Goostrey Community Primary School

GOOSTREY COMMUNITY PRIMARY SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 23 rd to 24 th June 2003

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GOOSTREY COMMUNITY PRIMARY SCHOOL

Short inspection carried out under section 10 of the School Inspections Act 1996 Goostrey Primary School 2 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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GOOSTREY COMMUNITY 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. Goostrey Primary School - 3

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Main Road Goostrey Crewe

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: The governing body

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: 7 th October 1997 Goostrey Primary School - 4

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Team members 2592 Mr R Cheetham Registered inspector 9003 Mr B Findley Lay inspector 15658 Mrs A Dawes Team inspector

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Leicestershire County Council Advice and Inspection Service Education Department County Hall Glenfield LE3 8RF

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

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

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

The Complaints Manager Inspection Quality Division

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

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

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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

Goostrey Primary School is a smaller than average sized community school, on a split site that serves the village of Goostrey and the surrounding area and is near to the town of Holmes Chapel. It is an area of well above average economic circumstances. The attainment of most pupils on entry is above that generally found although there is occasionally some slightly lower achievement in writing. Children usually start in the reception class at the start of the year of their fifth birthday and have a fortnight of part time attendance at the outset. There are 166 pupils on roll (an increase since the previous inspection) and most have a British White ethnic background with a few mixed or Chinese backgrounds. Five per cent of pupils are known to be entitled to free school meals and this is below the national average. Thirteen per cent are on the school’s list of pupils with special educational needs

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

and this is below average. Their needs include: specific learning difficulties, speech and communication learning difficulties and Downes Syndrome. There are three pupils with statements of special educational need. Since the previous inspection, the school has appointed a new headteacher and, very recently, a new deputy headteacher. There have also been significant changes in teaching staff. The school has received two national awards for improving pupils’ standards of attainment and a Healthy Schools Award. The grounds have been developed and the reception and Year 1 and 2 classrooms have been refurbished.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

This is an effective school that gives satisfactory value for money. It has improved pupils’ levels of attainment and enables them to make good progress. The quality of most teaching is at least good and staff include all its pupils very well in the school’s provision. The school is well led and managed and the headteacher sets a very clear educational direction. What the school does well • Promotes well above average standards and good progress in speaking and listening, reading, mathematics, science and information and communication technology (ICT) by overall good quality teaching • Encourages pupils’ very good attitudes to learning through an enriched curriculum • The very clear leadership provided by the headteacher has put in place effective systems for further improvement What could be improved • The overall quality of teaching so that it is all of consistently higher quality The area for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan.

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

The school was previously inspected in October 1997 and since then has made good progress. It has a good capacity for continuing improvement. By Year 6, standards in English, mathematics and science have improved. In response to the Key Issues in the previous report, the school has made overall good progress. There are schemes of work in place for geography and history to guide teachers’ planning and there is effective monitoring of curriculum plans. Although the deputy headteacher has only taken up her post in the last few weeks, her role and that of the headteacher are outlined in their job descriptions and are now being refined. There has been significant improvement to the music provision and although it was not possible to inspect music lessons because of timetabling constraints, from other evidence it is clear that pupils are making at least satisfactory progress.

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STANDARDS

Goostrey Primary School - 7 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 B A B well above average above average A

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Key

B mathematics A A A A average below average C D science B A A A well below average E

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Key

When children start in the reception class, their attainment is above that generally found but occasionally their attainment in writing is slightly below this. They make very good progress, and by the start of Year 1 nearly all will at least achieve the Early Learning Goals (the average level) in each of the Areas of Learning (the curriculum for children in the Foundation Stage). A significant minority will achieve more highly than this especially in communication, language and literacy, in mathematics and in personal, social and emotional development. Nearly all are well prepared for making good progress in the subjects of the National Curriculum.

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Key

In recent years, standards in reading by Year 2 have been very high (this means in the highest five per cent nationally) or well above average and in 2002, they were well above the national average and the average of similar schools (those with a similar proportion of pupils entitled to free school meals). Standards in writing have been very high or well above average but are slightly lower than those in reading. In 2002, writing standards were above the national average and the average of similar schools. Standards in mathematics have been either very high or average and in 2002 they were in the highest five per cent nationally and well above the average of similar schools. The 2002 teacher assessments for science were very high when compared with all and similar schools. By the end of Year 6 in recent years, standards in English have been well above or above average and were well above the national average and above the average of similar schools in 2002. However, writing

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Key

standards have generally been slightly below those of reading. Mathematics standards have been well above average and were well above the average of all and similar schools in 2002. Standards in science have been well above average and in 2002 were in the highest five per cent nationally for all and similar schools. In that year, the school met its challenging targets for English and mathematics. Overall, there has been little difference in the performance of boys and girls.

