Preston Grange Primary School

PRESTON GRANGE PRIMARY SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 3 rd - 5 th February 2003

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PRESTON GRANGE PRIMARY SCHOOL

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

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PRESTON GRANGE 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. Preston Grange Primary - 1

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Grange Avenue Ribbleton Preston Lancashire

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: The governing body

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Name of chair of governors: Mr J Thompson

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: November 1997 Preston Grange Primary - 2

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Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities

16413 Mrs D Bell Registered inspector English Art and design Design and technology Music Special educational needs What kind of school is it? The school’s results and pupils’ achievements How well are pupils taught? How well is the school led and managed? 11439 Ms J Moore Lay inspector How well does the school care for its pupils? How well does the school work in partnership with parents? 27667 Mrs C Renault Team inspector Foundation Stage Education inclusion Geography History Religious education Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development How good are the curricular and other opportunities offered to the pupils? 30439 Mr M Heyes Team inspector Mathematics Science Information and communication technology Physical education

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Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities

PPI Group Ltd 7 Hill Street Bristol BS1 5RW

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Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities

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

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Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities

The Complaints Manager Inspection Quality Division

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Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE Preston Grange Primary - 3

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 4 - 7

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

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HOW HIGH ARE STANDARDS? 8 - 10

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

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

With 90 pupils aged four to 11 on its roll, Grange Primary School is smaller than most primary schools. It has fewer pupils than at the time of the previous inspection, because of a drop in the birth rate in the area. Its 49 boys and 41 girls are taught in five classes, each catering for more than one year group. There are no pupils for whom English is an additional language and only a very small number of pupils from an ethnic minority background. The school serves a socially and economically deprived area of Preston in Lancashire. It is currently benefiting from the city’s urban regeneration funding, which has resulted in its having more teaching and support staff than other schools of its size. The majority of pupils start school in the Reception class with levels of attainment well below those normally associated with four-year-olds. The proportion of pupils entitled to free school meals is well above the national average. The proportion of pupils with special

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

educational needs is close to the national average. The proportion of pupils who changed schools last year was higher than in most schools. The school has clear priorities for this school year, namely: to refine and improve assessment procedures in all subjects; to continue to raise standards in literacy and numeracy; to refine the ways in which it checks on the quality of teaching and learning; and to extend the governors’ role in evaluating how well the school is doing.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

This is a very effective school which, because of the excellent leadership and management of the headteacher and the very close teamwork amongst all staff, has very many strengths and few weaknesses. Pupils achieve well because they are taught well. All pupils, whatever their ability or background, are treated equally and given the same good chance to succeed. The quality of education is good. The exceptionally good use of assessment information, combined with rigorous target setting, ensures that all work is very well matched to pupils’ learning needs. As a result, pupils enjoy school, work very hard when they are there and most reach the highest standards of which they are capable by the time they leave. This school provides very good value for money.

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What the school does well

• Standards are above the national expectation in mathematics and science. • The consistently good quality of teaching ensures that pupils are very keen to learn and they achieve well. • Excellent leadership and management ensure that teaching and learning are very rigorously monitored and that any weaknesses found are very effectively tackled. • The drive to raise standards through the excellent use of assessment information is proving very successful. • Parents are very positive about the school because they receive very good information about its work and about their children’s progress. • Very good provision for pupils with special educational needs ensures that they make good progress towards their targets.

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What could be improved

• There are no major areas of weakness in the school. However, governors should update and formalise the procedures and documentation for health and safety to ensure they comply with current legislation. 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

There has been very good improvement since the previous inspection, which was in November 1997. The quality of teaching has improved significantly. The procedures for monitoring teaching and learning and the use of the information gained from this, are now outstanding and contribute in very great measure to the pupils’ good achievement and the much higher standards since that time. The curriculum is broad and well balanced and standards and provision are good in design and technology. Physical development for children in the Foundation Stage is now a regular feature of the children’s work and the school provides a satisfactory range of large equipment for their use. Overall school security has been very greatly improved though further Preston Grange Primary - 5 work is needed to ensure that all procedures and documentation comply with current legislation. The very high level of consistency in the implementation of the school’s practices and procedures demonstrates the

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

very strong teamwork that exists among the staff. The school is very highly committed to further improvement and demonstrates exceptionally well that it has the capacity to achieve its aim.

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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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schools

2000 2001 2002 2002 English E* E E C mathematics E E D B science E E D B

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Key

well above average A above average B average C below average D well below average E very low E*

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Key

Children start school in the Reception class with little pre-school experience and levels of attainment that are well below those normally associated with four-year-olds. Although they make good progress, few are likely to reach the nationally expected standards for their age by the end of their Reception Year in communication, language and literacy. However, the majority are well on the way to doing so in all other areas of learning. In 2002, the test results for pupils in Year 2 matched the national average in writing and mathematics but were below average in reading. The school did much better than schools with similar intakes of pupils in all three areas. Teacher assessments showed that standards in science were very high when compared with the national average and with similar schools. For pupils currently in Year 2, standards are above the national expectation in mathematics and science and at the national expectation in reading

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Key

and writing. Last year’s Year 6 test results for English were well below the national average, but matched those of similar schools. The mathematics and science results were below the national average and above those of similar schools. However, the rising trend in the school’s results is above the national trend. As a result of the school’s exceptionally good use of assessment information to plan highly focused learning for the pupils, standards continue to improve. Pupils currently in Year 6 are reaching standards that are above the national expectation in mathematics and science and close to, though still slightly below the national expectation in English. The pupils’ lack of a good range of vocabulary and their inability to sustain and develop ideas in their writing are the major reasons for the differences between the standards seen in English and those seen in mathematics and science.

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Key

Standards are above the national expectation in design and technology and pupils achieve very well in this subject. Standards are satisfactory in all of the other subjects that pupils study, but information and communication technology is not yet an integral part of learning in all classes and in all subjects. Pupils of all levels of ability make good progress from year to year. They achieve well in all subjects by the time they leave. Lower attaining pupils and pupils with special educational needs receive good support from teachers and classroom assistants and this helps them reach their targets. The school sets challenging targets for pupils in Year 6, which are very securely based on its excellent knowledge of the ability of individual pupils. It does everything it can to reach its targets but the small number of pupils involved mean that a difference of one pupil has a major effect on the school’s overall score.

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Aspect Comment

Attitudes to the school Very good. Pupils enjoy school; they work hard, concentrate well and try hard to do their best. Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Very good. Pupils behave very well in and around the school. They respect each other’s right to learn and have a very good understanding of the impact of their actions on others. Personal development and relationships Good. Pupils form very good relationships with the staff and with other pupils; they grow in confidence from year to year and show an increasing Preston Grange Primary - 6 willingness to undertake a range of tasks around the school and an increasing ability to take more responsibility for their own learning. Attendance Good. It is slightly above the national average. Most pupils arrive in time for school and all sessions begin promptly.

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Teaching of pupils in: Reception Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6

Quality of teaching 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.

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Teaching of pupils in: Reception Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6

The quality of teaching is good throughout the school and there is a high proportion of very good teaching. The quality of teaching is much better than at the last inspection and contributes in great measure to the continued improvement in pupils’ attainment and achievement. English and mathematics are well taught. Standards are rising rapidly in those subjects because teachers meticulously assess pupils’ work, plan exceptionally well using the information they gain from doing so, have high expectations of pupils’ work rate and behaviour and successfully encourage pupils to use their literacy and numeracy skills well in other subjects. Some very good teaching was observed in the Foundation Stage and also in English, mathematics, science and art and design.

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Teaching of pupils in: Reception Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6

In the great majority of lessons, teachers use their very good subject knowledge to provide highly motivating activities that rouse pupils’ interest and enthusiasm for learning and enable them to achieve well. Combined with the teachers’ very good planning, their very effective use of teaching assistants provides high levels of support for pupils who find learning difficult. All are fully included in all that the school has to offer because teachers are very careful to plan individualised work to meet their needs. As a result, pupils exercise high levels of concentration and independence and make very good use of the time available to them. In the majority of lessons, pupils’ independent skills are successfully fostered because teachers involve them very well in assessing their own work and determining whether they have reached or are working well enough towards their targets. In a small number of lessons, these skills are not as effectively promoted, for

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Teaching of pupils in: Reception Years 1 – 2 Years 3 – 6

example, as pupils are allowed to queue to get their work marked, or their work is too directed by the teacher. Overall, however, there is a good balance of whole class, group and individualised teaching which greatly benefits the pupils and improves their learning.

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Aspect Comment

The quality and range of the curriculum Good. Statutory requirements are met; all subjects are very well planned and the curriculum is carefully thought out to meet the pupils’ needs. A good range of extra-curricular activities enhances learning. Provision for pupils with special educational needs Very good. This is very well organised; individual education plans have clear, measurable targets and are reviewed regularly to ensure they continue to meet the pupils’ learning needs. They are fully incorporated into class targets, ensuring pupils are fully included in all learning activities. Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural, development Good overall. There is good provision for spiritual development, very good provision for moral and social development and satisfactory provision for cultural development. The school promotes racial equality very well but could do even more to prepare pupils for life in a culturally diverse British society.

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Aspect Comment

How well the school cares for its pupils Good overall. The school monitors pupils’ personal development very well. The procedures for monitoring and supporting their academic progress are excellent and are used exceptionally well to plan further learning. Health and safety documentation is not up to date with current legislation.

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Aspect Comment

The school has a very good partnership with parents. They are very positive about what it does for their children and the school works very hard to involve as many as possible in its life and work. Preston Grange Primary - 7

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Aspect Comment

Leadership and management by the headteacher and other key staff Excellent. The headteacher is an excellent leader and manager who, supported very effectively by the senior managers and subject leaders, sets the school’s sights firmly on reaching ever higher standards. This and the outstanding teamwork amongst all staff, is the driving force behind the improving standards. How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities Satisfactory. Governors support the school well and have a good understanding of its strengths and weaknesses. However, they do not ensure that all of their health and safety procedures and documentation comply fully with current health and safety legislation. The school’s evaluation of its performance Excellent. The very rigorous procedures for checking on standards, teaching and learning are used very effectively indeed to improve identified areas in need of further development. The strategic use of

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Aspect Comment

resources Very good. Spending very closely follows the school’s priorities. The school ensures it gets best value from all of its spending. The staff monitor the use of resources very well to ensure that they are contributing to improved standards.

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Aspect Comment

The school benefits from a good number of teaching and support staff. All are very well deployed and contribute very well to pupils’ learning and achievement. The good accommodation, indoor and out, is kept clean and well looked after. The school building is enhanced by good quality displays that celebrate pupils’ work and achievements and create a very effective learning environment. Resources for learning are good in English, mathematics and science and satisfactory in all other subjects. All resources are used very well to support learning.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

Parents were overwhelmingly positive about the school. In particular: • children like school, make good progress and behave well. • teaching is good; the school expects their children to work hard and keeps them well informed as to how their children are doing. • the school is well led and managed; it works closely with parents and all staff are approachable. • it provides an interesting range of out-of-school activities and helps their children to become more mature No major areas were identified.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

The inspection team endorses the parents’ positive views. Preston Grange Primary - 8

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

1. Children enter the Reception class with levels of attainment well below those normally associated with four-year-olds, especially in communication, language and literacy. Children currently in the Reception class are making good progress in all six areas of learning. The majority are well on course to reach the nationally expected standards for their age in personal, social and emotional development, mathematical development, knowledge and understanding of the world, physical development and creative development. Few children are likely to reach the expected standards in communication, language and literacy. The lack of well-structured pre-school experiences and their very limited vocabulary compounded by their limited access to books and to writing prior to starting school, hinders their progress in these areas and continues to do so throughout their primary school years.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

2. In 2002, the national test results for pupils in Year 2 matched the national average in writing and mathematics but were below average in reading. However, in all three areas, the results were well above those of schools with similar intakes of pupils. In mathematics, all pupils reached the expected levels in the tests, placing the school in the top five per cent of all schools and similar schools. Very few pupils attained the higher level in the tests and this is what kept the average score down. The teacher assessments show that all pupils reached the nationally expected standards in science, placing the school in the top five per cent of all schools and similar schools for that subject too. Pupils currently in Year 2 have made good progress since starting school and are at the national expectation for their age in reading and writing. Their attainment in mathematics and science is above the national expectation.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

