Booker Park Community School

STOKE LEYS SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 9 th - 10 th June 2003

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STOKE LEYS SCHOOL

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

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STOKE LEYS 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. Stoke Leys School- 3

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Stoke Leys Close Aylesbury Buckinghamshire Postcode: HP21 9ET

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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. Les Booker

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: 16 th June 1997 Stoke Leys School- 4

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Team members

21137 John Byrne Registered inspector 11437 Anthony Anderson Lay inspector 14691 Jennifer Hall Team inspector 20536 Sarah Mascall Team inspector

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Team members

QICS “Ibsley” 4 West Cliff Road Dawlish Devon EX7 9EB

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Team members

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

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Team members

The Complaints Manager Inspection Quality Division

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Team members

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE Stoke Leys School- 5

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 6

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

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Stoke Leys School currently educates 66 boys and girls between the ages of four and 11. As pupils are admitted from all of Buckinghamshire the majority travel to school in transport provided by the local education authority. On entry their levels of attainment are below average and all have a statement of special educational need. Although catering for moderate learning difficulties the number of pupils with more complex needs, including challenging behaviour, autism and speech and language difficulties, is increasing. There is a ratio of two boys to every one girl. Just under one fifth of pupils come from an ethnic minority background and ten are from homes where Punjabi, Pushtu and Urdu are spoken as the first language. For the last two years Stoke Leys has received a School Achievement Award. Of the current teaching staff four have started at the school since September 2002. The headteacher is also

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

responsible for a primary school for pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties, which shares the same site as Stoke Leys.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

Stoke Leys is a good school with very good features. The clear and decisive leadership of the headteacher, well supported by senior management, has brought about significant improvements in the quality of teaching and the progress pupils make; both of which are at least good. The school provides good value for money.

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What the school does well

• The work of the senior management team, extremely well supported by an active and knowledgeable governing body, ensures highly effective leadership and management of the school. • The very consistent way in which all teachers and support staff follow clear school procedures ensures the quality of teaching and progress pupils make are good or better.

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What the school does well

• The emphasis that the school places on personal, social, spiritual and moral development ensures very good responses from pupils. • Relationships with parents are excellent. They are very well informed about the work of the school and are very supportive.

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What could be improved

• The more effective use of national material (P and National Curriculum Levels) to extend and verify the well established school systems for making judgements on pupils’ progress over time.

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What could be improved

The areas for improvement will form the basis of the action plan prepared by the appropriate authority.

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

Improvement since the last inspection in 1997 has been very good. At that time a number of significant issues were identified as being in need of improvement. These have been addressed as follows:

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

• Facilities for the teaching of information technology are now very good. This together with increased staff expertise has ensured pupils’ progress is at least good; • Timetables are now agreed at the beginning of the school year and school monitoring procedures ensure they are followed; • Curriculum documents are updated regularly using national guidance showing work to be covered in all subjects; • Systems are now in place whereby governors and senior managers rigorously monitor the curriculum and quality of teaching across the school; • Although the balance of time given to subjects has been reviewed there is still a disproportionate amount of time devoted to English. Stoke Leys School- 7 In addition to the above there has been very good improvements in the quality of teaching. At the time of the previous inspection a high proportion of teaching was judged to be unsatisfactory. This is no longer

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

the case and teaching is now consistently good and sometimes very good.

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STANDARDS

The table summarises inspectors’ judgements about how well pupils achieve in relation to their individual targets.

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R 6

Mathematics B B unsatisfactory D Personal, social and health education A A poor E Other personal targets set at annual reviews or in IEPs* A A * IEPs are individual education plans for pupils with special educational needs

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R 6

Over time pupils’ progress is good. The priority attached to speaking and listening and personal development is such that by the time they leave school pupils are making very good progress and are capable of making informed choices at a level appropriate to their special educational need. The improvement in the quality of IEPs in recent years has been very good and the specific targets set make it easier for the school to measure progress in mathematics and English. The information gained from an analysis of IEPs is used well to monitor the progress of boys and girls and pupils who speak English as their second language to ensure that they all make equally good progress. Although the school believes that pupils make very good progress currently their procedures do not provide the depth of evidence necessary to substantiate this judgement. In particular inconsistencies in the way teachers use assessment of pupils’ writing to monitor progress make it difficult for them to arrive at valid

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R 6

judgements about progress being made over time. The school does make use of national material (P levels and National Curriculum Levels) to set whole school targets. However, these do not provide sufficient information because the process does not provide the school with a clear enough picture about where individual pupils are in their learning.

