Biddick Hall Junior School

BIDDICK HALL JUNIOR SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 24 – 25 September 2002

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BIDDICK HALL JUNIOR 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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BIDDICK HALL JUNIOR 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. Biddick Hall Junior School

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Chesterton Road South Shields Tyne and Wear

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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: Father J. Miller

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: 26 January 1998 Biddick Hall Junior School

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Team members

11328 Mrs M. R. Shepherd Registered inspector 9986 Mr W. Twiss Lay inspector 22291 Mr K. Saltfleet Team inspector 20646 Mrs M. Palmer Team inspector

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Team members

TWA Inspections Ltd 102 Bath Road Cheltenham GL53 7JX

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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 Biddick Hall Junior School

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 6

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

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Biddick Hall Junior School serves a large council estate where there are high levels of unemployment and 51% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, which is well above average. All the pupils come from the adjacent infant school. The school also contains a Behavioural Unit for seven pupils with emotional and behavioural disabilities who come from throughout the borough. There are 287 pupils on roll, which is about the same size as an average primary school. There are 18 more boys than girls. All pupils are of British white origin except for 1 per cent who are of mixed race. There are no pupils with English as an additional language. Twenty-four per cent of pupils are on the special educational needs register under the new Code of Practice 1 , which is well above average. Two point nine per cent of pupils have Statements of Special Educational Need, which is above average. All pupils in the unit have Statements.

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Attainment on entry is below average overall and well below average in mathematics. The school has been awarded Beacon status. 2

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

This is an excellent school. The headteacher, deputy headteacher, managers, key staff, teachers, non- teaching staff and governors all work very effectively together to provide a high quality context for learning. They respect and value all pupils. Pupils respond extremely well to the high expectations of the school and achieve high standards in both their academic and personal development. The thorough and consistent systems set up throughout the school ensure that pupils make a smooth transition between classes and benefit from the very good teaching. Pupils enter the school with attainment below average overall. When they leave the school most pupils with special educational needs achieve Level 4 3 by the end of Year 6 and a high proportion of pupils reach Level 5. Pupils develop into mature and responsible members of the school community. The Behavioural Unit provides a valuable additional aspect to the

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

school’s work. The school provides excellent value for money.

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What the school does well

• Standards of Year 6 pupils are very high in mathematics, well above average in science and above average in English. • All pupils make excellent progress; pupils thrive in the high quality Behavioural Unit. • Relationships, behaviour, and personal development are excellent; attitudes are very good. • Teaching is very good with outstanding features. • Leadership and management of the headteacher and deputy headteacher are excellent. • The curriculum is stimulating and well balanced; the teaching and curriculum for moral and social development is excellent. • Partnership with parents is excellent. • The school uses its Beacon status very effectively.

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What could be improved

• The school’s work is of such a high quality that there are no improvement issues. 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

Since the last inspection in January 1998 the school has made very good improvement. The school has considerably improved the key issues identified in the previous inspection. Standards in mathematics have improved, particularly the proportion of pupils reaching the higher Level 5. The high standards in science have been sustained. Standards in information and communication technology are higher. Standards in English have fallen when compared with the overall judgements of the previous inspection, but the school still achieved standards well above average when compared with similar schools in the 2002 national tests. Progress of pupils through the school is now faster, particularly pupils with special educational needs. The quality of teaching is significantly better. Management and leadership have improved even further. Partnership with parents has improved considerably. There is very good capacity

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

1 The government has changed the organisation for identifying pupils with special educational needs. 2 The government awards Beacon status to schools that have particularly good features to their work. These schools then share this work with others. 3 Level 4 is the standard expected of the average Year 6 pupil in the national tests. Level 5 is the standards expected after two years in the secondary school. Biddick Hall Junior School

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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

2000 2001 2002 2002 very high A* English D C C A well above average above average A B Mathematics A A A* A* average below average C D Science A A A A* well below average E

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Key

The inspection confirms the standards of Year 6 pupils to be very high in mathematics and well above average in science. The inspection judges English to be above average which is an improvement on last year. This is due to the school’s continuing efforts to raise standards and the intensive work carried out to extend pupils’ writing skills. Attainment in mathematics is in the top 5 per cent nationally when compared with all schools. Standards are particularly high at Level 5, with 70 per cent of pupils reaching this level. When compared with similar schools, attainment in both science and mathematics is in the top 5 per cent nationally.