3. The national test results for pupils in Year 6 in 2002 were well below the national average in English and below the national average in mathematics and science. The results match those of similar schools in English and are above those of similar schools in mathematics and science. Pupils currently in Year 6 have made good progress since they were in Year 2. Their attainment is below but close to the national expectation in English. In mathematics and science, it is above the national expectation. The main reason for the improved results is the school’s exceptionally good use of the information that it gains from assessing pupils’ work and from rigorously analysing all test and assessment outcomes. Pupils’ attainment is accurately assessed at whatever point they start at the school and their subsequent work is very well matched to their learning needs. The number of pupils is small in both age groups and a significant number of pupils change schools between Year 2 and

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

Year 6, therefore comparisons with all schools and similar schools need to be treated with caution. Nevertheless, the school sets challenging targets for pupils in Year 6 and works very hard to reach them. Teachers ensure and the headteacher checks, that the school targets are translated into the small steps in learning each pupil needs to take to achieve well. As a result of the school’s hard work since the last inspection, the improving trend in the school’s results is above the national trend in English, mathematics and science.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

4. Pupils with special educational needs and the small number who come from ethnic minority backgrounds are fully included in all activities and lessons and make the same good progress as all other pupils in the school. Pupils with special educational needs are very well supported by a good number of well deployed classroom assistants who work closely with the teachers and help the pupils to contribute effectively in lessons. Boys and girls usually achieve equally well in the national tests and no significant differences were noted in their attainment in school.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

5. Pupils in Year 2 acquire satisfactory standards in speaking, listening, reading and writing. In Year 6, standards are as expected nationally for pupils’ ages in speaking, listening and reading, but they are below the national expectation in writing. However, the limited vocabulary with which they start school and the fact that a significant number of pupils have few books at home, hinders their progress in English and sometimes in other subjects. Nevertheless, by Year 6 they are relatively articulate young people who express their ideas and opinions confidently, join in role play and use their voices Preston Grange Primary - 9 expressively to show different moods and feelings. Higher attaining pupils read fluently and with expression. Most pupils understand the different ways of working out how to read unfamiliar words. They make reasonable predictions as to what might happen next in a story, basing their contributions

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

on what has gone before. Lower attaining pupils in Year 2 struggle with this, however and need considerable help in emphasising important words to understand the meaning in the text. Although pupils become increasingly better at sustaining and developing ideas in their writing as they progress from year to year, there remain significant weaknesses in these areas that the school is tackling very well. Pupils acquire good spelling habits, spell familiar words accurately and work out by themselves how to spell unfamiliar words. Pupils in Year 2 write legibly but the good practice evident in their handwriting books is not always carried over into their everyday English work, or their work in other subjects. By Year 6, pupils present their work well. At this age, pupils’ handwriting is neat, legible and almost always joined, enabling them to write faster. Pupils use their literacy skills well in other

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

subjects, for example, writing and undertaking research in history, writing reports in science, preparing lists of instructions and copying out recipes in design and technology. They also use the computer competently to check spelling, learn spelling patterns, find information and draft and redraft their written work.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

6. In mathematics, pupils acquire a good understanding of number. By Year 2, the majority write numbers and their word equivalents accurately. They sequence numbers correctly with a good understanding of larger and smaller numbers. They record measurements accurately using standard measurements, describe well the properties of regular shapes and tell the time accurately using digital and analogue clocks. By Year 6, they have a good knowledge of different kinds of angles and of the properties of two and three-dimensional shapes. They quickly and accurately multiply numbers up to 1,000s, 100, tens and units, write numbers to beyond 1,000,000, and set their work out carefully showing a good understanding of place value. All pupils apply their knowledge of number well when solving word problems involving, for example, money, shape, space and measure. They competently use equivalent fractions and decimals to three places and show a good understanding of

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

probability and how to collect, present and interpret data. Throughout the school, pupils use their mathematical skills well in other subjects. For example, they collect and analyse data, presenting it in graphs in science, measure accurately in design and technology, use co-ordinates in geography and construct time lines from the earliest times to the present day in history.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

7. Standards are above the national expectation in science in Year 2 and Year 6. The majority of pupils have a good understanding of the processes of predicting, investigating, drawing conclusions and evaluating. Throughout the school, at levels relevant to their stages of learning, pupils apply the skills of scientific enquiry well, gaining good knowledge and understanding of life processes and living things, materials and their properties and physical forces. By Year 6, pupils have a well developed understanding of fair testing and use this effectively as they investigate, for example, which solids dissolve in water and at what temperature and whether the solids can revert to their original state or not as the liquid evaporates. Pupils make good use of information and communication technology in science as they examine in microscopic detail different materials and objects such as sugar, a feather and a bee’s wing. They use computer programs well to construct graphs of their findings and

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

to gain even more in-depth scientific knowledge and understanding.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

8. In design and technology, standards are above the national expectation in Year 2 and Year 6 and pupils achieve very well in this subject. A major strength is the quality of the pupils’ research prior to undertaking good quality design work and creating well-constructed artefacts, which they then evaluate well to determine what and how to improve. Pupils use information and communication technology very well to present their findings in great detail. Standards are satisfactory and achievement is good in art and design, geography, history, information and communication technology, music, physical education and religious education.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

9. Pupils have very good attitudes to school. They are happy and secure in the Foundation Stage and as they move through the school their ability to work hard and try hard to do their best contributes to their good progress and achievement. The pupils and their parents describe the school as a happy place to be. Pupils enjoy coming to school. When talking to inspectors, pupils in Year 6 started to Preston Grange Primary - 10 list what they liked about school and concluded that it was ‘everything except having to play out when it was cold’. The majority of pupils attend school regularly.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

10. Pupils behave very well in and outside of lessons. They respond readily to their teachers’ clear instructions and move sensibly around the school at all times. During playtimes and lunchtimes, the youngest children play happily together with the older pupils. Pupils report that there is virtually no bullying and, if an incident should happen, they have confidence that staff would deal with it swiftly and effectively. The high standard of behaviour is reflected in the fact that there have been no exclusions in the past year. All pupils have a well-developed sense of right and wrong. They understand and appreciate the rewards for good behaviour and what will happen should they misbehave. Pupils in Year 6 talked about the ‘feel good factor’ when they receive an award for effort or behaviour and felt that such awards spurred them on to want to do even better.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

11. The pupils’ good personal development is evident in the very good relationships within the school community. Pupils readily share and co-operate with one another during lessons, play together well at playtimes and lunchtimes and show concern for each other’s well-being. During the snowy spell that occurred in the inspection week, the older pupils were observed taking care of younger ones, helping them to make snowmen and to play sensibly in the snow. Pupils have a high level of respect for each other’s views, listening attentively to the contributions each makes to class discussions. They are also very respectful of other faiths and beliefs, showing a great deal of interest in learning about the customs and traditions associated with Muslim, Sikh, Hindu and Jewish faiths in religious education lessons. During ‘circle time’ (when pupils sit in a circle with their teacher, to discuss issues of importance to them), pupils show a well-developed sense of maturity as they talk with

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

increasing confidence about a range of issues and learn how to negotiate with each other. Year 6 pupils were very positive about circle time and the opportunities it gave them to have a ‘real chance to talk’, to ‘dream a dream’ and to share concerns and listen to what others do and feel. Pupils from all abilities and backgrounds are fully included and take equal part in such sessions. All feel that their views are heard and valued at all times and that the discussions help them to look at things in a number of different ways. Pupils in Years 5 and 6 speak enthusiastically about their annual residential visit and the opportunity it presents for them to be together in a social environment away from school. They welcome the chance to show initiative and take responsibility for themselves and clearly respond very well to what the residential visit has to offer.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

12. Pupils appreciate that they are fully involved in assessing how well they are doing and in sharing their views of what they need to do to improve. They clearly understand the comments teachers make in their books and in discussions with them about their work. Pupils know their targets and welcome them because they ‘help us to know how to improve’. They take increasing responsibility for their learning and appreciate the help they receive from the staff. During assemblies, pupils readily participate in role play and show a good understanding of the issues being put across, for example, helping others, not jumping to conclusions about people, valuing friendship and taking pride in what they and others do. They develop a good sense of citizenship and personal responsibility as they participate in the well-attended range of activities that take place outside of school. Some of these involve the pupils in helping the community, for example, collecting hampers of food for needy people

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

at harvest time, carol singing for senior citizens at their Christmas party and collecting litter around the school to keep it tidy and clean. Although there is no formal means of putting their views across, for example, in a school council, all pupils are confident that they are listened to and that the school responds very well to their suggestions or complaints.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

13. Pupils’ attitudes, behaviour, personal development, relationships and attendance have improved considerably since the previous inspection. They are major strengths of the school, contributing in great measure to the very calm and orderly environment that pupils experience and consequently to their good learning and achievement and the improved standards seen in their work.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

14. Attendance is now slightly above the national average and there were no exclusions. The school works well with other agencies to improve prompt and regular attendance. The incidents of lateness throughout the school have been reduced after a recent initiative and all sessions begin on time.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

Preston Grange Primary - 11 15. The quality of teaching is good in all age groups. It is much better than at the last inspection and contributes in great measure to the continued improvement in pupils’ attainment and achievement. Of the 35 lessons graded, teaching was very good in 12, good in 20 and satisfactory in three. There was no unsatisfactory teaching observed during this inspection. A major strength is the way in which the very good evaluation of teaching and learning has brought about a very high degree of consistency in the teachers’ rigorous approach to planning and the use of the information gained from marking and assessing pupils’ work. In all subjects, pupils’ work is very closely matched to their learning needs. Teachers involve pupils very effectively in assessing their own learning and therefore pupils have a very good understanding of how well they are doing and what they need to do to improve. This fosters in

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

the pupils very good attitudes to learning and to school and motivates them to give of their best.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

16. English and mathematics are well taught. Teachers plan very effectively using the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies and their in-depth knowledge of the pupils’ prior attainment. Teachers set targets in English and mathematics for all pupils, not only those with special educational needs. The targets are very precisely focused on the weaknesses in pupils’ learning and on a daily basis the teachers adapt their planning to ensure that they are tackling the weaknesses and helping pupils to learn as well as they can. The information about weaknesses in learning is also used very effectively at whole school level and resulted in the current focus on improving comprehension in reading and in extended writing. The targets in the individual education plans for pupils with special educational needs are very skilfully woven into the class and group targets so that all pupils are very effectively

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

included in all parts of a lesson. This work continues with the support teacher and assistants during the small number of sessions when these pupils are withdrawn for even more precisely focused work in a smaller group.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

17. The constant use of the correct terminology in subject lessons and the good use of literacy and numeracy skills throughout the school, ensures that pupils learn effectively. They are often unaware of how much they are learning because they feel they are just having fun. For example, children in the Reception class, wrapped up warmly, hunted with magnets and metal detectors for metal objects hidden in the snow, as they learned about magnetism and extended their knowledge and understanding of the world. Similarly, pupils in Year 6 spoke very enthusiastically about their design and technology project on shelters. They clearly enjoyed this project very much and greatly consolidated a wide range of skills and knowledge in other subjects, for example, literacy, numeracy, geography, personal development and citizenship.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

18. Throughout the school, teachers make very good use of their substantial subject knowledge and of their in-depth knowledge of individual pupils’ learning, to direct very carefully constructed questions at different pupils, so that all are fully involved in contributing to whole class and group work. The very good balance of whole class, group and individual work in almost all lessons allows teachers to direct their classroom assistants to the groups and individuals that require additional support. Occasionally, where teaching is satisfactory, the whole class work goes on for too long and pupils are not given enough time to work in groups to apply their newly learned skills and knowledge. This happened in a music lesson with pupils in Years 3 and 4, where the teacher used pairs of pupils to illustrate teaching points to the whole class. This part of the lesson went on for too long. The opportunity for

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

pupils to compose their own rhythm and pulse work was lost and some pupils began to show restlessness. The very valuable work that the classroom assistants do is meticulously planned. Teachers use their assistants very effectively and involve them fully in assessing pupils’ work. They particularly help lower attaining pupils and those with special educational needs to take the small steps in learning they need to catch up with the rest of the class. In most lessons, teachers work with each group in turn to check, consolidate and extend their learning. They successfully encourage, challenge and extend pupils’ skills, knowledge and understanding and make every pupil feel valued through the good use of praise and a sensitive approach to dealing with gaps in learning. Thus in almost all lessons, pupils concentrate hard and work productively at a good pace.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

19. Teachers foster in the pupils, high levels of self-esteem and pride in their achievements. The consistently very good management of pupils in all age groups means that any potential disruption to learning is nipped in the bud and pupils are brought quickly to a realisation of the effect of their actions on others. This contributes in great measure to the pupils’ personal development and consequently to their very good attitudes to learning. A good range and amount of homework further consolidates pupils’ learning in class. Parents expressed a high degree of satisfaction with the quality Preston Grange Primary - 12 of teaching and with the homework their children were given and the inspection team agrees with the parents’ positive views.

