Manorfield Infant and Nursery School

SCHOOL

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

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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. Manorfield Nursery and Infant School - 3 - April 2003

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Manor Way Staincliffe Batley West Yorkshire

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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: Cllr PAN Battye

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: 8 October 1997 Manorfield Nursery and Infant School - 4 - April 2003

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities 18074 Stuart Dobson Registered inspector Information and communication technology Physical Education English as an additional language What sort of school is it? The school’s results and pupils’ achievements How well are pupils taught? How well is the school led and managed? What should the school do to improve further?

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

13462 Roberta Mothersdale Lay inspector Education inclusion Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

How well does the school care for its pupils?

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

How well does the school work in partnership with parents? Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 28320 Robert Willey Team inspector English History Geography Religious education Special educational needs Manorfield Nursery and Infant School - 5 - April 2003 27591 Madeline Campbell Team inspector Science Design technology Foundation Stage How good are the curricular and other opportunities offered to pupils?

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

32261 Kate Dean Team Inspector Mathematics Art Music

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Nord Anglia School Inspection Services Strathblane House Ashfield Road Cheadle Stockport SK8 1BB

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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 Manorfield Nursery and Infant School - 6 - April 2003

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 7

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

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HOW HIGH ARE STANDARDS? 11

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

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AREAS OF THE CURRICULUM, SUBJECTS AND COURSES 30

Manorfield Nursery and Infant School - 7 - April 2003

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

The school serves the community of the Staincliffe area of Batley to the west of Dewsbury in West Yorkshire. This is an area of traditional textile industry which declined seriously in the 1980’s. Unemployment and associated social and economic disadvantage remain higher than average. The school has 304 pupils on roll and is above average size. Well over three-quarters of the pupils have homes where a language other than English is the first language and many start school with limited English language skills. Most of the pupils are from Indian or Pakistani heritage backgrounds and have Punjabi, Gujarati or Urdu as their first language.

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Most children have well below average skills in many areas of learning 1 when they join the school. An above average number of pupils are eligible for free school meals. An above average number of pupils have statements of special educational need and a higher than average proportion of pupils have special educational needs.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

This is a very good school which is a model of social inclusion at all levels. Each child is supported by a team of staff who are committed to children’s well-being and learning. The teaching and support staff are very supportive of each other; working together to plan and provide a very high quality education. The very high level of commitment and collaboration of the staff, led very well by the headteacher, is at the heart of the success of the school. Standards are rising and the school is already very successful in developing pupils’ language and personal skills. The pupils are well-motivated and are very well equipped for the next stage of education. The quality of teaching and learning is consistently high. The school gives very good value for money.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

What the school does well • All staff have a very strong sense of purpose and commitment to providing a very good education. • The quality of teaching is consistently high. • The Foundation Stage 2 is of exceptionally high quality. • Pupils achieve very well especially in the development of basic skills. • All of the staff and the pupils are enabled to participate fully in all aspects of school life.

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HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS

What could be improved • The subject co-ordinators could have a greater impact on the quality of the curriculum and the management of the school. • Pupils’ attendance and their punctuality at the start of the school day could be better. 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

The school was last inspected in October 1997. Since then there has been very good improvement and the school is well placed to improve even further. Very good improvement in all aspects of the teaching of English and good improvement in the teaching of mathematics has helped improve pupils’ basic skills. Significant improvement in information and communication technology (ICT) has helped pupils to reach

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HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION

1 The areas of learning for children before they begin the National Curriculum are: Communication, language and literacy, Personal, social and emotional development, Mathematical development, Knowledge and understanding of the world, Creative development and Physical development. 2 Education before the pupils begin Year 1; in this case in the Nursery and Reception classes. Manorfield Nursery and Infant School - 8 - April 2003 nationally expected levels. Excellent improvement in the quality of teaching has supported all pupils’ on making good progress. There has been some improvement in the use made of assessment. The provision for pupils’ personal development is very much improved. Subject leadership, though still the focus for further improvement, is nevertheless better than in 1997.

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STANDARDS

The table shows the standards achieved by pupils at the end of Year 2 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

Reading C D D A well above average above average A B Writing C D D B average below average C D Mathematics B E E C well below average E

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STANDARDS

Results in national tests at the end of Year 2 in 2002 indicate that pupils achieved below average standards in reading and writing and well below in mathematics when compared with all schools. When a comparison with similar schools is made, pupils achieve well above average standards in reading, above average in writing and average standards in mathematics. This similar schools comparison takes account of the circumstances of the school.

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STANDARDS

Inspection evidence indicates that standards have risen considerably in the last year and are now as expected nationally in reading, writing and mathematics. This is a considerable achievement for the whole school. As the majority of pupils start school with well below average knowledge of English, this indicates that they consistently make very good progress from Nursery to the end of Year 2. The school is making good improvements over time.

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STANDARDS

Standards in science, art and design, music and information and communication technology are as expected nationally but standards are above average in design and technology, history, geography, physical education and religious education. All pupils, including those with special educational needs, are achieving well throughout the school.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Attitudes to the school Pupils have very positive attitudes towards each other; they get on well with the adults and they are enthusiastic about lessons and learning.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Behaviour, in and out of classrooms Behaviour is very good. On almost all occasions pupils are polite and helpful, showing respect for adults. Their behaviour is very good in the playground as well as in the classrooms.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Personal development and relationships From Nursery to Year 2, pupils’ personal development is very good. They learn to join in appropriately and to participate effectively in school activities. Older pupils take on responsibilities effectively.

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PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Attendance Unsatisfactory. Attendance levels are below national levels. Manorfield Nursery and Infant School - 9 - April 2003 Extended term-time holidays significantly affect attendance levels. Relationships between all of the staff and the pupils are good. Adults in school model very good attitudes and behaviour and pupils follow their lead.

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

Teaching of pupils in: Nursery and Reception Years 1 – 2

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

Quality of teaching Very good Very good Inspectors make judgements about teaching in the range: excellent; very good; good; satisfactory; unsatisfactory; poor; very poor. ‘Satisfactory’ means that the teaching is adequate and strengths outweigh weaknesses.

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

Very good teaching is seen throughout the school and half of the teaching seen was very good. In the Nursery and Reception classes, teaching is mostly very good, occasionally excellent and never less than good. In Years 1 and 2 over three quarters of the teaching is good or better and most of the remainder is satisfactory. Only one lesson out of 62 was unsatisfactory and this was not typical of the class or the teacher. In this school, class teachers, language support teachers, bilingual support assistants, classroom support assistants and trainees all contribute to the high quality of the teaching.

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

As a result of the standard of teaching, the pupils consistently learn well and make very good progress. Their achievements build, lesson on lesson, and are high given their starting points on entry to the school. The very best teaching is exciting, stimulating and challenging and often engages pupils very actively in their learning. The quality of teaching and learning is lower, though nevertheless mostly good, when pupils are asked to learn passively, listening for too long to the teachers’ instruction, beyond the limits of their concentration.

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

Teaching is planned well; teachers’ expectations of pupils are high and pupils are managed very well. There is a very good focus on the development of pupils’ speaking and listening skills both in English and in heritage languages and this helps the pupils to think, learn and understand. The quality of teaching of English is variable, though mostly very good, and in mathematics it is mostly good. Numeracy and literacy skills are taught very well. Throughout the school, the needs of all pupils are considered and met through the very good adult support.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

The quality and range of the curriculum The school provides a very good curriculum for children in the Nursery and Reception classes and for those in Years 1 and 2. The language curriculum is particularly strong.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

Provision for pupils with special educational needs Very good provision both in the classrooms and in small group work ensures that all pupils can access the curriculum and make good progress.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

Provision for pupils with English as an additional language The provision is very good. It is entirely supportive of the pupils and all are helped to access the full curriculum. All of the adults work together very well in a planned and systematic manner. The level and quality of bi-lingual support are exemplary.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

Provision for pupils’ personal, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Very good provision ensures that the pupils are developing very good social skills, a wide knowledge of cultures and very good moral and behavioural standards. The school supports pupils’ spiritual development well. Manorfield Nursery and Infant School - 10 - April 2003 How well the school cares for its pupils There is a good standard of care for pupils and they are supported well both educationally and personally. However, insufficient use is made of assessment information other than in English and mathematics.

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OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SCHOOL

Families have great trust in the school and there is a good partnership with the parents. The school offers a rich curriculum which supports pupils in making very good progress. There is excellent support for pupils’ developing language skills. It is difficult for the school to improve standards further in ICT with the current range and organisation of equipment.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

Leadership and manage- ment by the headteacher and other key staff The headteacher leads the school very well and, with the effective support of the deputy headteacher, has managed to build a strong and effective team of people who fully support pupils’ education. The management of the school is efficient. The role of the subject managers is developing.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

How well the governors fulfil their responsibilities The governors offer good support to the school and are gaining in confidence and effectiveness as partners in the leadership of the school.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

The school’s evaluation of its performance The headteacher in particular has a very clear view of the strengths and weaknesses of the school and the school improvement plan clearly targets appropriate areas for development.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

The strategic use of resources Resources are used well to support the school’s development targets and to ensure that the pupils have the best possible chance of getting maximum benefit from their education.

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HOW WELL THE SCHOOL IS LED AND MANAGED

The school is very well staffed by strong teams of adults who work together very well. The accommodation is good, though it lacks a dedicated outdoor area for the Reception classes. Learning resources are of good quality and quantity. The governors and managers are aware of the need to seek best value for money and make attempts to do so.

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PARENTS’ AND CARERS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

What pleases parents most What parents would like to see improved

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PARENTS’ AND CARERS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

• The parents are pleased with almost all aspects of the work of the school. They are particularly pleased with the quality of teaching and their relationship with the school. • A very small minority of parents would like to see the pupils get more homework.

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PARENTS’ AND CARERS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

The inspectors agree with the positive views of the parents. The school gives more homework than many infant schools but it may be possible for this to be given out more regularly so that parents have a clearer view of what is expected. Manorfield Nursery and Infant School - 11 - April 2003

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

1. Attainment on entry to school is well below the local authority average. Most of the children have very limited speaking skills in English and many have had little or no pre-school experience and have limited personal and social skills. In other areas of their learning, their skills on entry to the school are variable but overall are below those expected. By the time they reach the end of the Reception year, they are likely to have made very good progress in all areas of their learning because of the very high quality of provision. Nevertheless their achievement in communication, language and literacy, mathematical development, knowledge and understanding of the world and creative development has not reached nationally expected levels. However, they reach expected levels in their personal, social and emotional development and their physical development.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

2. In 2002, the pupils achieved results which were below the national average in reading and writing and well below in mathematics at the age of seven. Principally this was because too few pupils reached the higher Level 3, although most achieved the nationally expected Level 2. The school is working very hard to achieve higher results and indications are that this will be achieved this year. However, the school already helps pupils to achieve good standards in spoken English and they rightly sees this as its fundamental and most important goal.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

3. Pupils are achieving well because of the high quality of teaching and learning which is seen in all classes. Lessons in all subjects are challenging and motivating, pupils learn well on almost every occasion and therefore, over time, make consistently good progress.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

4. Pupils are achieving very well in English and by the end of Year 2 overall they are likely to attain standards which are similar to the national average. This indicates that they are making very rapid progress from their low starting point in English at the start of their time in school. Standards in reading are now as expected nationally, as they are in writing and this is a considerable improvement since the last inspection. This is due to improved teaching.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

5. Achievement in mathematics has improved over time and most pupils are likely to reach the nationally expected levels by the end of Year 2. The staff have developed the mathematics curriculum over the last two years and all of the teachers are very aware of the need to have high expectations of the pupils and to ensure that their skills build consistently. This helps to ensure that most pupils make good progress due to good teaching and effective classroom support. By the end of Year 2, most pupils have a clear understanding of work with numbers and have a good knowledge of shape, space and measure.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

6. Recent test results show that the performance of boys and girls is similar in reading, writing and mathematics and the inspectors found no significant differences in the performance or participation of boys and girls.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

7. The pupils are currently achieving well by the end of Year 2. They reach nationally expected levels in science, art and design, information and communication technology, physical education and music. They reach good standards in design and Manorfield Nursery and Infant School - 12 - April 2003 technology, geography, history and religious education. Given the starting points of most of the pupils, this indicates very good achievement over the time they are in this school.

