Brockswood Primary School

BROCKSWOOD PRIMARY SCHOOL

Reporting inspector: Anne Elizabeth Kounnou

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BROCKSWOOD PRIMARY SCHOOL

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

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BROCKSWOOD 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. Brockswood Primary School - 3

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Shenley Road Woodhall Farm Estate Hemel Hempstead Hertfordshire Postcode: HP2 7QH

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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 P Russell

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: 15 June 1998 Brockswood Primary School - 4

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Team members 30810 Liz Kounnou Registered inspector 9519 Sue Pritchard Lay inspector 12997 Chris Cheong Team inspector

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Full Circle division of Parkman The Brow 35 Trewartha Park Weston-Super-Mare North Somerset BS23 2RT

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

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

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

The Complaints Manager Inspection Quality Division

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

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

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 6

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

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Brockswood Primary is a community school with 170 pupils aged four to 11 years on roll. There are seven classes from reception to Year 6. Pupils come from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds. About four per cent of pupils speak English as an additional language; this is higher than the national average. About three per cent of pupils are from travelling families. Almost 22 per cent of pupils are supported for special educational needs, and two pupils have Statements of Special Educational Needs; this is broadly in line with the national average. Twenty four per cent of pupils are entitled to free school meals, this is above the national average. Thirty two pupils joined and 25 pupils left the school during the last academic year; this is a much higher proportion than is usual. Although there is a broad spread of ability, the majority of pupils achieve below average levels when they start school in

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

Brockswood is an effective school that provides good value for money. Pupils continue to achieve outstanding results in the national tests in Year 6 due to very good teaching in Years 5 and 6. It is a school that cares well for staff and pupils, and was awarded Investors in People status in November 2001. Leadership and management are satisfactory overall. Nonetheless, senior managers and subject leaders have not monitored new initiatives rigorously enough. Consequently, there has not been enough improvement in teaching and learning since the last inspection. Although teaching is satisfactory overall, it is unsatisfactory in Years 1 and 2, and, as a result, pupils in Year 2 achieve very low standards in the national tests.

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What the school does well

• Pupils achieve excellent standards in English, mathematics and science at the end of Year 6. • Teaching and learning are good overall in Years 3 to 6. • Pupils have good attitudes to learning. They behave well in lessons because there are good relationships with staff. • Parents’ views of the school are good.

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What could be improved

• Pupils achieve standards that are well below average in writing and mathematics, and below average in reading in Year 2. • Teaching and learning in Years 1 and 2 are unsatisfactory. • Monitoring of teaching and learning throughout the school is not sufficiently rigorous. • Attendance is well below the national average. 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

Pupils continue to achieve very high standards in Year 6. Nevertheless, there has not been enough improvement in the key issues identified at the last inspection in June 1998. The weaknesses in teachers’ planning have not been resolved, mainly because there has not been rigorous monitoring of the changes introduced following that inspection. Teachers do not use the new planning formats effectively to set out what pupils will learn in each lesson. This limits the impact of their day-to day assessment of pupils’ progress in lessons and, as a result, lessons do not always meet the needs of all pupils in the class. There were particular weaknesses in matching work to the needs of higher attaining pupils in 1998. Teachers’ Brockswood Primary School - 7 expectations of what pupils are able to achieve remain too low in Years 1 and 2, and throughout the school planning rarely identifies tasks that are more challenging for higher

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

attaining pupils. There has been considerable staff training about setting clear targets for learning in lessons and regularly sharing these with pupils. Teachers do not do this consistently. Curriculum coordinators have begun to monitor teachers’ planning, lessons and pupils’ work, and subject action plans are included in the school development plan. However, these do not address issues that coordinators identified as a result of their monitoring. Consequently, the weakness in planning has continued. The headteacher and deputy headteacher have begun to monitor standards in English, mathematics and science, but coordinators do not regularly monitor the standards achieved in all subjects throughout the school. As a result, there is no clear strategy in place to halt the decline in standards in Year 2.