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PUPILS?

20. Curricular provision has improved greatly since the last inspection and is now good. There are policies and schemes of work for all subjects, based on national and local guidance, which ensure that statutory requirements are met. An appropriate amount of time is allocated to each subject, with due emphasis given to English and mathematics. The curriculum for these two subjects is based securely on National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies, which teachers adapt very well to suit the learning needs of different groups of pupils. The consistency of planning, teaching and in particular the excellent use of assessment to target pupils’ learning enables pupils to make good progress throughout the school. The good provision for the Foundation Stage is securely based on the national guidance for that age group. Improved resources since the last inspection mean that there are now many opportunities for children of this age to develop gross motor skills through outdoor play, which

p.14

PUPILS?

21. The good provision for personal, social and health education prepares pupils well for their life in and outside of school. It includes appropriate provision for sex education and for teaching pupils about the dangers of misusing drugs. The school has made a good start on citizenship education. The draft policy is due to be finalised after the responsible member of staff has attended training in March. Good provision is made during ‘circle time’ for pupils to discuss issues of concern to them and to help them learn how to become more independent and to make decisions and choices for themselves.

p.14

PUPILS?

22. The school places high emphasis on equality of opportunity for all pupils and staff and works very hard to ensure that all are fully included in all it has to offer. The provision for pupils with special educational needs is very good. Their learning is very well structured and support staff very well deployed, to ensure that they are fully involved in all parts of a lesson. A key strength is the way the targets in the pupils’ individual education plans are fully included in the teachers’ planning and in the class targets so that the pupils feel part of every lesson. There is a small amount of withdrawal for specific learning, but this is well planned to match what is being done in class, but in smaller groups to help the pupils catch up. A measure of the school’s success is the fact that all pupils reached the expected levels in mathematics and science in 2002. The school continues to maintain a register and

p.14

PUPILS?

23. The good range of activities outside school time enriches the curriculum. There are ‘Booster Clubs’ after school for Year 6 pupils who need support in preparation for the national tests. At different times in the year there are lunchtime clubs offering mathematics, art and design, science and recorders. After school there is a weekly gymnastics club as well as a sports club that is supported by Preston College, offering a range of activities, which include football, hockey and baseball.

p.14

PUPILS?

24. The school’s effective links with the local community make a good contribution towards pupils’ learning. Under the local education authority’s dual-use scheme, the school is used by the local community after hours. Many of the facilities are offered free to pupils, enriching their opportunities for sport in particular. A wide range of educational visits broadens pupils’ experiences and contributes well to their learning and to the development of their personal and social skills. For example, pupils have visited Skipton Castle, Morecambe Bay, Blackpool Zoo, Heysham Power Station and Harris Museum as well places of interest in the local community to support work in history, geography, health education and science. The nearby Grange Park is also used regularly to support topic work. Pupils in Years 5 and 6 benefit from an annual residential visit which enhances their geographical skills and fulfils the outdoor pursuits element of the physical education curriculum. The school’s

p.14

PUPILS?

community links include carol singing for senior citizens at Christmas and the distribution of Harvest Festival hampers to worthy causes. The school garden project involves pupils and parents in preparation and planting and a recent anti-litter project was celebrated in the local newspaper.

p.14

PUPILS?

25. There are satisfactory links with local schools. Secondary school pupils are offered work-experience placements in the school and teachers from the secondary school visit during the summer term to Preston Grange Primary - 13 talk to Year 6 pupils about transfer. The local group of primary schools provides sound support for teachers in planning and enriching the curriculum.

p.14

PUPILS?

26. The overall provision for spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Spiritual development is good. It is promoted well during the well-planned daily acts of collective worship, which meet statutory requirements. Opportunities for spiritual development occur and are taken throughout the day in all curriculum areas and in all classes, for example, during circle time, through the pupils’ choice of music to reflect feelings, through the exploration of pattern and colour in art and design and through classifying living and non-living things in science. Spiritual development is promoted very well in religious education lessons as, for example, pupils learn how to express and deal with feelings such as anger, happiness and worry. 27. Provision for pupils’ moral development is very good. They are taught the difference between right and wrong and positive behaviour is encouraged on a daily basis with a well-developed award scheme and

p.15

PUPILS?

a fair system of sanctions for wrongdoing. Honesty, fairness and respect for truth are promoted very well. Displays around the school celebrate and promote the school’s values, for example, by displaying photographs of pupils awarded certificates at the monthly award assembly and reminders of school rules and what the school stands for.

p.15

PUPILS?

28. Provision for pupils’ social development is very good. The school provides many opportunities for pupils to take responsibility and show initiative, which is an improvement since the last inspection. Under supervision, older pupils are asked to help younger ones and are made responsible for a continuous litter watch/pick-up in the playground. Responsibilities increase as pupils get older. They are given access to computers during lunchtimes and wet playtimes and Year 6 pupils are given responsibility for running a dance club on Friday lunchtimes. There are many good opportunities during lessons for social interaction, for example, in group work and on the many occasions teachers expect pupils to take responsibility for their own learning and to helping each other when asked to discuss topics with a partner prior to presenting their ideas to the class. Social development is further enhanced on the annual residential visit and in the many activities that occur outside of the normal

p.15

PUPILS?

school day. All teachers ensure that pupils feel they and their work are valued and this very effectively promotes the pupils’ self-esteem.

p.15

PUPILS?

29. The provision for pupils’ cultural development is sound. Cultural and multicultural development is promoted well through literature, history, geography and religious education. Pupils are also introduced to a good range of music and art, with opportunities to listen to the music of famous composers and look at the work of famous artists from around the world. The school promotes racial equality well and has good systems in place to deal with any racist incidents. However, opportunities for learning about the richness and diversity of the cultures that exist in Britain today are more limited.

p.15

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

30. The care and welfare of the pupils have improved since the last inspection. Relationships are very good and all staff know all pupils well. Great emphasis is placed upon understanding the needs of the pupils and ensuring that all are included in all that the school has to offer. This ensures that pupils’ personal development is very good. Parents feel that the school teaches the pupils to care for each other and to get on well together. The school has appropriate safeguards for pupils using the Internet and shares this with parents.

p.15

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

31. Since the last inspection the school has improved its child protection procedures. They are now very good. Health and safety in school is good overall. Statutory checks, maintenance and most other procedures are in place and effective. The caretaker works with the headteacher and governing body to ensure that the school and grounds are kept safe and secure. However not all health and safety procedures are up to date or formally recorded in accordance with current legislation. For example, although fire procedures are effective and there are regular fire drills and checks of equipment, these are not all recorded properly and fire drill notices are not displayed in all areas of the school.

p.15

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

32. The procedures for monitoring attendance are very good. Attendance levels have improved since the last inspection and are now slightly above the national average. The school works well with other agencies to support good attendance and pupil welfare, whilst ensuring that parents understand their role in good and prompt attendance. The school's commitment to inclusion ensures that all children Preston Grange Primary - 14 are supported sensitively. Parents wanting to take children out of school in term time follow the correct procedures and registers are marked and closed correctly.

p.15

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

33. There are very high expectations of good behaviour, which underpin the very good attitudes and behaviour seen throughout the school. The ‘Good Order Policy’ is old. It uses very dated language and does not accurately reflect the excellent inclusive work going on in school to support pupils’ behaviour. The school is very highly committed to promoting good attitudes, behaviour and personal development of all its pupils and no oppressive behaviour was seen. There is an imaginative and popular rewards system that celebrates all achievement, in and out of school. For example, the pupils regularly compete for 'a sweet for you and teacher' by answering questions in the Friday celebration assemblies, where pupils have to figure out the answer to a subject-related question from the headteacher, who understands that children learn best when learning is fun. 34. There are very good procedures in place for supporting and monitoring the personal development of all

p.16

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

pupils. They are encouraged to think for themselves, for example by predicting what might happen next in the story they read in story time and by being given opportunities to make decisions and choices for themselves during lessons and during play. Pupils with special educational need are supported well, enabling them to participate fully in all activities. Internet safety procedures are in place and parents are informed of the school’s policy and practice in this area.

p.16

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

35. The procedures for assessing, recording and reporting pupils’ learning and progress are excellent in English, mathematics and science and very good in all other subjects. The information gained from these activities is used exceptionally well to plan further learning that is very closely focused on pupils’ learning needs. All statutory and non-statutory assessment outcomes are rigorously analysed and used to identify weaknesses that need to be addressed by the whole school and effective action is taken to tackle them. All of the information is collated and recorded on ‘tracking sheets’ that show clearly the rate of progress of individual pupils. This is then used to group pupils of similar ability together in the mixed age classes and to set targets for each pupil or group of pupils to accelerate their learning. The excellent practice seen has contributed in very great measure to the much improved standards throughout the school and represents outstanding improvement since the

p.16

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

36. The school has greatly improved its relationships with parents since the last inspection. They are now very good and a strength of the school. Nearly 57 per cent of parents returned the questionnaires sent out prior to the inspection. The responses showed that they are very pleased with what the school does for their children. This was confirmed at the pre-inspection meeting with parents. The inspection team endorses the parents’ positive views. Parents have a positive effect on pupils' progress. There are very good home/school links. For example the headteacher makes home visits if necessary, not just when things go wrong, but to celebrate pupils' achievements when parents are unable to come in to school to see their children receive their awards. An innovative way of getting parents to attend the annual meeting with governors included a questionnaire for parents asking them to list the things they

p.16

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

liked about the school, the things they want to see improved and what more they would like to see at Grange. Questionnaires were entered into a prize draw on the evening and ensured a better attendance than is usual at the event.

p.16

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

37. Parents are well informed about the progress their children are making. The regular parents' evenings are very well attended and parents know that they are welcome to come to school to discuss concerns with the teachers whenever necessary. The annual progress reports are just part of a series of documents regularly exchanged with parents to keep them in touch with the work of the school and to enable them to play a full part in their children's learning. Parents are encouraged to comment in the 'Reading' and 'My Target' books and to help children at home with their learning targets. The school provides helpful hints, which parents appreciate, explaining how children learn, to help with this task. Parents of pupils with special educational needs are consulted fully about the provision for their children and the school works well with other agencies to support all pupils' learning.

p.16

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

38. The information sent to parents now complies fully with statutory regulations. It is very well presented, interesting and easy to read. This exemplifies the school's commitment to keeping parents fully informed and the value that it places on a first-rate partnership with parents to enhance pupils’ Preston Grange Primary - 15 learning and development. There is no parent / teacher association, but parents are willing to help whenever asked and school functions are very well attended.

p.16

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

39. One of the main reasons for the improvement in the school’s results and pupils’ achievements is the excellent leadership and management provided by the headteacher, who is very well supported by the senior managers and subject leaders. The headteacher’s imaginative thinking, outstanding commitment to the school and very clear vision of what the school should be inspires staff, pupils, parents and governors to work together as a team and to give of their best. All are fully committed to helping pupils achieve the highest possible standards in their work. Excellent assessment procedures, the exceptional use of assessment information in teachers’ day-to-day planning and at whole school level and the very high quality monitoring and evaluation of teaching and learning are just three of the other factors that are helping the school to achieve its aims. There has been very good improvement in leadership and management since the last inspection.

p.17

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

40. The information gained from assessment and from monitoring and evaluation is used exceptionally well to develop teachers and to improve areas of weakness in all subjects. The pupils’ good achievement is very well tracked and recorded from when they start school in the Reception class. Observations of teaching in the core subjects of English, mathematics and science occur each half term, alongside the rigorous analysis of pupils’ work and teachers’ planning. The co-ordinators provide very good summaries for teachers giving their findings and setting targets for further improvement. Common issues are tackled very effectively at whole school level and the teachers’ progress towards all targets is revisited at the next observation. In subjects other than English, mathematics and science, co-ordinators currently monitor and evaluate teaching and learning very well once each term through teachers’ planning and pupils’ work. Opportunities to monitor teaching and learning in the

p.17

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

classroom are planned as subjects become a priority for development. They began with physical education, a focus for improvement last year and are set to continue through all foundation subjects in turn. The information from the monitoring of these subjects is also fed back to teachers and has been very effective in ensuring a consistency of approach to all subjects in all classes and therefore to ensuring that pupils’ learning is continuous from year to year.