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The school’s results and pupils’ achievements

8. Pupils with special educational needs who have learning difficulties make good progress; most are fully able to access the curriculum. Pupils with English as an additional language make excellent progress and many of the pupils in Year 2 are now competent users of day-to-day English and the technical language which is needed in school.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

9. Pupils’ attitudes to learning are very good and they have a very positive approach to each other. This is an improvement since the previous inspection. Pupils like their school and are keen to participate in the wide range of clubs, organised games and activities on offer. At the start of the school day, Reception pupils cannot wait to take their coats off and start playing in the shared Reception area with the structured play opportunities. At lunchtime, pupils take advantage of opportunities to work in class with the classroom support assistants who run the clubs. Pupils have to be persuaded to go outside and play, as they would often prefer to be inside working rather than outside playing. Assemblies reflect and reward the hard work and application of pupils and individual pupils are thrilled when their achievements are recognised. Pupils get pleasure from their lessons. Year 2 pupils reacted with sheer

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

enthusiasm to composing and combining sounds with weather notations in the place of notes. The ‘composers’ were immensely proud when 'conducting’ their musical sequences and the whole class responded with passion when playing their percussion instruments to the ‘score’. Pupils get on well with adults in the school and are enthusiastic about lessons and learning. Pupils’ very good attitudes to learning reflect the gains being made in their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development in all areas of school life.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

10. The behaviour of most of the pupils in the school is very good. This is an improvement since the previous inspection. There have been no exclusions. The sticker and certificate systems for rewarding good behaviour are well established and help to create a happy and organised school. At break and playtime pupils of all ages play together and the degree of racial harmony is striking in this ethnically diverse community. Pupils are nearly always polite to each other and adults and visitors. No bullying was observed on the inspection and pupils played together very amicably out in the playground, and got on well with each other in the lunchtime clubs. Pupils’ very good behaviour makes a very positive impact on their learning, as there are relatively few disruptive incidents in lessons.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

11. Personal development amongst pupils is very good and is supported by the very good relationships that exist between pupils and staff. This is an improvement since the previous inspection. Pupils organise their own learning very well, bringing in for example work they have carried out on their own initiative at home, as when two Year 2 pupils wrote a play and a new version of a traditional tale. A design and technology competition organised by the school shop had a large number of entries, all completed at home.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

12. Pupils enjoy the visit of the Year 5 “reader buddies” from the neighbouring Junior School, and respond well to all their support, sometimes bribing their buddies to ‘read another page and I’ll give you a sticker’. Year 2 pupils take on a wide range of helping roles in the school, and all pupils are ready to help each other, for example when Manorfield Nursery and Infant School - 13 - April 2003 getting changed for physical education lessons, or when tidying away paints at the end of an art lesson. In a Year 1 lesson, pupils showed that they could recognise how such unsociable behaviour as leaving litter can damage the environment. The quality of relationships throughout the school is very good and a high level of trust and confidence exists between teachers and pupils. Pupils are keen to take on responsibilities and around school there are register monitors, door monitors and classroom helpers, and also a group of very enthusiastic “brush operatives” in the

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

dining hall after lunch. Pupils are often very willing to help each other without any prompting from their teacher.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development

13. Attendance is unsatisfactory and has not improved since the previous inspection. It is below the national average, and a significant number of pupils are late for the 9.00am start of the school day. Registration takes place at 9.10am, but many pupils are still arriving with their parents during this time, and after the close of registration. The school’s attendance figures are hit hard by the greatly extended holidays in Asia taken by a large number of families. Currently, the school’s registration procedures do not meet with statutory requirements. They do not ensure an accurate account of the total amount of authorised and unauthorised absences from the school over the academic year, or allow an accurate comparison with the national benchmark for all schools.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

14. Teaching is very good, throughout the school and in almost all lessons pupils learn very well. There is some variation between classes but in every class the majority of teaching is at least good.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

15. The teaching of pupils in the Foundation Stage is consistently good or better and is very good in over three-quarters of the sessions seen. Teaching in both the Nursery and the Reception classes is of a similar high quality. Excellent teamwork is at the heart of this successful teaching. The very good teaching teams are very well led by highly skilled co-ordinators. All of the teachers share the responsibility for planning which covers all of the areas of learning through a very good mixture of adult led and child self-directed learning. In both the Nursery and the Reception classes the adults provide a wonderful range of learning opportunities through imaginative and effective organisation of resources. The shared area between the Reception classes supports all of the areas of learning and children get help when they need it from the adults on hand. A similar situation is found in the Nursery classroom. This high quality of

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

teaching encourages children to be fully engaged and highly motivated, enjoying and learning from every minute of their time in school.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

16. Throughout the Foundation Stage, children are supported by English Language teachers and bi-lingual support workers in addition to the regular teaching staff. This additional support means that all of the children are able to access the learning opportunities that are available at any time. Throughout the Nursery and Reception classes the management of children is excellent. The children work in a very calm and well-ordered environment.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

17. In Years 1 and 2 the very good quality of learning continues. One major factor in the success of these years is the sharing of planning under the leadership of the co- ordinators. Shared planning helps to ensure that all of the pupils have access to the same education. The level of bilingual support and support for English as an additional language makes a major contribution to the quality of pupils’ learning. Because of the support which is available for pupils throughout the school, pupils approach learning with great confidence and therefore get the best from all that is offered. Manorfield Nursery and Infant School - 14 - April 2003 18. Teachers in Years 1 and 2 plan a good range of learning opportunities and mostly the teaching is good or better. Most of the lessons move at a brisk pace and pupils are supported by having key messages translated into their heritage languages. The need for this is visibly less as the pupils’ confidence and competence with English develop

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

in Year 2. Many of the lessons are very interesting and hold the attention of the pupils very well, as in a lesson on musical composition where all of the pupils were very actively engaged in composing a soundtrack and using symbols to record their work. They were then able to play their soundtrack with good consistency. The key to the success of the lesson was the pupils’ active engagement in learning. This was also seen in a very high quality lesson on the use of a computer program. With only limited ICT facilities, the teacher split the group and gave all of the pupils meaningful and interesting tasks researching Pakistan. All of the pupils were actively engaged.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

19. When the quality of learning is less good, though nevertheless satisfactory, the pace of learning is slower and the lessons are typified by relatively long talks by the teacher whilst the pupils sit and listen. In these situations, the difficulty of listening in a second language, and simply the inability of the pupils to listen effectively for such long periods, mean that they become restless and cease to concentrate. In this situation the quality of learning lessens. This was seen in some mathematics lessons where the start of the lesson was inactive and a little too long.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

20. Mostly the work is matched well to the needs of the pupils. In most lessons there is a range of activity which challenges the pupils appropriately. There is some variety in the teaching methods adopted in Years 1 and 2, though most lessons are of a similar format. The lessons which show variety and originality in their organisation gain the most attention from the pupils, for example in history lessons when the teacher’s introduction involves pupils in using and looking at artefacts.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

21. The quality of teaching is good or better in most English and mathematics lessons. There has been considerable training for the staff in teaching successful literacy and numeracy lessons and all teachers are guided well. The teachers are developing real confidence and good knowledge, and they are able to maintain a good pace to lessons, ask challenging questions of the pupils to guide their thinking and offer support where it is needed. Pupils are kept busy thinking for most of the lessons and they learn well. Writing and mathematics have been the targets for improvements in teaching and the results are visible in the improved standards which pupils achieve.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

22. In literacy and numeracy lessons in particular, activities and tasks are well organised for pupils with special educational needs. Teachers and assistants know their pupils very well and are very involved in ensuring that pupils’ targets are given very good support through carefully fashioned tasks. This is reflected in the high frequency of completed and partially met targets set for pupils within their individual educational programmes. This was evident during registration outside a Year 2 class, where an individual pupil was reading and the listener was recording each word read and recording the substituted word when misread. She appropriately praised the pupil at the end of their reading session for the effort she had made. This was an excellent means of analysing and diagnosing the nature of the pupil’s reading difficulty. This sort of support was happening frequently throughout the school at this time of day.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

Pupils with special educational needs are helped to make good progress.

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HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT?

23. Overall, teachers have a good knowledge of their pupils and the subjects they teach. They celebrate pupils' successes in many ways including wall displays and celebration assemblies. Teachers make good use of assessment in English and Manorfield Nursery and Infant School - 15 - April 2003 mathematics to inform their subsequent planning. This is less clearly the case in other subjects. The teachers are aware of the individual needs of their pupils and match work well in English and mathematics. The quality of teaching is better than at the time of the last inspection and there is a lot of evidence to show that it has improved greatly in the last two years.

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PUPILS?

24. The school provides all pupils with a very good curriculum. In all respects, the curriculum meets and surpasses the requirements of the National Curriculum. Religious education is taught in accordance with the locally Agreed Syllabus. Learning opportunities are enriched by visits, by visitors to school, by the range of extra-curricular activities that is offered, and by the excellent access and true equality of opportunity that are provided for all pupils throughout the school. An appropriate proportion of time is allocated to each subject and the curriculum is well balanced and relevant.

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PUPILS?

25. Since the last inspection, the school has made very good improvements to curricular provision. Information and communication technology standards are improving due to the acquisition of hardware and software for all classrooms, the appointment of an enthusiastic co-ordinator and professional training undertaken by the staff to develop skills and confidence. Standards in English have also been addressed by the adoption of the Literacy Strategy, the purchase of appropriate reading books, professional development of staff and the targeting of children to help raise their achievement.

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PUPILS?

26. The curriculum for children in the Nursery and Reception classes is very good. A high quality range of learning opportunities is provided which ensures that the ‘Curriculum for the Foundation Stage’ is delivered in full.

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PUPILS?

27. The national strategies for literacy and numeracy are used very effectively to provide a framework for the teaching of English and mathematics. There are ample opportunities for pupils’ literacy skills to be extended well in other subjects such as history and science, and numeracy skills are extended in science and design technology. In all subjects, curriculum planning follows national guidance materials to formulate work programmes for all year groups, but these are modified to meet the particular needs of the children. As teachers plan together, all pupils are given commonality of experience, building on what they learned when they were younger and laying the foundations for further learning. This helps to ensure equality of opportunity for all pupils. There is a systematic review and development of curriculum policies.

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PUPILS?

28. Visits and visitors to the school add to the richness of curricular provision. Nursery children shop for baking ingredients, investigate the immediate environment; visit the town centre, and take a bus ride to experience different modes of transport. Reception children undertake a ‘sound’ walk in local woodland; they visit a toy museum and visit a local farm to look for signs of spring. Older pupils visit Oakwell Hall as part of their history studies and also look for seasonal change.

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PUPILS?

29. Pupils with special educational needs have full access to a broad and balanced curriculum. Not only are they given full access to academic subjects but also to subjects like physical education. In a Year 2 lesson, a pupil who was very safely and sensitively supported was able to work with a degree of independence. Manorfield Nursery and Infant School - 16 - April 2003 30. The curriculum provided for pupils with special educational needs is very good. Individual plans are drawn up for pupils on the special educational needs register by the class teacher in conjunction with the learning support assistant and, where appropriate, with the special educational needs co-ordinator or outside agencies. The quality of the individual educational programmes, the majority of which are language orientated, is very good. Targets are usually very specific, realistic and challenging. Programmes clearly specify who provides support and are well structured to meet the

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PUPILS?

targets set. However, staff and pupils are not always sure what criteria they should use as evidence that a target has been met. As a result the guidance lacks a degree of precision and staff and pupils are not quite sure at what point targets have been met. When targets are not met, they are sympathetically amended in order to make them more accessible. Plans are held on computer and available only to authorised personnel.