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Key

The inspection team finds that the school continues to promote above average standards in English, and well above average standards in mathematics and science by Years 2 and 6 and that pupils make good progress. The progress made by gifted and talented pupils is good. Standards of literacy are above average and those of numeracy are well above average. By Year 2, pupils reach above average standards in writing and art and design and well above average standards in speaking and listening, reading, science and ICT. By Year 6, pupils reach above average standards in writing and history and well above average standards in speaking and listening, mathematics, science and ICT. The school is on course to meet its challenging targets for Year 6 pupils’ attainment in English and mathematics. Pupils with special educational needs make good progress towards the targets in their individual education plans and a few make very good progress.

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Aspect Comment

Attitudes to the school Pupils have very good attitudes to their learning.

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Aspect Comment

Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Most pupils behave very well and there have been no recent exclusions.

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Aspect Comment

Personal development and relationships These are very good.

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Aspect Comment

Attendance This is excellent. Pupils are confident, articulate and try hard to do well. Children in the Foundation Stage have very good levels of independence. Pupils generally work very well in groups and enjoy harmonious relationships. A few boys in Year 1 do not behave as well as most other pupils and misbehave if their learning is not well managed. Pupils readily accept responsibilities and make a very good contribution to the school’s work. Pupils’ attendance is well above the national average.

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Reception Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6

Quality of teaching Very good Good Good Inspectors make judgements about teaching in the range: excellent; very good; good; satisfactory; unsatisfactory; poor; very poor. ‘Satisfactory’ means that the teaching is adequate and strengths outweigh weaknesses. While the overall quality of teaching is good, there are variations between classes. Most lessons in Reception, and Years 2, 3, 5 and 6 are very good and there is also some excellent teaching in most of these classes. Lessons in Years 1 and 4 are satisfactory. Throughout the school, classrooms have interesting displays of pupils’ work that raise expectations of themselves. The skills of literacy are taught well and those of numeracy taught very well. The school meets the needs of all its pupils very well and pupils with special educational needs are taught well and make good progress. The quality of English teaching is good and that of mathematics teaching is very good. The management of pupils’ learning is very

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Reception Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6

effective in the Foundation Stage and the teacher makes excellent use of resources, staffing and parental help to ensure that all children have full access to the curriculum. The teacher’s expectations of what children can achieve is high and her teaching flexible enough to challenge gifted and talented pupils. Children respond very well to the balanced learning activities. They apply themselves very well and have a good knowledge of how to improve their work. In Years 1 and 2, teachers’ planning is good and both teachers make clear to pupils what they are to learn in each lesson. Most pupils have a satisfactory understanding of how to improve their work but points for specific improvement are more consistently made in Year 2. Homework makes a satisfactory contribution to pupils’ progress when it is set regularly. Teachers assess pupils’ progress well and organise their learning in groups well.

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Reception Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6

In Year 1, the management of a few pupils’ behaviour is occasionally unsatisfactory. In Year 2, pupils work together effectively, especially during discussion periods. In Years 3 to 6, most teaching methods are effective, but occasionally in Year 4, too long is spent on activities that do not ask enough of higher attaining pupils. In contrast, in Years 3, 5 and 6, levels of demand are often high and pupils rise to the challenge. Lesson planning is consistently good in all classes and teachers in Years 3 to 6 make good use of homework. Pupils try hard when the pace of work is brisk and their understanding of how to improve is clear to them.

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Aspect Comment

The quality and range of the curriculum Very good. Pupils have a very good access to a very well balanced range of sometimes exciting learning activities that meet statutory requirements very well.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils with special educational needs This is very good. Pupils are very well supported and enabled to play as a full a part as they can in lessons.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Good. There are a number of opportunities in lessons and in general school life for pupils’ personal development.

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Aspect Comment

How well the school cares for its pupils The school cares well for its pupils, promotes race equality soundly and monitors pupils’ academic and personal development well. The Foundation Stage offers pupils a very wide range of interesting learning activities that fosters curiosity and the desire to learn. There is a very wide range of additional learning opportunities as pupils move through the school that take place during and after school hours and involve significant involvement from the community. The school has very good links with local schools and the local education authority from which both staff and pupils are deriving benefit. The school makes very good use of its assessments of pupils’ attainment in English, mathematics and science and is developing this use for planning lessons in other subjects.

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Aspect Comment

Leadership and management by the headteacher and other key staff Good. On taking up his appointment, the headteacher analysed the school’s strengths and weaknesses and has put in place effective systems for improvement. He has led the school well during a period of significant staff change.

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Aspect Comment

How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities Good. The governors organise themselves well. They are involved in setting the school’s strategic direction and, following a survey, have responded to parental requests for additional information.

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Aspect Comment

The school’s evaluation of its performance Good. The school has good systems for analysing pupils’ performance and has a widening range of measures to monitor aspects of its work.