p.17

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

41. Co-ordinators make very good use of non-contact and directed time to manage their subjects, to update their own knowledge and to keep their colleagues well informed about any issues arising from, for example, national initiatives or any courses the co-ordinators have attended. The headteacher regularly checks on the work of all co-ordinators and provides very good written summaries of his findings to help all staff improve their work. He also rigorously checks teachers’ weekly planning and annotates it with notes of encouragement and guidance that show his very good knowledge of the staff and the pupils.

p.17

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

42. The governors fulfil their duties satisfactorily. A small core of established governors provides good support for the school. Although all committees are in place, their membership changes frequently because of the constant turnover of governors, which has caused problems of continuity in the governing body for some time. Nevertheless, governors have a good understanding of the standards the school achieves and of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. The chair in particular is very well informed about the school’s work. As the governor with responsibility for numeracy, he visits classrooms on a regular basis. He has a good understanding of how the subject is taught and of how well pupils are doing. The special educational needs governor takes a high level of interest in the school’s results and achievements and meets regularly with the special educational needs co- ordinator to check on practice, procedure and pupils’ progress. Governors receive very good

p.17

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

information from the headteacher. They are very committed to including all pupils in the school and praise the teachers’ very good work in managing pupils who have had difficulty learning and behaving in other schools. They very much appreciate the hard work of the staff. Governors also have a good policy for racial equality and satisfactorily fulfil their roles in reviewing and approving policies and monitoring the work of the school. The exception to this is that they have not ensured that all health and safety practices and procedures have been updated and formalised to comply with current legislation. Preston Grange Primary - 16 43. Performance management procedures are very good. They contribute very well to improving teaching and learning. The objectives set for teachers are reviewed three times during the year. When being drawn up they take very good account of the teachers’ progress towards their previous targets, the

p.17

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

key areas from the headteacher’s most recent evaluations of teaching and learning, the key priorities for the school and the professional development needs of each teacher. They are therefore very closely allied to the school development plan and to school improvement overall. The headteacher’s own performance management focuses very effectively on whole school issues, including the further development of the governing body.

p.18

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

44. The school development plan is a very useful tool for school improvement. The outline shows the school’s very clear forward thinking. This is expanded in an equally good range of supplementary evidence that shows very clearly how the school intends to meet its targets and at what cost. The school’s priorities are reviewed regularly with governors and the staff. Financial management and administration is very good. The school makes very effective use of all funding available to it, earmarking money for the purposes for which it is granted and showing the reasons for any changes to the money allocated to different budgets. It monitors its decisions and purchases very closely to ascertain the effect it has on raising standards and improving pupils’ achievement, ensuring that best value is gained from all spending.

p.18

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

45. The provision for special educational needs is very well led and managed. Reviews of the targets in the pupils’ individual education plans are thorough. Reviews of statements are carried out annually as required by law, with interim reviews assisting teachers in keeping the pupils’ targets closely matched to their learning needs. The co-ordinator has worked very effectively with staff to help them incorporate the pupils’ individual targets into the targets for the class as a whole, further underpinning the school’s very high commitment to the full inclusion of all pupils. The school makes very good use of the funding it receives for pupils with special educational needs and works hard to provide additional support to improve their learning further. For example, it has made very good use of the single regeneration budget grant to provide an additional part-time teacher and a good number of support

p.18

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

staff to help pupils with learning difficulties in all year groups. Overall, the school has a good level of staffing, both teaching and non-teaching. All are deployed very effectively and make a very good contribution to pupils’ learning and personal development.

p.18

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

46. The good accommodation is well maintained and kept very clean. The attractive high quality displays throughout the school show that the school very much values the pupils’ work. They contain a good balance between pupils’ work and commercially produced displays in all subjects and many pose questions and provide further information for the pupils to extend their thinking skills even more. Provision for the physical development of children in the Reception class has improved significantly since the last inspection. The children now have regular access to outdoor play and a satisfactory range of large toys and other equipment for their use. Pupils benefit from extensive outdoor facilities for physical education, including an all-weather pitch which is very well used by the school and the community. Resources for learning are good and are used very effectively to support learning.

p.18

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

47. There are no major weaknesses for the school to address. However, governors must update and formalise the procedures and documentation for health and safety to ensure they comply with current legislation.

p.18

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

Governors should consider including the following minor issues in an action plan:

p.18

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• Extending the good use of information and communication technology in some subjects and classes to all subjects and all classes.

p.18

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• Continuing to find ways of further improving pupils’ vocabulary and their ability to sustain and develop ideas in their writing. Preston Grange Primary - 17 (Paragraphs 5, 58, 62, 63)

p.18

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

( The above are already identified for further work within the school development plan .)

p.19

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

• Extending the school’s good approach to fostering respect for other cultures by preparing pupils even better for life in a culturally diverse British society.

p.19

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(Paragraph 29) Preston Grange Primary - 18

p.19

Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 16

p.20

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactor y Poor Very poor

p.20

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 two percentage points. * Five lessons were not graded for teaching either because the observations were less than 30 minutes, or the pupils were observed working with a classroom support assistant.

p.20

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 90

p.20

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 40

p.20

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs 1

p.20

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 14

p.20

Information about the school’s pupils

English as an additional language No of pupils

p.20

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with English as an additional language 0

p.20

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils

p.20

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 11

p.20

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 6

p.20

Attendance

School data 5.2 School data 0.2 Preston Grange Primary - 19 National comparative data 5.4 National comparative data 0.5

p.20

Attendance

Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. Preston Grange Primary - 20

p.21

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 10 20

p.22

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

National Curriculum Test/Task Results Reading Writing Mathematics

p.22

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

Boys - - - Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls - - -

p.22

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

Percentage of pupils School 75 (100) 85 (100) 100 (100) at NC level 2 or above National 84 (84) 86 (86) 90 (91)

p.22

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

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

p.22

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

Boys - - - Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls - - -

p.22

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

Percentage of pupils School 95 (100) 100 (100) 100 (100) at NC level 2 or above National 85 (85) 89 (89) 89 (89)

p.22

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

Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year. Where the total number of boys and/or girls is ten or fewer, totals only are given in the tables.

p.22

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 8 20

p.22

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

National Curriculum Test/Task Results English Mathematics Science

p.22

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

Boys - - - Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls - - -

p.22

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

Percentage of pupils School 65 (50) 65 (67) 90 (83) at NC level 4 or above National 75 (75) 73 (71) 86 (87)

p.22

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

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

p.22

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

Boys - - - Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls - - -

p.22

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

Percentage of pupils School 60 (50) 60 (67) 70 (83) at NC level 4 or above National 73 (72) 74 (74) 82 (82)

p.22

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

Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year. Where the total number of boys and/or girls is ten or fewer, totals only are given in the tables. Preston Grange Primary - 21

p.22

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 0 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 6 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.

p.23

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 6 Financial year 2001/2002

p.23

Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 15

p.23

Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: YR - Y6 Total income 318,101

p.23

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 5 Total expenditure 318,101

p.23

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 97 Expenditure per pupil 3,213

p.23

Teachers and classes Financial information

FTE means full-time equivalent. Balance brought forward from previous year 0

p.23

Teachers and classes Financial information

Balance carried forward to next year 0 Preston Grange Primary - 22

p.23

Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers who left the school during the last two years 1

p.24

Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers appointed to the school during the last two years 1

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) 0

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. Preston Grange Primary - 23

p.24

Percentage of responses in each category

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

p.25

Percentage of responses in each category

My child is making good progress in school. 71 29 0 0 0

p.25

Percentage of responses in each category

Behaviour in the school is good. 75 25 0 0 0

p.25

Percentage of responses in each category

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 55 39 6 0 0

p.25

Percentage of responses in each category

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 73 24 4 0 0

p.25

Percentage of responses in each category

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 86 10 4 0 0

p.25

Percentage of responses in each category

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 88 12 0 0 0

p.25

Percentage of responses in each category

The school works closely with parents. 65 31 4 0 0

p.25

Percentage of responses in each category

The school is well led and managed. 84 12 4 0 0

p.25

Percentage of responses in each category

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 73 25 2 0 0

p.25

Percentage of responses in each category

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 76 22 2 0 0 Preston Grange Primary - 24

p.25

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

48. The quality of provision for children in the Foundation Stage is good. Most of the pupils enter school with levels of attainment in language and personal and social skills that are well below those expected for four-year-olds. The school provides a secure and stimulating environment so that pupils quickly begin to make rapid progress in all areas of learning. This includes outdoor play, where there has been improvement since the last inspection and provision is now satisfactory. The majority of children are on course to meet the nationally expected standards for their age in all areas of learning other than communication, language and literacy.

p.26

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

49. The quality of teaching is good. Although the pupils are in a mixed age class with Year 1 pupils, the teacher has a good understanding of the particular needs of Foundation Stage pupils and works in excellent partnership with the classroom assistant to ensure that their needs are met. A range of stimulating activities is planned, with good pace and variety throughout the day. Therefore the children have good opportunities to develop their skills and knowledge across a broad and balanced curriculum.

p.26

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

50. Assessment and the tracking and recording of individual children’s learning and progress are excellent and give the teacher and the classroom assistant very good knowledge of the children. The information is used exceptionally well to plan the next steps in the children’s learning, which is firmly based on the national guidance for this age group. Children with special educational needs are given a good level of support, which helps them access all areas of the curriculum. The staff’s high expectations of the children’s work rate and behaviour and the very good relationships evident in the classroom contribute in great measure to the happy and purposeful atmosphere within which the children work, learn and play.

p.26

Personal, social and emotional development

51. Provision for children’s personal, social and emotional education is good. Relationships are very good and a calm, structured atmosphere ensures that children feel secure and confident and begin to develop self-esteem and independence. The organisation of the classroom, the design of the activities and the high level of supervision ensure that all children quickly learn to concentrate on their work and try hard to do their best. They have a good understanding of simple routines, such as coming into the classroom and gathering on the carpet for registration without being directed. They are encouraged to develop independence by making choices from an appropriate range of activities and can take turns, share and listen during snack time. They are polite, raise their hands and wait their turn when they wish to speak and they listen attentively to adults and each other. Because of the good teaching they

p.26

Personal, social and emotional development

receive, the majority of children are well on the way to meeting the nationally expected standards for their age in this area of learning.

p.26

Communication, language and literacy

52. When they start school, the majority of children use only simple statements and questions, often linked to gestures and have a very limited vocabulary. Effective teaching ensures that the children have many good opportunities to enrich their vocabulary by speaking to adults and to each other. They quickly gain the confidence to speak to others about their needs and interests and to speak in different ways for different purposes. Children enjoy listening to stories and rhymes and most pupils readily join in with the more familiar ones. The children handle books satisfactorily and recognise many letter sounds. The more able children are beginning to read whole words and phrases and they know that stories have a beginning, middle and end. They accurately identify the initial letter sound in many words. They all show pleasure in listening to stories and looking at books. Good teaching with lots of short, engaging activities is helping to develop good knowledge of how sounds are combined to

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Communication, language and literacy

form words. All children recognise that writing conveys meaning and show good progress in pencil control, as they learn to label their drawings, often copying scribed writing. The more able children form recognisable letters and attempt to write simple sentences. Although they make good progress, Preston Grange Primary - 25 only about one third of pupils are on course to meet the nationally expected standards for their age at the end of the Reception Year.

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Mathematical development

53. The teaching of maths is good and most children count and talk about number at a satisfactory standard. Activities are well designed to motivate the children. For example, playing a counting game in the hall with the classroom assistant engaged all the pupils’ attention and reinforced their ability to count to ten in ones and twos by counting people and legs. Good opportunities to develop counting skills and mathematical language are planned throughout the day, for example, during registration when children count how many people are away. The less able pupils are showing emerging understanding of shape and ordinal numbers and are beginning to be able to sequence, for example by sticking shapes in order from longest to shortest. The average and more able pupils count reliably to ten, accurately find numbers that are more or less than a given number up to ten and use the correct names for two and three-dimensional shapes. All children make good progress and the

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Mathematical development

majority are on course to reach the nationally expected standards for their age by the end of their Reception Year.

