standards are good overall, rather than very good as elsewhere in the school. This creates problems when pupils progress to the reception class where expectations and challenge are much higher.

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Teachers’ expectations in the nursery are not as high as in the reception class

20. This situation is because the teaching team do not sufficiently balance their concern for the personal development of children and the creation of a warm and secure ethos with the equally important concern that children should make rapid progress and reach their potential. Expectations are too low and challenge too general; for example, to listen in ‘ a quiet, attentive manner ’ (a quote from planning) is not the same as ‘to listen carefully so that we can understand what we need to do our work’. Planning does not pay enough attention to driving learning forward, using the ‘steps’ contained in national guidance, with targets to meet within each area of learning by the time children progress to the reception class. Consequently, too many children make satisfactory and sometimes good progress, rather than very good progress seen in other classes, and are not sufficiently prepared for the greater demands they will find in the reception class.

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

21. Birkbeck already provides very high quality education and the pupils achieve very well. It is a highly inclusive school, providing very well for girls and boys who represent a mix of cultural backgrounds and wide ranging needs. What follows are areas that are, in the main, already good but need to become even better. Birkbeck Primary School - 16 22. To raise standards even further, staff and governors should:

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(1) Improve provision for cultural development so that it better reflects the range of cultures present in British and world societies by:

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• ensuring planning and resources for music, and art and design introduce pupils to a wider range of creativity in other cultures; • making more explicit the faiths and cultures in present British society, for example by providing permanent yet changing displays on each major faith and culture; • providing more explicit information for pupils on achievements in different cultures; • providing a greater range of literature from other cultures, some of which should be in the language that some pupils speak in addition to English; • finding ways to encourage greater involvement in the life and work of the school by parents from cultures other than English. (Paragraphs 13-15 are best read as a whole)

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(2) Build upon present target-setting developments in ways that encourage pupils to be more involved in setting their own targets, planning for their achievement and evaluating and recording their achievements by:

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• providing more opportunities for pupils to decide and write down their targets for the week; • providing more opportunities for pupils to evaluate their progress towards their targets; • providing more opportunities for pupils to record their personal and academic achievements; • seeking ways to involve parents even more in the achievement of these targets through the use of materials such as home-school target and records of achievement books, building upon current homework diaries. (Paragraphs 16 – 18 are best read as a whole)

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(3) Raise expectations in the nursery so that there is a better match with teaching approaches in the reception year by:

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• ensuring that teaching is guided by more challenging targets for children to achieve as they move through the steps towards their early learning goals; • ensuring that the planning of activities provides greater focus on the precise level of skills to be gained; • ensuring assessment measures more precisely the ‘steps’ in children’s learning so that teaching can be adapted if learning slows. (Paragraphs 5, 19 and 20)

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

Nursery Unit for children aged two to five years with particular social needs.

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

23. The school has a nursery unit for up to ten children aged between two and five years of age who have particular social needs. There are two specialist, experienced and qualified nursery officers. Although operating separately and with direct links with social services, there is close integration with the school’s main nursery. This type of provision is normally inspected separately but has not as yet been inspected in ways covered by recent legislation. The current inspection was provided with extra time to Birkbeck Primary School - 17 evaluate the contribution of the nursery unit to the school but not specifically to evaluate in full the quality of provision.

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

24. The teaching and care in the unit are of high quality and expectations are realistic but high. The setting creates a warm, secure and loving environment for the children. Good use is made of the accommodation, which is not ideal being too small and not well designed for its present purpose. For example, the space is cramped and it is difficult for staff to see children at all times. Staff help the children feel they are not only highly valued but are fully part of the school family. There is a very good working partnership with parents, and staff have plans to improve and increase support for families. A mark of the unit’s success is the number of children who go on to join successfully mainstream provision at Birkbeck or elsewhere.