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Aspect Comment

Attitudes to the school Very good. Pupils are motivated by the opportunities provided for them and respond very positively to the good teaching that they receive. They gain great pleasure from the successes they achieve in lessons.

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Aspect Comment

Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Excellent. Pupils react very well to the calm atmosphere so evident in and out of lessons. Their response to the consistent use of the school reward system is excellent and as they get older they show they are aware of the impact their behaviour might have on others.

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Aspect Comment

Personal development and relationships Very good. Pupils, as they move through the school, develop in confidence and show that they are capable of making choices at a level appropriate to their needs. They make best use of the opportunities provided in lessons to think about friendships and relationships. Stoke Leys School- 8 Attendance Very good. Authorised absence is comparable with similar type schools. There was no unauthorised absence recorded last year.

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Aspect Comment

The success the school has achieved in raising pupils’ self esteem is evident in their very good attitudes and often excellent behaviour, which has such a positive impact on their learning and the very good progress that they make in their personal and social development.

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Years 1 – 6

Quality of teaching 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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Years 1 – 6

Teaching is good overall with some very good features. Staff follow consistently school procedures for planning and organisation of the lesson. This means there is a very clear structure to sessions, which pupils recognise and respond to. They are at ease with all adults who provide them with very good support and this ensures that they respond to questioning and tasks in a very positive way. Work in English and mathematics follows closely the Literacy and Numeracy Strategies and teachers make very good use of resources to achieve the intended lesson aim, which is generally made clear to pupils at the beginning of the session. The recent focus on improving facilities and developing staff expertise in ICT is very evident in the quality of teaching and the way it is used to produce curriculum materials and support the work of pupils in most subjects. Pupils’ learning and very good progress in personal and social

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Years 1 – 6

skills benefits from the opportunities all staff take to reinforce important concepts across all areas of the curriculum. Although staff, in subjects such as science, do not always make sufficient use of pupils’ work to record judgements on progress they do use their professional judgement of where pupils are in their learning to set them appropriate work in the majority of lessons.

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Aspect Comment

The quality and range of the curriculum Good. The curriculum is very relevant and much valuable work has been done to extend the range of learning opportunities both in and out of the classroom. A clear overview of subject content is in place and planning identifies learning outcomes on which pupils’ progress is judged. However, in subjects such as science these are not sufficiently broad to cater for the needs of all pupils equally well.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils with English as an additional language Very good. Pupils receive appropriate individual support as required and the school is careful to monitor available data to ensure they are making the same progress as other pupils.

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Aspect Comment

Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Very good. It is evident from lesson, school displays and scrutiny of work that every opportunity is taken to support pupils’ personal and social needs and develop their spiritual and moral awareness. Cultural development is good.

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Aspect Comment

How well the school cares for its pupils Very good. There are well established and consistently followed procedures that ensure pupils learn in a safe environment. Pupils’ well being is a high priority for all staff. Stoke Leys School- 9 The improvement that has been brought about in the curriculum since the previous inspection is a testimony to the hard work of staff in recent years. Procedures for monitoring the curriculum are very well developed and the full involvement of governors in the annual process is an example of very good practice. Currently, planning for science and ICT does not include specific targets for individual pupils. As the needs of the pupil population becomes more complex the requirement for this will become a priority. The partnership that the school has with parents is excellent.

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Aspect Comment

Leadership and management by the headteacher and other key staff Good. The headteacher provides very good leadership for the school and he is very well supported in this task by the deputy headteacher. Day to day management is very efficient and owes much to the work of the business manager. However, currently management does not have sufficiently secure information to support their strongly held assertion that pupils are learning as much as they are capable of learning.