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PUPILS?

31. The school provides a very good range of extra-curricular activities which are not often found in similar Infant schools. These include computer clubs, a yoga club which also provides links with the local junior school, an environmental club and a range of lunchtime activities, as well as the usual playtimes. Many pupils attend these activities, which are of good quality and make an effective contribution to learning.

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PUPILS?

32. Provision for personal, social and health education is very good. The local authority model is closely followed and the head teacher feels the quality of this area of provision is fundamental to the school. The use of school assemblies supports this work as does discussion work during Circle Time 3 . Use is made of outside agencies in order to utilise specialist skills and these make good contributions. Drug awareness is addressed by use of a puppeteer, and sex education is developed through topics such as ‘My Body’ and ’Families’. Younger children learn to share and help each other, as when getting changed for physical education. The knowledgeable co-ordinator has an action plan to support the school’s application for the National Healthy Schools Standard award, and promotes this aspect of the curriculum with enthusiasm.

p.16

PUPILS?

33. Links with the local community are limited but parents are very supportive of the work of the school. Parents are welcomed into school and the use of bi-lingual support staff means that induction, transfers and other important aspects of school are addressed in heritage languages. Pupils make use of the local area for geographical and environmental work and younger children make trips to local shops and supermarkets.

p.16

PUPILS?

34. Relationships with other institutions are very good. The local pyramid of schools is very active and the school has close links with other local schools, especially the local junior school. Here, joint meetings are arranged, pupils visit to undertake peer reading and the schools are beginning to write joint policies in order to ensure continuity of provision. The school occasionally has placement students from the local secondary school but is used extensively by Rathbone Training Agency in its NVQ training. Initial Teacher Training students from two institutions of Higher Education also use the school for placement experience.

p.16

PUPILS?

3 A large group discussion period when each child is encouraged and supported to talk about their ideas, concerns and feelings. Manorfield Nursery and Infant School - 17 - April 2003 35. Overall the pupils have access to a good range of spiritual opportunities and a very good range of moral, social and cultural opportunities, which is an improvement since the previous inspection.

p.16

PUPILS?

36. Assemblies are thoughtfully planned to link to experiences that will sit comfortably with the pupils, such as family, friendship and the environment. There are shared celebrations of the Christian and Islamic religions and good opportunities for reflection and spiritual focus. For example in one assembly, pupils were encouraged to look at the unfolding of the leaves on the trees in the school grounds during the first flush of spring. Staff encourage the small moments of wonder in each pupil’s life, for example delighting at the creation of purple when mixing powder paints in a Year 1 class, especially when the colour brown was being investigated. The strong support of bi- lingual staff in the school enables pupils to understand the nuances of vocabulary in the heritage languages, and offers a more consistent approach to a shared culture in the school. Pupils have the opportunity to practise yoga and enjoy the reflective

p.17

PUPILS?

37. Moral development is approached very openly and honestly. The school aims to establish and maintain high standards of behaviour and to teach children by the example of appropriate and acceptable behaviour. This is fully met by all members of staff, who act as exemplary role models for pupils. Pupils are encouraged to consider moral themes in the wider aspect of the environment and recognise people who help them both in school and the community. Again, the use of heritage language ensures that pupils understand clearly the rules and behavioural expectations of the school.

p.17

PUPILS?

38. Very good social behaviour is acknowledged and rewarded by the staff so that pupils recognise and understand when they have behaved well in a social situation. The school ensures that there are good opportunities at lunchtime for pupils to eat together and play with other pupils and staff in organised sports and social activities. The Year 5 ‘reading buddies’ scheme gives pupils the opportunity to work alongside older children from the junior school to which most of them will be transferring. The school’s Personal, Social, Health and Citizenship curriculum is now a whole-school focus. It places a particular emphasis on supporting pupils in expressing their feelings and concerns and building their self-esteem and confidence. Pupils are encouraged to contribute to charitable causes, the most recent example of which was their participation in Red Nose Day for Comic Relief.

p.17

PUPILS?

39. Cultural development is very good. Displays of art in the style of Van Gogh's irises and sunflowers decorate the school corridors, and shapes of hands decorated with Mendhi patterns for Eid form the frame of the photographic evidence of an Eid workshop. Pupils who have visited Pakistan or India on extended holidays are invited to bring in records of their observations of those cultures to geography lessons. Plans are in place to broaden the opportunities for pupils to experience the diversity and richness of other faiths and groups in the wider community such as the Afro Caribbean communities.

p.17

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

Manorfield Nursery and Infant School - 18 - April 2003 40. Overall the school takes good care of its pupils and is very committed to their physical and emotional health and well being , and their safety. This is an improvement since the previous inspection.

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

41. Procedures for child protection are satisfactory. Child-protection arrangements in the school are well known to all staff and the policy is in line with local area child protection procedures. No up-to-date training has taken place for the whole staff, but the headteacher regularly updates her training, and passes on new child-protection arrangements to staff. Whole-staff training is recognised as an area for development in these arrangements.

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

42. Health and safety arrangements and procedures are very well organised in the school. The school’s policy is site specific and meets statutory requirements. Risk assessments for the school building and outside activities are being updated, but all procedures involving pupils, for example their supervision during lunchtime, carry very detailed guidance. All appropriate safety checks on portable electric appliances, fire fighting equipment and physical education equipment are regularly carried out. There are several trained first aiders in school and there are first aid boxes in key areas of the school. Pupils with recognised medical conditions, such as asthma, are very well cared for in the school. Dedicated school cleaning and caretaking staff rigorously maintain the cleanliness and safety of the school building.

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

43. Procedures to monitor and support the personal development of pupils are very good and intrinsically linked to the ethos of the school and its detailed knowledge of individual pupils. Personal, social and health education lessons promote pupils’ self esteem, self confidence and personal safety and are a valuable means of allowing staff to track and monitor the personal development of each pupil. The school is very active in celebrating the achievements of all of its pupils, not only through displays around the school, but also in achievement assemblies. In addition there are numerous stickers and certificates for pupils who have made good progress, behaved well or tried hard. Staff make good use of registration time at the start of the day to discuss any news the pupils may have and this helps them to judge and know how each pupil is feeling. The school encourages pupils to wear school uniform so

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

that they develop a sense of community, although not all pupils wear it. The school provides daily lunchtime clubs. Any input that supports the whole programme of personal development is welcomed. For example, lunchtime supervisors have their own stickers for pupils who behave well or help with clearing up after lunch. When pupils are away from school on extended holidays, the school does its best to cushion the effect of the absence by providing pupils with educational materials which can be used, for example in geography lessons, when they return to school. The provision of the pre-nursery groups in the school accustoms the very youngest children to the concept of the school building and atmosphere, and transition arrangements between years when pupils are actually in school are thoughtful and well organised.

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

44. Pupils’ achievements are assessed and often recorded and from the information which is gathered, the teachers are able to plan appropriate lessons which challenge the pupils and help them make progress. Subject co-ordinators do not make sufficient use of this information nor is the gathering of assessment information systematic enough in some subjects.

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

45. Pupils with special educational needs are integrated well into the caring environment of the school. The school has good procedures in place to identify pupils who may have a learning or physical disability. When a concern is first raised, either by the Manorfield Nursery and Infant School - 19 - April 2003 parent or class teacher, the pupil is monitored. If necessary, the pupil is placed on the appropriate stage of the school’s special needs register. Pupils requiring specialist help with speech, sight or a specific learning difficulty have the necessary support and guidance provided. The school uses specialist help well and, between reviews, classroom assistants support pupils in accordance with the specialist guidance. The fact that pupils with special educational needs make good progress is testimony to the degree and quality of support and encouragement that they receive both from class teachers and learning support assistants. In addition, the numerous

p.18

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

trainees and volunteer helpers who make a very good contribution to the level of support for pupils. These combined efforts afford a depth and quality of support for pupils of a very high order.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

46. Procedures for monitoring and promoting good behaviour and discipline are very good. There is a well-established and clearly understood system to reward behaviour and oppose any racist or oppressive behaviour. A behaviour log tracks any behavioural incidents. Analysis of this log helps the school to track a pupil’s behavioural record, and can for instance be used to decide if there is a need to introduce any behavioural strategies. The wide range of lunchtime clubs for pupils has a good impact on general behaviour over the lunchtime as have the playground arrangements.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

47. Procedures for monitoring and improving attendance are satisfactory overall but absence is not recorded properly. The school uses a range of strategies to promote attendance, finding the most effective to be the first-morning calls to pupils’ families to find out why pupils are not in school if they have been marked as absent. A bi-lingual member of staff supports the effectiveness of this strategy. Stickers, a class trophy and certificates motivate pupils to come to school; the pupils especially enjoy receiving attendance stickers. The school involves the educational social worker when there are specific concerns over attendance or punctuality need to be followed up. The headteacher maintains a very high profile in the school corridors at the start of the school day. She makes a point of targeting parents who bring their children to school infrequently or after registration, so that she can find out if there are any

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS?

specific issues that are causing problems with attendance. Overall however, there is insufficient rigour and guidance in promoting attendance to parents. Guidance for parents is focussed on letting the school know, either in person or by phone, that a pupil is not attending, but does not specify what is authorised and unauthorised absence, and the relevance of this. The impact on the continuity of their child’s education when taking them away on extended holidays in term time is also not emphasised enough to parents, and neither are the limits of the school’s discretion in granting authorisation for leave of absence in any school year.

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

48. Parents’ views of the school are overwhelmingly positive. They have a great deal of confidence in the school, and its staff, and are very comfortable about coming into school. At the start and end of the school day the corridors are thronged with parents and the pupils’ close families. Teachers supervise the handover of pupils very closely and have regular opportunities to talk to their parents. A very few parents have concerns over the giving of homework, but overall parents appreciate the inclusive, multi-cultural nature of the school, and the fact that their children are happy to come to school. Parents are particularly happy about the way the school prepares their children for moving onto their next stage of education, and with how it introduces their children to school life. Parents appreciate the many opportunities they have to make contact with staff, and they enjoy coming to meetings. Many of the mothers of pupils

p.19

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

Manorfield Nursery and Infant School - 20 - April 2003 particularly enjoy making use of the community room for social as well as educational reasons.

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

49. The school works hard to create good contacts with parents and link with the families of all different backgrounds. Home/school partnerships are also strengthened by the home visits made by staff. First-day calls from the school to the parents of absent pupils contribute to good relationships with parents, and are an effective way of gaining information from parents as to why their children are not in school. Parents have completed computer courses and created Story Sacks, which are loaned out on a weekly basis, for pupils and their families. Parents celebrate Eid and Christmas with the pupils. The school provides a community room in school for parents and offers a variety of workshops for them, such as ‘helping your child with mathematics’ and ‘jolly phonics’. The school has run a ‘Share’ project with parents and holds a weekly pre- nursery group, the ‘Ready Steady Club’, as well as a Mothers and Toddlers group.

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

Each day, a regular book exchange is available for parents, so that there is always reading material for their children at home. Recently the school has contributed to a reading video for use with parents, and the video starred actual parents from the school.

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

50. The school has very good relationships with parents of pupils with special educational needs. Parents know who the special educational needs co-ordinator is, and teachers have regular contact with the parents of pupils who have individual education plans to review the targets that have been set.

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

51. Parents afford good support for the school and their children and play a significant part in the progress made by pupils with special educational needs.

p.20

HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS?