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Knowledge and understanding of the world

54. Good teaching ensures that all of the children’s work reflects the good opportunities provided for them to explore, investigate, design and make, develop a sense of time and place and gain an awareness of the cultures and beliefs of others. A role play area is frequently changed to become a dentist’s waiting room or a café where the pupils enjoy acting out taking orders and serving each other. Sand and water, a home corner and regular outdoor activities all contribute to stimulating play that enriches the pupils’ experiences. For example, as they learned about magnetism, children used metal detectors to hunt for metal objects hidden under the snow in the playground and were encouraged to remember which objects had been removed. A recent visit to a castle provided opportunities to learn about similarities and differences in cooking and eating in the past and today. The teacher and classroom assistant work well in partnership to extend the pupils learning through good questioning

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Knowledge and understanding of the world

and encouragement. All children make good progress and the majority are well on the way to reaching the nationally expected standards for their age by the end of their Reception Year.

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Physical Development

55. Good planning and teaching has improved the provision for physical development since the last inspection despite security constraints, which mean that large equipment cannot be fixed permanently in the playground. Children successfully learn to use and control their gross motor skills as they climb and jump safely on the large wooden climbing frame and soft matting in the classroom. Large items such as tricycles and construction bricks are taken outside when weather permits. Children develop satisfactory levels of spatial awareness and control in the outdoor play activities using small sports equipment such as balls of different sizes and textures, hoops and bean bags. The three activity boxes containing equipment related to the senses, such as kaleidoscopes, binoculars and metal detectors are also used regularly outdoors. The school hall is also used for physical activity and for circle songs and games, developing in the children good awareness of their own and

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Physical Development

each other’s safety. The teaching of fine motor skills is well planned in the range of guided activities and those that the children select themselves. The more able pupils hold and use a pencil correctly and manipulate glue and paint brushes with satisfactory levels of skill. Other children still find these things difficult to do. Overall, however, the children make good progress in this area of learning and the majority are on course to meet the nationally expected standards for their age by the end of their Reception Year.

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Creative development

56. Good teaching ensures that children make good progress in creative development and most are well on the way to reaching the nationally expected standards for their age by the end of the Reception Year. Standards in this area remain the same as at the time of the last inspection. As in the other areas of learning, children are given a wide variety of experiences in accordance with their needs, offering them good opportunities to explore colour, texture, shape and sound. Paints, pencils and Preston Grange Primary - 26 crayons are all readily accessible. The portraits of teachers and other staff in school and a range of imaginative paintings show a wide variation in attainment. Some children produce carefully painted pictures with identifiable features, while others produce simple paintings that lack detail, imagination and creativity. The children enjoy singing, especially when the songs include actions and travelling

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Creative development

around the circle. The staff ensure that all children learn the words to new songs and work hard to encourage everyone to join in.

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ENGLISH

57. In Year 2, pupils’ attainment is as expected nationally for their age in reading and writing, speaking and listening. In Year 6, attainment is below but close to the national expectation. Pupils of all abilities and backgrounds achieve well throughout the school. Good quality teaching and the excellent use of assessment information in planning and target setting ensure that pupils’ individual learning needs are very well met. These procedures include a ‘hit list’ of pupils who have been specifically targeted by their teachers to improve in particular aspects of English. As they have become more securely embedded in practice, these factors have accelerated the pupils’ rate of progress in all year groups. They explain why the National Curriculum test results for 2002 were well below average but the attainment seen in the work of the pupils currently in the school is just below the national expectation and improving fast. Year on year comparisons have to be treated with caution because of

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ENGLISH

the small numbers in each year group, the different proportions of pupils with special educational needs and the fluctuation in the numbers of pupils who change schools between Year 2 and Year 6. Nevertheless, standards in English have improved faster than the national trend since the last inspection and further improvement is evident in school.

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ENGLISH

58. Pupils acquire satisfactory speaking and listening skills for their ages in Year 2 and Year 6. The limited vocabulary with which they start school hinders their achievement in English and sometimes in other subjects and has continued to do so as they progressed through the school. The school has worked hard to address this. Pupils in Year 2 now use a satisfactory range of vocabulary which they have gained as a result of the teachers’ very good identification and consolidation of key vocabulary in the work they are given to do in all subjects. Role-play activities, with well-focused input from the staff, are used well to promote speaking and listening skills in Years 1 and 2. Pupils are eager to be selected for such activities and the staff take good care to ensure everyone has a turn. Teachers ensure that all pupils understand the literal meaning of words that are used in the texts they read and

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ENGLISH

pupils quickly learn to use new words in their spoken and written work, further extending their vocabulary. By Year 6, pupils are relatively articulate young people, who express their opinions clearly and confidently, although they are sometimes lost for the words they need to describe accurately what they want to say. Teachers and classroom assistants deal with this sensitively. As a result, pupils are eager to help each other and readily assist those who find it daunting to speak in front of others. As they move from class to class, further good opportunities for role play, including in assembly, promote speaking and listening skills well. Pupils copy the good models given by the teachers, using their voices expressively and gaining a sound understanding of the need to adapt their speech to suit different occasions and different audiences.

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ENGLISH

59. Building on their learning in the Reception class, pupils in Year 1 extend their reading skills effectively by copying the teacher and using their voices well to illustrate different parts of a story. The teacher’s good questioning probes the pupils’ understanding of key words in the text, thereby extending their vocabulary effectively. Pupils have a satisfactory knowledge of a range of fairy tales and traditional stories but are less secure when looking for the meaning behind the story. Pupils in Year 2 were highly motivated by having to guess the missing word in their text, the story of ‘The Gingerbread Man’. Very good teaching of how to use the text and the pictures to work out the meaning of words meant that pupils became more accurate at reading unfamiliar words. With the help of the teacher and classroom assistant, they applied this learning well in the guided reading work that followed the

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ENGLISH

whole class shared reading. Story time is used very effectively to foster a love of reading. In Year 2, for example, the teacher’s imaginative questioning extended the pupils’ thinking skills very well, helping them to pick out the good things that happened in the story and to suggest alternative storylines. Pupils in Year 6 read together fluently and expressively in shared reading sessions. They clearly enjoyed the next episode of the ‘Secret Garden’. They showed good recall of what had happened previously in the story as they responded with high levels of motivation to the teacher’s very effective questioning. Their answers to questions such as ‘What do you think was …?’ and ‘How do Preston Grange Primary - 27 you know…?’, really stretched their thinking and helped them to understand the importance of reading behind the written word to find a deeper meaning in the text. They discussed knowledgeably, the use

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ENGLISH

of formal and informal language and how language has changed over time. The whole school focus on comprehension is a good example of how the school is tackling one of the weaknesses identified in its analysis of the national test results and its rigorous recording of how well pupils are learning and what they need to do to improve.

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ENGLISH

60. Although pupils read an appropriate range of books in school and take books home to read and share with others as part of their homework, the support they have at home varies considerably. For example, only about half of the Year 6 pupils discussing their work with an inspector indicated that they got help at home, or that they had a reasonable range of books at home. Nevertheless, pupils express clearly their preferences for different types of books and although the range of authors they read is relatively limited, they present good explanations for why they like authors as diverse as Charles Dickens and J K Rowling.

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ENGLISH

61. Throughout the school, the teachers’ structured approach to teaching pupils to work out how to read unfamiliar words by breaking them down into combinations of letter sounds benefits pupils’ reading and writing. It also helps to develop speaking skills, as they learn to pronounce clearly the different syllables in each word. By Year 2, the majority of pupils spell most of the commonly used words accurately and make good attempts in their word books at spelling less familiar words that they want to use in their writing. This approach fosters good levels of independence as pupils take responsibility for their own learning. They know and follow well the routine of saying, trying to spell, checking and, when relevant, using a dictionary, prior to approaching an adult, or indeed another pupil, for help. This contributes very well to their personal development and also fosters good social skills. Pupils learn to

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ENGLISH

join their writing from an early age, although in Year 2 they do not always apply the good skills they demonstrate in their handwriting practice books, to their other written work in English or in other subjects. By Year 6, however, they present their work well, with good attention to the structure and layout of different forms of writing and their handwriting is neat and legible. In all year groups, as in other aspects of English, the pupils’ work is well planned to meet their learning needs, which are securely based on the teachers’ very comprehensive assessments of their prior learning. For example, pupils of different levels of ability have different elements of handwriting to practise, dependent upon the handwriting patterns they find difficult to sustain. For the least able, this sometimes means further practice at forming letters correctly. For the most able, it often entails only guidance on care to be taken when the standard slips in their work, rather than unnecessarily

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ENGLISH

repeating things they already do reasonably well.

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ENGLISH

62. Pupils in Years 1 and 2 begin to write stories that are formed first from sequencing sentences to create a story, to using their own imagination to compose a sequence of sentences to make up their own stories. All pupils have a satisfactory understanding of the structure of a story. By Year 2, they arrange words accurately in alphabetical order, begin to use adjectives to add interest and to connect words to join sentences. The majority use capital letters and full stops accurately in their work. Average and higher attaining pupils extend their range of punctuation well by adding commas, question marks and exclamation marks. Higher attaining pupils use speech bubbles, headings and sub-headings correctly, showing a good understanding of how to lay out their work for different purposes and different audiences. For example, they write instructions for making a sandwich, make lists of ingredients, write poetry and construct glossaries to help their reader. However, while they

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ENGLISH

cover the full range of writing recommended in the National Literacy Strategy, the majority still find difficulty sustaining and developing their ideas in their writing and the range of vocabulary they use is relatively limited.

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ENGLISH

63. Pupils in Years 3 to 6 build well on their previous learning because their work is very effectively tailored to their learning needs. The targets in their ‘My Target’ books, based on the excellent assessment and very good marking of their work, leave them in no doubt as to what they need to do to improve. Pupils report that teachers discuss their work well with them and check that they know what to do to reach the next stage in their learning. However, pupils do not always respond well enough to the very clear guidance from their teachers as to how to sustain ideas and develop storylines. Higher attaining pupils in Year 3 prepare good story plans and draft and redraft their writing to improve it. However, in doing so, their writing sometimes becomes confusing as they mix up the characters in the story and do not always use the correct pronoun, for example, using ‘she’ after Preston Grange Primary - 28

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ENGLISH

beginning a sentences about a boy called Ken. These weaknesses continue into Years 4 and 5 and remain evident in some Year 6 work. Too often, writing is not of a suitable length. It is sometimes left incomplete and lacks the punctuation required to make it easy to read. Higher attaining pupils in Year 6 include good levels of detail in their writing, use descriptive language well and extend the range of punctuation to using apostrophes correctly. In Years 3 to 6, pupils are given good opportunities to write in a wide range of styles using different forms of writing. They also explore the language and approaches in different newspapers and show good levels of understanding of the different styles in their own news articles.

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ENGLISH

64. Teachers provide good opportunities for pupils to consolidate and extend their literacy skills in other subjects. For example, they use their reading and writing skills well to research and prepare accounts of historical events and changes in the way people have lived over time. Pupils write reports in different ways in science. They write recipes and instructions, make lists of materials and ingredients and label diagrams in design and technology. Because teachers insist on it, pupils successfully learn to use the key vocabulary associated with different subjects and topics and to discuss their work with the teacher and other pupils. However, they do not often present their work to the class or to the whole school and therefore opportunities are missed to develop their speaking and listening skills more fully. Satisfactory use is made of information and communication technology to promote literacy

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ENGLISH

skills. From a young age, pupils use programs that reinforce reading and spelling patterns and quickly learn to draft and redraft their written work on the computer, a skill that they use more effectively as they grow older. Pupils also make satisfactory use of the appropriate range of books in the library to extend their literacy skills and to find out a range of information in English and in other subjects. However, one pupil reported that the books available to them did not contain enough detailed information - he got more from the computer. Information and communication technology is used well to support pupils’ learning in English, consolidating and extending their reading and writing skills in particular. Through the wide range of literature studied, the sensitive exploration of issues that arise in the texts and the opportunities provided for pupils to reflect on what they read and write prior

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ENGLISH

to presenting their own ideas and opinions, English makes a very good contribution to the pupils’ personal, spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

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ENGLISH

65. The leadership and management of English are very good. The co-ordinator’s own very secure subject knowledge is transmitted very clearly to the staff through the high quality guidance they receive following the very effective monitoring and evaluation of teaching, learning and pupils’ work. This includes half-termly classroom observations and follow-up observations that are used very well to check that teachers are addressing areas identified for improvement. Although the curriculum is securely based on the recommendations of the National Literacy Strategy, teachers are not afraid to adapt it to meet the needs of the pupils in their classes. The co-ordinator contributes well to this by collating strengths and weaknesses from assessment information and checking that teachers use the information effectively to tackle the weaknesses. Resources for literacy are good. They are much improved since the last inspection, easily accessible to all who need them and used effectively to

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ENGLISH

66. The English co-ordinator is also the special educational needs co-ordinator. She supports teachers very well in writing precise, measurable targets for pupils’ individual education plans and helps them to incorporate these targets into everyday planning in the classroom. Support staff, including a part- time support teacher, are very effectively used to assist pupils with special educational needs in literacy and to ensure that they take full part in all aspects of a lesson. As a result, they make good progress towards their individual targets and continue to take a full part in whole class activities. For example, in a very good lesson with pupils in Years 5 and 6, while the rest of the class was identifying connecting words and phrases in different texts, the teaching assistant used a much simpler text and helped pupils with special educational needs to find single connecting words. They were then able to contribute fully and effectively to the whole class session at the end of the lesson

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ENGLISH

when all pupils evaluated whether or not they had reached the learning objective they had been set. Some support work takes place in small withdrawal groups away from the classroom, to focus on specific learning difficulties. Because of the school’s very strong emphasis on providing the best possible chances of learning for all pupils, the use of withdrawal groups is very carefully monitored to ensure that pupils do not miss out on what the class as a whole is doing. All pupils are therefore always included in whole class sessions at the beginning and end of a lesson. Any withdrawal work is usually very closely related to the class work, or provides additional or further literacy support for Preston Grange Primary - 29 pupils who need it to help them catch up with others in the class. The school is highly committed to improving pupils’ literacy skills further to enable them to achieve higher standards in the national tests

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ENGLISH

and to help them improve their progress in all other subjects.