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Aspect Comment

How well the appropriate authority fulfils its responsibilities Very good. The governing body is led very well, and governors bring a wide range of skills and relevant expertise to the school. They know the school very well mainly through the work of the pupil development committee.

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Aspect Comment

The school’s evaluation of its performance Good. The headteacher and key staff have a good grasp of school strengths and priorities for improvement that are securely based on effective systems of self-review.

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Aspect Comment

The strategic use of resources Very good. Resources, including staff, are very well used to maximise the learning opportunities of pupils. Although the school improvement plan does not include planning over the longer term there is separate planning related to a new school build, which is comprehensive and appropriate.

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Aspect Comment

The headteacher is passionate in his commitment to the school and his desire to do the best for pupils is wholeheartedly embraced by all members of the school community. The harmonious atmosphere so evident in the school has created a very good school ethos, which in turn has a very positive impact on pupils’ learning and the progress they make in lessons. The school is committed to ensuring it receives best value for money in all it undertakes.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

• The quality of communication is such that they feel very well informed about the progress their child is making. • The very good progress made by their children in self-esteem and independence. • The very positive approach used by the school to deal with pupil issues particularly in relation to behaviour. • The way the knowledge that all staff have of their children contributes to the very positive atmosphere of the school. • The fact that staff utilise the resources available to the benefit of all pupils Stoke Leys School- 10 The inspection confirmed all the strengths identified by the parents. However, although the school keeps parents very well informed the absence of explicit judgements on their child’s progress over time in end of year reports was drawn to the attention of the school. Stoke Leys School- 11

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knowledgeable governing body, ensures highly effective leadership and

1. The headteacher is justifiably proud of the school’s success in educating effectively the pupils in its care. He passionately believes that there should be “no ceiling on achievement” and he considers that the work of the school to be all about introducing rigour to its practices that will challenge staff to stretch pupils and so release the potential that is within them. The success that he has achieved in this respect, during his time as headteacher, is firmly based within a context of developing pupils’ self esteem through the way they are treated and the successes that they achieve. The fact that the school community wholeheartedly embraces his beliefs is due to his personal enthusiasm and commitment that has gained for him the respect and support of staff, governors and parents. The excellent school ethos that has been created is immediately apparent to visitors who cannot fail to be impressed by the

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knowledgeable governing body, ensures highly effective leadership and

welcoming atmosphere and range of lively and stimulating displays that are so evident in and out of the classroom. The environment that has been created has a very positive impact on pupils’ learning and the progress that they achieve in lessons.

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knowledgeable governing body, ensures highly effective leadership and

2. Since the previous inspection the headteacher has worked hard to bring about the very good improvements that have been achieved. Practices that have been introduced, such as regular monitoring of teaching and the curriculum and effective induction procedures for staff new to the school, have ensured the provision of a relevant and motivating education for pupils. The school is aware of its strengths and areas of development because of the importance placed by the headteacher on involving and seeking the views of parents and outside professionals such as advisors from the local education authority. It is clear that the headteacher values this input and acts on the information received. For example, the outcome of a recent parent questionnaire indicated that some parents had issues about homework and others disagreed that they were kept well informed about how their child was getting on. Despite the fact these views were expressed by only a minority of parents the

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knowledgeable governing body, ensures highly effective leadership and

headteacher feels it is important that concerns are listened to in order to improve practice and so a meeting has been arranged in the near future.

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knowledgeable governing body, ensures highly effective leadership and

3. The school environment is a good place to work in and the headteacher is clearly aware of the impact that the accommodation can have on the quality of learning. He is proud of the improvements that he has instigated through appropriate use of funds and volunteer help. Certainly areas that have received attention in recent times have made a very relevant contribution to the curriculum and pupils’ wider personal and social development. The new ICT suite and school library are first class facilities. Developments, in relation to the school hall, toilets and school grounds, have ensured that staff and pupils value and recognise what has been provided in terms of a stimulating and lively environment to work and learn in.