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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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STANDARDS

Performance in: all schools similar schools Key

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STANDARDS

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

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STANDARDS

The very high standards achieved by pupils in Year 6 have been maintained since the last inspection. This outstanding achievement is due to the exceptional quality of teaching in Year 5 and 6. Consistently high expectations in these classes lead pupils to achieve standards that are comparable with the best results achieved nationally in English, mathematics and science. In mathematics, pupils achieve standards that are comparable to the top five per cent of pupils nationally. When compared to similar schools, results are within the top five per cent for both English and mathematics. Pupils in the current Year 6 continue to achieve high standards.

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STANDARDS

By contrast, standards in Year 2 are very low when compared to those achieved by pupils in similar schools. In reading, standards are below average, and in writing, standards are well below average in comparison. In mathematics, pupils’ results fall within the lowest five per cent of those achieved by pupils in similar schools. When pupils start school in the reception year, their achievement is below that expected. Pupils do not make enough progress in Years 1 and 2 so that their achievement is much lower than expected at the end of Year 2. During the inspection, there was some evidence to show that standards are beginning to rise for those pupils currently in Year 2 due to higher expectations in this class.

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STANDARDS

A very large proportion of pupils joins or leaves the school each year as families move into and out of the area. Overall, these pupils do not affect the rate of achievement in Year 6 and Year 2. This is due to the wide range of ability of pupils in this group and to the good procedures for helping new pupils to settle into school. Brockswood Primary School - 8

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Attitudes to the school Good. Pupils work well in lessons; in Years 5 and 6 pupils are particularly enthusiastic about their work.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Good. The majority of pupils behave well in lessons and when playing outside.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Personal development and relationships Good overall. Relationships are good throughout the school. However, there are not enough opportunities for pupils to take responsibility from reception to Year 2.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Attendance Poor. Procedures for monitoring and improving the rate of attendance are not sufficiently rigorous.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

There are many missed opportunities to develop personal skills from reception to Year 2, for example, these pupils are not included in the school council. In Years 5 and 6, personal skills are very well developed.

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

Quality of teaching No evidence Unsatisfactory 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

Teaching and learning are satisfactory overall. In Years 3 to 6, teaching is good overall due to the high proportion of very good and excellent lessons observed in Years 5 and 6. Pupils in these year groups are making outstanding progress in English, mathematics and science, and the quality of their learning is consistently very good across the curriculum. Pupils’ work over time reflects these high standards. Teachers’ expectations are very high, so that work is challenging and pupils say it is often exciting.

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

Teaching and learning in Years 1 and 2 are unsatisfactory overall. Although some very good teaching was seen during the inspection, too many lessons were unsatisfactory. In these lessons, teachers’ expectations of what pupils are able to achieve are not high enough. This is reflected in the quality of pupils’ work over time. Pupils have not made enough progress in these year groups in English, mathematics and science. There is evidence from the standards of work and the quality of lessons seen during the inspection that teaching and learning are improving in the current Year 2.

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

Too few lessons were observed in the reception class to make a secure judgement about the quality of teaching and learning. Brockswood Primary School - 9

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

The quality and range of the curriculum Satisfactory overall. In Year 3 to 6, pupils have good opportunities for learning. However, in Years 1 and 2 the curriculum is not sufficiently challenging.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

Provision for pupils with special educational needs Satisfactory. Pupils receive good support in small groups. Planning for lessons does not consistently set out what pupils with special educational needs will learn in each lesson.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

Provision for pupils with English as an additional language Satisfactory. The school provides appropriately for all these pupils.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

Provision for pupils’ personal development, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Satisfactory overall. Moral and social development are strong, but there are few opportunities to explore spirituality and diverse cultures in the curriculum.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

How well the school cares for its pupils This is a caring school where pupils’ welfare has a high priority. Assessment procedures are appropriate, but information from assessment is not used well enough in planning.

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Aspect Comment

Leadership and management by the headteacher and other key staff Satisfactory. The school achieved Investors in People status due to the headteacher’s caring approach. However, the delegation of responsibilities to subject leaders is not fully effective.

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Aspect Comment

How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities Satisfactory. Each governor has recently established an effective link with one class and will follow the progress of those pupils through the school.

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Aspect Comment

The school’s evaluation of its performance Unsatisfactory. The headteacher has introduced an appropriate range of procedures for monitoring teaching and learning, but these are not yet used effectively throughout the school.