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Aspect Comment

The strategic use of resources Good. Financial decisions are carefully matched to school needs. Additional funding is well used to pupils’ benefit. The school applies the principles of best value well. The school development plan charts improvement over the medium term but contains too many features of routine management. The management contribution by other key staff is mostly satisfactory because of the temporary nature of some posts and the very recent appointment of the deputy headteacher. However, the management structure within which they work is good. The school aims are very well reflected in its work. The governing body is handling a current issue over school parking by correctly following advice from the local education authority.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

• Children like school • Behaviour in school is good • Teaching is good • Parents feel comfortable approaching the school with questions or a problem • The school is well led and managed • Children are helped to become more mature and responsible • The right amount of work for children to do at home • The information the school provides about pupils’ progress

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

The inspection team agrees with what pleases parents most. It finds that homework in Years 3 to 6 makes a positive contribution to pupils’ learning. The expectations of homework set for younger pupils are unclear and this leads to inconsistency and some misunderstanding. The inspection team finds that the annual written reports on pupils’ progress are very good. There are satisfactory formal and informal opportunities for parents to discuss children’s progress with the teachers. A smaller minority of parents would like to see improvements in the way the school works with parents. The inspection team finds that the way the school does this is effective. The governors and the headteacher canvass parents’ views and act on the findings. Regular school newsletters and notice boards keep parents informed of school developments. There is a very active parent teacher association that is currently fund raising for grounds

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

improvements. There are a significant number of parents who help in school and make a good contribution to the education provided. Parents are invited to regular coffee mornings with the headteacher to keep them up to date and give them the chance to air their views. Goostrey Primary School - 11

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technology (ICT) by overall good quality teaching

1 By the end of Year 6, most pupils are accomplished listeners and speakers and make good progress through the school. Pupils develop confidence from the regular opportunities teachers provide for them to talk to larger groups. In reception, children discuss their work with others and all benefit from the experience. In Year 2, pupils asked pertinent questions of a British Airways pilot who came to talk to them. They used the information to explore and extend ideas such as, how far could a helicopter fly without refuelling. This prompted speculation about if one could fly from Goostrey to the imaginary island of Struay. One pupil was quick to remark, “Yes, you could fly there without stopping but you wouldn’t get back.” They listen carefully to other pupils’ contributions to group discussions as in a Year 4 lesson when individuals talked about memorable events from their weekend. Because the teacher

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technology (ICT) by overall good quality teaching

asked them to be selective in what they talked about and how they said it, pupils had the opportunity to limit their contributions and practise summarising and categorising skills. Most pupils responded well to this and the listeners noted their selection and relative brevity and tried to emulate them when their turn came. Most were successful in this although the teacher had to temper some over-enthusiasm. By Years 5 and 6, pupils can rehearse and present accurate verbal accounts of their work such as their development of a DVD to promote the school. These accounts were detailed, logically sequenced, and lively and took the listeners’ needs fully into account. Subsequently, the pupils evaluated their efforts to make improvements to later work.

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technology (ICT) by overall good quality teaching

2 Pupils read very well for enjoyment and information and teachers develop reading skills well based on accurate assessments of progress. Pupils in Year 2 have a good knowledge of the sounds letters make and use this to work out what unfamiliar words say. They also use the sense of the sentence to help in this as well as having a good knowledge of commonly used words. They make good use of punctuation to vary the speed and expressive quality of their reading out loud. Higher attaining pupils read with expression and fluency and are beginning to make comparisons between their favourite books and authors. They know about the format of reference books and can use this to locate information. By Year 6, pupils read a range of texts with assurance. They conduct research using books and articles as well as quickly sifting, selecting and assembling information from CD ROMs and the Internet. Separate guided reading times are set aside to promote good progress in

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technology (ICT) by overall good quality teaching

reading and to focus on particular skills such as word building or inferring meaning from limited evidence.

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technology (ICT) by overall good quality teaching

3 Pupils’ writing standards are above average by the end of Year 2 and Year 6, and the school has their improvement as a priority for development. To this end, there are now timetabled opportunities for extended pieces of writing that are separate from the literacy hours, which are taught four days a week. This is a wise use of time and there is an improvement in pupils’ range of expression and presentation by Year 6. They have started to compile individual writing booklets, which are beginning to show a deeper appreciation of the readers’ needs. In reception, higher attaining pupils can write accounts of visits in complete, aptly punctuated sentences because the teacher seizes the moment to make the most of children’s motivation. By Year 2, higher attaining pupils’ writing is well organised and imaginative. Their work is well punctuated and spelt and their handwriting well formed and joined. They can write in a range of forms such as imaginative and factual pieces and poetry.