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knowledgeable governing body, ensures highly effective leadership and

4. As the headteacher is also responsible for a primary school for pupils with behavioural difficulties, that share the same site, he spends a proportionate amount of time managing this school. This means he relies on his senior management team that includes the deputy headteacher and business manager, to effectively manage Stoke Leys on a daily basis. They achieve this task very well and make a significant Stoke Leys School- 12 contribution to the overall effectiveness of the school. The deputy headteacher is held in high regard by staff and governors and it is clear that she enjoys the respect and confidence of pupils. She provides very effective support to new teachers who benefit from her expertise as a classroom practioner. She is also responsible for the relevant curriculum available to pupils and the significant improvements that have taken place in this aspect of the school’s work since the previous inspection.

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knowledgeable governing body, ensures highly effective leadership and

5. Although a business manager is unusual in a school of this type and size the current post holder is clearly an essential part of the school management structure. She fulfils her role in an efficient and effective manner providing very valuable support to her senior management colleagues, staff, governors, parents and pupils. Amongst her many tasks she is responsible for the very rigorous health and safety procedures in place, which make such a positive contribution to pupils’ care and the safe learning environment that they enjoy. In addition she is also responsible for the arrangements for the after school club for pupils in Years 5 and 6 which extends the educational opportunities available to pupils beyond the school day. Although responsible for mainly non-educational tasks it is clear that by enabling teaching staff to get on with the job of teaching, her role has a considerable impact on the quality of education and

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knowledgeable governing body, ensures highly effective leadership and

the relevant and stimulating range of opportunities available to pupils.

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knowledgeable governing body, ensures highly effective leadership and

6. The quality of the governing body is strength of the school and the support that they offer has been invaluable in maintaining and improving upon the findings of the previous inspection. The professional knowledge that several of them bring to their role ensures that they know the school very well and confidently become involved in those aspects of its work which are so critical to its success. The governors’ pupil development committee is clearly very important as it monitors and evaluates school work through agendas drawn up by the headteacher. The chairperson of this particular committee is very knowledgeable and obviously shares the headteacher’s enthusiasm and commitment to the school. The work of the pupil development committee provides a model of good practice for other schools in the way it ensures that governors work with teachers to evaluate, plan and set new targets in areas of the curriculum that they are responsible for. The outcome of this shared approach is

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knowledgeable governing body, ensures highly effective leadership and

a curriculum that is relevant and motivating. The chair of governors provides excellent support to the headteacher and his support of the school is evident in the considerable amount of time that he gives to it. For example, he attends the school every Friday to visit classrooms and present awards in the weekly celebration assembly.

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school procedures ensures the quality of teaching and progress pupils make are

7. Information provided prior to the inspection show that appropriate emphasis is attached to ensuring that pupils experience good or better teaching in all curriculum areas. Analysis of the outcome of termly classroom observations, by the headteacher and deputy headteacher, indicate that the quality of teaching has been consistently good over the last three years. The judgements of inspectors confirm the accuracy of school data; indeed they were very similar to those arrived at by the school in the spring term when their monitoring judged 80 per cent of lessons to be good or better. The effectiveness of school procedures was illustrated very clearly during an inspector’s feedback to a teacher at the end of a lesson. The preciseness of her learning objective, which was good, was shared with her. She was very encouraged by the information received because it had been an area singled out for improvement when she was last observed by the headteacher. The rigour that now

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school procedures ensures the quality of teaching and progress pupils make are

Stoke Leys School- 13 exists for the monitoring of teaching has brought about significant improvement since the previous inspection. At that time the proportion of good teaching was lower and there were a significant number of lessons in which teaching was judged to be unsatisfactory. No unsatisfactory teaching was observed during this inspection.

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school procedures ensures the quality of teaching and progress pupils make are

8. All staff follow consistently the effective systems in place for lesson organisation and planning. Those new to the school, in addition to receiving targeted support and advice from the deputy headteacher, are provided with a clear system upon which to base their own practice. This approach obviously works because, despite the appointment of three staff in the last two terms, the quality of teaching as shown by school observation did not diminish. Planning is based on the Literacy and Numeracy Strategies and the schemes of work in place for all subjects. Teachers use this material to choose individual targets in English and mathematics and to select wider learning objectives in other subjects. The lesson then follows an effective format involving an introduction, followed by activities and a clear ending. Pupils are very used to the structure and consequently understand what is expected of them. Their

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school procedures ensures the quality of teaching and progress pupils make are

responses to questions and opportunities provided are often very good and this contributes to the good progress that they make in lessons.