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Aspect Comment

The strategic use of resources Satisfactory. The school development plan includes detailed financial information. However, a large budget surplus has built up and governors have not planned how to use these funds to raise standards further.

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Aspect Comment

The resources available to promote high standards from reception to Year 2 are inadequate and in need of urgent review. The outdoor play area for children in the reception class is underdeveloped. The equipment available is not sufficient to teach the whole Foundation Stage curriculum in an outdoor environment. Brockswood Primary School - 10 Governors use the principles of best value appropriately. Regular consultation with parents and pupils enables staff and governors to respond to any concerns raised. A wise decision to upgrade resources for information and communication technology in a different way has resulted in a considerable budget surplus, which has not been reallocated. Governors are aware of the high achievement in Year 6 but have not made similar comparisons of the low standards achieved in Year 2. Consequently, there is no challenging strategic plan in place to raise standards in this year group.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

• The very high standards in Year 6. • The school is very approachable. • Children are expected to work hard. • Children like school. • The teaching is good. • The range of activities provided.

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What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

Inspectors agree with parents’ very favourable comments. The range of activities provided for pupils is typical of most schools and governors allocate funding so that specialists take these clubs. However, inspectors found that the quality of teaching in Years 1 and 2 was unsatisfactory. Brockswood Primary School - 11

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Pupils achieve excellent standards in English, mathematics and science at the end of

1. When compared to all schools pupils achieve results in each subject that are well above average. In mathematics, the results achieved are within the top five per cent in the country. When comparing the results to those achieved by pupils in schools in similar circumstances, both English and mathematics results are among the highest five per cent. Pupils achieve these outstanding results mainly due to consistently very good teaching in Years 5 and 6.

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Pupils achieve excellent standards in English, mathematics and science at the end of

2. In English, pupils do remarkably well. In 2002, 73 per cent of Year 6 pupils achieved the higher Level 5 in reading. Consequently, pupils are equipped with excellent skills to access the whole curriculum. In writing, 36 per cent of pupils achieved the higher Level 5; this is more than twice the proportion of pupils achieving this level in all schools. Pupils use their writing skills very well in other subjects. Pupils’ achievement in English has been above average for some years and has steadily improved to this very high level. Comparing results that pupils in Year 6 in 2002 achieved when they were in Year 2 in 1998, confirms that pupils made outstanding progress in English in those four years. They made more progress than almost all other pupils who achieved the same results nationally in 1998 did.

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Pupils achieve excellent standards in English, mathematics and science at the end of

3. In mathematics, the rate of pupils’ progress is just as dramatic over the four years since 1998, and again better than almost all other pupils achieving similar levels nationally in 1998. At the end of Year 6 in 2002, 45 per cent of pupils achieved at least the higher Level 5, with 18 per cent of pupils achieving Level 6. Pupils achieving this level were exceptionally talented in mathematics. This talent was recognised and nurtured by the school, enabling them to achieve their full potential. Mathematics has been a considerable strength, with pupils achieving very high results for some years.

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Pupils achieve excellent standards in English, mathematics and science at the end of

4. In science, 59 per cent of pupils achieved the higher Level 5, 20 per cent more than achieved this level nationally.

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Pupils achieve excellent standards in English, mathematics and science at the end of

5. Pupils achieve these very high levels due to the very high expectations of their teachers. They do not spend large amounts of time preparing for the tests by revising excessively. Instead, their lessons are exciting and filled with opportunities for pupils to develop their skills further.

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Pupils achieve excellent standards in English, mathematics and science at the end of

6. A substantially higher proportion of pupils joins or leaves the school during the school year than is typical in most primary schools as families move into and out of the local area. For example, in the last school year, 32 pupils joined the school and 25 left, almost 34 per cent of pupils. The average proportion of pupils changing schools is about 11 per cent. At Brockswood, this group of pupils have a broad range of ability. The good level of pastoral care enables pupils to settle quickly. The trust and respect shown to pupils gives them confidence to ask and answer questions in lessons, enabling them to learn effectively whatever their ability. Overall, this very high level of pupil mobility has no impact on the standards achieved in either Year 6 or Year 2.