52. Information to parents is good and features whole-school newsletters, class letters and home/school information, such as reading records, for parents. In addition to the many letters and news items going home to pupils on a regular basis, staff are always present to speak to parents and let them know verbally, and in their heritage language if appropriate, what an item of information is about. Notice boards for each year group in the school identify staff for parents, and also let them know what their children are working on. This information is always available in English and heritage languages. Annual written reports meet statutory requirements and are added to by the information that parents receive during parents’ consultation and target evenings, and the day-to-day meetings with staff.

p.20

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

53. The development of the school has been significantly affected in the last two years by an extremely high turnover of staff and, whilst the quality of teaching in school testifies to the good quality of the appointments made, developments such as improvements to the role of the teachers as subject co-ordinators have been adversely affected. The headteacher has managed all of this change very well by making very good appointments and giving the staff every encouragement to express their ideas and make a contribution to the school. She gives very good leadership to the school and, supported well by the deputy-headteacher, she has developed a strong, committed and wholly supportive team of teachers and other staff who have worked extremely hard and significantly improved the quality of education. The head has led the staff in being clearly focused on improving the quality of the curriculum.

p.20

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

54. The school is well managed. The day-to day organisation of the school is effective and works in a way which significantly supports the involvement of parents in their Manorfield Nursery and Infant School - 21 - April 2003 child’s learning. The headteacher ensures that she is available to talk to the parents at the start and end of the school day and this is most helpful. She has also supported the development of other initiatives which bring parents and other community members into the school. Some of the community groups consist of people from different language backgrounds. The school is very well regarded by the parents.

p.20

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

55. The headteacher and the staff are very seriously addressing the issue of pupil attainment. However, the school has not lost sight of the fact that engagement of pupils in the learning process is at the heart of education for life, and the staff are supported in ensuring that all of the pupils can access the curriculum and enjoy it. The management decisions made have ensured that the very valuable contribution of the bilingual support staff and the English language teachers is maintained.

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

56. The role of the teachers as subject co-ordinators needs some improvement. At the present time they are supportive of their colleagues and are aware of some of the needs of their subject. There are some models of very good practice in co-ordination. For example the design and technology co-ordinator has managed to offer support to colleagues through her own very good knowledge and superb organisation. Similarly, the information and communication technology co-ordinator has undertaken monitoring of teaching and learning. As a result, she has been able to indicate improvements to the organisational arrangements of the classroom to improve access for pupils and bring about a rise in standards. This practice though is not common across all subjects. In most subjects, co-ordinators need to make better use of the available assessment information and need to monitor the quality of teaching and learning for themselves, so that they can make a much greater and better

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

informed contribution to the management planning of the school.

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

57. Special educational needs support is very well organised. There is an excellent working relationship between the special educational needs co-ordinator, teachers and learning support assistants. Learning support assistants are well briefed and form a very strong, knowledgeable, dedicated and caring team. They feel very well supported by teachers; the special educational needs co-ordinator, the head teacher and each other. They have daily briefings with teachers and report back regularly, often in written form. The high level of specialist expertise amongst the staff involved with special educational needs pupils is a very strong feature. One of the team has led training sessions for teachers on reading difficulties. They are fully involved in aspects of planning and informal review. All have direct access to pupils’ individual educational programmes and are very conversant with individual pupils’ targets. The

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

only aspect in which they are not directly involved is in the formal review with parents and subsequent target setting.

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

58. School improvement planning is good as the headteacher knows the school well and the plan contains appropriate targets for development, most of which have been completed. It would be more useful to the school if it were structured to make clear the role of all staff in leading school improvements and to focus the staff on one or two items at once, rather than its current more general format. The headteacher prioritises finances well to support school improvement and with the governors aspires to achieve best value for money. The school has recognised that a major factor in the good progress pupils make is the quality of the staffing and the finances are planned to support this quality.

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

59. The governing body are developing well and make a good contribution to the management of the school. They meet regularly and have a good general knowledge Manorfield Nursery and Infant School - 22 - April 2003 of the strengths and weaknesses of the school. A number of the governors visit the school regularly and gain first-hand information about the quality of education. The governors are very supportive of the headteacher and the school.

p.21

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

60. The school is staffed very well by committed teachers, very supportive classroom assistants, bilingual support workers and other language staff. The school also hosts a number of trainee placements and these students provide very useful additional help. The school accommodation is good and is very well maintained. Resources overall are good but there is room for improvement in the library resources. The school has an adequate number of computers but this could be improved upon. The current organisation of computers in each classroom means that whole-class lessons in information and communication technology are impossible and pupils’ individual access to computers is more restricted than in schools where there is a computer suite. This means that whilst pupils make progress, they do not make rapid progress because of restricted access to computers.

p.22

HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED?

61. School administration is effectively and pleasantly carried out. Manorfield Nursery and Infant School - 23 - April 2003

p.22

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

62. This is a very good school which has few areas for improvement. However, to secure the improvement of the school and help it to develop further, the headteacher and Governors should:

p.23

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(1) ensure that the role of the subject co-ordinators improves by: • indicating the role of the co-ordinators in the school development plan so that their contribution to management, their tasks and the timing of their work is made clear; • providing opportunities for the co-ordinators to monitor the quality of teaching and learning and the quality of the curriculum in their subjects; • supporting co-ordinators in making better use of assessment information.

p.23

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(paragraphs 56, 58,114, 119, 132, 138, 149, 160)

p.23

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(2) improve attendance and the manner in which it is recorded by: • working closely with parents on the issue of punctuality at the start of the school day; • providing unambiguous guidance to parents and staff on the statutory requirements for attendance, the limits of school discretion on attendance and the school’s statutory duties with regard to the admissions register.

p.23

WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER?

(paragraphs 13, 47) Manorfield Nursery and Infant School - 24 - April 2003

p.23

ENGLISH AS AN ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE

61. The provision is very good and makes a major contribution to the success of the school. The principal reason for this lies in the way in which the year-group teams work so well together. The contribution of every member of the team is valued. There is no perceivable hierarchy and the staff support each other in supporting the pupils. In every lesson, the bi-lingual support workers, classroom support assistants, teachers, language support staff and trainees are confident to offer support when it is needed. All of the pupils rely on all of the adults for help and support.

p.24

ENGLISH AS AN ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE

62. Whilst the teachers are responsible for the planning of the curriculum, other staff contribute, bringing in their specialist knowledge of individual pupils so that their needs can be met. In each class a very comfortable working relationship exists. For example, in Year 1 mathematics lessons, rapid and effective translation of new vocabulary helps all pupils to access and consolidate new learning. Once group and individual work begins, all of the staff are assigned to small groups of pupils and they support both language and understanding of the subject.

p.24

ENGLISH AS AN ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE

63. The school has a very clear view of the differences in pupil need as a consequence of English as an additional language and of special educational needs resulting from a learning, physical or behavioural difficulty. As a result any decisions to place pupils on both registers are made following careful and appropriate assessment.

p.24

ENGLISH AS AN ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE

64. The school also plans for the development of pupils’ heritage languages. There are regular story times in Punjabi and Gujarati and, throughout the school, pupils are encouraged to discuss their developing ideas and hypotheses in the language in which they feel most comfortable. This means that their understanding of a wide range of subjects is facilitated, and is not impaired by their temporary lack of competence in English. This good provision for heritage language gives the pupils confidence and increases their knowledge and understanding of how languages work. For most pupils, by the time they reach Year 2, their listening skills are very good and their spoken English is developing very well. Most are becoming skilled and confident users of English.

p.24

ENGLISH AS AN ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE

65. The language support staff provide invaluable help to the school in communication with families for whom English presents some difficulties. Written notices in heritage languages abound. This not only supports access but encourages families by making them feel part of the school community. In one good religious education lesson, very good support was given, not only with language but also with some aspects of the comparison of aspects of Islamic and Christian tradition. This gave status to the discussion and pupils were able to make their own contribution to the lesson because they had both the confidence and the language support to do so.

p.24

ENGLISH AS AN ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE

66. The best indication of the quality of the support for English as an additional language is in the standard of English which the school achieves by the end of Year 2. In the current Year 2, many pupils who began school with little English standards in speaking and listening, reading and writing are currently working at the level expected nationally for their age. Manorfield Nursery and Infant School - 25 - April 2003

p.24

Summary of the sources of evidence for the inspection

Number of discussions with staff, governors, other adults and pupils 29

p.25

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactor y Poor Very Poor

p.25

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 one percentage point.

p.25

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils on the school’s roll Nursery YR – Y2

p.25

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s roll (FTE for part-time pupils) - 304

p.25

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of full-time pupils known to be eligible for free school meals - 44

p.25

Information about the school’s pupils

Special educational needs Nursery YR – Y2

p.25

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with statements of special educational needs - 3

p.25

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils on the school’s special educational needs register - 42

p.25

Information about the school’s pupils

English as an additional language No of pupils

p.25

Information about the school’s pupils

Number of pupils with English as an additional language 153

p.25

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupil mobility in the last school year No of pupils

p.25

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who joined the school other than at the usual time of first admission 56

p.25

Information about the school’s pupils

Pupils who left the school other than at the usual time of leaving 47

p.25

Attendance

National comparative data 5.4 National comparative data 0.5 Manorfield Nursery and Infant School - 26 - April 2003 Both tables give the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. Manorfield Nursery and Infant School - 27 - April 2003

p.25

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 43 40 83

p.27

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

National Curriculum Test/Task Results Reading Writing Mathematics

p.27

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

Boys 37 37 40 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 33 37 32

p.27

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

Percentage of pupils School 84 (74) 89 (85) 87 (91) at NC level 2 or above National 84 (84) 86 (86) 90 (91)

p.27

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

Teachers’ Assessments English Mathematics Science

p.27

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

Boys 37 40 41 Numbers of pupils at NC level 2 and above Girls 35 34 34

p.27

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

Percentage of pupils School 87 (85) 89 (87) 90 (89) at NC level 2 or above National 85 (85) 89 (89) 89 (89)

p.27

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

Percentages in brackets refer to the year before the latest reporting year. Manorfield Nursery and Infant School - 28 - April 2003

p.27

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

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

p.28

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

White – any other White background 0 0 0

p.28

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Mixed – any other mixed background 1 0 0

p.28

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Asian or Asian British – Pakistani 79 0 0

p.28

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Asian or Asian British – Bangladeshi 0 0 0

p.28

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Asian or Asian British – any other Asian background 1 0 0

p.28

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black or Black British – Caribbean 0 0 0

p.28

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

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

p.28

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. Manorfield Nursery and Infant School - 29 - April 2003

p.28

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 11 Financial year 2001-2002

p.29

Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 24

p.29

Teachers and classes Financial information

Education support staff: YR – Y2 Total income 731,346

p.29

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 10 Total expenditure 724,132

p.29

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 200 Expenditure per pupil 2,568

p.29

Teachers and classes Financial information

Qualified teachers and support staff: nursery Balance brought forward from previous year 27,845

p.29

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of qualified teachers (FTE) 1.4 Balance carried forward to next year 35,059

p.29

Teachers and classes Financial information

Number of pupils per qualified teacher 28

p.29

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total number of education support staff 6

p.29

Teachers and classes Financial information

Total aggregate hours worked per week 80

p.29

Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers who left the school during the last two years 11

p.29

Recruitment of teachers

Number of teachers appointed to the school during the last two years 10

p.29

Recruitment of teachers

Total number of vacant teaching posts (FTE) 0

p.29

Recruitment of teachers

Number of vacancies filled by teachers on temporary contract of a term or more (FTE) 1

p.29

Recruitment of teachers

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

p.29

Recruitment of teachers

FTE means full-time equivalent. Manorfield Nursery and Infant School - 30 - April 2003

p.29

Results of the survey of parents and carers

Percentage of responses in each category

p.30

Results of the survey of parents and carers

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

p.30

Results of the survey of parents and carers

My child is making good progress in school. 51 42 1 0 7

p.30

Results of the survey of parents and carers

Behaviour in the school is good. 53 42 2 0 4

p.30

Results of the survey of parents and carers

My child gets the right amount of work to do at home. 41 41 8 2 9

p.30

Results of the survey of parents and carers

I am kept well informed about how my child is getting on. 54 41 4 0 2

p.30

Results of the survey of parents and carers

I would feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions or a problem. 63 32 2 0 3

p.30

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school expects my child to work hard and achieve his or her best. 59 38 0 0 3

p.30

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school works closely with parents. 52 42 5 0 2

p.30

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school is well led and managed. 56 37 1 2 5

p.30

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school is helping my child become mature and responsible. 58 38 1 0 3

p.30

Results of the survey of parents and carers

The school provides an interesting range of activities outside lessons. 46 28 7 2 17 Manorfield Nursery and Infant School - 31 - April 2003

p.30

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

67. Children in the Foundation Stage (Nursery and Reception classes) work towards the nationally agreed Early Learning Goals 4 . They are given work that is stimulating, interesting and of high quality. This motivates all children, including those with special educational needs, to learn well. Eighty children attend the Nursery on a part-time basis. By the time children leave Nursery to enter full-time education, they are still working below the nationally expected levels for children of their age. By the end of Reception, most children are unlikely to have reached the Early Learning Goals but a few will surpass them, especially in mathematical development, and in the area of physical development. Overall, this very good progress throughout Nursery and Reception is due to very good teaching in all areas of learning. A real strength is the effective team work. The nursery nurses, bi-lingual assistants, classroom support

p.31

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

assistants and placement students are fully involved in teaching and bring much enthusiasm, skill and understanding to the children’s learning. They work very well with the children, for example, by careful questioning and by developing vocabulary. Every opportunity is taken to develop spoken language, literacy and numeracy skills, and this helps the children to make very good progress in all areas of work. This is even better than reported at the last inspection.