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technology (ICT) by overall good quality teaching

Goostrey Primary School - 12 All pupils have the opportunity to write in different forms in subjects other than English, such as reports in science or descriptions in history. By Year 6, higher attaining pupils are crafting their work to produce a variety of sentence length to maintain readers’ interest. Average and lower attainers produce sentences that are less well structured and varied. There is a narrower range of word choice and some inaccuracies in basic punctuation that indicate lower attaining pupils do not redraft their work carefully enough.

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technology (ICT) by overall good quality teaching

4 In reception, pupils make rapid progress in their number work. Numeracy is planned into everyday activities to reinforce basic skills such as counting the correct number of pupils to play at the sand tray. Numeracy is also a high teaching priority in very well planned opportunities for all pupils, for example, in an excellent lesson on subtraction. The ability range was wide and so the teacher arranged learning activities that fitted this range of learning need. All pupils consolidated their learning by landing groups of model aeroplanes on the airport mat and then flying one or two off to see how many were left. Skilfully managed group work led by the teacher, learning support assistants and helpers used practical equipment such as models to reinforce the concept while the learning stakes were raised for higher attaining children. They were asked to devise and record their own subtraction sums

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technology (ICT) by overall good quality teaching

using numbers to 100. They not only rose to the challenge but in the final part of the lesson, took the chance to be the teacher by posing their questions as demanding mental subtraction sums. These features of the quality of teaching are present in many of the lessons throughout the school.

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technology (ICT) by overall good quality teaching

5 By Year 6, pupils work accurately and neatly in mathematics. Most are showing their working out and some are checking their answers using alternative means of calculation because they are encouraged to do so. Higher attaining pupils can order and use numbers to two places of decimals and are beginning to develop their own strategies for problem solving. This area of mathematics is a relative weakness and the school has identified its improvement as a priority. Lower attaining pupils are more reluctant to show their working out and this makes it more difficult for the teacher to understand the nature of their misunderstanding. Generally, pupils are good at checking the reasonableness of their answers and making sensible estimations of everyday measures. In excellent lessons in Years 3, 5 and 6, teachers rapidly assess what pupils understand and build their next teaching points around this. For instance, in Year 5 the teacher taught pupils to check for

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technology (ICT) by overall good quality teaching

themselves the accuracy of their answers so that they could better understand any difficulties they had in solving number problems. Once these were ironed out, she rapidly moved on by challenging the higher attainers to use the algebraic technique they had mastered to develop their own problems using words linked to the numbers. This pace and high level of challenge is typical of the best teaching.

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technology (ICT) by overall good quality teaching

6 The level of challenge presented to pupils with special educational needs is similar to that of other pupils since the targets they have in their individual educational plans are equally demanding of them. They take smaller steps of either a behavioural or academic nature and enjoy the very good support from teachers, learning assistants and parent helpers based on accurate assessments of progress. For instance, in reception, a parent with a talent for pottery worked very skilfully with a small group that had a few pupils with special educational needs in it. She carefully explained and demonstrated the technique of rolling and layering the clay tiles and helped pupils with a wide range of fine motor skills develop them further and appreciate their efforts. In a Year 5 lesson, a learning support assistant withdrew a pupil from class to provide individual support using work planned with the teacher. This was of a similar

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technology (ICT) by overall good quality teaching

type to that taught to the rest of the class so that when he returned to it, he was able to fit in with the rest. The learning assistant went on to lead a small group of pupils very well and ensured that they made similar progress to the rest of the class. Goostrey Primary School - 13 7 In science, Year 6 pupils are developing their investigative skills by choosing a suitable approach to answer a scientific question that they have posed for themselves. This level of scientific investigation is an area of work that the school is seeking to improve in order to build up pupils’ skills of predicting, with justifiable reasons, what might happen in an experiment. Higher attaining pupils’ skills of recording are good and all pupils use a variety of formats such as graphs and tables to present their findings. There is scope here for more able pupils to exercise greater choice in their presentations and for all pupils to make wider

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technology (ICT) by overall good quality teaching

use of ICT. Lower attaining pupils have a reasonable grasp of a fair test since this idea is introduced and developed lower down the school. For instance, a good feature of a satisfactory lesson in Year 1 encouraged pupils to use what they knew of factors that foster plant growth in order to set up experiments that screen out light or water to give some of their plants an unfair growth opportunity. Year 2 pupils can devise an electrical circuit and explain how all the connections must be secure so that a switch, when thrown, can enable electricity to flow and light the bulb. Teachers plan very well for the sequential development of science skills by allying them to interesting and practical tasks.