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Pupils achieve excellent standards in English, mathematics and science at the end of

7. The only concern about standards is that coordinators for English, mathematics and science have not rigorously analysed why pupils make this startling amount of progress in Years 3 to 6. As a result, there is no effective strategy in place to ensure Brockswood Primary School - 12 that the very good practice continues and develops further. Furthermore, the successful strategies have not been transferred to Years 1 and 2 where pupils are significantly underachieving.

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Pupils achieve excellent standards in English, mathematics and science at the end of

Teaching and learning are good overall in Years 3 to 6.

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Pupils achieve excellent standards in English, mathematics and science at the end of

8. The good quality of teaching and learning in Years 3 to 6 is a major factor in the outstanding achievement of pupils in Year 6. The quality of teaching is particularly effective in Years 5 and 6, where lessons are challenging and characterised by very high expectations both of pupils’ work and of the contributions they make in lessons. As a result, pupils in these lessons use their time very effectively, completing high quality work. Pupils’ literacy skills are developed well right across the curriculum. For example, in science, pupils use their literacy skills to record science work in their own way, organising their own work.

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Pupils achieve excellent standards in English, mathematics and science at the end of

9. Classrooms are very well organised to support learning. For example, a clear display in Year 6 about rivers is a vital part of the resources that pupils use in their geography lessons. A number of activities require pupils to work together in pairs or small groups. Pupils respond well, coming to an agreement with one another by negotiating. When some pupils dominate groups, teachers intervene effectively so that all pupils make an equal contribution.

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Pupils achieve excellent standards in English, mathematics and science at the end of

10. Throughout Years 3 to 6, lessons are organised well, almost all lessons move at a brisk pace keeping pupils involved in the tasks. Support staff make a valuable contribution to many lessons, ensuring that pupils who need more help are fully involved. Teachers use questions well to promote learning. In the very best lessons, questions make pupils think and pupils’ answers are valued and extended. In these lessons, there is a clear purpose for learning, which has often been shared with pupils, and is sometimes written on the board for pupils to see. Learning is effectively reviewed at the end of the lesson so that the teacher can asses the extent of pupils’ learning. Good examples of teachers’ marking were seen, which clearly explain to pupils why their work is good and what they could do to make it even better. In some classes, pupils are set individual targets for learning; this good initiative is at an early

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Pupils achieve excellent standards in English, mathematics and science at the end of

11. Nonetheless, even in lessons that are satisfactory or better, teachers’ planning has not improved sufficiently since the last inspection. Planning does not consistently include clear information about what each group of pupils is intended to learn in each lesson. Lesson plans tend to list the activities that will be completed by the pupils and the teacher, and do not spell out what will be learned. Consequently, day-to-day assessment is not effective in recording pupils’ achievements and adapting future lessons more precisely to match pupils’ needs. When teachers are observed for any purpose they use a more detailed planning sheet. However, even this planning sheet does not consistently set out what higher attaining pupils will achieve in the lesson. In some lessons, higher attaining pupils complete more work when they have finished, rather than more challenging work from the start of the lesson.

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Pupils have good attitudes to learning. They behave well in lessons because there

12. The school sets very clear expectations for acceptable behaviour and these are applied consistently both in lessons and at playtimes. Consequently, in almost all lessons, pupils behave well and apply themselves to the activities they are set. In many lessons pupils are completely absorbed in learning. There is an air of Brockswood Primary School - 13 anticipation and boundless enthusiasm for the challenging tasks that pupils are set in Years 5 and 6. Pupils in these classes say that lessons are often exciting. The forest of waving hands that greets many of the questions asked shows the very high level of involvement in these challenging lessons. Pupils are not afraid to ask questions because there is an atmosphere of trust and respect between staff and pupils. Pupils are confident that their questions will not be ridiculed in any way; their questions are used to explore the subject in greater detail, and to enable pupils to think out answers

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Pupils have good attitudes to learning. They behave well in lessons because there

for themselves. As a result, pupils in these challenging lessons are making consistently very good progress in learning which leads them to achieve outstanding results in English, mathematics and science by the end of Year 6.