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Key

The trend in mathematics and science has been upwards since 1998. There was a fall in standards in English in 2000, but there has been an upward trend since then. The school has doubled the amount of pupils reaching Level 5 in writing since last year. The school sets itself challenging targets. It meets them in English and exceeds them in mathematics.

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Key

Pupils with special educational needs make excellent progress, particularly in mathematics and science. More-able pupils make excellent progress and fulfil their potential. Pupils in the Behavioural Unit make excellent progress both in their academic work and in reaching the targets set for their behaviour.

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Aspect Comment

Attitudes to the school Pupils’ attitudes to their work are very good. They concentrate very well and are very keen to learn. They settle very quickly to tasks and expect to complete them by the end of the lesson. They have a great sense of pride in their school.

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Aspect Comment

Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Behaviour is excellent. Pupils listen attentively to teachers and are courteous to each other in whole-class or group discussions. Behaviour is excellent around the school. Pupils move sensibly in the long corridor both when they are moving individually or as a whole class. Behaviour in the playgrounds is excellent.

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Aspect Comment

Personal development and relationships Relationships are very high quality. Pupils respect each other and have high levels of tolerance. They appreciate each other’s point of view. They are very polite to all adults that they meet. Personal development is excellent. Pupils are very keen to take responsibility for different tasks and see this as an honour. By the time pupils reach Year 6, they have high levels of maturity and take the initiative with confidence.

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Aspect Comment

Pupils carry out their duties as PALs 4 , house captains and prefects very conscientiously.

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Aspect Comment

4 Pupils are interviewed by the headteacher and if successful they become a PAL. They are then responsible for supporting other pupils at playtimes. Biddick Hall Junior School

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Teaching of pupils in: Years 3 – 6

Quality of teaching 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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Teaching of pupils in: Years 3 – 6

The quality of teaching is very good across the curriculum. There are outstanding features in Year 6 in English, mathematics and art and in the teaching of pupils in the Behavioural Unit. Teachers have very good subject knowledge in English, mathematics and science. They use this very effectively to challenge pupils’ thinking. Teachers have very high expectations of each pupil and pupils make considerable efforts to match these expectations. There is a high emphasis on teaching literacy and numeracy and basic skills. Pupils have a very good understanding of what they have learnt because teachers always identify the learning to take place at the beginning of lesson, remind pupils of them during the lesson and then recap them at the end. Teachers use resources very skilfully to stimulate pupils’ interest. Lessons all proceed at a lively pace and pupils work very hard to respond to this pace. Teachers’ planning is very high quality

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Teaching of pupils in: Years 3 – 6

and is particularly detailed in literacy and numeracy. Pupils with special educational needs receive huge encouragement to succeed and make excellent progress. Teachers challenge more-able pupils to reach their potential and pupils strive to meet their targets.

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Aspect Comment

The quality and range of the curriculum The curriculum is broad and well balanced. It is very stimulating, encouraging pupils to learn. There are very good links across different subjects. There is a very good range of interesting extra-curricular activities, with many opportunities for sports.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils with special educational needs This is excellent. The individual education plans are high quality and have very clear targets for pupils, parents and teachers. The organisation of systems to support special educational needs is very high quality. There is a very carefully structured curriculum for pupils in the Behavioural Unit, which is delivered in a highly sensitive way. The teaching team in this unit work extremely well together.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development The curriculum for moral and social development is excellent. The headteacher uses very high quality systems to support individual pupils through his daily surgeries. 5 These systems are complemented very effectively in lessons, where teachers provide excellent opportunities to discuss moral and social issues in religious education lessons or in personal, social, health, citizen and emotional studies. The curriculum for spiritual and cultural development is good.

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Aspect Comment

How well the school cares for its pupils Systems for monitoring academic and personal development are very good. Monitoring of behaviour and attendance is very good. Child protection and health and safety are considered thoroughly. Individual pupils receive sensitive support.

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Aspect Comment

Partnership with parents This is excellent. Parents support the home-school reading partnership very effectively. Homework systems are very well organised and make an important contribution in raising standards. The headteacher works very hard to communicate effectively with parents.