p.31

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

68. Curriculum planning is very good and closely links the Nursery and Reception classes. The children’s learning is supported by thoroughly prepared activities that are wide-ranging and interesting. Other key strengths of the teaching are the consistently high expectations of all teachers and support staff and their skilful management of the children. The quality of teaching is consistently good throughout the Foundation Stage. Throughout Nursery and Reception, emphasis is placed on learning through practical, imaginative experiences. In the Reception year, activities are based on the Foundation Stage curriculum and as the children get older they are introduced to slightly more formal ways of working in order to prepare them for the National Curriculum. The Nursery is attractively organised into specific areas of learning with many interesting resources which successfully support the children’s learning. The Nursery accommodation is of a high standard, including good, secure

p.31

AREAS OF LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

outdoor facilities which the staff use to great effect as an additional learning resource. The Reception area is also well organised, using three classrooms and a shared activity area, but the limited secure outdoor area still has to be fully developed and utilised.

p.31

Personal, social and emotional development

69. The children in the Nursery and in Reception make very good progress in this area of learning because they receive patient, caring and appropriate teaching. Progress is very good because teachers specifically plan activities to promote skills through other areas of learning where they have high expectations of the children. The children quickly get to know regular routines and take turns well. In Nursery, older children provide good role models for younger children. They take part willingly, for example, at tidy-up time, because they have learnt that working together makes the task easier. On admission, children soon realise that good behaviour is expected. Staff praise good behaviour and explain calmly why certain behaviours, like shouting out or taking

p.31

Personal, social and emotional development

4 Nationally agreed statements of attainment for the end of the Reception year. Manorfield Nursery and Infant School - 32 - April 2003 somebody else’s belongings, are not acceptable. As a result, most children show good levels of self-discipline and confidence at this young age.

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Personal, social and emotional development

70. Similar routines are in place in Reception, so that the children are aware of expectations in terms of behaviour, tidying up and responsibility for making choices. For example, only a small group can work at the exciting water tray at any one time and they manage this effectively. Independence is encouraged in the Nursery and expected in the Reception class.

p.32

Personal, social and emotional development

71. Relationships are very positive in the Foundation Stage and help to play a significant part in the children’s learning. Children enter the Nursery full of enthusiasm and are keen to become involved in the exciting range of activities. They enjoy their work and do it confidently. They respond positively to new experiences such as role play in the Three Bears’ House, using the class computer or making the letters of their names from play dough. Such learning activities are continued and consolidated in the Reception class and children use the vet’s surgery and home corners with confidence. They practise motor control with painting activities and re-create their farm visit with models, using appropriate vocabulary and sound effects.

p.32

Personal, social and emotional development

72. Children in the Nursery complete an ‘Affirmation Card’ which gives status to each individual child. Their racial and cultural identity is given status and is always treated positively, affirming self-confidence and self-esteem. These cards are valued by all staff and children and form part of the child’s record of achievement when they transfer to Reception.

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Personal, social and emotional development

73. Children move from Nursery to Reception with confidence. Induction procedures allow Nursery children to become familiar with the Reception area, including the large shared space, so that on transfer, few problems are encountered. Learning is planned well with all staff so that once in Reception, learning is consolidated and taken further. Registration and snack times are used as learning time, when the staff celebrate and share successes with all the children.

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Communication, language and literacy

74. Most children enter Nursery at levels well below those expected. By the end of the Reception class some children have achieved the Early Learning Goals; a few are working within Level 1 of the National Curriculum, but many are still working at a level below the Early Learning Goals because many of them have not developed a sufficiently wide vocabulary in English. However, they make very good progress because of very good teaching by all members of the teaching teams.

p.32

Communication, language and literacy

75. The children learn to speak with increasing confidence because the staff engage in almost continual conversation with them. They chat, question, and encourage the children to extend their vocabulary and their confidence in speaking English or their heritage language. Nursery and Reception classrooms are rich environments for promoting the use of language. Staff use every opportunity to develop vocabulary, speaking, listening and writing. The children initiate their own conversations because they are interested in the well-planned activities, as they play, for example, in the Three Bears’ House or Home Corner in the Nursery and in the Reception class in the vet’s surgery or the play dough area.

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Communication, language and literacy

76. The children listen well to class stories such as ’The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ or ‘ Baa Boom’, joining in when they can. In the Reception classes, higher attaining children can identify the names and sounds of certain letters and they are able to sort objects Manorfield Nursery and Infant School - 33 - April 2003 into letter groups. Clear labels, descriptions and pictures are prominently displayed in English and heritage languages and used to encourage the development of early reading skills in all classrooms.

p.32

Communication, language and literacy

77. Children use the book areas independently to ‘read’ books and are developing a good interest in books and stories. Children use the writing areas to write letters to send from the office or from ‘baby bear’. Outside literacy time, teachers provide many well- chosen experiences to enhance children’s skills, especially in speaking and listening. For example, children in Nursery recall the life cycle of the frog, or in Reception, they talk about the animals they saw on the farm visit. Children take books home to read or share with adults.

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Mathematical development

78. Overall, children’s attainment in mathematics is below average. They experience a wealth of opportunities to use mathematics in practical ways and across other areas of learning. In Nursery, children investigate shapes, counting corners and sides and continually repeating names such as square, triangle and circle. In Reception, pupils also know the names of shapes, can recognise 2D shapes from descriptions and can recognise 3D shapes such as sphere, cube, cone and cylinder. Most can count to 10 forwards and backwards and a few can carry out this activity with numbers to 20 and above. When the children in the Nursery and Reception choose activities for themselves, mathematical activities are always available. In Nursery, during role play, vocabulary linked to size is emphasised, such as big, bigger, biggest. In the Reception class, the numeracy strategy is very gradually introduced and builds well

p.33

Mathematical development

79. Nursery children take part in baking where ingredients are weighed out and the number of biscuits made are counted. In Reception, children apply their shape knowledge to problem solving, when they try to discover the shape by the properties given by the teacher. Staff encourage children to use mathematical vocabulary as they explain their methods. Much attention is given in all classes to consolidating children’s learning through play situations. In Reception, positional language, such as on, in, under, behind and over, is emphasised by all staff in as many situations as possible.

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Mathematical development

80. In Nursery and Reception classes, teaching is very good, offering children opportunities to consolidate previous learning and extend their mathematical thinking. By the end of the Reception year, the majority of children will not have achieved the early learning goals. However, a few children will be working at a higher level and one or two will be working towards Level 1 of the National Curriculum.

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Knowledge and understanding of the world

81. Most children are likely to be working below expected levels in this area of learning by the end of the Reception year, even though the children make very good progress in their learning. The staff plan an interesting range of activities which help children learn about the world about them and help develop an appropriate vocabulary. For example, they use wet sand with a variety of toys and dry sand with different equipment. They experiment using water and tubing to investigate flowing water, and use baking activities to investigate changes that take place when certain materials are mixed together and cooked. In Nursery, children study and draw bird visitors and are given opportunity to use a variety of tools and equipment. The attractive Nursery displays and photographic records show evidence of the exciting activities that the Manorfield Nursery and Infant School - 34 - April 2003 children are offered. In all activities, children have good adult support to help them

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Knowledge and understanding of the world

82. In the Reception class, children begin to investigate simple scientific ideas. They study living things, planting and growing a variety of seeds, and make boats from a variety of materials to investigate floating and sinking. Such activities form the foundations for more advanced investigative work later in the year. Visitors enrich the curriculum. Reception children question a local vet about her job; a mother brings in her baby and it is bathed, and all the children go on a farm visit where they stroke horses and see newly born lambs. Children make pancakes and chapattis and extend their knowledge and understanding of a variety of foods.

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Knowledge and understanding of the world

83. All children have good access to computers. In Nursery, they are given opportunity to practise mouse control and learn how to use a program to dress the teddy bear, with support and translation to heritage language if necessary. Children in the Reception classes continue to develop their computer skills. They programme a movable floor robot; learn how to write and follow instructions to make toast, and use the program ‘Dazzle’ to draw flowers.

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Knowledge and understanding of the world

84. Children take part well in discussions to raise an awareness of their own traditions and those of other cultures. They celebrate Christmas, Eid and Easter. This has helped the children to learn the need to respect the views of others and raise their awareness of the importance of belonging to a group.

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Physical development

85. Most children reach expected standards by the end of the Reception year. The children learn quickly and make good progress because they participate in structured and purposeful activities both indoors and outdoors. In Nursery, they benefit from a large, secure outdoor play area, whilst children in Reception use the playground and the school hall. The children really enjoy outdoor activities because they are so varied and interesting. Younger children use large wheeled toys; practise throwing bean- bags into hoops, and enjoy rolling balls down large tubes and trying to catch them at the bottom. As they use the balancing and climbing equipment and jump over a rope or run under it, language development is emphasised throughout.

p.34

Physical development

86. Children in the Reception class use the playground for their play as well as the large school hall. They are able to run, jump, climb and balance so that they have plenty of daily exercise. They change for the lesson and fold their clothes. This is an important aspect of their social development. Once ready, they are able to use the space well, running, skipping, hopping and walking. Direct teaching enables children to make good progress in the development of their physical skills. They are able to control a ball with hands and feet, able to make little throws and catch the ball but, as yet, are unable to bounce a ball and catch it.

p.34

Physical development

87. In the classrooms, children are given plenty of opportunity to develop hand-eye co- ordination. They manipulate the computer mouse and roll and mould play dough into letters. They are supervised closely so that they acquire a correct pencil grip when learning to write. When they are ready, they cut paper with scissors, roll and use cutters with play dough, and control small tools such as printing rollers and paint brushes. Most children are on course to meet the early learning goals in this area of learning and many will surpass it. Manorfield Nursery and Infant School - 35 - April 2003

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Creative development

88. Children’s progress is very good because they have access to excellent daily activities, and the Reception classes build on the excellent foundations established in Nursery. The youngest children draw and paint teddy bears. They print using rollers and they use a variety of different equipment. The resources provided in the Nursery to promote learning and to motivate children in this area are a strength of provision. Such high quality activities are continued in Reception. Children use paints to copy the works of Van Gogh and they draw and paint flowers. Children are taught basic skills and techniques in their creative work and the effect of this very good teaching can be seen in the quality and scope of children’s work. Musical opportunities are provided through singing, action songs and class worship.

p.35

Creative development

89. Children’s creative skills are developed further by the provision of a wide range of activities in the role-play areas. Children use resources imaginatively. Nursery children play in the home of the three bears, with appropriate furnishings and costumes and they use the home corner to act out domestic chores such as ironing and cooking. Reception children use the vet’s surgery and the home corner created in the shared area. Staff talk to the children as they play to develop their ideas and vocabulary, and to encourage their understanding of the need to share and help others.