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Pupils have good attitudes to learning. They behave well in lessons because there

13. There are many other opportunities for pupils in Years 3 to 6 to develop positive attitudes to school. A playground survey was carried out to find out what pupils felt about the playground. Pupils in Years 3 to 6 have had the opportunity to complete a detailed questionnaire, and more recently all pupils completed a ‘Viewpoint’ survey on the computer. Pupils are pleased to have this opportunity to make their views known. The recently established school council gives pupils responsibility within the school environment and a voice in future development. Council members take responsibility for reporting from their class to the meeting, for example, pupils had requested more clubs in and after school. As yet, pupils on the school council do not take responsibility for coming to an agreement about the feasibility of such requests, they do not take their own minutes or chair the meetings, and pupils from the reception

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Pupils have good attitudes to learning. They behave well in lessons because there

year to Year 2 are not included. Nevertheless, at this early stage of development, pupils already appreciate the school council.

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Pupils have good attitudes to learning. They behave well in lessons because there

14. There is a particularly effective scheme for pupils in Year 6 to work with a reading partner in the reception class once a week for a short time. Pupils in Year 6 respond very well to the responsibility to provide a good role model for the younger children. They gently persuade the youngsters to behave sensibly and treat the books with care. Young children clearly take great delight in the personal attention they receive from their older peers. Their appearance in the classroom is received with enthusiasm and the reception children are clearly disappointed when the session ends.

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Pupils have good attitudes to learning. They behave well in lessons because there

15. Pupils behave well in most lessons, even when the work they do is not very challenging. They try their best to complete the activities they are given. Occasionally, when the introduction to lessons is too long, pupils become bored and restless.

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Pupils have good attitudes to learning. They behave well in lessons because there

16. Parents made very favourable comments about the school both in the questionnaires and at the parents’ meeting. The letters that parents wrote in support of the school were extremely positive. They are particularly pleased with the very high standards achieved in Year 6, and the good start in life that the school provides for their children. Most believe that the school expects their children to work hard. There were some mixed views about homework. Most agreed that it was challenging for pupils; the concerns expressed were about the time allowed for pupils to complete the tasks.

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Pupils have good attitudes to learning. They behave well in lessons because there

17. A high proportion of parents commented that the school is very approachable. They appreciate the time and care that school staff give to their concerns. Almost all parents agree that their children like coming to school and appreciate the extra activities, such as the school council, which their children particularly enjoy. Parents gave plenty of examples of the care that staff give to their children which results in Brockswood Primary School - 14 them feeling happy at school. The good behaviour of the majority of pupils and clear expectations set throughout the school about acceptable behaviour were a strong feature in this. All parents of pupils in Years 3 to 6 thought the quality of teaching was good and inspectors agree with this assessment.

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Pupils have good attitudes to learning. They behave well in lessons because there

18. Many parents help around the school. They are making a sound contribution in lessons providing support for pupils and teachers. Some parents have recently taken over running the school tuck shop after school, giving their time and commitment willingly to support the school. Overall, parents are making a good contribution to pupils’ learning, they have trust and respect for the school and enjoy the good relationships that have been forged. In addition, they very much appreciate the school questionnaires that give them an opportunity to express their views.

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Pupils achieve standards that are well below average in writing and mathematics, and

19. Standards in Years 1 and 2 have declined since the last inspection. This is partly because the role of subject coordinators has not improved sufficiently since then. A key issue in the last report was to improve the monitoring of subjects. Considerable improvement has taken place as coordinators now regularly monitor lessons, pupils’ work and planning. However, there has not been a clear focus on improving standards. The curriculum action plans included in the school development plan do not set out specifically how coordinators will raise standards in the subjects for which they are responsible. Consequently, feedback to teachers after monitoring their work has not been effective in bringing about change. As a result, the decline in standards in Years 1 and 2 has gone largely unchecked.

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Pupils achieve standards that are well below average in writing and mathematics, and

20. In Year 2, pupils achieve standards in reading that are below average. In writing and mathematics, standards are very low, and well below those achieved by pupils in similar schools. In mathematics, results are among the lowest five per cent in this group. Pupils are not making enough progress in Years 1 and 2. During the inspection, there was some evidence that standards are beginning to rise in the current Year 2 due to higher teacher expectations.