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Aspect Comment

Assemblies make high-quality contributions to pupils’ moral and social development.

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Aspect Comment

5 The headteacher is available every day for pupils to discuss any problems in these surgeries. Biddick Hall Junior School

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Aspect Comment

Leadership and management by the headteacher and other key staff The leadership and management of the headteacher are excellent. He sets up highly effective systems throughout the school. He has an extremely good understanding of each person in the school community and values and respects each individual. He works very effectively with the very high-quality deputy headteacher. Key members of staff carry out their responsibilities very effectively.

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Aspect Comment

How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities Governors carry out their responsibilities very well. They play an active part in the daily life of the school. They have a very good understanding of the strengths and developments of the school. There is a very good balance of expertise across the different governors.

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Aspect Comment

The school’s evaluation of its performance The school evaluates its performance very thoroughly. It then takes very effective action to improve its work. School improvement planning is well focused and combines short and long-term perspectives. Monitoring of teaching is very high quality and plays an important part in ensuring consistency across different classes.

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Aspect Comment

The strategic use of resources The school considers the strategic use of its resources very carefully. The deployment of personnel is organised very carefully. Grants are used very effectively to target improvement. The secretary is extremely efficient. The daily running of the school is very smooth.

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Aspect Comment

Staffing, accommodation and resources Staff development has a high priority in the school and contributes very effectively in raising the level of expertise of teachers and staff. New staff are supported very carefully. The caretaker maintains a very high standard in the appearance of the school, both inside and in the school grounds. There is a wide variety of good quality resources.

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Aspect Comment

The school uses the principles of best value very well. The benefits of the Beacon status are used extremely well to improve the quality of work throughout the school. There is a very high level of shared commitment from all staff of the school, which is combined with a willingness to work extremely hard for the good of the pupils.

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PARENTS’ AND CARERS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

Fifty per cent of parents returned the questionnaire. Twenty-one parents attended the parents’ meeting.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

• The leadership and management. • There are high expectations of their children. • They are comfortable approaching the school with questions or problems. • Teaching is good. • Their children become mature and responsible. • Their children like school. • Their children make good progress. • A small number of parents in Year 6 are concerned that their children get too much homework.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

Inspectors agree with the positive comments of parents. They appreciate that homework increases in Year 6, but judge this to be very successful in raising standards in English, mathematics and science. It also develops very good independent study skills in preparation for secondary education. During the inspection, Year 6 pupils were very keen to receive their homework. Biddick Hall Junior School

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Mathematics

1. Pupils make excellent progress in mathematics due to the following features:-

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Mathematics

• very good teaching throughout the school with excellent features in Year 6; • very effective use of the National Numeracy Strategy; • grouping by ability in Year 6, which supports pupils with special educational needs and challenges more-able pupils; • very effective use of whiteboards, which allows teachers to identify pupils’ thinking and understanding; • meticulous planning of lessons, with great attention to individual and group needs; • very good balance of mental mathematics, written work and class discussion; • consistently good use of homework, which increases in Year 6 and complements work in lessons very well; • very good balance across the different aspects of the mathematics curriculum; • involvement in the Beacon work, which extends teachers’ understanding of teaching and learning in mathematics through discussion with many different visitors from outside the school; • careful ongoing assessment of each pupil’s work to track progress;

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Mathematics

• analysis of progress of individuals on an annual basis; • effective use of numeracy across the curriculum. For example, in Year 4, a teacher reinforced understanding about angles very effectively when teaching computer control; • a co-ordinator who has a very good understanding of the mathematics work throughout the school by monitoring teaching, planning and pupils’ work; • celebration of pupils’ achievement both as individuals and as classes or year groups. For example, the results of the national tests are posted in the main foyer for all to see.