p.35

Creative development

90. Despite the very good provision and progress, children’s attainment in creative development is below the levels expected because they have very limited creative experience prior to starting school and the restricted language at their disposal in the Foundation Stage restricts this area of their development.

p.35

ENGLISH

91. Pupils achieve very well and, by the end of Year 2, they are likely to attain average standards. The school has good assessment systems. The most recent assessments indicate that the overall performance of pupils in Year 2 in reading and writing tests this summer is likely to match national averages. This reflects the improvements made since the time of the last inspection, when the attainment of pupils in Year 2 was found to be below average.

p.35

ENGLISH

92. Many pupils enter the school with very limited understanding of the English language. The school consequently places most emphasis on teaching them to speak and respond to English, and opportunities for developing speaking and listening skills are included in all aspects of the curriculum. This has been an area of high priority since September 2002. Pupils have responded very well and are on course to achieve above average standards by the end of Year 2. This reflects the improvements since the last inspection when standards in speaking and listening were found to be below average. Most pupils communicate clearly and are confident when talking about their work. They listen well to teachers and to each other and are afforded many opportunities in lessons to discuss work with a partner or within a group. In discussions with partners, they exchange ideas sensibly, consider alternative points carefully and reach decisions agreeably.

p.35

ENGLISH

93. Standards in reading are average and have an improved since the last inspection. Since then, the school has developed opportunities for targeted pupils to read with a supportive adult or a pupil from Year 5 in the Junior School. Pupils are encouraged to take books home and a special collection is kept adjacent to the library and in the entrance hall for this purpose. Pupils handle books confidently and most are able to Manorfield Nursery and Infant School - 36 - April 2003 talk, in some detail, about the books they are reading. The school recognises the importance of teaching basic skills, such as phonics, and training has been given to staff to develop their confidence and establish a consistent approach throughout the school. It is expected that pupils will participate in a guided reading session at least once a week and may also read individually with an adult as well. In Year 2, pupils are

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ENGLISH

encouraged to read on their own and use their reading skills to complete comprehension activities. The texts used are both fiction and non-fiction so pupils can be taught to use the index and contents pages and become familiar with dictionaries. Higher achieving pupils also know how to use and construct a glossary.

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ENGLISH

94. Standards in writing are average at the end of Year 2. Over time, pupils have experience of a wide range of writing opportunities, which include writing stories, poetry, diaries, letters and instructions. There are regular guided writing lessons when appropriate styles of writing are modelled for pupils. In a Year 2 lesson for example, the teacher modelled the beginning of a story based on Jack and the Beanstalk with the class. Her well thought through questions – ‘Have I put in enough information? Have I used interesting words?’ - kept pupils’ attention and ensured that they were fully involved throughout. Handwriting is taught in a structured, systematic way. Most pupils hold their pencils properly and form letters reasonably well, with appropriate attention to shape and size. Higher ability pupils construct complex sentences properly and use punctuation appropriately, including speech marks.

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ENGLISH

Generally their written work is grammatically correct. Pupils of average ability begin work well but by its end, their handwriting and spelling have deteriorated. Lower attaining pupils are usually grouped so that they can be supported. Tasks set for them expect shorter responses. Their handwriting shows considerable improvement since September but they do not yet use full stops and capital letters accurately. Their spelling, whilst decipherable, is not accurate beyond three-letter words.

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ENGLISH

95. The quality of teaching of English throughout the school is generally good and more often very good. This reflects an overall improvement since the last inspection, and during the inspection only one unsatisfactory lesson was seen. There were good, harmonious relationships in classrooms and pupils of all abilities were included and involved well in lesson activities. This helped to develop pupils’ confidence and positive attitudes to learning. Teachers are secure about what pupils need to know. A very effective feature of the teaching is the sharing of learning intentions at the beginning of lessons so that pupils know for example, that they are going to write a description of an event. These are usually revisited at the end of the lesson so that pupils and teachers can assess the extent to which they succeeded in meeting the intentions. Teachers ensure that there are purposeful links with pupils’ previous

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ENGLISH

learning, so that lessons build well on what they know, understand and can do. There is very good use of well-focused questions which develop pupils’ understanding, and also enable teachers to assess what pupils have learned. Teachers and assistants work as effective partners to support pupils’ learning and develop their concentration, and this is a particularly strong feature in work with pupils with special educational needs and for whom English is an additional language. As a result, pupils with special educational needs achieve well and pupils for whom English is an additional language make excellent progress.

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ENGLISH

96. Assessment procedures in English are good. Pupils have individual targets in writing, reading and speaking and listening. Those for writing are placed at the front of pupils’ books so that they can remind themselves of the ways in which they are trying to improve their work. At the end of every term a sample of the pupil’s writing is placed on file and new targets are set. These are used by the head teacher and literacy co- ordinator to track pupils’ progress through the school. They also analyse test results Manorfield Nursery and Infant School - 37 - April 2003 each year to determine the subject’s strengths and weaknesses and to ensure there is no bias as a result of ethnicity or gender.

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ENGLISH

97. The curriculum in English meets the requirements of the National Curriculum. The main elements and skills of the National Literacy Strategy are incorporated into the planning, which the school believes matches the needs and abilities of all pupils well. In Year 2 classes, the whole inspection week was devoted to story writing and pupils developed a structured story from day to day. The school delivers several effective additional programmes for those pupils who need extra support in reading and writing. In Year 1 additional support is provided for a series of small groups of pupils over a concentrated 10-week period.

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ENGLISH

98. The subject is led well by the co-ordinator. Her role in the school’s performance and management scheme ensures that she observes teaching throughout the school. She also monitors planning but does not examine pupils’ work on a regular basis.

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ENGLISH

99. Resources in English are generally satisfactory and meet the needs of the curriculum. The Library is conveniently located and has a good range of fiction, but the non-fiction books, although plentiful, are sometimes inappropriate and there are a large number of outdated books.

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ENGLISH

100. There main use of information and communication technology in English is in word processing. There is software available in school to support word and text level work throughout Key Stage 1 and dictionary and Micropaedia software is available to support non-fiction work. However, pupils were not observed making significant independent use of these resources.

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ENGLISH

101. The subject makes a good contribution to all aspects of pupils’ moral, social and cultural development. Pupils work well together in pairs and groups and this promotes social development well. They read traditional tales from different cultures and reflect on the significance of moral issues that arise from the stories they read.

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ENGLISH

102. The co-ordinator and teachers have worked very hard since the last inspection and have been successful in raising standards of pupils’ attainment and the quality of teaching. This represents a good level of improvement.

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MATHEMATICS

103. The attainment of pupils in lessons observed during the inspection is average and most pupils make good progress. This is due to good teaching and effective classroom support. National test results for the last five years show gradual improvement in the performance of both girls and boys. The standards in the national tests achieved by Year 2 pupils in 2002 were well below the national average but the same as those in similar schools. The improvements planned and developed in the last two years are now clearly in evidence and the standard of the current Year 2 work is higher than in 2002.

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MATHEMATICS

104. By the time they are in Year 2, most pupils have acquired a satisfactory knowledge and understanding of basic number work. They read, write and order numbers to 100 and beyond. Some pupils are working with much larger numbers. They can identify missing numbers along a number line by counting in multiples of fours, sixes and fives beyond 100. Pupils demonstrate a growing understanding of place value and some recognise that the position of a digit signifies its value. They make good progress in their calculations, using subtraction and addition processes accurately, Manorfield Nursery and Infant School - 38 - April 2003 for example, when calculating change from a given amount using coins. Pupils with lower attainment are given appropriate support through additional resources and effective intervention from the teaching assistants. Most Year 1 pupils are familiar with a hundred square and can count forward and backwards in tens, identifying

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MATHEMATICS

which numeral is ten more or ten fewer than another. Good use of the computer and other resources supports pupils in their learning and engages their attention. Most pupils can add up to 10 pence using coins and give correct change. Some pupils find it hard to choose whether to add or subtract when given a problem but manage well when further questioning, often in their heritage language, supports them.

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MATHEMATICS

105. Pupils make good progress in work related to shape, space and measures. Year 2 pupils are able to describe features of both two and three-dimensional shapes, using mathematical vocabulary such as “face” and “corner”. In length and capacity, all pupils make comparisons and some are using standard measures, for example, identifying objects that weigh either more or less than a kilogram. Year 1 pupils make pictures using two-dimensional shapes which they can identify, even when irregular. They construct models using three-dimensional shapes and reproduce their design on paper. Pupils in Year 1 compare objects of differing weight and length using non- standard measures. All pupils are at the early stages of handling data, for example, using tallying to make simple pictograms and comparing these with computer generated charts.

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MATHEMATICS

106. Overall the teaching is good and the pace of lessons and interesting activities encourages pupils to participate fully and learn well. Where the teaching is good or very good, lessons are well planned with detailed information on activities for all groups of pupils, including those with special educational needs. Learning objectives are shared with pupils and reviewed at the end of the lesson. The oral and mental work is lively and interactive and pupils are enthusiastic and eager in their response. In some lessons there is insufficient challenge in the group work although activities are varied to meet the differing needs of pupils. Good use of the plenary session enables assessments to be made on pupils’ understanding and progress. All the additional adults in the lessons work well with the teachers, taking an active role in pupils’ learning. They make a valuable contribution to pupils’ progress and support

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MATHEMATICS

those with special educational needs well. The classrooms are organised effectively and resources are clear and well-prepared. Clear explanations and questions during whole-class teaching sessions promote pupils’ learning and support lower-attaining pupils.

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MATHEMATICS

107. The quality of teaching has improved since the previous inspection. The introduction of a clear teaching framework through the National Numeracy Strategy ensures effective class teaching. Teachers have good subject knowledge. Many teachers use and reinforce mathematical learning in other subjects such as geography and design technology. The school now has two co-ordinators who have attended relevant training and used the expertise of the LEA 5 well. The school has begun tracking pupils’ progress and has introduced targets for pupils, which should help improve standards further. Assessment information is analysed and teaching and learning are monitored though neither sufficiently well to pinpoint areas for development precisely enough.

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MATHEMATICS

5 Local Education Authority Manorfield Nursery and Infant School - 39 - April 2003

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SCIENCE

108. The results of the 2002 teacher assessments for Year 2 pupils indicate that, overall, pupils achieved the national average for all aspects. However, few pupils achieved the higher level 3. Considering the below average level of attainment on entry to school, pupils make good progress.

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SCIENCE

109. By the time that the pupils reach the age of seven, they have an average knowledge of science. This is a similar judgement to that made at the last inspection. Pupils with special educational needs also make good progress and there is little difference in the attainment levels of boys and girls. Pupils who have English as an additional language make very good progress due to the whole- school approach to equality of access and the high quality support given by bi-lingual staff.

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SCIENCE

110. By the age of seven, pupils know the names of the major parts of their bodies and are able to suggest foods that contribute to a healthy diet. They know how forces can be a push, pull or twist and are able to identify which force is used in certain actions. Throughout the spring term, Year 2 pupils make a comprehensive study of materials and know that they can be classified according to various properties. Investigative science is a strength of this work and pupils understand the terms fair testing and prediction and are beginning to tabulate findings. When questioned about suitable fabrics for a waterproof coat, pupils tested a variety of materials for water absorption, and by the end of the investigation, knew which fabrics would keep them dry.

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SCIENCE

111. Use of subject specific vocabulary is encouraged and key words are displayed in classrooms with heritage language translations. Pupils take care when recording their science and are able to link history and mathematics with this subject. Information and communication technology is used to facilitate graphing and also for research but there is scope here for further development. Throughout the school, pupils enjoy science lessons. The practical, investigative nature of the subject, as well as effective use of support staff, ensures very good learning is taking place. Currently there are no pupil targets in science.