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technology (ICT) by overall good quality teaching

8 Although there are temporary arrangements in place for the teaching of ICT, the school usually has very good provision and plans further accommodation improvements to access in Years 3 to 6. Despite the difficulties, the school is managing well and pupils continue to make good progress. In Year 2, higher attaining pupils readily turn to ICT for research as part of history projects for instance and all pupils have discrete lessons to extend their ICT skills. Pupils can select, load and interrogate CD ROMs for information that is presented in text and tabular form and then use it in their work. By Years 5 and 6, pupils can record music CDs on which they play instruments and sing accompaniments they have written. They can access web pages (with suitable safeguards) for information. They then use what they download to make animated presentations to which they add sound effects and use digital camera images to enhance the final cut. This work is very well planned,

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technology (ICT) by overall good quality teaching

makes very good use of resources and allows pupils to make independent choices in collaboration with their peers. An example of this is the Year 6 work in history in which pupils research and begin to evaluate sources in their study of the Beatles era and produce computer generated art in the style of Andy Warhol.

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Encourages pupils’ very good attitudes to learning through an enriched curriculum

9 The school encourages pupils to take increasing responsibility for themselves and their work as they grow older. It encourages initiative and enterprise and builds confident attitudes to learning. For instance, in their own time a group of Year 6 pupils now write, edit and produce a school magazine that makes very good use of their ICT and editorial skills. Following their own evaluation and after listening to their customers, the second edition is a more polished publication that pupils sell to others and after cost deductions, make a contribution to the playground refurbishment fund. Staff also encourage pupils to be positive about themselves as learners while also valuing what others have to offer. A good example of this is the way Year 6 pupils behave towards the youngest pupils in school. As part of the buddy system, they are assigned to individual children in the reception. In the joint

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Encourages pupils’ very good attitudes to learning through an enriched curriculum

assemblies, they lead the youngsters in and sit with them. They go with them to the front to receive praise of their achievements and take good, attentive care of them. They also share books with them during the morning. This builds the confidence of the reception children and enables the older ones to exercise responsibility.

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Encourages pupils’ very good attitudes to learning through an enriched curriculum

10 Work with gifted and talented pupils is progressing well, based on a clear policy and reasonably useful action plan that charts a range of developments but does not however evaluate their impact on learning sufficiently. The school is developing very productive links with the Holmes Chapel Beacon School Partnership. This is a joint venture involving local primary schools and the secondary school to which pupils transfer at eleven. It uses central Goostrey Primary School - 14 government finance allocated to one school to spread good practice and increase the overall quality of provision in the locality. One example of this is the opportunity for pupils identified as talented writers to attend workshops led by professional writers at venues such as Tatton Park. They produce work of high quality and present it with care. They write riddles, creative recipes and vivid magic spells, autobiographies, poetry and thoughtful descriptions of natural

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Encourages pupils’ very good attitudes to learning through an enriched curriculum

and man made features in the grounds. Inspired by their teachers and the surroundings and stimulated by their friends they produce memorable metaphors such as, “A sprinkle of crystal chandeliers”. The school aims to develop this provision further in school, using its assessment information to identify and then provide a broader range of specific learning opportunities for gifted and talented pupils by extending its current provision for higher attaining pupils. Besides the work in partnership with local schools involving gifted and talented pupils, the school also has very good links other educational partners (such as the local education authority) in other areas of work that include special educational needs provision and staff training. These help a relatively small staff keep abreast of wider developments, compare their work with wider groups and improve provision.

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Encourages pupils’ very good attitudes to learning through an enriched curriculum

11 The school works very well with pupils with special educational needs, and governors allocate additional funding for this provision. The targets in these pupils’ individual education plans are precise so that they, their parents and their teachers can assess the progress they make. The school makes every effort to include these pupils in all its activities by planning work that fits alongside that of the rest of the class and enables learning assistants and adult helpers to provide timely guidance. This support is subtly provided so that lessons are not disrupted. An example of this is the way learning assistants usually work with small groups of pupils during whole class lessons and help them play a full part in them by giving alternative explanations to the teachers’ or listening to pupils’ answers.

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Encourages pupils’ very good attitudes to learning through an enriched curriculum

12 Staff take pupils out of school to local places of interest and also invite visitors to work with the pupils in school. There is a widening network of contacts whose skills, knowledge and resources enliven learning. Visitors from Japan work alongside pupils, sharing their culture and introducing Japanese painting techniques. The British Airways pilot mentioned earlier was part of a flying visit paid to the school by a parent in his helicopter that swooped over the school and hovered in a nearby field whilst pupils looked excitedly on. “It’s shining its headlight right on me!” exulted one. After the final fly past, Year 2 pupils turned to their geography work using maps and aerial photographs with renewed insight. The school has established links with a Romanian orphanage and has welcomed visitors from there to help pupils appreciate the diversity of life experiences and chances. Other international links