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Pupils achieve standards that are well below average in writing and mathematics, and

21. In writing, pupils are not making enough progress because they use too many undemanding worksheets. This limits the opportunities for pupils to develop appropriate skills in writing. Whilst pupils write in simple sentences, they have not developed skills in organising their writing, for example, by showing some consistency in the tense they are using. Spelling skills are very limited, mainly because pupils have not covered enough work to develop simple spelling strategies. The way that pupils’ work is organised in loose-leaf folders limits the effectiveness of any monitoring since it is difficult to track pupils’ progress over time.

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Pupils achieve standards that are well below average in writing and mathematics, and

22. In mathematics, the overuse of worksheets combined with the use of commercial workbooks means that pupils lack skills in recording mathematics. This limits pupils’ skills in using and applying mathematics. Pupils are not consistently improving their skills throughout the year; for example, number work in January is at a lower level than worksheets completed the previous September. The range of work completed in mathematics is limited; pupils have few opportunities to use measure and data handling, or to solve problems using shape and space. Brockswood Primary School - 15 23. Monitoring in English and mathematics has been ineffective in these year groups, and has not identified the lack of structure in teachers’ plans and pupils’ work. There is no clear strategy in place to ensure that basic writing skills are taught more effectively or to improve pupils’ skills in recording mathematics. There has been no rigorous

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Pupils achieve standards that are well below average in writing and mathematics, and

analysis to identify the key weaknesses in reading, writing and mathematics and, as a result, there is no clear plan in place to raise standards. Although there is some evidence that standards are beginning to rise in Year 2, there is no clear plan to ensure that standards consistently improve in Years 1 and 2 as a result of regular monitoring of teaching and learning and taking effective action to address any issues that arise.

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Pupils achieve standards that are well below average in writing and mathematics, and

24. Furthermore, assessment information is not used well enough to track the progress that pupils make from the reception year to Year 2. Consequently, the underachievement in Year 2 has not been identified as a key priority for school improvement.

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Pupils achieve standards that are well below average in writing and mathematics, and

Teaching and learning are unsatisfactory in Years 1 and 2.

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Pupils achieve standards that are well below average in writing and mathematics, and

25. Although some very good teaching was seen in Year 2, overall teaching in Years 1 and 2 is unsatisfactory. Pupils’ work from last year shows that pupils are not making enough progress in these classes. During the inspection, too many lessons were unsatisfactory.

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Pupils achieve standards that are well below average in writing and mathematics, and

26. Teachers’ expectations of what pupils are able to achieve, seen in pupils’ work and lessons, are too low. Pupils of all abilities are underachieving. Raising teachers’ expectations was a key issue after the last inspection. Not enough improvement has been achieved in Years 1 and 2 in this and the other weaknesses in teaching that were key issues in 1998. In these year groups, teachers still do not consistently set clear targets for learning and share them with pupils, even though this is part of a whole school policy. As a result, in many lessons, pupils are unclear what they are learning, and teachers’ marking is not helping pupils to understand how well they have succeeded.

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Pupils achieve standards that are well below average in writing and mathematics, and

27. There was a need to improve teachers’ planning in 1998. Since then two styles of short term planning sheets have been introduced. Teachers use one whenever they are observed, and can choose to use the other for daily planning. Throughout the school, teachers are not using either of these formats well. There is not enough information in teachers’ planning about what each group of pupils is expected to achieve in lessons. Consequently, not enough improvement has been made in day- to-day assessment. Teachers do not have a clear enough focus for learning in each lesson and therefore it is difficult to assess what pupils have achieved, and what steps they need to take next in order to improve their skills further. Teachers’ planning now needs urgent improvement as this continued weakness in planning was a feature throughout the school in lessons that were otherwise satisfactory or better.