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school procedures ensures the quality of teaching and progress pupils make are

9. During the inspection some very good teaching was seen in English and mathematics lessons following the Literacy and Numeracy Strategies. In the class for Year 2 pupils the teacher presents the Big Book “Kipper’s Birthday” in a very animated way. Pupils respond very positively to her approach and they are obviously benefiting from the opportunity they have to enjoy the book. The teacher successfully manages to maintain this enjoyment but at the same time questions the pupils to elicit understanding and introduce new learning. A variety of resources such as the bag with “b” objects are introduced to develop targeted skills and activities such as floor tiles and phonics lotto are introduced to reinforce learning. The assistant working with the teacher is an integral part of the team and provides support in managing the activities. The lesson is brought to an end by the introduction of the puppet “Cheeky

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school procedures ensures the quality of teaching and progress pupils make are

Monkey” who does not know his sounds. This proves to be a very popular focus and enables the pupils to demonstrate in very enjoyable way the progress that they have made in phonic recognition during the lesson.

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school procedures ensures the quality of teaching and progress pupils make are

10. In a Year 5 mathematics lesson, related to measurement, the consistent approach followed by the teacher, based on school practice, results in a very good session. The starting activity requires pupils to use a number square to count ten more or ten less. Pupils obviously enjoy a good relationship with adults and because they are interested in the activity they stay motivated and involved. The lesson, as it moves into measuring activities matched to pupil needs, maintains its pace and pupils are learning and making progress in a way they obviously find enjoyable. What makes the lesson so successful in terms of pupils’ learning and achievement is the quality of direct teaching that they receive at the beginning and end of the lesson. Instructions are very clear and measured and the pupils understand the explanations provided. The careful use of appropriate questions at the end of the lesson provides the teacher

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school procedures ensures the quality of teaching and progress pupils make are

with the opportunity to make judgements on the very good progress pupils have made.

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school procedures ensures the quality of teaching and progress pupils make are

11. The investment that the school has made in the area of ICT in terms of improved resources and the development of staff skills is having an impact on teaching and the progress being made in this area. A Year 6 lesson aimed at developing and recording a sequence of instructions using a battery operated “Pixie” demonstrates the teacher’s competence in the subject. She plans a number of activities matched to pupils’ abilities and uses very effectively equipment such as the interactive Smart Stoke Leys School- 14 board to introduce the topic. Although a lively group, pupils are keen to get started and their learning is enhanced by the quality of practical activities that are planned for them and the competence of the teacher. Those pupils working with assistants were well supported by adults who for example, show the confidence to extend tasks to develop pupils’ understanding of left and right. Progress is clearly being made in

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school procedures ensures the quality of teaching and progress pupils make are

terms of ability to programme the “Pixie” to move along a colour or numbered strip or find a buried treasure.

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school procedures ensures the quality of teaching and progress pupils make are

12. Although teachers follow rigorously school planning based on schemes of work senior staff should be aware of the impact that the increasingly complex school population will have on teaching. Currently specific learning targets are not set for individual pupils in science and ICT as they are in English and mathematics. Planning is based on more general learning objectives that teachers match to pupils’ ability. Progress is reported to parents based on the teacher’s assessment of two or three learning objectives at the end of each module of work. As pupils’ learning needs become more diverse, teachers will have to cater for a wider range of need and this will have to be recognised in future planning and recording.

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The emphasis that the school places on personal, social, spiritual and moral

development ensures very good responses from pupils.

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The emphasis that the school places on personal, social, spiritual and moral

13. The ethos of the school, which permeates all of its work, is firmly based on valuing the pupil as an individual. The aim is to raise their self-esteem by providing an inclusive and stimulating environment that motivates them to enjoy learning and develop qualities of confidence and independence. Such an approach is dependent on every member of staff taking ownership of this aim and assuming a shared responsibility for ensuring its success. The fact that this has been achieved is evident in the very good attitude and often excellent behaviour of pupils, which has such a positive impact on their learning and the very good progress that they make in their personal and social development.