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SCIENCE

112. The quality of teaching is good, overall, with evidence of very good teaching in some lessons. Teachers plan work very thoroughly and there is clear detail of how different tasks cater for the needs of pupils with different abilities. The standards of investigative work have improved but there is further development still to be undertaken here to ensure all year classes follow a common approach. Teachers’ subject knowledge is quite secure and they have creative approaches to their lessons. When engaged well in their lessons and interested in the subject, the pupils learn well, for example in a Year 2 class, pupils discussed the most appropriate fabrics for certain articles of clothing such as socks, jumper and a hat. They used simple equipment such as hand lenses and scissors and recorded their work by attaching fabric samples. Higher attaining pupils are challenged appropriately. Pupils’ attitudes are excellent and they report that they enjoy the subject, especially the

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SCIENCE

practical work. They work equally well with a partner or in groups.

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SCIENCE

113. Behaviour is very good and generally pupils work very hard and concentrate on the tasks set.

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SCIENCE

114. The subject co-ordinator has a very clear understanding about the standards of science in school. National test results are closely analysed and inform future planning. The subject is well resourced and managed. Planning, taken from nationally recognised schemes, is scrutinised as are adaptations to these schemes of work. Manorfield Nursery and Infant School - 40 - April 2003 The subject co-ordinator provides good leadership. However, she does not have opportunity to monitor the quality of teaching and learning in science across the school. Her knowledge of the standards achieved and the quality of the curriculum is therefore restricted.

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ART AND DESIGN

115. By the end of Year 2, the standards achieved in art and design are similar to those expected nationally. From the few lessons observed, the teaching is satisfactory or better. Pupils make good progress and the programmes of work meet statutory requirements well, providing a good breadth of study. There is systematic teaching of skills throughout the school and a range of opportunities for pupils to develop their creativity. This leads pupils to make steady progress.

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ART AND DESIGN

116. A display of artwork on pattern from all year groups clearly illustrates the good progress pupils make. Pupils reproduce and create pattern from fabric, nature, animals and their cultural heritage using a wide range of media, tools and techniques. There are examples of observational drawings, collage work, paint, chalk, pastel and a range of printing methods. The school uses a local artist to support the curriculum, particularly with three-dimensional work and sculpture.

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ART AND DESIGN

117. In addition, pupils in Year 2 produce careful observational drawings of features within a local mosque and the building outside. They use both pencil and pen, paying close attention to the use of line, shape and pattern. In their drawings from a visit to Oakwell Hall and in self-portraits, pupils show a proficient use of pastels to define their work. Pupils in Year 1 develop wax resist techniques effectively to produce landscape paintings. There are examples of three-dimensional work in clay, where pupils design patterns using imprints and then paint. Pupils also make three- dimensional collages using a wide variety of materials. When reproducing a painting of a plant, pupils use paint with confidence, mixing paint powder with water to produce secondary colours of varying tone and thickness. They also make their pictures of a plant using the ‘Dazzle’ program on the computer.

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ART AND DESIGN

118. Pupils in Reception examine the paintings of Van Gogh, and reproduce their own images of irises and sunflowers using a range of media, including paint and collage. Pupils’ collage work is good, showing a good awareness of how different materials can be used and how they work together. In making puppets, pupils use a range of materials such as fabric, beads and thread to design their own puppet. A range of stimuli is provided for them, including models, photographs and pictures, to inspire their design. In their abstract designs, pupils use a range of materials, including beadwork.

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ART AND DESIGN

119. Since the previous inspection, both the teaching and the progress of pupils have improved. The school now has a scheme of work and a revised policy. The subject is managed well and the co-ordinator keeps a portfolio of pupils’ work which enables some monitoring of standards. As yet, the co-ordinator has not observed teaching and learning in Years 1 and 2 in order to monitor pupil progress and teachers’ knowledge in this area. Opportunities for this kind of monitoring are too limited and restrict the co-ordinator’s effectiveness.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

Manorfield Nursery and Infant School - 41 - April 2003 120. Due to timetable arrangements during the period of inspection, no design and technology lessons were observed. However, scrutiny of work, photographic evidence and displays, as well as discussions with pupils, teachers and the enthusiastic co- ordinator ensure secure judgements.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

121. By the end of Year 2 standards are above national expectations and pupils’ achievements across the school are very good. These judgements are higher than those made at the last inspection and show that pupils’ attainment and the status of the subject within the curriculum have been improved.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

122. By the age of seven, pupils can evaluate puppets they have seen and can design and make their own puppets. They evaluate different types of puppets such as finger, glove, sock, shadow and string. They identify various types of fabrics used and discuss the qualities of each, such as hessian, felt and wool. They consider additions such as eyes made from buttons and beads. Pupils evaluate their finished product and suggest future modifications. Puppets are used for speaking and listening activities with other pupils.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

123. Year 1 pupils have made sandwiches. They design sandwiches, identifying favourite fillings; these are made and duly consumed. The class teacher made good use of watching a multi-media presentation, to allow them to consider how they felt after the activity. One boy said his sandwich was ‘delicious!’. The pupils’ response is very good. The practical way in which the subject is taught allows all pupils to make very good progress. Bi-lingual support staff allow all pupils to access the subject; key vocabulary is developed, and there is no obvious gender difference in achievement.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

124. Teaching is good. Attractive displays around school show the wide range of materials that pupils use, the design and make process that pupils are learning, and the skills that pupils are beginning to acquire. Pupils are enthusiastic about their work and enjoy the learning that takes place. They appreciate the importance of designing and know that this guides the making stage. Basic skills are taught well and pupils learn to access necessary resources independently.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

125. Teachers make good use of the opportunities that the subject provides for development across other areas of the curriculum. Year 2 puppets are linked to speaking and listening activities as well as creating stories, and work on moving toys is linked to science, using levers and other simple mechanisms. The ‘winding-up’ topic needs further development.

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

126. Staff follow national guidance to teach the subject and the knowledgeable and enthusiastic co-ordinator is aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the subject. Resource provision is good and she feels that there is clear progression in skills and subject knowledge across the school. Her co-ordinator file is exemplary and gives excellent guidance of progression across all aspects of the subject such as construction kits, cooking activities and the use of reclaimed materials. Health and Safety procedures are clearly identified. Sketch books are used well from the Reception class onwards and all staff are willing to have a go at planning, making and reviewing activities.

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GEOGRAPHY

Manorfield Nursery and Infant School - 42 - April 2003 127. Pupils achieve well and are on course to attain above average standards by the end of Year 2 which is better than at the time of the last inspection when mostly pupils reached nationally expected levels. The school has adapted a nationally recommended framework for geography and the co-ordinator ensures continuity and progression in the planning and teaching of the subject, especially in the development of pupils’ knowledge, skills and understanding. There are very good links with history and a focus for both subjects is Oakwell Hall. The curriculum is fashioned to make this a key feature in Years 1 and 2.

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GEOGRAPHY

128. Pupils are encouraged to ask questions about the world around them as they develop their knowledge and understanding about the local area, other regions within the United Kingdom and the World, especially India and Pakistan. Fieldwork makes an important contribution to the development of pupils’ skills. Pupils are taken to Hopton Woods and Cannon Hall Farm in Reception, Cliffe House and the local area in Year 1 and Oakwell Country Park and a local Post Office in Year 2. When pupils return to school after extended family visits to India and Pakistan, they are encouraged to share the experience with the rest of the class by bringing photographs and souvenirs into school. In this way the wider world is made more relevant for all pupils.

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GEOGRAPHY

129. In Year 1, pupils identify the routes they take to get to school and look at different types of houses and the materials from which they are built. In Year 2 pupils have researched the differences between Batley, Pakistan and the remote fictional Isle of Struay as featured in the Katie Morag stories. Planning for the rest of the school year shows full coverage of National Curriculum requirements.

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GEOGRAPHY

130. The teaching in the lessons seen was good. In both lessons, pupils were comparing Batley with Pakistan and in both, good use was made of personal memories and photographs. The class teachers used the photographs well, to draw comparisons between the two environments and to enhance pupils’ vocabulary. The activities that followed these discussions had been planned well to challenge all pupils appropriately. The task was to write an article about a school in Pakistan for the Batley News. The size of the paper handed to pupils decreased according their ability and less able pupils were given a digital photograph to illustrate their work whilst those of higher ability had to draw their own picture. Information and communication technology is beginning to be used to support teaching in the subject. Pupils in Year 2 were, for example, using a CD-ROM Micropaedia to find information about Pakistan.

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GEOGRAPHY

131. Pupils enjoy geography. Year 2 pupils could relate the distance of places from Batley to the types of transport used to reach them, so India and Pakistan were a long way away because travel was by plane and crossed seas and oceans. They knew that the nearest town was Dewsbury and that the nearest countries were Scotland and Wales. The presentation of most pupils’ work is at least satisfactory and it is clear that most take a pride in what they do.

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GEOGRAPHY

132. The co-ordinator looks at pupils’ work but does not monitor lessons. This is planned for the future but no start date has been given. She has collected a portfolio of pupils’ work that she has yet to assess, but which should become a useful tool for all staff to help them to judge the progress of their pupils. Currently, teachers make informal judgements of pupils’ attainment and progress during lessons by questioning and observation and by marking written work. Formal assessments are made at the end of each unit of study and are passed to the next class teacher at the end of each year. This helps teachers to plan but does not really help the co-ordinator to make effective changes to the subject overall. Resources have been improved since the last Manorfield Nursery and Infant School - 43 - April 2003 inspection. Atlases and globes have been purchased along with some computer software. The stock of books and maps still needs to be updated, however, and the

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GEOGRAPHY

number of artefacts from India and Pakistan increased. Leadership of the subject is good but the co-ordinator could develop it further if she were not restricted by a lack of opportunities to gain the overview she needs.

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GEOGRAPHY

133. Good progress has been made in geography since the time of the last inspection as a result of a carefully constructed curriculum that is relevant to pupils and incorporates all the subject requirements of the National Curriculum. Consequently, standards have improved.

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HISTORY

134. Since the time of the last inspection, standards in history have risen and are now good. Pupils, including those with special educational needs or for whom English is an additional language, make good progress in their acquisition of knowledge and understanding of the passage of time.

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HISTORY

135. An examination of pupils' books shows a smaller volume of written work than that found in most schools. Much work is done in Year 1 through discussion and careful sketches to offset the pupils’ limited writing skills. This assists pupils in recording their ideas and knowledge. The greater volume of written work in Year 2 shows careful and thoughtful responses to opportunities for historical enquiry and deduction. Pupils could, for example, empathise with people living in Oakwell Hall in Tudor times and could give valid reasons for knowing that they would not have enjoyed it. Support is given to help those with special educational needs as they complete the same tasks as the rest of the class. Pupils generally present their work well and take pride in what they do. Marking is also generally good and class teachers’ comments are usually affirming, helpful and encouraging.

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HISTORY

136. In a discussion with pupils in Year 2 it was evident that pupils had enjoyed a variety of historical activities. They talked of historical characters such as Florence Nightingale, who they recalled had done much for early nursing, and of Guy Fawkes’ attempt to blow up parliament, referring to “troubles with Catholics”. Pupils in Year 1 had visited Oakwell Hall, to look at the building. This work was well linked to their geography topic on houses but included looking at “old things” inside. There was evidence of this in work such as sequencing a series of sources of artificial light and a comparison of old and new cutlery. Although no teaching was seen in Year 1, three very good lessons were seen in Year 2. Pupils in these classes particularly enjoyed their visit to Oakwell Hall which is the stimulus for much of their work during the year. From this, they are able to make good observational drawings when comparing Tudor dress with clothes

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HISTORY

of today and to produce a pamphlet about travel, cooking and sleeping in Tudor times. Class teachers demonstrate very good subject knowledge and, through good questioning, develop pupils’ historical skills and vocabulary effectively. Pupils understand such terms as ‘artefacts’, ‘spit’ and ‘servant’. Unfortunately, teachers do not put this visit into a wider historical context so pupils did not demonstrate a clear understanding of the word ‘history’ but spoke with enthusiasm, knowledge and understanding about Oakwell Hall. The way in which teachers and support staff work together is a strength and ensures that lower attaining pupils and those for whom English is an additional language gain full access to the content of the lesson. 137. Curriculum planning is good. Thought has been given to making history relevant to pupils by using a local historical building as the stimulus for their work and linking it

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HISTORY

with work in geography. The school’s policy document was recently reviewed to ensure that it covers the latest national guidelines and the requirements of the Manorfield Nursery and Infant School - 44 - April 2003 National Curriculum. The management of the subject is good but the co-ordinator is restricted by lack of opportunities to gain the overview that would allow her to develop it further. She monitors teachers’ planning and scrutinises pupils’ books and classroom displays. She does not monitor the quality of learning in lessons. This has been planned for the future but no start date has been given. She has collected a portfolio of pupils’ work but has not yet graded the pieces to turn it into a useful resource for all staff to use when judging the quality of pupils’ work. Resources have been improved since the last inspection and the school now has more software and videos than before. The school has a basic supply of artefacts to support teaching

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HISTORY

and supplements these by borrowing from the Museum Service. The stock of books is in need of improvement to include more recent publications.