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Pupils achieve standards that are well below average in writing and mathematics, and

28. In Years 1 and 2, many of the activities do not meet pupils’ needs. As a result, pupils do not improve their skills coherently from one week to the next. For example, the skills that are developed in handwriting lessons are not transferred to pupils’ everyday work. As a result, although pupils demonstrate the skill of joining letters in these lessons, they do not use this skill when writing on worksheets. Many pupils do not form letters correctly in their writing. The National Literacy Strategy is not used effectively as a clear guide to improving standards in reading and writing. Brockswood Primary School - 16 29. In mathematics, there is not enough focus on teaching number skills at the start of numeracy lessons. Consequently, pupils lack basic skills in recognising and manipulating numbers. Teachers in Years 1 and 2 are not using the National Numeracy Strategy well enough to raise standards.

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Pupils achieve standards that are well below average in writing and mathematics, and

30. In science, pupils in Years 1 and 2 have not completed enough work over the year to enable them to make enough progress. Pupils’ recorded work is limited and there are long periods when no science work is recorded. Much of the work is not marked and, as a result, pupils do not make much effort in presenting their work neatly.

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Pupils achieve standards that are well below average in writing and mathematics, and

31. During the inspection, pupils’ work in the current Year 2 class was of a higher standard both in lessons and in pupils’ books. The literacy and numeracy strategies are now used effectively in this class and pupils’ work shows that they have begun to make sound progress in writing and mathematics. Nonetheless, the procedures for monitoring teaching and learning are not rigorous enough to ensure that this improvement is consistent and sustained in both year groups.

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Monitoring of teaching and learning throughout the school is not sufficiently

32. The headteacher has introduced sound procedures to monitor the work of the school. Regular monitoring of teaching and learning takes place in English and mathematics throughout the school. However, the school has not taken effective action to address the issues that arise. Furthermore, there is not a coherent system of linking successful teaching and learning strategies to higher standards. The very effective teaching methods used in Years 5 and 6 have not been used as a model to guide practice throughout the school.

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Monitoring of teaching and learning throughout the school is not sufficiently

33. The headteacher and coordinators regularly observe lessons, particularly in the core subjects of English, mathematics and science. Notes are made following these observations and teachers receive feedback. This is good practice, but observations have not focussed specifically on the issues identified as weaknesses in the last inspection, or on the standards that pupils achieve. As a result, the quality of teachers’ planning has not improved and pupils in Years 1 and 2 are underachieving.

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Monitoring of teaching and learning throughout the school is not sufficiently

34. In response to the key issues from the previous report, a number of policy statements have been agreed, for example, setting a minimum standard for teachers’ planning. In addition, intensive in-service training was provided to help staff in setting and sharing targets for learning with pupils. The monitoring of planning following this work has not been sufficiently rigorous to ensure that the agreed policy is used consistently in all classes. Nor has there been any analysis of the impact of this policy on the standards that pupils achieve. In some subjects, teachers have looked at a sample of pupils’ work to assess the standards achieved. Again, this is good practice, but has not been done with sufficient rigour. The headteacher and coordinators have not thoroughly investigated the reasons why standards are very much higher in Year 6 than they are in Year 2. As a result, the underachievement in Years 1 and 2 has not

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Monitoring of teaching and learning throughout the school is not sufficiently

been identified as a key priority for school improvement.

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Monitoring of teaching and learning throughout the school is not sufficiently

Attendance is well below the national average.

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Monitoring of teaching and learning throughout the school is not sufficiently

35. At 93.3 per cent in the year from September 2001 to July 2002, the rate of attendance is well below the national average. Brockswood Primary School - 17 36. The procedures for monitoring attendance are not sufficiently rigorous. There is a suitable policy to follow up pupils’ absence with a telephone call if it is unexplained. However, there are no rigorous procedures in place to improve the rate of attendance overall. Consequently, pupils and parents are not fully aware of the importance of sustained regular attendance and punctuality. As a result, the rate of attendance has been very low for a number of years.