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The emphasis that the school places on personal, social, spiritual and moral

14. The planned curriculum for Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) underpins the work of the school and makes a valuable contribution to pupils’ education. Teachers make effective use of the long and medium term plans that are designed to develops skills in an age appropriate and logical way. For example, pupils up to the end of Year 2 effectively learn about school routines, making friends and taking responsibility. They are beginning to explore areas such as personal hygiene and safety. By the time they reach Year 6 pupils are required to cope with more challenging aspects of citizenship such as choices and decisions and they are expected to have some understanding of emotions and feelings. They manage these expectations very well by demonstrating that they can suggest ways of solving conflict and that they can identify when a situation is fair or unfair. It is evident from the work on display in the school that work in other subjects makes a very strong contribution

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The emphasis that the school places on personal, social, spiritual and moral

to the work that takes place in PSHE particularly in relation to helping pupils understand and come to terms with their feelings.

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The emphasis that the school places on personal, social, spiritual and moral

15. The recent introduction of a school council provides pupils with a very good opportunity to be involved in decisions relating to school life and it gives a clear message to them that their opinion will be listened to and valued. The display detailing the aims and membership of this forum occupies a central position in the school emphasising the importance that is attached to it. Pupils respond very well to the opportunities involvement in the council gives them to experience aspects of citizenship firsthand. Each class elects two representatives and they are required to Stoke Leys School- 15 report back to their “electorate” outcomes of discussions held at meetings. Such formal opportunities to develop pupils’ life skills are constantly being reinforced in and out of class by all adults. Whispered asides such as “Can you show him how to walk properly?” or “Be a good boy and load that computer programme for him” make a very

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The emphasis that the school places on personal, social, spiritual and moral

positive contribution to the ethos of the school. Pupils’ attitude to such requests are very good. They respond with maturity and obviously value the confidence that teachers show in their ability to be helpful and sensible.

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The emphasis that the school places on personal, social, spiritual and moral

16. The evidence gained from the high quality displays, photographs and scrutiny of work shows how teaching develops spiritual and moral awareness. Art work links very well to aspects of PSHE because there is a strong emphasis on self and personal identity through the use of self-portraits. In one class this approach is used effectively to help pupils come to terms with their feelings about friendship by attaching speech bubbles to their portraits. In a class for older pupils the book they make about “Angry Joseph” is written in a very relevant context and the pupils concerned show they realise how important it is to be able to say “Sorry.” During the same activity a lower attaining pupil produces a story, “Angry Jack.” Although less writing is involved it is still very creative and it demonstrates pupils’ understanding of anger and its effects by the fact that it “made everyone fall off the world and into space.” The school takes every

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The emphasis that the school places on personal, social, spiritual and moral

opportunity to make pupils aware of how important it is to celebrate success. Whole school achievements are publicly displayed in the corridors and include certificates and letters of thanks. Pupils’ achievements are celebrated every Friday when merit awards are distributed and pupils are encouraged to think about why they are in school and how they should treat each other. The high standards of behaviour in and out of lessons show how well they listen to and respond to such occasions.

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Relationships with parents are excellent. They are very well informed about the work

17. At the meeting prior to the inspection parents made clear how much they valued the work of the school and the education that it provided for their children. These very positive views were supported by the questionnaire, which indicated a very satisfied parental body. During the inspection the impressive range of data that the school maintains on parental involvement and their views was analysed and from this it is evident that the school has worked extremely hard to establish what is now an excellent relationship with parents.