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Encourages pupils’ very good attitudes to learning through an enriched curriculum

include visits from Comenius project students who come from European countries, stay locally and develop language and cultural links. These international links significantly broaden pupils’ understanding of other cultures. In Years 4, 5 and 6 pupils get the opportunity for residential visits. These offer outdoor and adventurous activities to complement the school’s satisfactory physical education curriculum alongside access to a range of ICT experiences and visits to a different locality. The school ensures that all pupils who want to attend can do so. The well-attended after school clubs are not restricted to older pupils. A few are privately run, such as the fit club and the soccer club, but others are run by staff or by parents and include clubs for football, Maypole dancing, kwik cricket, rounders, art, theatre and computers. Given the size of the school, a very wide range of additional learning activities is

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Encourages pupils’ very good attitudes to learning through an enriched curriculum

13 The school has developed very effective links with the community. There are joint use arrangements with the church so that the school and its community can benefit from the accommodation. The school visits the church for major Christian festivals and local clergy lead assemblies. Local older people who lunch in the community wing are invited to school productions and sit alongside children invited from local playgroups. A local business trials educational materials in school prior to national distribution. Locally based musicians visit the Goostrey Primary School - 15 school to perform and lead workshops. Sometimes, locally based initiatives open doors to wider experiences. For instance, a group of Year 5 pupils planted new hedgerows locally and made a record of their project. This led to an invitation to make a presentation to an international conference in Chester. Pupils made a display and a video of their work and

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Encourages pupils’ very good attitudes to learning through an enriched curriculum

gave a talk to the delegates. In a good lesson in Year 5 the pupils used their research on the village of Goostrey to identify different uses of the land, types of dwellings and other buildings from a good range of resources. Currently, in response to parental requests the school plans to start an after school care facility from next term. Also in the pipeline are plans to provide local older people with access to the school’s ICT resources and Internet. As this report is being written, pupils practise for the Maypole dancing they will perform at the village Rose Day.

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Encourages pupils’ very good attitudes to learning through an enriched curriculum

14 The school has very effective strategies for teaching numeracy and those for teaching literacy are good. The staff have developed the use of the literacy hour lessons beyond the initial guidance to meet the needs of their pupils by providing additional writing time and specific support for reading. Staff are beginning to select opportunities for teaching writing and numeracy skills within other subjects. There are opportunities taken in science for pupils to present investigations information in graphical form and to practise report writing, and in history to write persuasive arguments. These opportunities need to be more used more consistently. Generally, the way that staff plan across subject boundaries is a good feature of their work and enables pupils to make connections with what they have learned previously and strengthen their grasp of concepts. Good examples of this are in the displays of art and

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Encourages pupils’ very good attitudes to learning through an enriched curriculum

design work on volcanoes and mountains that harness pupils’ creativity while reinforcing basic geographical concepts.

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systems for further improvement

15 The headteacher leads the school with energy and purpose. Since his appointment he has worked with staff and governors to develop good systems of monitoring and evaluation so that senior staff and governors have a clear view of the school’s development and its strengths and weaknesses. Together they have chosen the right priorities for school improvement. For instance, the analysis of pupils’ performance in tests and of the progress overall has shown the need to make further improvements to writing standards. Although, above average, they are not as high as those of reading and this reflects the national picture. The school has altered the curriculum and the timetable to give pupils more opportunities for writing, for instance. In a similar way, the school has recognised that investigative work in mathematics was not as strong as other elements of the subject. There is now a greater emphasis on this in lessons. Staff monitor teachers’ planning and there is some monitoring

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systems for further improvement

of the work pupils complete and of lessons. This is part of a cycle of monitoring and evaluation that has been a significant factor in maintaining the coherence of teaching and learning at a time of significant staff change. Induction systems have helped to maintain the school ethos and enable new staff to play their part in school development. Regular staff meetings at which teachers plan and review their work have helped staff to establish shared expectations of pupils’ behaviour and achievement.

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systems for further improvement

16 The monitoring and evaluation systems enable the headteacher to write full reports on the school’s progress in order to keep the governing body well informed and enable it to perform its duties well. A recent improvement to these reports has been the inclusion of the school’s progress on its school development plan. This has some good features such as its coverage of improvements beyond one year that give it a good strategic dimension. Equally, its layout is usefully split into different aspects of the school such as curriculum and premises. This enables the different governors’ committees to have oversight of progress and involvement in the plan’s review that also includes full staff consultation. The plan has a Goostrey Primary School - 16 helpful set of priorities that are drawn from an analysis of the school’s needs but the plan also includes items of a more routine nature that are more to do with maintenance than

p.15

systems for further improvement

improvement. There are some very clear numerical targets against which the progress of the plan is monitored and its success evaluated. However, there are a significant minority of other tasks that do not have targets of such quality, and this makes progress on them difficult to equate with improvements in pupils’ learning, for instance. The headteacher is aware of this issue and plans further refinements to the plan. Governors also monitor the school’s provision in ways other than receiving the headteacher’s termly report. Some have liaison responsibilities with members of staff such as those responsible for special educational needs, literacy and numeracy. They interview staff, see pupils at work, discuss budgets and report to the full governing body on their work.