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MATHEMATICS

67. Standards in mathematics are above the national expectation for pupils currently in Year 2 and Year 6. All pupils, including those with special educational needs, achieve well. There has been good improvement in mathematics since the last inspection. There are several reasons why pupils do well. The school has successfully implemented the National Numeracy Strategy and the effect of this is now being reflected in the standards attained. The quality of teaching is good and sometimes very good and along with the excellent use of assessment information, ensures that all pupils are offered tasks that are well matched to their learning needs. This also includes a ‘hit list’ of pupils who have been specifically targeted by teachers to improve in particular components of the subject. The co- ordinator is a leading mathematics teacher and supports co-ordinators from other schools in leading and managing the subject. Good emphasis is also placed on using and developing mathematical

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MATHEMATICS

skills in other subjects, for example, science, geography and design and technology and this too contributes to the higher standards being achieved. All of these factors combine to speed up the rate at which pupils learn. This has a very positive impact on standards that pupils reach in Year 2 and Year 6 and is part of an improving trend in which more pupils are beginning to reach the higher levels in the national tests.

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MATHEMATICS

68. Boys and girls achieve equally well and pupils with special educational needs make good progress towards the precise targets in their individual education plans. They are sometimes taught in small withdrawal groups, but their work is well focused to ensure they do the same things as the rest of their class, but at a level more suited to their ability. Withdrawal sessions are carefully monitored to ensure that all pupils are treated equally and have the same chance of succeeding. This exemplifies the strong emphasis the school places on ensuring that all pupils are enabled to participate fully in all activities and in all parts of every lesson. As a result, pupils succeed in all components of mathematics.

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MATHEMATICS

69. Pupils in Year 2 use their investigative skills well to explore number. They count and use numbers to 100 accurately and with confidence. This was seen in a lesson with pupils in Years 2 and 3 when higher attaining pupils demonstrated their good knowledge and understanding of addition as they worked out that 20 + 15 = 17 + 18 = 35. Lower attaining pupils in the lesson added numbers up to ten accurately and then reversed their calculations, for example, 7 + 3 = 10, 7 + 3 = 10, showing their developing understanding of number bonds. All pupils identify correctly the different properties of simple two and three-dimensional shapes, such as triangles, rectangles, a cylinder and a sphere. They measure accurately using metres and centimetres, sequencing measurements from the longest to the shortest or vice versa. They have a good knowledge of money calculations up to and beyond £1.00.

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MATHEMATICS

70. By Year 6, the majority of pupils have well-developed number skills and readily apply these to solving problems. They add, subtract, multiply and divide accurately, both mentally and in written form. This was demonstrated in a very good lesson with pupils in Years 5 and 6, when higher attaining pupils confidently used brackets to solve calculation problems such as (100 + 10) x 8 + 1 = 881. Lower attaining pupils in the lesson could multiply 25 x 32 using the correct mathematical procedure and transferred this learning successfully to multiplying 100s, tens and units by one digit. They have a good understanding of the different properties of a wide range of two and three-dimensional shapes, use percentages and ratios confidently and accurately in their calculations and show a good understanding of fractions and their decimal equivalents. Pupils of all abilities make good progress in lessons. For example, in a good Year 4 and 5 lesson, lower attaining pupils quickly learned that 0.7

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MATHEMATICS

is the same as seven tenths, while higher attaining pupils confidently used hundredths to work out that one quarter is the same as 0.25.

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MATHEMATICS

71. Because the tasks they are given are so well focused on their learning needs, pupils have very positive attitudes to their work and are determined to succeed. They strive to meet the teachers’ high expectations and work hard because they are offered interesting activities that make learning fun. This was clearly demonstrated in a very good lesson with pupils in Years 2 and 3, when the pupils Preston Grange Primary - 30 worked extremely hard to record their work in the way they had been shown. Teachers use mathematics lessons effectively to improve the pupils’ literacy skills. For example, because all teachers insist on it, pupils use appropriate mathematical vocabulary such as ‘addition’, ‘equivalent’ and ‘multiply’. The subject also makes a positive contribution to the pupils’ moral and social development though opportunities for collaboration in group work. Although information and communication technology is used to support learning in lessons, for example, in a Years 4 and 5

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MATHEMATICS

lesson, this aspect of the pupils’ work is not yet well enough planned to ensure that the computers are fully utilised in all classes. Displays of mathematical work around school help to maintain pupils’ interest in the subject, such as the one in the Year 2/3 classroom on ‘counting patterns’.

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MATHEMATICS

72. All teachers use their good knowledge and understanding of the National Numeracy Strategy effectively to plan their lessons. All lessons begin with an effective and snappy session of mental mathematics that motivates the pupils and stimulates their thinking. This was seen in a Years 4 and 5 lesson when the teacher used a meter stick and hoop to develop pupils’ understanding of equivalent fractions and decimals. Planning is very detailed and learning objectives are clearly identified in all lessons. They are shared with the pupils and because the planned activities are well matched to the pupils’ different learning needs, all are effectively challenged and motivated to do well. This was demonstrated very well in a Year 5 and 6 lesson, where working in groups, all the pupils were successfully taught how to use a range of multiplication strategies when working with different numbers. Teachers are careful to structure their questions in such a way that pupils of all abilities

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MATHEMATICS

have equal opportunity to respond. The questioning prompts all pupils’ thinking well and probes their understanding, helping them to think like young mathematicians. Class management is very good and positive relationships and high expectations of pupils’ work rate and behaviour result in lessons that proceed at a good pace.

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MATHEMATICS

73. The leadership and management in mathematics are very good. Along with the headteacher the co- ordinator rigorously monitors and evaluates teachers’ planning and pupils’ work and observes colleagues teach on a half termly basis. She has undertaken a rigorous analysis of previous statutory test papers to identify strengths and weaknesses and has provided good guidance for teachers as to how to tackle the weaknesses. The subject co-ordinator is fully committed to raising standards even further in mathematics and leads by example as subject leader. This, alongside the excellent assessment procedures and the exceptionally good use of the information gleaned from them, are the prime factors in driving up standards in the subject. Resources for the subject are good. They are easily accessible to all who need them and are used well to promote learning.

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SCIENCE

74. Standards are above the national expectation for pupils currently in Year 2 and Year 6. All pupils, including those with special educational needs, achieve well. This represents good improvement since the last inspection and is due to good quality teaching that allows pupils to learn from direct first hand experience in a practical and scientific way. Pupils apply the skills of scientific enquiry well to gaining knowledge about life processes and living things, about materials and their properties and about physical forces. Another feature of this improvement is the very good leadership and management by the subject co-ordinator and the excellent assessment procedures that are in place to keep a very close check on pupils’ progress as they move through the school. Teachers use assessment information exceptionally well to plan well focused activities that meet individual pupils’ learning needs. The combination of all of these factors has led to a greater proportion of pupils beginning to

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SCIENCE

reach the higher levels in Year 2 and Year 6. Boys and girls achieve equally well in the national tests and no differences were noted in lessons during the inspection.

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SCIENCE

75. Pupils in Year 2 have good scientific knowledge and understanding, including the characteristics and importance of a fair test. Pupils in Year 1 simply classify and sort materials into sets by touch and record whether they can bend or not. This knowledge is built on well as they move through the school. For example, in a lesson with pupils in Years 2 and 3, pupils classified materials accurately using the criterion of whether they came from a living or non-living source. Higher attaining pupils in the lesson readily identified that wood came from trees, while lower attaining pupils needed adult guidance to identify the source of each material. Pupils in Years 3 to 6 develop further their scientific understanding of predicting, observing and recording. Pupils in a very good Year 5 and 6 lesson, for example, were predicting and testing to see how rusting occurred by placing different materials into

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SCIENCE

Preston Grange Primary - 31 water. Higher attaining pupils in the lesson understood well that to be a fair test, all the variables in the test had to be the same, such as the amount of water placed in the container. Lower attaining pupils required and received some adult guidance to determine what was meant by a prediction. Most of the pupils in the Year 5 and 6 lesson applied their previous knowledge and understanding of materials well in their work and were confident in handling the equipment in their investigation. In a Year 4 and 5 lesson pupils were investigating whether all solids dissolved when mixed with warm water. High attaining pupils in the lesson could explain whether their predictions had been successful or not, with comments such as ‘I thought the polystyrene would have sunk’. Lower attaining pupils needed adult guidance to help them see the connections between ensuring that all the variables were

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SCIENCE

maintained in the investigation to gain an accurate result.

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SCIENCE

76. Although information and communication technology is used to support learning, for example in a Year 5 and 6 lesson, it needs to be used more consistently across the school. Displays around the school help maintain interest in science, for example, the one in a Year 4 and 5 classroom in which there are assorted displays of materials in containers such as sand and oats.

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SCIENCE

77. Teachers use their good subject knowledge effectively to plan lessons with clear learning objectives, which are shared with pupils in lessons. This ensures that all pupils are fully engaged in discussions of the ideas being taught and are fully aware of what they are learning. Because all teachers use carefully structured questions well to probe and extend pupils’ knowledge and understanding and their ways of working, the majority of pupils think like young scientists and find answers and conclusions about everyday things in a scientific way. This was clearly demonstrated in the Years 5/6 lesson, when the teacher moved around different groups offering advice and suggestions as to what causes rusting. Because the pupils are effectively engaged in exciting, practical work, they have very positive attitudes to science, behave very well and are eager to participate in all activities offered to them.

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SCIENCE

Teachers insist that they use the correct scientific vocabulary when discussing and recording their work, as was seen in the Years 4/5 lesson, when pupils successfully learned to use terms such as ‘source’, solids’, ‘reversible’ and irreversible’. This makes a valuable contribution to the pupils’ literacy skills, as does the discussion work and their writing up of investigations in different ways. The pupils’ work in science contributes particularly effectively to their moral and social development. Pupils co- operate well as they work in groups, readily sharing ideas and findings and helping each other to succeed. As a result of the teachers’ very good management and organisation, lessons proceed at a brisk pace and pupils work productively, making good gains in learning. Pupils use equipment safely and with respect and have due regard to the effect that their actions have on others. They enjoy their

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SCIENCE

work and have a very good rapport with teachers. Pupils’ work is marked well. Teachers give good guidance as to what they need to do to improve and planning builds very effectively on pupils’ prior learning. Teachers make very good use of the good range of scientific resources available, to promote learning. Resources are easily accessible to all who need them.

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SCIENCE

78. The leadership and management of science are very good. The experienced co-ordinator is highly committed to raising standards further. She leads by example in her work as the subject co-ordinator and in her very good practice in the classroom. The co-ordinator monitors and evaluates teachers’ planning and pupils’ books and observes colleagues teach on a half-termly basis to identify any strengths and weaknesses in how the subject is taught. She collates the information and shares it with all staff. This ensures that all have a common understanding of the areas for development and how best to tackle them. Follow-up observations check that there is consistent improvement across the school.