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HISTORY

138. Pupils’ attainment since the last inspection has improved as a result of a very good focus on first hand experiences supported by good teaching. The subject makes a significant contribution to pupils’ cultural development.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

139. At the time of the last inspection the provision was poor. The school lacked a scheme of work; resources were not well organised, and the standard of pupils’ work was below average. Since then there has been very good improvement and, particularly in the last year, ICT has become a part of many lessons and the quality of teaching has improved significantly. There is now a scheme of work and the teachers have a better level of personal skills and knowledge from which to teach. The quality of hardware has been improved. Standards are now judged to be as expected nationally throughout the school.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

140. The older pupils are now learning to use the Internet, for example to support their work in history. There are some good examples of word processed work throughout the school and it is clear that all of the pupils, irrespective of their level of ability with English, are encouraged to produce work using ICT. There are many examples of careful drawing using paint programs and pupils regularly use digital images from the school’s camera to illustrate and support their work. There is a small amount of evidence of control technology; some of the classes have used programmable toys but this is an area for further exploration and development.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

141. The subject co-ordinator has led developments very well in the short time since her appointment. Her down-to-earth approach to the subject encourages the other staff and supports them in their efforts to incorporate more and more ICT into their lessons. She has helped them to see how helpful ICT can be in a range of other subjects and some examples of computer generated work were seen in mathematics, geography, history, art, English, science and design technology. The most recent innovation, which is organising the computers to ensure that there is a ‘teaching machine’ in each classroom, has been successful in getting the teachers to use the computer more regularly as a part of their input to lessons. There is a need now to develop ways of assessing pupils’ competence with ICT so that the curriculum can be modified to best meet their needs. Teachers are now making better use of ICT to support their lessons, for example using a power-point presentation to remind

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

pupils of their work on sandwich-making in design technology. 142. Two lessons were seen where teachers were teaching new research skills to the pupils. These lessons were very well organised and structured and involved a reasonable number of pupils as fully as possible. The teachers made good use of their ‘teaching computer’ so that pupils were able to see clearly what the teacher was Manorfield Nursery and Infant School - 45 - April 2003 doing. In one case, a relatively large group of pupils was motivated by the teacher by taking turns to carry out the next steps in researching a data base.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

143. Teaching is good overall and pupils are making progress. However, their progress is restricted by lack of access to computers on an individual basis. Few of the pupils have personal computers (PCs) at home on which to develop their skills and as there are at best three PCs in each classroom, they have limited time to develop their individual skills. The school had planned to develop a suite of computers but at the present time the finance is not available to carry this out.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

144. The pupils have very positive attitudes to using the computers and work well when given the opportunity. Mostly though they have to share use of the PC and, even with very close supervision, some pupils with more advanced skills tend to dominate the work.

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MUSIC

145. Standards in music are generally as expected nationally, with some pupils attaining standards higher than those expected for their year group. Pupils make good progress through a systematic programme of teaching which addresses the breadth of the curriculum.

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MUSIC

146. Pupils sing with enthusiasm and good expression during assemblies. They participate in class and school musical productions, such as “Mr Skellybones” and “The Little Star”, which involves voice, instruments and expressive dance in response to music. Pupils in Year 1 explore how instruments can be played, then use them to accompany singing. For example, pupils listened to Chinese music during Chinese New Year, composed their own dragon music, notated it in picture form and performed it to their peers. In Year 2, pupils make their own instruments as part of a topic on sound. Pupils are familiar with the names of musical instruments and how to play them. They play confidently and with an awareness of dynamics. Pupils play their instruments well, reading symbolic notation which they have composed around a weather theme. In one excellent lesson, the pupils worked in groups, matched instrumental sounds to aspects of weather, notated their compositions using weather

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MUSIC

symbols, and then practised their shared compositions.

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MUSIC

147. Overall, teaching is good or very good. Where teaching is good or better, lessons are well structured with a brisk pace, ensuring that all pupils are involved from the outset. The learning objectives for the lesson are shared with pupils and they are reminded of previous learning. Pupils write their own composition using the shared notation with confidence and concentration. Resources are well prepared, ensuring that both pace and pupils’ concentration are maintained.

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MUSIC

148. The subject co-ordinator has only recently taken up the post but has approached the responsibility with enthusiasm and commitment. The revised policy and schemes of work are now in place, and planning and assessment are monitored by the co- ordinator. The co-ordinator now needs opportunity to build up her subject knowledge and to observe the teaching of music in the rest of the school in order to isolate aspects for improvement.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

149. There has been some improvement since the last inspection, when standards were as expected nationally. In gymnastics in particular, standard are now better than seen Manorfield Nursery and Infant School - 46 - April 2003 in most Year 2 classes. A very good and consistent programme of work helps the pupils to develop good skill levels by the time they reach the end of Year 2. In particular, they have very good physical control in developing and repeating sequences of movements.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

150. The physical development programme in this school is imaginative. One interesting development is the Yoga class, which is a real treat and of great benefit to the pupils in Year 2. The lessons not only supports pupils in developing strong physical control but also helps the pupils with their concentration on body movements, focuses their control and makes a major contribution to the development of their listening skills. The pupils’ concentration in these sessions is quite remarkable. Even those pupils who still need considerable support with English focus very well, watching the demonstrations carefully and copying movement.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

151. In another interesting development in the Foundation Stage, as a part of their developing language programme, the children most in need of support are given additional physical education time though this is time in which they reinforce language skills through physical activity. In the lesson seen, the children were working on mathematical vocabulary and were demonstrating and talking about, squares, circles and triangles whilst moving in those shapes or moving to mats on which those shapes were represented. The children concentrated for long periods because they were involved in physical activity whilst learning language.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

152. In the lessons seen the quality of teaching ranged from satisfactory to very good. In the very good lesson, the teacher had timed the elements of the lesson well and had the confidence to adapt the lesson plan to fit the time available. Lessons are 30 minutes long and in all six lessons seen, the teachers had planned for too much and had to cut or hurry elements. All lessons had clear warm up and cool down periods which were used well. Pupils clearly understand the importance of these elements. Mostly the teachers have good awareness of health and safety issues and pupils are taught for example, to get out and replace apparatus safely.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

153. In the best lessons, teachers make good and effective use of demonstration to improve the skills of others. In the lessons which are satisfactory, teachers over-use this and lessons become fragmented when the majority spend too long watching the few. In an excellent demonstration in a Year 2 lesson, three pairs of pupils showed excellent control as they started, moved, held a position, moved and repeated this sequence, one mirroring the movements of the other. Throughout this lesson the teacher had stressed that she was looking for control and not speed of movement, and the sequences were of high quality. In this lesson, as with all lessons in school, bilingual support from adults facilitated maximum involvement of all of the pupils.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

154. Games lessons were also seen and pupils are developing sending and receiving skills that are appropriate for their age. All pupils appear to enjoy their lessons.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

155. Religious education is taught to all pupils, many of whom come from active faith backgrounds. The subject fully covers the requirements of the National Curriculum and the Locally Agreed Syllabus. Throughout the school, pupils work above the level expected for their ages and, by the age of seven, their attainment is above national expectations. By the end of Year 2 both boys and girls have acquired a good knowledge of Islam and Christianity. This shows improvement since the last inspection when attainment was found to be similar to national expectations. Manorfield Nursery and Infant School - 47 - April 2003 156. When compared with their prior attainment, all pupils, including those with special educational needs or for whom English is an additional language, make very good progress. This also is an improvement since the last inspection when progress was said to be satisfactory. Pupils recall what they have learned quickly and accurately,

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

and are able to compare and contrast the customs and artefacts of the two faiths studied. In a Year 1 lesson that followed a visit to a local church, pupils were able to recognise the symbol of the Cross and compare it with the Crescent on the dome of the mosque. In another, they were able to list differences in appearance of Muslim and Christian brides.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

157. Teaching seen was at least good and more often very good. This is a good improvement since the last inspection when the quality of teaching was described as mainly satisfactory. Very good use is made of pictures and artefacts to compensate for pupils’ lack of understanding of the English language. In a lesson about ceremonies that welcome babies into both religions, the teacher used a very good illustration of an Imam with a baby. From this, pupils were able to draw such information as the shaving of the baby’s head, the rationale for which the teacher then explained. Lessons are carefully planned using the guidance of the locally agreed syllabus. Teachers are knowledgeable and impart information well. They sometimes involve classroom assistants who are members of local mosques in their teaching, as their knowledge of ritual and Arabic names for details of ceremonies is better than their own. Teachers question pupils skilfully, checking their understanding. They know

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

their pupils well and enjoy good relationships with them so they are successful in enabling pupils to express their feelings openly and confidently. In all lessons, pupils with special educational needs and English as an additional language are supported well to enable them to be fully included in the discussion and activities. Simultaneous translation into Punjabi is used whenever staff think pupils may not fully understand what is being taught.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

158. As at the time of the last inspection, pupils’ response to religious education is good. They are attentive and enthusiastic in lessons and eager to contribute to class discussions. Much of the work is done orally, which promotes the development of pupils’ speaking and listening skills as well as the acquisition of knowledge. In Year 1, when pupils make a written record of their work, it is often by using careful, uncoloured drawings. This is a good means of overcoming their limited language skills. Pupils also use computers to word process some of their written work. In Year 2, work is generally neatly presented showing the pride pupils take in it. Tasks are appropriate for their age and ability and work builds systematically upon previous learning.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

159. Resources are good and improving. In a Year 2 lesson following a recent visit to a mosque, the pupils had access to a very good collection of Islamic artefacts that helped them to remember all they had seen. The stock of library books, however, is dated and does not reflect the religious make-up of the school. New books are being acquired slowly. The co-ordinator is aware that little of the current stock is written in heritage languages and would like to increase this number in the future. The school has developed computer-based presentations to support visits and they have a digital camera to record the work done away from school. There is though, no software so that pupils can develop their research skills in this medium. 160. The co-ordinator, who has a sound understanding of the subject, has recently updated the school’s policy document to ensure it reflects the new guidelines. It has

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

yet to be formally adopted but will be in place for September 2003. As a language support teacher, she works alongside staff in Year 1 whom she observes teaching. Manorfield Nursery and Infant School - 48 - April 2003 She is also informally involved in their lesson planning, which is carried out across the year group. She has written long and medium term plans and is involved in short term planning. She has, however, limited involvement in Year 2 and so lacks the overview that would help her to develop the subject effectively throughout the school. She is collecting samples of pupils’ work but as yet has not turned these into a reference portfolio for staff that could be used as a yardstick for assessing all pupils’ work. There are no formal assessment procedures for the subject although, for the first time last year, a transitional record of pupils’ achievements was passed to the junior school.

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

161. Very good progress has been made since the last inspection. The school is aware that further development is now needed to assess and record pupils’ attainment and progress.

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