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Science

2. The following features ensure that pupils make excellent progress in science:-

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Science

• teachers are very confident about scientific knowledge and processes, which allows them to use technical language skilfully; • teachers pose questions in a range of different ways to ensure pupils understand new learning. For example, in Year 4, a teacher explained high and low friction by saying, ‘If it’s slippery it moves over easily’; • all aspects of the science curriculum are covered very thoroughly. They are revisited as pupils move through the school, which builds very effectively on previous understanding; • progress of each pupil is assessed carefully and analysed to further improve teaching; • teachers organise different tasks within lessons, which reinforces the same scientific knowledge but carefully matches the pupils’ needs. For example, in Year 3, the large number of pupils with special educational needs concentrated on identifying different categories of food, whilst other pupils designed a balanced meal;

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Science

• teachers extend their expertise by discussing science teaching with schools from the Beacon project; Biddick Hall Junior School • homework is set regularly and pupils in Year 6 produce a large volume of written work, which extends their confidence in this subject very effectively; • teachers use the investigative nature of science to arouse pupils’ enthusiasm for the subject. A Year 6 pupil said, ‘I love science because I like finding out how things go’; • pupils develop confident predicting skills through regular practice in lessons. For example, in Year 5, they predicted which parts of the globe would get dark in an experiment to investigate the effects of a light source on the turning world’s surface; • the co-ordinator has a very good understanding of the work of the school and ensures that resources are carefully organised to ensure consistency across classes in the same year groups and between different year groups.

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English

3. The school is working hard to raise standards in English to meet those in mathematics and science. These efforts are having a positive effect and standards have risen further this year. Attainment is now above average. More-able pupils’ work is analysed carefully and the proportion of pupils reaching Level 5 in the 2002 national tests doubled from the previous year. Progress of pupils with special educational needs is also considered thoroughly and a higher proportion reached Level 4 in the national tests this year. The inspection identified very good progress through the school due to the high quality teaching in literacy sessions and the consistent systems set up to extend pupils’ literacy skills.

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English

4. The following features contribute to the very good progress in English:-

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Speaking and listening

• high quality whole-class discussions, which involve all pupils; • sensitive interaction with individuals in groupwork; • identification and use of key vocabulary in each lesson; • regular opportunities for individual pupils to present their work to the whole class at the end of lessons; • an expectation that pupils will talk to adults. For example, a high proportion of pupils greet visitors in a mature and welcoming manner when they meet them around the school; • opportunities to speak to the whole school in assemblies using a microphone; • high-quality opportunities to speak about personal feelings and sensitive moral issues in religious education lessons or in personal, social, health, citizenship and emotional lessons; • daily opportunities to talk to the headteacher in his surgeries; • interactions by any adult from the secretary, caretaker, governors or other non- teaching staff in the school community when they meet pupils;

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Speaking and listening

• assessment of pupils’ speaking and listening skills to identify progress.

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Reading

• high-quality opportunities to extend basic reading skills in literacy sessions; • high-quality opportunities to develop personal responses to texts in literacy sessions; • the fostering of very positive attitudes to reading; • the use of interesting fiction books in each classroom for individual reading every day; • the expectation that every pupil will read at home every night; • effective use of home-school reading diaries that are kept each year to ensure continuity across year groups; • the use of the school library each week for every pupil to develop skills of choosing books which are then taken home; Biddick Hall Junior School • carefully supported opportunities for pupils to extend their reading skills in assemblies, where a prefect points to each new line of the hymn as it is being sung; • careful assessment and analysis of pupils’ individual progress.

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Writing

• as in reading, very good use of the literacy sessions, with meticulous planning; • very well-balanced programme of handwriting, spelling, grammar and independent writing throughout the school; • the expectation that every pupil will produce a large volume of written work as they move through the school; • many high-quality opportunities to write in other subjects of the curriculum; • the fostering of a sense of pride in the quality and presentation of written work; • the use of high-quality displays and whole-class books to celebrate written work; • the excellent use of whiteboards for pupils to record their responses in lessons; • very interesting subjects chosen for individual writing. For example, in Year 6 pupils wrote about receiving a phone call from a famous person. ‘I put my mobile in my pocket. I couldn’t believe who had just phoned me’; • well-balanced teaching across different types of independent writing. For example,

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Writing

pupils write about exciting personal experiences . ‘I was one on one with the goalkeeper. I hit the ball. It went roaring into the top corner of the goal. The crowd went wild.’ This contrasts with work when pupils create an imaginative context for stories. ‘I was working silently in the depth of my room’; • consistent use of homework to reinforce basic skills, with a well-balanced increase in Year 6.

