Bursledon Church of England Infant School

SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 20 th – 22 nd October 2003

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SCHOOL

Inspection carried out under section 10 of the School Inspections Act 1996 Bursledon Church of England Infant School - 2 This report may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that all extracts quoted are reproduced verbatim without adaptation and on condition that the source and date thereof are stated.

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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. Bursledon Church of England Infant School - 3

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Type of school: Infant School category: Voluntary Controlled Age range of pupils: 5 – 7 Gender of pupils: Mixed Number on roll: 230

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Long Lane Bursledon Southampton Hampshire Postcode: SO31 8BZ

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Telephone number: 023 8040 2869 Fax number: 023 8040 4628

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: Governing Body Name of chair of governors: Mrs Hilary Bax

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: 14 th September 1998

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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SCHOOL

The school is located in a semi-rural area on the edge of the city of Southampton. The school is average in size. The catchment area of the school is very mixed, ranging from some large, private housing to a large estate of housing association accommodation, of varying size and type. An increasing majority of the pupils in the school live in this estate. This area is now recognised as one with considerable social deprivation. The percentage of pupils entitled to free school meals is, however, average. The percentage of pupils with special educational needs is well above the national average and has increased since the school was last inspected. Most of these have mild difficulties with learning but some have more significant difficulties. No pupils have a statement of special educational needs or are in public care. Very few pupils have English as an additional language or are from minority ethnic backgrounds. The percentage of pupils leaving or joining the

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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SCHOOL

school other than at the normal time is above average. Children’s attainment on entry to the school is below average, particularly in communication, language and literacy skills. The school was awarded the Basic Skills Agency’s Primary Quality Mark in 2000 and 2003. Bursledon Church of England Infant School - 4

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Members of the inspection team Subject responsibilities

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

4357 Ian Wilson Lead inspector Mathematics, science 19567 Mary Malin Lay inspector 21095 Lynn Adair Team inspector Foundation Stage, Information and communication technology, design and technology, music and physical education 22778 Anne Shannon Team inspector English, art, history, geography and religious education

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Penta International Upperton House Eastbourne BN21 3YB

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Any concerns or complaints about the inspection or the report should be made initially to the inspection contractor. The procedures are set out in the leaflet ‘Complaining about Ofsted Inspections’ , which is available from Ofsted Publications Centre (telephone 07002 637833) or Ofsted’s website (www.ofsted. gov.uk). Bursledon Church of England Infant School - 5

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED BY PUPILS 8

Standards achieved in areas of learning, subjects and courses

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED BY PUPILS 8

Pupils’ attitudes, values and other personal qualities

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL 10

Teaching and learning The curriculum Care, guidance and support Partnership with parents, other schools and the community

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS 29

Bursledon Church of England Infant School - 6

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OVERALL EVALUATION

This is a good school. The leadership of the headteacher has contributed significantly to the good improvements in the school since the last inspection. The governing body is effective. The school is a happy one in which relationships are very good and a high standard of care is provided for pupils. These factors combined with good teaching enable pupils to achieve well and be well prepared for the next stage of their education. The school provides good value for money.

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The school’s main strengths and weaknesses are:

• Pupils of all ages achieve well • Standards attained at the end of Year 2 in National Curriculum assessments in reading, mathematics and science are consistently average or above; in writing the standards attained are usually average but were below average in 2003. • The head teacher provides strong, purposeful and forward looking leadership. • The development of pupils personally, socially, morally and culturally is very good. • The school provides a very high standard of care for pupils. • Relationships in the school are very good. • There are very good links with parents and the community • Strategic planning and operational planning including the role of leadership and subject teams is underdeveloped. • There is a need for more detailed curriculum planning in some areas for example ICT and lesson times in some subjects in years 1 and 2 are too short.

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The school’s main strengths and weaknesses are:

The school has made good overall progress since the last inspection in 1998. The ethos of the school has improved considerably and there is a strong focus on meeting the needs of individual pupils. There is effective monitoring of teaching and of pupils’ attainment and progress in English, mathematics and science. Weaknesses in teaching present at the time of the previous inspection have been fully addressed, and the overall quality of teaching has improved. Governance has improved. Planning documentation for subjects has been completely rewritten and is much improved but could still be developed further. There are shortcomings in the planning of ICT and standards in the subject are not as good as at the time of the last inspection. Effective action has been taken to improve the rate of pupils’ attendance.