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Relationships with parents are excellent. They are very well informed about the work

18. The information that the school has collected shows how willing parents are to attend the range of events, including assemblies and parent evenings that are organised for them. This shows that they value the work of the school and are prepared to support it. The statistics available show that attendance at the last two parents meetings, to discuss their child’ progress, has been over 75 per cent. This is very good because meetings are held termly and many parents have to travel long distances to get to the school. The school provided several examples of very genuine letters from parents expressing gratitude for all the work that had been done on behalf of their child. The school business manger is involved with parents and the support she provides is appreciated. She is responsible for the after school club for older pupils and she is prepared to help parents by providing information on such things as “family tax

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Relationships with parents are excellent. They are very well informed about the work

19. Parents are kept well informed by the range of information that is sent to them, which include newsletters and annual reports. The quality of class and whole school newsletters are very good. They combine information on work to be covered with more general information on such things as sex education, World Book Day and Stoke Leys School- 16 Ofsted! The most recent publication very appropriately included an opportunity for parents to become involved in the local parent partnership scheme. The end of year reports provided for parents are very comprehensive and they provide detailed information on the curriculum followed by pupils’ responses in terms of what they know and can do. However, they do not always make an explicit judgement on how well the child is doing in terms of progress over time. Responses to the last school questionnaire indicate that a small but significant number of parents felt that they were

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Relationships with parents are excellent. They are very well informed about the work

not well informed about how their child was doing.

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Relationships with parents are excellent. They are very well informed about the work

20. Very good parental support for the work of the school is provided in two main ways. Individuals give their time to support curriculum work and others provide expertise in areas such as ICT. In addition, there is a very strong Friends Group that meets regularly and raises money to supplement the school budget in areas such as the purchase of playground equipment, and hall curtains. The group also helps to extend and enrich the curriculum available to pupils by funding activities such as football coaching, music and dance workshops and residential experiences. The Friends also provide a forum for parent training in important areas such as signing, Numeracy and Literacy. This is very appropriate and is a very good example of how parents are encouraged to become involved in the work of the school.

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extend and verify the well established school systems for making judgements on

21. The headteacher, well supported by the deputy headteacher, has made as a priority in recent years the improvement in quality of the individual learning targets agreed for pupils at the annual review of their statement. The success that has been achieved in this task is evident in the quality of the targets, mainly in English and mathematics that are currently set for pupils. Scrutiny of these targets, known as individual education plan (IEPs), show how, year on year as staff have been supported and their work monitored there has been a clear improvement in quality and links between targets over time are more explicit. The consequence of this is that now targets agreed are very specific and provide parents with a clear and concise picture of what exactly their child will be working on over the course of the year. Over the last few years senior staff and governors have set a whole school target for improvement based on the

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extend and verify the well established school systems for making judgements on

success achieved by all pupils. The information available indicates progress over time and is analysed well to provide the school with comparisons about the performance of boys and girls and the progress being made by pupils who have English as a second language.

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extend and verify the well established school systems for making judgements on

22. Although much worthwhile work and effort has gone into arriving at current practice for IEPS there are weaknesses in the process. This makes secure judgements on progress over time difficult to make. The school feel strongly that judgements based on the professional expertise of staff, supported by rigorous monitoring, guarantees the accuracy of decisions they make about progress. However, the systems in place rely heavily on the work produced by pupils and the judgements made by staff on this first hand evidence. In the absence of detailed record keeping such judgements have to be rigorous, regular and consistently applied by all staff. This is not always the case and although some excellent examples of annotated and dated comments were evident on pupils’ work there were instances of work where there was an absence of any kind of judgement over a period of time. For example scrutiny of pupils’ writing in

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extend and verify the well established school systems for making judgements on

Years 5 and 6 show inconsistencies in practice. Comments on a Year 6 piece of Stoke Leys School- 17 work were regular and explicit in providing context in terms of support, pupil attitude and outcome. It was clear how judgements on progress over time were being made. Conversely, work for a Year 5 pupil was notable for the absence of comments, apart from “lovely work” over a period of time. In this instance it was difficult to determine how secure judgements on progress could be made. Similar examples of inconsistencies in approach were discovered during the work scrutiny for mathematics and science.