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

37. The headteacher, governors and staff should work with urgency to fully address the key issues from the previous report and:

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(i) Raise standards in English, mathematics and science in Year 2 by: a) rigorously tracking pupils’ progress from reception to Year 2 to ensure that all pupils make the progress they could; b) delegating responsibility to subject leaders to monitor the standards achieved in each subject and promote higher standards. [paragraphs 7, and 19-24]

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

ii) Improve the quality of teaching and learning, particularly where it is unsatisfactory, by using the very good models of teaching that exist in the school to raise teachers’ expectations of what pupils can achieve and: a) improve the quality of teachers’ planning so that all teachers consistently make clear what pupils of all abilities are intended to learn each day; b) improve the quality of teachers’ day-to-day assessment so that lessons are appropriate for all pupils’ needs, including potentially higher attaining pupils. [paragraphs 11, and 25-31]

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

iii) Improve the quality of monitoring teaching and learning by: a) ensuring that whole school policies for planning and assessment are consistently used to guide practice in all classes; b) taking effective action to address the issues that arise from regular monitoring of lessons, teachers’ planning and pupils’ work. [paragraphs 7, 11, 32, 33 - 34]

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WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

iv) Improve pupils’ attendance by: a) implementing rigorous procedures to monitor the rate of absence and taking effective action to ensure that all parents and pupils are aware of the importance of sustained regular attendance and punctuality; b) setting challenging targets for attendance for each class on a termly basis. [paragraphs 35 and 36] Brockswood Primary School - 18

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Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 15

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactor y Poor Very Poor

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

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

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils on the school’s roll Nursery YR – Y6

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) 0 170

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 0 41

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Information about the school’s pupils

Special educational needs Nursery YR – Y6

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with Statements of Special Educational Need 0 2

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Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register 0 37

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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 7

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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 32

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Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 25

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Attendance

National comparative data 5.6 National comparative data 0.5 Brockswood Primary School - 19 Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. Brockswood Primary School - 20

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

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 1 for the latest reporting year 2002 15 14 29

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

National Curriculum Test/Task Results Reading Writing Mathematics

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

Boys 10 11 10 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 12 11 11

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

Percentage of pupils School 76 [ 81] 76 [81] 72 [96] at NC level 2 or above National 84 [84] 86 [86] 90 [91]

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

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

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

Boys 6 12 14 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 10 12 14

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

Percentage of pupils School 55 [88] 83 [77] 96 [96] at NC level 2 or above National 85 [85] 89 [89] 89 [89]

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

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

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

Number of registered pupils in final year of Key Stage 2 for the latest reporting year 2002 9 13 22

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

National Curriculum Test/Task Results English Mathematics Science

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

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

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

Percentage of pupils School 91 [88] 95 [94] 95 [94] at NC level 4 or above National 75 [75] 73 [71] 86 [87]

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

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

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

Boys 7 9 9 Numbers of pupils at NC level 4 and above Girls 12 12 12

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

Percentage of pupils School 86 [88] 95 [94] 95 [94] at NC level 4 or above National 73 [72] 74 [74] 82 [82]

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

Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year. Brockswood Primary School - 21

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

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

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

White – any other White background 7 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Mixed – any other mixed background 6 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Asian or Asian British - Pakistani 0 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Asian or Asian British – Bangladeshi 0 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

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

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black or Black British – Caribbean 5 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

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

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

The table refers to pupils of compulsory school age only. It gives the number of exclusions, which may be different from the number of pupils excluded. Brockswood Primary School - 22

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 8.7 Financial year 2001

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 19.5

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: YR – Y6 Total income 466,499

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 8.4 Total expenditure 447,652

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 167 Expenditure per pupil 2,558

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Qualified teachers and support staff: nursery Balance brought forward from previous year 26,625

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) N/A Balance carried forward to next year 45,472

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher N/A

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff N/A

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Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week N/A

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Recruitment of teachers

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

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Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers appointed to the school during the last two years 4.6

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Recruitment of teachers

Total number of vacant teaching posts (FTE) 0

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Recruitment of teachers

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

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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. Brockswood Primary School - 23

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

Percentage of responses in each category

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

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

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

My child is making good progress in school. 55 38 2 0 5

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

Behaviour in the school is good. 53 40 2 0 5

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 42 53 2 2 2

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 47 36 11 2 4

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 73 22 2 2 2

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 78 15 4 0 4

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school works closely with parents. 51 36 9 0 4

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school is well led and managed. 49 44 2 2 4

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 55 36 2 0 7

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 29 38 25 2 5

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Results of the survey of parents and carers

Parents were very pleased with the brilliant results achieved by pupils in Year 6 in 2002.

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