p.16

systems for further improvement

17 Governors, and in particular the chairman, also keep a close eye on the school’s budget and allocate it well to meet the school’s priorities. For instance, their aim is for the school to provide teaching in single year groups. They managed to achieve it this school year but a slight budget reduction now means a reversion to some mixed year group teaching from September, for which the school is well prepared. Their budgeting has also meant that the school can make incremental improvements to its accommodation and improve the learning environment. Governors have also made sure that details of the school budget are clear and that finance such as small amounts to each co-ordinator can be managed satisfactorily.

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systems for further improvement

18 Although on a split site, there are good systems in place to enable the school to function as one entity. The headteacher teaches in both buildings and ensures a visible presence about the school as often as other duties permit. A staff handbook is being developed to guide new members of staff but there are good interim measures in place such as: staff meetings, a good teaching and learning policy, curriculum planning guidance, information on pupils’ attainment, job descriptions and the very good support of the headteacher. Given the temporary nature of the staffing, responsibilities are delegated soundly. Temporary staff have readily taken on subject leadership responsibilities. They use standard co-ordinator’s files to guide their work and now receive a budget allocation to support their subject management. This means that they can make at least a sound contribution to school development planning and the monitoring of the curriculum. However,

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systems for further improvement

it also means that the headteacher currently has a larger share of subject leadership responsibilities than is usual in a school of this size but this will be altered once permanent staff are in place and the deputy headteacher’s responsibilities are finalised. Plans and joint training are already in place for this and, in the short time since starting at the school, the deputy headteacher is already making a distinctive contribution to senior management. For instance, she contributes to the weekly meetings of the senior management team to check the progress of the school development plan as well as dealing with immediate matters and school organisation.

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systems for further improvement

19 The school applies the principles of best value well. It makes good use of its data on pupils’ attainment to judge how well it is doing in comparison with schools nationally, locally and with those in similar circumstances. Staff compare the performance of year groups of pupils with their previous performance and that of earlier cohorts. Through its involvement with local schools, it compares its provision with that of others. The school uses the information derived from these comparisons well to set itself challenging targets for improvements. It is widening its system of monitoring and evaluation to encompass more aspects of its provision. It ensures value for money by considering different methods of funding provision such as the decision to buy rather than lease computers. Governors use LEA approved contractors for work done at the school and considers tenders for such work. The governors have taken a decision recently to appoint a project co-ordinator for the next

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systems for further improvement

phase of building refurbishment to allow the headteacher to concentrate on other matters and Goostrey Primary School - 17 so put his time to good use. The school has a good track record on consultation. Governors have consulted parents and have acted on issues raised to do with communication. The school has consulted parents on the quality of its provision as part of the headteacher’s initial audit of strengths and weaknesses. This helped frame an action plan to address the issues that were identified. Recently governors have been involved in decisions about vehicular access to the school and have acted properly by seeking and following local authority written and verbal advice. Although meeting guideline requirements on complaints procedures, governors are now considering formulating a more specific school policy. Staff listen to what pupils think about the school through the school council, which has a democratic process of

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systems for further improvement

election and pupil involvement in decision-making.

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The overall quality of teaching so that it is all of consistently higher quality

20 The general quality of teaching is good and this varies from excellent to satisfactory. This variation is between classes and subjects and is partly the result of the staffing changes but is also to do with some inconsistency of expectations and lack of experience. In reception, most lessons seen were either excellent or very good and one was satisfactory. The physical education lesson had a number of strengths such as the full participation of pupils with special educational needs. However, it was not organised well enough to keep all the children sufficiently active and enable them all to benefit from activities on the large apparatus. In Year 1, teaching was sound and pupils benefited from a range of learning opportunities that built on previous work. However, expectations of what some pupils could achieve without further guidance were too high and some discussions were not handled well enough to allow all the pupils to benefit. In Year 2, most teaching was very good and there

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The overall quality of teaching so that it is all of consistently higher quality

were some particularly detailed assessments of pupils’ writing with guidance on further improvement and very good use of resources in art and design. However, there was still room for improvement, for instance by encouraging higher attaining pupils to evaluate and improve their own work. In Year 3, teaching was of generally high quality each morning and, in the afternoons, the one lesson seen was satisfactory. In that lesson, while the use of resources was good, the teacher’s assessments of pupils’ work were too general and did not lead to improvement in their sketching skills. In Year 4, lessons were sound and had some good features such as the quality of relationships and the time and guidance given to pupils for improved discussions. However, more could be expected of average attainers through better management of group work and the overall pace of lessons did not demand enough of pupils. In Year 5, teaching was at least good, with one lesson of high quality. Well-paced

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The overall quality of teaching so that it is all of consistently higher quality

work with rigorous questioning were very good features of the teaching but the organisation of learning to make best use of both the classroom and the adjacent area occasionally needs more attention so that all pupils make similar progress. In Year 6, teaching was at least good, with two lessons of high quality. Lessons were well structured and managed so that the concluding sessions (as in Year 5) gave opportunities for consolidating what had been learnt as well as developing new ideas. Occasionally, the teacher-led discussions did not strike the right balance between pupil and teacher contributions.