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extend and verify the well established school systems for making judgements on

23. The school currently makes insufficient use of P-levels and National Curriculum Levels when judging the progress that individual pupils make over time against the targets agreed for English and mathematics and the learning objectives set for science and information communication technology (ICT). More explicit use of the descriptors provided by these levels would support current practice by introducing greater objectivity to assessment of pupil progress. In mathematics and English, because the school is successfully following the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies, it would not take much to do this. However, by doing this the school would be making current systems of assessing progress more robust and would provide the evidence to support their assertion that over time pupils make very good progress. On the basis of the evidence provided inspectors could only arrive at the judgement of good progress over time. Indeed end of year reports do not provide parents with a

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extend and verify the well established school systems for making judgements on

clear judgement on progress in subjects other than mathematics and English. Although they describe in detail subject coverage and what pupils know and can do reports are notable for the absence of a reference to progress. When this was pointed out to the school it was felt that by comparing previous reports progress was evident and to some extent inspectors agreed with this view. However, this assumes that parent will have previous reports to hand when reading the current one and will easily be able to make judgements on the extent of progress over time by comparing reports.

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extend and verify the well established school systems for making judgements on

24. The school does make use of P-Levels and National Curriculum Levels to set whole school targets. However, this process does not contribute in any significant way to helping the school make judgements on the progress being made by individual pupils. At the end of year 2 and Year 4 pupils are assessed as to whether or not they have reached a particular level. They either reach it or not and no record is kept of the level achieved if they fail to reach or exceed the level set. A more consistent use of level descriptors in terms of content covered in core subjects and the marking of pupils work would make teacher judgement for assessed tasks at Year 2, 4 and 6 more secure and provide valuable information for judging individual progress and setting meaningful whole school targets.

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

25. In order to extend and verify the well established school systems for making judgements on pupils’ progress over time the senior management team should:

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

a. Ensure teachers’ professional judgements are validated by clear references to P and National Curriculum level descriptors in planning, recording and marking.

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

b. Reinforce current learning objectives in science and ICT by setting individual targets for pupils similar in quality to those set for English and mathematics. Stoke Leys School- 18 c. Use the whole school target setting process for pupils at the end of Years 2 and 4 to provide meaningful information about the level a particular pupil is working on. This will help in making more secure judgements on progress over time. Stoke Leys School- 19

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Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 18

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactor y Poor Very Poor

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

The table gives the number and percentage of lessons observed in each of the seven categories used to make judgements about teaching. [When Care should be taken when interpreting these percentages as each lesson represents more than 7 percentage points

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils on the school’s roll No of pupils

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s roll 66

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 12

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Information about the school’s pupils

English as an additional language No of pupils

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with English as an additional language 10

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 9

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 1

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Attendance

Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. Stoke Leys School- 20

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Exclusions in the last school year

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

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Exclusions in the last school year

Asian or Asian British – any other Asian background

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Exclusions in the last school year

Black or Black British – any other Black background

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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.

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 7.4 Financial year 2002-2003

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 8.8

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Teachers and classes Financial information

FTE means full-time equivalent. Total income 608282

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: YR – Y6 Total expenditure 640943

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 16 Expenditure per pupil 9711

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 377 Balance brought forward from previous year 52596 Stoke Leys School- 21 Balance carried forward to next year 19935

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers who left the school during the last two years 3.5

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers appointed to the school during the last two years 2.5

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Recruitment of teachers

Total number of vacant teaching posts (FTE) 0

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of vacancies filled by teachers on temporary contract of a term or more (FTE) 0

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Recruitment of teachers

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

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Recruitment of teachers

FTE means full-time equivalent. Stoke Leys School- 22

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Percentage of responses in each category

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

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Percentage of responses in each category

My child is making good progress in school. 63 31 3 3

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Percentage of responses in each category

Behaviour in the school is good. 66 31 3

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Percentage of responses in each category

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 46 38 16

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Percentage of responses in each category

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 59 38 3

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Percentage of responses in each category

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 81 19

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 59 38 3

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school works closely with parents. 60 34 3 3

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is well led and managed. 75 22 3

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 72 19 3 6

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Percentage of responses in each category

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 31 44 9 3 9

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Percentage of responses in each category

** The figures for this question do not add up to 100% because one parent did not record a response.

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Percentage of responses in each category

There were no particular issues raised by parents

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