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

25. It is clear that all pupils in the school gain from having the unit in the school, learning that some children are not as advantaged as themselves. For pupils and staff alike, the unit has come to symbolise what ‘inclusive’ and good schools are. The specialised staff offer useful training and guidance to other staff in areas in which mainstream staff may not be fully aware. Although receiving extra funds to run the unit, the school reports that it needs to subsidise the unit from monies given for mainstream pupils. This is because funds to meet contingencies are not sufficient to meet the needs that actually occur, for example through the absence of staff. Even so, the school gains significantly from providing for these children and in turn the children in the unit gain considerably by being part of mainstream provision and belonging to the wider school family. Birkbeck Primary School - 18

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Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of lessons or parts of lessons observed 36

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Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 14

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactor y Poor Very Poor

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

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

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils on the school’s roll Nursery YR – Y6

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 33 380

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals – 79

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Information about the school’s pupils

Special educational needs Nursery YR – Y6

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 0 9

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 16 59

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Information about the school’s pupils

English as an additional language No of pupils

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with English as an additional language 23

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 26

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 16

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Attendance

National comparative data 5.4 National comparative data 0.5

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Attendance

Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. Birkbeck Primary School - 19

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

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 1 for the latest reporting year 2002 37 23 60

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

National Curriculum Test/Task Results Reading Writing Mathematics

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

Boys 34 34 34 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 21 20 20

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

Percentage of pupils School 92 (90) 90 (72) 90 (84) at NC level 2 or above National 84 (84) 86 (86) 90 (91)

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

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

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

Boys 35 34 37 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 21 20 22

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

Percentage of pupils School 93 (74) 90 (79) 98 (95) at NC level 2 or above National 85 (85) 89 (89) 89 (89)

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

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

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

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 2 for the latest reporting year 2002 33 28 61

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

National Curriculum Test/Task Results English Mathematics Science

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

Boys 23 27 32 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 26 26 25

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

Percentage of pupils School 80 (95) 87 (85) 93 (97) at NC level 4 or above National 75 (75) 73 (71) 86 (87)

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

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

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

Boys 27 29 29 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 27 27 27

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

Percentage of pupils School 89 (95) 92 (90) 92 (97) at NC level 4 or above National 73 (72) 74 (74) 82 (82)

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

Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year. Birkbeck Primary School - 20

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Categories used in the Annual School Census No of pupils on roll Number of fixed period exclusions Number of permanent exclusions

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

White – any other White background 0 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Mixed – any other mixed background 0 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Asian or Asian British - Pakistani 5 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Asian or Asian British – Bangladeshi 0 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Asian or Asian British – any other Asian background 0 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black or Black British – Caribbean 0 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black or Black British – any other Black background 6 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

The table refers to pupils of compulsory school age only. It gives the number of exclusions, which may be different from the number of pupils excluded. Birkbeck Primary School - 21

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 15 Financial year 2001-2002

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 22

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: YR – Y6 Total income 1000826

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 21 Total expenditure 1009838

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 231 Expenditure per pupil 2239

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Qualified teachers and support staff: nursery Balance brought forward from previous year 49659

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 1 Balance carried forward to next year 40647

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 33

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 6

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 107

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Teachers and classes Financial information

FTE means full-time equivalent. The nursery figures include nursery unit and mainstream nursery staff

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers who left the school during the last two years 3.4

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers appointed to the school during the last two years 2.6

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Recruitment of teachers

Total number of vacant teaching posts (FTE) 0

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of vacancies filled by teachers on temporary contract of a term or more (FTE) 0.2

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Recruitment of teachers

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

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Recruitment of teachers

FTE means full-time equivalent. Birkbeck Primary School - 22

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Percentage of responses in each category

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

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Percentage of responses in each category

My child is making good progress in school. 49 44 5 1 1

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Percentage of responses in each category

Behaviour in the school is good. 50 45 2 1 2

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Percentage of responses in each category

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 37 55 7 1 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 39 51 8 1 1

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Percentage of responses in each category

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 70 26 3 1 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 65 33 1 1 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school works closely with parents. 52 39 7 1 1

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is well led and managed. 72 26 0 1 1

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 64 33 1 1 1

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 51 37 3 1 8

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Other issues raised by parents

Inspectors received many notes and letters from parents. Almost all these parents wrote to say how much they valued the school, including some who had moved their children from other schools to Birkbeck.

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Other issues raised by parents

A small minority of letters raised concerns over behaviour, provision for special educational needs and homework. The inspection team investigated these concerns and find that the events that caused concern were exceptions to normal high standards or represent differences of opinion between the home and school that the school made every effort to resolve.

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