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

Goostrey Primary School - 18 21 In order to make further improvements, the school should:

p.18

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(1) Improve the overall quality of teaching so that all of it is of consistently higher quality

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

Paragraph 20 Goostrey Primary School - 19

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Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 10

p.19

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 four percentage points.

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils on the school’s roll Nursery Y R– Y 6

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 166

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 8

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Information about the school’s pupils

Special educational needs Nursery Y R – Y 6

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 4

p.19

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 21

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Information about the school’s pupils

English as an additional language No of pupils

p.19

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 8

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 7

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Attendance

School data 2.7 School data 0.0 Goostrey Primary School - 20 National comparative data 5.4 National comparative data 0.5

p.19

Attendance

Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. Goostrey Primary School - 21

p.20

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 10 12 22

p.21

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

National Curriculum Test/Task Results Reading Writing Mathematics

p.21

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

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

p.21

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

Percentage of pupils School 100 (96) 100 (96) 100 (96) at NC level 2 or above National 84 (84) 86 (86) 90 (91)

p.21

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

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

p.21

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

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

p.21

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

Percentage of pupils School 100 (96) 100 (100) 100 (96) at NC level 2 or above National 85 (85) 89 (89) 89 (89)

p.21

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

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

p.21

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 12 9 21

p.21

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

National Curriculum Test/Task Results English Mathematics Science

p.21

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

Boys 11 11 12 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 8 9 9

p.21

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

Percentage of pupils School 90 (90) 95 (95) 100 (100) at NC level 4 or above National 75 (75) 73 (71) 86 (87)

p.21

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

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

p.21

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

Boys 10 10 11 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 8 9 8

p.21

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

Percentage of pupils School 86 (90) 90 (95) 90 (100) at NC level 4 or above National 73 (72) 74 (74) 82 (82)

p.21

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

Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year. Goostrey Primary School - 22 The breakdown of numbers of boys and girls who achieved level two or above in Year 2 and level 4 or above in Year 6 are omitted because there were only ten boys in Year 2 and only 9 girls in Year 6. Goostrey Primary School - 23

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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

p.23

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

White – any other White background 1 0 0

p.23

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Mixed – any other mixed background 0 0 0

p.23

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Asian or Asian British - Pakistani 0 0 0

p.23

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Asian or Asian British – Bangladeshi 0 0 0

p.23

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

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

p.23

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black or Black British – Caribbean 0 0 0

p.23

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

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

p.23

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. Goostrey Primary School - 24

p.23

Teachers and classes Financial information

Qualified teachers and classes: Y R – Y 6

p.24

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 7.9 Financial year 2002-03

p.24

Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 21

p.24

Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: Y R – Y 6 Total income 418750

p.24

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 4 Total expenditure 444304

p.24

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 87 Expenditure per pupil 2677

p.24

Teachers and classes Financial information

Balance brought forward from previous year 46225

p.24

Teachers and classes Financial information

Balance carried forward to next year 20671

p.24

Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers who left the school during the last two years 3

p.24

Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers appointed to the school during the last two years 3

p.24

Recruitment of teachers

Total number of vacant teaching posts (FTE) 0

p.24

Recruitment of teachers

Number of vacancies filled by teachers on temporary contract of a term or more (FTE) 3

p.24

Recruitment of teachers

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

p.24

Recruitment of teachers

FTE means full-time equivalent. Goostrey Primary School - 25

p.24

Results of the survey of parents and carers

Percentage of responses in each category

p.25

Results of the survey of parents and carers

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

p.25

Results of the survey of parents and carers

My child is making good progress in school. 44 47 4 1 2

p.25

Results of the survey of parents and carers

Behaviour in the school is good. 57 36 0 0 7

p.25

Results of the survey of parents and carers

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 35 38 19 8 0

p.25

Results of the survey of parents and carers

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 25 44 22 7 1

p.25

Results of the survey of parents and carers

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 71 24 3 3 0

p.25

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 54 42 1 0 3

p.25

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school works closely with parents. 39 42 14 4 1

p.25

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school is well led and managed. 74 18 4 3 1

p.25

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 62 35 1 0 1

p.25

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 39 42 17 1 1

p.25