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ART AND DESIGN

79. Art and design is taught alternately with design and technology. Although this is the term for art and design, the organisation of the school’s timetable meant that it was possible to see only two art and design lessons during the three days inspectors were in school, one with pupils in Year 1 and one with pupils in the Years 5/6 class. However, the quality of work on display around the school, together with evidence from the pupils’ sketchbooks and discussions with pupils, allow secure judgements to be made. Standards in art and design match the national expectation for pupils in Year 2 and Year 6. All pupils achieve well, including those with special educational needs. Preston Grange Primary - 32 80. The work on display and in the pupils’ sketchbooks indicates that the quality of teaching is good. The high level of detail in teachers’ planning shows that assessment procedures are used very effectively

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ART AND DESIGN

indeed to determine pupils’ progress. For example, in the very good lesson observed in Years 5 and 6, the teacher used her excellent knowledge of the pupils’ prior knowledge, understanding and recognition of pattern, to select patterns with different degrees of complexity for different groups of pupils to continue. This work built effectively on the pupils’ study of the work of Escher and Morris, which pupils described in some detail when asked. It was clear that some pupils had difficulty recognising repeats in patterns. The task prepared for them required higher attaining pupils to work with complex patterns to find the repeat, continue the pattern and mix colours to match those in the pattern with the aim of ensuring that their continuation of it would not be noticed. The pupils rose to this challenge and used considerable initiative involving the effective use of mathematical skills as they worked out how to repeat the pattern by measuring the distance between repeats and the

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ART AND DESIGN

different widths of the lines. Meanwhile, the teacher worked with lower attaining pupils, helping them to recognise the repeats and continue simple line patterns. As a result, all pupils made good progress in the lesson and their pattern and colour skills were taken forward apace. Pupils in Year 6 have clearly enjoyed their work in art and design throughout their time in school. They talk with enthusiasm about the range of artists they have studied and the good range of materials available to them.

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ART AND DESIGN

81. Pupils’ work in art and design is linked well to their work in other subjects. For example, their sketchbooks contained examples of Egyptian studies, in which they used their knowledge of co- ordinates, gained in mathematics, very effectively to resize their work. The detailed observational drawings of plants and winter trees show that pupils are taught to observe closely. This is evident, too, in the detailed drawings of their own hands, which include skin patterns, lines around knuckles and the shading seen on nails. Portrait work shows increasingly good attention to detail from year to year, including a developing understanding of facial proportions. Even the youngest pupils create almost recognisable paintings of the staff and people who help them. Work on display indicates that pupils take their original drawings into different media in two and three dimensions. For example, paper face sculptures on display in the hall show that pupils have a good understanding of how to use

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ART AND DESIGN

paper in different ways to represent features, for example, rolling, cutting, curling and folding. Further three-dimensional work included face sculptures using modelling clay, which had been painted and mounted on a background of pupils’ paper weavings, creating a colourful, imaginative display. Working in the style of Seurat, pupils created imaginative representations of animals, birds, insects and objects of their choice. The work shows a good understanding of the artist’s style and use of colour. Information and communication technology programs are used effectively to enhance pupils’ work in art, including their understanding of colour and pattern and their knowledge and understanding of artists and their work.

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ART AND DESIGN

82. Art and design is well led and managed. Through the termly monitoring of teaching and learning, the co-ordinator quickly picks up areas that require further development and works with staff to address them. The curriculum has a clear structure that ensures pupils’ learning is built upon year after year and opportunities are presented to higher attainers to move on faster, while good support is given to lower attainers and pupils with special educational needs to help them achieve their best. The excellent use of the information gained from the very good assessment procedures ensures that gaps in learning are quickly identified and effectively tackled. Through the study of different artists and their work and the good range of opportunities for pupils to reflect on their own and others’ work, explore colour and a wide range of materials and media, art and design makes a very good contribution to

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ART AND DESIGN

pupils’ personal, spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

83. Judgements about this subject are securely based on the wealth of evidence from work on display in school and on discussions with pupils and teachers and on the analysis of teachers’ planning. This is because, due to the organisation of the school’s curriculum, design and technology was not being taught this half term. It alternates with the teaching of art and design.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

84. Standards in design and technology are above the national expectation in Year 2 and Year 6. This represents very good improvement since the last inspection, when it was a key issue to improve provision and standards in this subject. The good standard of pupils’ work, combined with the Preston Grange Primary - 33 teachers’ very detailed planning and evidence of their exceptionally good use of assessment information, shows that the quality of teaching is very good and contributes in great measure to the pupils’ very good achievement. A very well planned curriculum ensures that pupils’ work covers all aspects of design and technology and very good emphasis is placed on the design, make and evaluate process. A comprehensive range of photographs and teachers’ records chart pupils’ experiences and progress over time. Design and technology is clearly very well led and managed and teaching and learning very effectively monitored and evaluated. The good range of resources available

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

is used very effectively to promote very good learning.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

85. Pupils in Year 1 explore the usefulness and suitability of a range of materials to create ‘touchy feely monsters’. Linked to their history work, pupils in Year 2 designed and made models of swimming costumes from 100 years ago, comparing them with swimming costumes today. Design and technology was effectively linked to religious education when pupils in Years 2 and 3 designed and made a coat for Joseph, evaluating the quality of the colours used and changing them to those they would prefer today. The extensive recording of pupils’ experiences in the photograph albums shows that they cover all aspects of design and technology well, including food technology and textiles and make good links to subjects such as science, as they use their good knowledge of circuits to enhance their models of torches. From an early age, pupils are successfully taught the importance of effective research, clearly labelled designs and good making skills. They are also taught what to look

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

for to make informed choices about what and how to improve their work.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

86. Pupils in Year 6 talked with great enthusiasm and very good knowledge and understanding of the reasons for their extensive research into different kinds of buildings in their work on shelters. The teacher’s own enthusiasm for the subject was mentioned several times. Her creative and imaginative planning that turned a straightforward project into designing a new village very greatly increased the pupils’ understanding of the world around them, as well as providing them with excellent opportunities to explore different structures, methods of joining materials and the processes involved in designing and constructing a house or other building to suit a particular purpose. Pupils used information and communication technology very effectively indeed to access an estate agent’s website to gain information on different types of houses and their cost. They used digital photography to record at first hand the range of buildings in the area surrounding the school. As a result, they made very well

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

informed choices as to what to include in the village and the type of housing that would be best suited to the market they were trying to attract. The process of making the good quality models on display is recorded in great detail, showing how well pupils collaborated as they worked and how they modified their designs as they were faced with different problems. Their evaluations of their work show how carefully they had thought about what they were doing and what they would improve if they undertook a similar project in the future. Pupils used their literacy and numeracy skills very effectively in this project. Pupils’ work in design and technology and particularly in this project, contributes in very great measure to their personal, spiritual, moral, social and cultural development as well as to their understanding of citizenship and health education.

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GEOGRAPHY

87. Standards are in line with national expectations for pupils in Year 2 and Year 6. All pupils, including those with special educational needs make good progress because the quality of teaching is good and work is very well matched to their learning needs. Standards have been maintained since the last inspection.

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GEOGRAPHY

88. By Year 2, pupils have gained a sound understanding of the local environment. In their topic on holidays and following a visit to Morecambe, they draw and label accurately the human and physical features in the town and use colour coding to identify features on a large scale map of the area around the school. In their study of a contrasting place, they compare the similarities and differences between Preston and the fictional Isle of Struay. They identify where the island might be on a map of the British Isles, draw a map of the island and identify the main features on it, using a key. This work demonstrates good mapping skills for their age.

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GEOGRAPHY

89. Pupils in Year 6 have a good understanding of how to locate Preston within the county of Lancashire, within the country and in the continent of Europe. They accurately label the oceans of the world on a world map and show a good understanding of geographical features such as climate and land use and Preston Grange Primary - 34 how these features affect different environments. In all age groups, the teachers’ good questioning at the beginning of lessons helps pupils to recall their previous learning, for example, about India having only three seasons and features of the monsoon season. This helped pupils to build effectively on their prior learning and they used it well to acquire new knowledge and skills. Questions are carefully constructed to ensure that all pupils participate fully in all parts of a lesson and reflect the teachers’ high expectations of pupils’ learning, work rate and behaviour. In a very good lesson with puils in

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GEOGRAPHY

Years 5 and 6, this ensured that the most able pupils were challenged to consider complex differences such as cost as well as size and the differences in materials when discussing similarities and differences in shelters in Chembakoli, India with their own homes. At the same time, lower attaining pupils received good support to help them identify the main similarities and differences in the types of dwelling in the two countries, and the features of a village house in India. The teachers’ good use of the correct geographical vocabulary such as ‘northern hemisphere’ and ‘weather conditions’ and their insistence that pupils use such terms in their speaking and writing, extends pupils’ vocabulary and enriches their knowledge and understanding in the subject. Good use is made of resources such as pictures, atlases and books, the overhead projector and the Internet to help pupils research further information. For example, pupils in Year 2 accessed a website to find out information

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GEOGRAPHY

about the island of Struay. Learning is made exciting for the pupils and they respond with very good behaviour, work hard and listen carefully to what their teachers and other pupils have to say. The more able pupils are beginning to show some independence in researching information for themselves.

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GEOGRAPHY

90. The leadership and management of geography are good. The policy and scheme of work ensure that the geography curriculum is sufficiently broad and balanced. This is an improvement since the previous inspection. The work of the co-ordinator in monitoring and evaluating teaching and pupils’ work on a termly basis, to check on standards, identify areas for improvement and share the information with all colleagues has been successful in improving consistency in teaching and learning throughout the school. Geography makes a good contribution to pupils’ personal, spiritual, social and cultural development.

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HISTORY

91. Standards are in line with national expectations in Year 2 and Year 6. All pupils, including those with special educational needs, achieve well throughout the school because of good teaching and work that is well matched to their individual learning needs. This happens because of the teachers’ very good use of the information they gain from the very rigorous assessment of pupils’ learning and progress. Standards have been maintained since the previous inspection.

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HISTORY

92. Pupils in Year 2 draw and write about transport in the past, with a sound understanding of the similarities and differences between 50 years ago and today. More able pupils in this age group show a well-developed understanding of ‘then’ and ‘now’ and demonstrate this in their detailed writing and illustrations of what holidays were like in the past and what they are like today. Less able pupils construct a simple timeline to identify how holidays have changed, commenting that ‘we can go anywhere in the world and they could not’.

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HISTORY

93. By Year 4, pupils begin/are beginning to show some empathy with people living in the past, exemplified in their good understanding of the conditions and hardships for Roman soldiers guarding Hadrian’s Wall. Teachers use their good subject knowledge to probe pupils’ knowledge and understanding through the use of well directed questions that help lower attaining pupils to remember facts and understand information and challenge more able pupils to think hard and justify their ideas. Pupils in Year 6 confidently research information for themselves, using appropriate Internet websites, books and photographs, for example in their work on ancient Egypt and its individual gods. They write knowledgeably and with sound understanding about the ancient Egyptians demonstrating their detailed knowledge of the gods, Egyptian mummies and the building of the pyramids. They have a good understanding of the concept of ‘generations’.