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Writing

5. There are examples of the outstanding use of the end of the lesson to recap learning. For example, in Year 4 pupils’ playscripts were put on the overhead projector and were acted out for the whole class. In Year 6, pupils extended their understanding of the use of adjectives by completing a quick new task, which was recorded on the overhead projector for the whole class to see.

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Writing

6. As in other subjects, the co-ordinator has a very good understanding of the work of the school. She works well with the literacy governor, who has a very good understanding of literacy throughout the school. The Beacon project also contributes to developing the work in English through discussion with the many teachers who come to visit the school.

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Writing

All pupils make excellent progress; pupils thrive in the high quality Behavioural Unit.

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Writing

7. The school community has a great commitment to every individual fulfilling their potential. This includes both academic and personal development. The headteacher establishes high-quality systems throughout the school to ensure that individual progress is analysed carefully. Lessons are planned very carefully to provide different work for the different levels of ability in the classes. For example, in a literacy session in Year 3 the teacher expected more-able pupils to write out whole sentences with direct speech. Other pupils wrote out just the words that were spoken, the less-able pupils underlined the actual words spoken and the teacher supported the slowest learners in their reading. Pupils with special educational needs have very detailed individual education plans, which identify targets clearly. The special educational needs co-ordinator has an excellent knowledge of each pupil on the special educational needs register and ensures there is continuity in their

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Writing

work as they move through the school. More-able pupils are expected to consistently produce higher levels of work. The very positive ethos established for learning has a significant effect on the average pupils. They strive to match the more-able pupils and achieve levels higher than expected for their age. Girls and boys have equal opportunities to contribute to lessons and to take part in all school activities. Biddick Hall Junior School 8. The Behavioural Unit provides pupils with a calm and stable context for learning, which brings out the best in these pupils. The teaching team work extremely effectively together to ensure that pupils flourish. The teacher establishes a very precise framework for each pupil’s learning and has extremely high expectations of both their behaviour and the effort given to their work. Pupils respond very well to these expectations. All of the teaching team treat pupils with respect and sensitivity, which allows them to develop their feelings

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Writing

of self-esteem. The high quality of teaching in this unit results in the excellent progress of these pupils. There is a high commitment by both the headteacher and the classteacher to returning these pupils to mainstream education. Individual programmes are carefully constructed to allow this to happen gradually. The Behavioural Unit adds a very valuable dimension to the work of the school.

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Relationships, behaviour, and personal development are excellent; attitudes are very

9. The school places a high value on these aspects of pupils’ development. All adults provide excellent models for the pupils to follow. The adults are unfailingly courteous to each other and to the pupils. Pupils strive to match the model provided. There is a wide range of responsibilities throughout the school that pupils feel it is a privilege to carry out. For example, pupils come into school early to find out the menu for the day’s lunch, then write it out neatly and decorate the noticeboard. Pupils are very proud to be a PAL and take these duties very seriously. Pupils expect to enter the school sensibly in the morning and then behave extremely well throughout the day. This leads to great efficiency in the school day because pupils expect that no time will be wasted as they move between different activities and different parts of the building. For example, pupils move to morning assemblies calmly, sit down and concentrate and then leave quietly at the end of the

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Relationships, behaviour, and personal development are excellent; attitudes are very

assembly, ready to begin their first lesson. Pupils have very high concentration levels in lessons because teachers are enthusiastic and ensure there is a regular change of focus in the tasks. The reward system of being selected to go to the special playground is seen as an honour and ensures that different pupils’ efforts are celebrated every day.

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Relationships, behaviour, and personal development are excellent; attitudes are very

Teaching is very good with outstanding features.

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Relationships, behaviour, and personal development are excellent; attitudes are very

10. The very high quality monitoring of teaching, planning and pupils’ work, together with a commitment to staff development, ensures that teaching is consistently very good throughout the school. The following features are evident in teaching:- • very good subject knowledge, particularly in English, mathematics and science; • very high expectations of pupils’ contributions to lessons, effort in completing tasks and levels of behaviour; • identifying the learning to take place at the beginning of lessons, referring to them through the lesson and then recapping them at the end of the lesson; • very effective use of overhead projectors to present information, explain the task, record pupils’ contributions or recap the learning; • very effective use of whiteboards to record and assess pupils’ thinking; • a very fast pace to lessons; • high-quality planning of lessons; • very clear explanations of the tasks;

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Relationships, behaviour, and personal development are excellent; attitudes are very

• extremely good management of behaviour; • very well-balanced lessons, using whole-class discussion, group and individual work; • very good use of the time at the end of lessons to recap and extend learning; • very effective use of homework, carefully linked to the learning in class.