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HISTORY

94. The leadership and management of history are good. The co-ordinator’s termly monitoring and evaluation of teaching and learning has brought about consistency throughout the school and enables teachers quickly to identify and address any areas for further development. Resources are good. They include big books, videos, computer programs and websites and photocopied materials, all of which Preston Grange Primary - 35 are used very effectively to support learning. Educational visits to places of historical interest, such as Skipton Castle, further enriches the pupils’ learning and helps to develop their interest in learning history from first hand experience. The subject makes a good contribution to pupils’ personal, spiritual, social and cultural development.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

95. Standards are in line with national expectations for pupils in Year 2 and Year 6. Standards have been maintained since the previous inspection. All pupils’ including those with special educational needs achieve well throughout the school. Since the last inspection the school has made good improvements in its provision for this subject. There are now two net-linked computers with printers in each classroom. The school is careful to ensure that all pupils have equal opportunity to work at the computers and has a further five computers available in the school for parents and pupils who do not have access to computer provision at home. It adheres to the local guidelines concerning Internet safety and informs parents of its policy in this area.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

96. The headteacher is the co-ordinator for this subject and he leads and manages it well. There is a good policy, the scheme of work follows national guidance and statutory requirements are met. The information gained from the school’s very good assessment procedures is used very effectively to determine the next stages in pupils’ learning. All staff have successfully completed their training to teach the subject and the majority now use computers appropriately to enhance learning in other subjects. For example, pupils in Years 2 and 3 used a mathematics program to help them develop their skills of addition and a literacy program to help them consolidate spelling patterns. The pupils typed using one finger, showing that they knew their way around the keyboard, including the function of the return key. They also confidently used the mouse to click on the relevant icon to complete a number sentence, or move a word to the correct box on the screen. Pupils in Years 4 and 5 also

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

used a spelling program confidently, accurately guiding the mouse to replace the word learned for a new one. Pupils have positive attitudes and a desire to learn and increase their skills when they use computers. This was demonstrated in the work displayed in the corridor near the hall, such as computer generated graphs which included the size of a shadow and the distance from a shadow and the poems and calendars created using a ‘paint’ program.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

97. All pupils have a good understanding of how information and communication technology affects their daily lives and is linked to real-life situations, such as accessing information from different websites. This was seen in a Years 5 and 6 geography lesson, where pupils used a website to help develop their understanding of major continents of the world. Pupils successfully learn to use control technology, for example, the programmable floor robot seen in the Years 2/3 class. In Years 5 and 6 pupils have used a digital camera and a computer based microscope to take a close and awe- inspiring look at different objects such as a feather and a bee’s wing as part of their work in science. Overall, information and communication technology makes a good contribution to pupils’ personal, spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. However, the use of information and communication technology is still somewhat underdeveloped as a natural tool for learning throughout the school day.

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MUSIC

98. Standards in music are as expected nationally in Year 2 and Year 6. All pupils, including those with special educational needs make good progress because of good teaching, a well organised curriculum and the very good use made of the information gained from comprehensive assessment procedures to determine how the teachers plan for pupils to make the best progress they can in lessons. Leadership and management of the subject are good. The school has recently changed to a nationally recommended scheme of work and the co-ordinator checks termly on teaching and learning in the subject. This is helping to create consistency across the school and is benefiting pupils’ learning.

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MUSIC

99. In a lesson focusing on representing sounds with symbols, pupils in Year 2 showed a good understanding of the need to have different symbols to represent different instruments. They classified the instruments accurately into those that were banged, scraped or shaken to produce their sounds. Discussions with them revealed that this work was well planned to build successfully on their prior learning by giving them more time to work out patterns in sound, something they had previously found Preston Grange Primary - 36 difficult. When they came to perform each other’s compositions, they listened very attentively, controlled the instruments well and became increasingly competent at playing together, using the right instruments at the right time in the score. They rose very well to the additional challenge introduced as the teacher varied the tempo to test whether they were concentrating well enough on

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MUSIC

their playing. They were very excited at the prospect of working out how to add symbols to their scores to represent changes in tempo and dynamics in the next lesson. Pupils in this age group know a good range of songs and musical rhymes and sing them with a relatively secure sense of pitch.

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MUSIC

100. The consistency in the teachers’ work was very evident in the lessons observed with pupils in Years 3 to 5. In these lessons, the pupils learned how to compose rhythms against a steady beat using the traditional notation for minims, crotchets and quavers. The teachers used their good subject knowledge to demonstrate how to create a rhythm pattern using these notes and pupils showed a good understanding of the note values. The teachers’ assessment logs identified clearly which pupils struggled with similar work in a previous lesson and these pupils were afforded additional practice time. In the Year 3/4 lesson, opportunities were missed for pupils to work together in pairs and groups to enhance their learning further. This was not the case in the very good lesson observed in the Years 5/6 class, where pupils were very effectively challenged to work together in pairs to compose an eight beat pattern, rehearse it and perform it to the class. They responded very well to the suggestion that

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MUSIC

they practised using rhythm sticks quietly so as not to disturb others. All pupils wrote their music out accurately and when evaluating their playing with the teacher, readily offered that their repeated rhythms were called ‘ostinati’ when the teacher prompted them for the correct word. While making sure that all pupils were given equal opportunity to compose and perform, the teacher exercised good sensitivity when some pairs showed a reluctance to perform, offering them the opportunity to have their work performed by the whole class. This promotes good self-esteem because the pupils were praised for their work and were proud to hear it performed. Singing was not a feature of lessons in Years 3 to 5, but all pupils sang well in assembly with a secure sense of pitch and obvious enjoyment.

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MUSIC

101. Although no lessons were seen in Year 6, discussions with the pupils revealed their good recall of what they had done in music so far this year and in previous years. They talked about how they had recorded their singing and playing and played it back to evaluate how well they had done. They clearly have good opportunities to listen to music from different times and places and recalled having explored how music creates moods and feelings. They remembered having composed their own music to illustrate this and showed a sound understanding of different types of music and their origins and of a satisfactory range of composers and performers. For example, they described some of the music heard today as being based on black people’s music and some as being purely white people’s music and the different features of each kind. Overall, music makes a very good contribution to pupils’ personal, spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

102. The physical education lessons seen during the inspection week were gymnastics, games and outdoor and adventurous activities. Discussions with the co-ordinator, teachers and pupils and an analysis of the teachers’ detailed planning show that the school provides a balanced programme of physical education lessons, which meet national requirements for the subject. Pupils learn to play games, participate in gymnastic and outdoor and adventurous activities and respond to music through dance. Pupils in Years 4, 5 and 6 attend a local pool in half termly blocks and most pupils in Year 6 can swim 25 metres by the time they leave school. The school has addressed the issue of having suitable large apparatus and very effective assessment procedures are now in place to monitor pupils’ progress. The information from them is used very well to determine the next stages of teachers’ planning. Overall, improvement since the previous inspection is satisfactory, but in the area of

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

103. Pupils’ attainment is as expected nationally in Year 2 and Year 6. Standards have been maintained since the last inspection. Throughout the school, pupils of all abilities achieve well in this subject because the teaching is good and work is very effectively matched to their different levels of ability. Pupils develop a good range of skills and perform with increasing competence as they progress from year to year. They have a good understanding of the effects of exercise on their bodies. This was Preston Grange Primary - 37 clearly demonstrated in a lesson with pupils in Years 5 and 6, where they explained that the reason for warming up was ‘to take more oxygen to your muscles’.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

104. Pupils in Year 2 responded well to a challenging warm-up session, working really hard to keep bean bags on their backs or their chests. They competently performed a simple sequence of movements, which included a changing shape using different parts of their bodies such as their hands and legs. Additional challenge was presented to higher attaining pupils in the lesson and they successfully completed a sequence of movements using large and small parts of the body, showing good ability to hold a balance. Pupils develop satisfactory games skills by bouncing and catching a ball using different hands and moving in different directions. This was demonstrated in a Years 3/4 lesson, in which higher attaining pupils could confidently bounce a ball with either hand, moving backwards, forwards and sideways. Lower attaining pupils in the lesson needed some adult guidance and knew that they had to practise to improve their performance. As pupils move through the school they

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

continue to develop the skills they have learned earlier. In a Years 4/5 lesson, for example, pupils produced a sequence of movements that contained symmetrical and asymmetrical shapes and balances. Higher attaining pupils in the lesson confidently performed symmetrical handstands and balances working in pairs, whilst lower attaining pupils worked with adult guidance to learn the correct technique. Pupils in a Year 5 and 6 lesson undertook outdoor and adventurous activities, which challenged them to work together to overcome increasingly difficult challenges such as crossing a ‘swamp’ and going through an ‘electric fence’. Pupils enjoyed the challenges and found different ways of overcoming them.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

105. All teaching staff use their good understanding of the subject to plan activities that are progressively and physically challenging as the lesson proceeds. This results in the pupils becoming enthusiastic participants, who co-operate well and display good attitudes to the subject. They listen attentively because they want to do well and they know that they are going to be asked to evaluate each other’s performances. This was seen in a Years 2/3 lesson, when the teacher used pupil demonstration effectively to show other pupils the correct technique when undertaking a foot jump. All lessons begin and end in an orderly manner and include appropriate warm-down and cool down activities. Teachers provide good role models for pupils by dressing appropriately and showing real enthusiasm for physical activity. All the teachers give clear instructions and explanations, successfully encouraging pupils to work hard and concentrate on improving their physical skills. This was seen in a Years 5/6

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

lesson in which the teacher planned activities that very successfully developed the pupils’ skills of overcoming demanding physical challenges, which required them to work together in groups. All lessons are organised, structured and well planned to show progression in a safe working environment. The teachers’ have high expectations of the pupils’ behaviour and the pupils respond well to these by working safely and following instructions well. The display in the hall on how to use the correct techniques for travelling and balancing, includes the correct vocabulary and gives pupils a good model to work towards.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

106. The subject makes a positive contribution to the pupils’ personal, spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, for example, through requiring them to reflect on their own and others’ work, work together in groups, take responsibility for their learning and understand the reasons for fair play in games activities. Teachers make good use of opportunities for pupils to develop and practise their speaking and listening skills in physical education lessons. For example, in a Years 3/4 games lesson, when pupils were asked which hand was their dominant hand, they readily responded ‘the one we write with’. Pupils are also successfully encouraged to discuss and evaluate their own and each other’s work, involving them in assessing their own learning and in taking responsibility for improving it. A good range of extra sporting activities are offered to the boys and girls in the school. These are overseen by the subject co-ordinator and include soccer, rugby, cricket, baseball and a

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

gymnastics club. Pupils in Years 5 and 6 also have the opportunity to go on residential visits which helps further develop the outdoor adventure skills that they practise in school.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

107. The leadership and management of the subject are good. The co-ordinator monitors teachers’ planning and observes them teaching twice a year. She uses the information gained from this to address weaknesses in teaching and learning, to ensure consistency of approach throughout the school. Resources for the subject are good. They include a hall, two all weather sports areas, a playground and a field, all of which are used well to provide an interesting and well-planned range of physical activities. Preston Grange Primary - 38

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

108. Pupils in Year 2 and Year 6 reach the standards expected in the locally agreed syllabus for religious education. Standards have been maintained since the last inspection. All pupils, including those with special educational needs achieve well because teaching is good, pupils’ learning and progress are assessed well and the information gained from this is used very effectively to plan work that meets the pupils’ learning needs.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

109. As they progress from year to year, pupils study a series of themes such as celebrations and festivals. This enables them to compare Christianity with the major world religions, progressively building on their knowledge and understanding so that they make good progress in learning about religion and from religion. For example, pupils in Year 1 show a good understanding of the Christmas story and what it means to Christians. They explore feelings such as worry, happiness, anger and fear. The constant interchange between pupils and teacher gives the pupils confidence to record their thoughts in writing. Pupils in Years 2 and 3 begin to distinguish between ‘needs’ and ‘wants’ and list them showing a good understanding of the terms ‘accepting’ and ‘rejecting’, following their study of the story of Guru Nanak from the Sikh faith. The more able pupils show very good knowledge about Sikh traditions in their writing. The effective teaching in this class helped the pupils to make good

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

links between the Sikh teaching on helping people with their own experience of helping people in their family.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

110. Pupils in the Years 3/4 class show a developing understanding of the ‘three debts’ in the Hindu faith and in the Years 4/5 class, a sound understanding of the meaning of the five pillars of Islam. The work in pupils’ books shows also that they have a good understanding of the major customs and beliefs of both Christianity and the Jewish faith. Revisiting Hinduism, pupils in Year 6 wrote knowledgeably about the stages of life described in the Hindu faith and made good attempts to apply this knowledge to their own life paths. The more able pupils wrote confidently about challenges they faced in their lives such as going somewhere new. Throughout the school, pupils’ learning benefits from the good subject knowledge of the majority of teachers. This knowledge is used well to reinforce the main points of stories from different faiths, by repeating them in the form of role play and posing a good range of questions that help pupils recall the main details before recording them in their religious

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

education notebooks. Most teachers also help pupils to relate the teaching of world religions to their own every day experiences. Pupils’ work is neatly presented. They show good levels of respect for the different faiths and beliefs in different religions and a developing understanding of how they affect the lives of the people who follow them.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

111. The leadership and management of religious education are good. The co-ordinator has reviewed and updated the school’s scheme of work to provide a consistent approach to the subject throughout the school. The termly monitoring and evaluation of teaching and learning are used effectively to highlight areas for improvement. The co-ordinator ensures that all staff are aware of the areas in which improvement is needed and offers good support and guidance to her colleagues. Following the introduction of the locally agreed syllabus the school improved its resources for this subject. There is now a satisfactory range of books and artefacts to support the topics taught, all of which are used well. Religious education makes a very good contribution to pupils’ personal, spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

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