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Relationships, behaviour, and personal development are excellent; attitudes are very

11. The outstanding features of teaching include an excellent knowledge of each pupil’s level of understanding, high levels of subject knowledge and the different levels of the National Biddick Hall Junior School Curriculum. There is also the very subtle use of pace to match the needs of the learning and a passion for getting the best out of every pupil.

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Relationships, behaviour, and personal development are excellent; attitudes are very

Leadership and management of the headteacher and deputy headteacher are excellent.

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Relationships, behaviour, and personal development are excellent; attitudes are very

12. The headteacher is an excellent leader. He has a clear vision of the school’s future and communicates this extremely effectively to the school community. He sets clear targets for improvement and then devises the most effective ways of carrying them out. He sets very high standards in his personal relationships with both adults and pupils, treating everyone with courtesy and respect. He is an outstanding manager. He establishes very effective systems throughout the school, monitors them to ensure that they are being carried out consistently and then moves on to introduce another raft of improvements. He delegates very effectively and supports senior staff in carrying out their roles. Teachers are proud to be co-ordinators, year group leaders or mentors. The headteacher sets a high value on the calibre of the staff working throughout the school. In partnership with the governors, he takes great care in finding staff who will fit in with the needs and beliefs of the school.

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Relationships, behaviour, and personal development are excellent; attitudes are very

He then ensures that there are thorough induction systems to support new staff to fit into the school’s practices.

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Relationships, behaviour, and personal development are excellent; attitudes are very

13. The headteacher works in a smooth running partnership with the very high-quality deputy headteacher. Together, they identify the emergence of tiny details in the daily running of the school, to major issues, such as applying for Beacon status, and then find ways of handling these issues. Together with the senior teacher, they provide a very effective think tank for organising the continuing improvement of the school. The headteacher and deputy headteacher work very effectively with the governing body. There is a high level of communication between management and governors, which contributes very effectively to the smooth running of the school. The governors have a range of different expertise that is shared to support and monitor the work of the school. The senior management team and the majority of the governors have been in post for a considerable time, which ensures that they have a very good understanding of the school and the community it serves. They

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Relationships, behaviour, and personal development are excellent; attitudes are very

combine this understanding with a great enthusiasm for making changes to further extend the education they provide. This powerful combination results in a high level of shared commitment for improvement and a very good capacity to succeed.

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The curriculum is stimulating and well balanced; the teaching and curriculum for moral

14. The school provides a range of interesting activities within each subject of the curriculum, which fascinates the pupils and develops high levels of motivation in completing work. The school has been very successful in improving standards in information and communication technology, which was identified as a weakness in the previous inspection. Teachers use the computer suite skilfully and pupils thoroughly enjoy using the equipment. Teachers work very effectively with the high-quality information and communication technology classroom assistant and additional adults to ensure that pupils’ learning is not hampered by technical difficulties. Tasks are interesting and pupils are proud of their achievements. For example, pupils in the computer club have all produced good quality PowerPoint presentations, which include animation, graphics, photographs, sounds and links across different pages. Very effective links are made with the ornithology club.

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The curriculum is stimulating and well balanced; the teaching and curriculum for moral

Pupils took digital photographs and recorded the song of some visiting waxwings in the town centre. They then included these features in their presentations. Teachers work hard to make links across different subjects of the curriculum. For example, in Year 6, pupils produced written accounts and very sensitive drawings in pencil and charcoal of Victorian children that was based on their work in history. Teachers extend literacy and numeracy skills very effectively across different subjects. For example, in Year 3, pupils wrote down the content of the different sandwiches they were tasting and then recorded their score out of 10 in a simple table. Biddick Hall Junior School 15. There is a very good range of extra-curricular activities available for all pupils. These take place both in school and at other venues. For example, last year there were 81 football matches for boys’ and girls’ teams and the dance club presented a sequence in the local

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The curriculum is stimulating and well balanced; the teaching and curriculum for moral

16. Pupils receive high-quality opportunities to develop moral and social skills. The content of assemblies offer clear guidance on moral issues. For example, pupils considered ways of setting a good example, through a story told skilfully by the headteacher and by four pupils from across the different year groups explaining how they try to do this. Teachers use religious education and personal, social, health, citizenship and emotional lessons very effectively to discuss moral and social issues. They also seize the moment in other lessons if moral issues arise. There is a wealth of opportunities for pupils to develop social skills. There is a very wide range of responsibilities for pupils in the daily running of the school. Year 6 pupils are very proud of their roles as prefects and house captains and Year 5 pupils are keen to take their turn when they get older. Teachers organise lessons

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The curriculum is stimulating and well balanced; the teaching and curriculum for moral

very thoroughly to ensure that pupils co-operate with each other and discuss their work. The daily headteacher’s surgeries allow excellent opportunities for pupils to discuss and resolve any social or moral issues that concern them.

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The curriculum is stimulating and well balanced; the teaching and curriculum for moral

17. The headteacher sets great value to the partnership with parents. The school works very hard to ensure that parents understand the systems and beliefs of the school. Newsletters and the school website ensure that parents are kept well informed and they appreciate the level of communication. When new initiatives are introduced, parents are notified of the purpose and impact of the changes. For example, the school held workshops for parents when the literacy and numeracy strategies were introduced. All parents have signed the home-school agreement and they support their children very well in hearing them read and ensuring that homework is carried out properly. This has a significant impact on raising standards.

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The curriculum is stimulating and well balanced; the teaching and curriculum for moral

The school uses its Beacon status very effectively.

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The curriculum is stimulating and well balanced; the teaching and curriculum for moral

18. The school has a wide range of high-quality activities carried out through the Beacon project. This is of great benefit for the visitors, but also extends the quality of the school’s own work very effectively. For example, the appointed governors carried out their performance management monitoring of the headteacher by joining a group of visiting teachers involved in the Beacon project in observing literacy and numeracy lessons. Whilst teachers are discussing their work with the visiting teachers, they are also gaining an insight into the teaching in other schools. This allows them to fine tune their own teaching and share new ideas with the rest of the teaching team. The school uses the funding for the Beacon project very efficiently. For example, the special educational needs co-ordinator invites high-quality national speakers into the school to share new ideas with other teachers from surrounding schools.

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WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED

The school’s work is of such a high quality that there are no improvement issues.

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

This section is not applicable. Biddick Hall Junior School

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Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 26

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Poor Very poor

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Percentage 15 63 23 0 0 0 0 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 three percentage points.

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 287

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 145

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 8

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 67

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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 0

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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 10

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 12

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Authorised absence Unauthorised absence

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

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

Year Boys Girls Total Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 2 for the latest reporting year 2001 37 23 60

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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 28 32 35 Numbers of pupils at NC Level 4 and above Girls 18 21 21

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

Percentage of pupils School 77 (71) 88 (82) 93 (95) at NC Level 4 or above National 75 (75) 71 (72) 87 (85)

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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 18 30 29 Numbers of pupils at NC Level 4 and above Girls 16 21 18

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

Percentage of pupils School 57 (74) 85 (80) 78 (94) at NC Level 4 or above National 72 (70) 74 (72) 82 (79) Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year.

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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 3 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 0 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 0 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. Biddick Hall Junior School

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 14 Financial year 2001- 2002

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 20.1

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: Y3 – Y6 Total income 6 779,718

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 9 Total expenditure 772,242

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 172 Expenditure per pupil 2,768

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Balance brought forward from previous year 38,350

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Balance carried forward to next year 45,826 FTE means full-time equivalent.

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers who left the school during the last two years 2

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers appointed to the school during the last two years 2

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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) 1

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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 FTE means full-time equivalent.

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Recruitment of teachers

6 This total includes the funding for the Behavioural Unit and the Beacon status funding. Biddick Hall Junior School

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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. 65 33 1 0 1

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Percentage of responses in each category

Behaviour in the school is good. 57 40 1 0 2

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Percentage of responses in each category

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 54 38 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. 65 31 4 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 81 18 0 0 1

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 77 23 0 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school works closely with parents. 51 46 3 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is well led and managed. 80 20 0 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 73 26 1 0 0

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 58 33 4 1 4

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