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED

all schools similar schools Results in National Curriculum tests at the end of Year 2, compared with: 2001 2002 2003 2003 reading B C C C writing C C D D mathematics A C B B Key: A - well above average; B – above average; C – average; D – below average; E – well below average Similar schools are those with similar percentages of pupils eligible for free school meals

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED

Overall achievement of pupils in the school is good. Children’s attainment when they start the reception year is generally below average. During the year children make very good progress in their personal and social development and good progress in all other areas of learning. They are well on course to achieve standards expected at the end of the reception year in all areas except communication, language and literacy and this is because of their lower starting point in this area. Pupils continue to achieve well in Years 1 and 2 and reach standards in reading, mathematics and science that match and sometimes exceed national averages and the results of similar schools. This pattern of attainment has been maintained by the school despite changes in the cohort of Bursledon Church of England Infant School - 7 pupils; in particular, the proportion of pupils with special educational needs in the school has

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED

increased from a quarter at the time of the last inspection to one third currently. Standards in writing have been more variable, matching national averages and the results of similar schools in some years and being below in others. National Curriculum assessment results in 2003 were significantly higher than those in 2002 in reading, mathematics and science but were lower in writing.

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The development of pupils’ personal qualities, including their social, moral, and cultural

development is very good. Their spiritual development is good .

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The development of pupils’ personal qualities, including their social, moral, and cultural

Standards in art are above national expectations and standards match national expectations in ICT, music and physical education. It was not possible to make judgements about standards in RE, history, geography and design technology during the course of the inspection.

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The school provides a good education. The quality of teaching ranges from satisfactory to

very good and is good overall. Pupils learn effectively and make good progress because they are given a good start in the reception classes, are taught well in Years 1 and 2, and are helped to develop very good personal and social skills so that they work well together and behave well in school. The very high level of care and very good links with parents further contribute well to helping pupils succeed at school. The curriculum in the school is planned to meet individual need and work in lessons is generally well matched to pupils’ capabilities. Pupils are given good support in lessons by teachers and support staff. The overall allocation of time to different subjects is appropriate but time allocations during the week for some lessons are too short, limiting pupils’ learning. The use of ICT in different subjects is underdeveloped.

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LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

The leadership and management of the school are good overall. The headteacher’s drive and clear sense of purpose has brought about significant improvement in the school since the last inspection. Effective governance and good team work also contribute well to the school’s effectiveness. A good ‘vision’ statement sets out the future direction of the school clearly but the strategic and operational plans arising from this need further development. The plan identifies the need to develop further the role of key staff in leading, monitoring and evaluating different subjects but the means for doing this are not explicit.

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PARENTS’ AND PUPILS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

There is a very high degree of satisfaction amongst parents about the school. Parents were very positive about how the school has improved since the time of the last inspection and very pleased with the quality of education provided. Pupils like school and they think that their teachers are helpful. All pupils like ‘Golden Time’ in which they can choose different activities as a reward for keeping the ‘Golden Rules’.

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IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED

The most important things the school should do to improve are to: • improve the pupils’ attainment and progress in writing; • develop the strategic plan so that it indicates a timescale for priorities and develop operational plans arising from the strategic plan; • revise the allocation of time to different areas of the curriculum during the week and develop subject planning further, particularly in relation to the use of ICT; • develop the role of the curriculum teams 1 .

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IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED

1 The school has already identified this in its strategic plan Bursledon Church of England Infant School - 8

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Standards achieved in areas of learning, subjects and courses

Achievement of pupils is good overall. Standards in reading, mathematics and science are consistently average or above average. The trend in the school’s results in national tests and assessments at the end of Year 2 is broadly similar to that found nationally.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• The achievement of children is good throughout the school. • Standards at the end of Year 2 in reading, mathematics and science and art are good. • Standards at the end of Year 2 in writing are average in some years and below average in others. • Standards in ICT are satisfactory but not as good as those found at the previous inspection.

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Commentary

1. The results in National Curriculum assessments for 2002 and 2003 are shown in the table below. Standards in 2003 were above average in mathematics and reading and below average in writing.

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Commentary

Standards in national tests at the end of Year 2 – average point scores in 2003

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Commentary

Standards in: School results National results reading 16.1 (15.7) 15.7 (15.8)

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Commentary

There were [81] pupils in the year group. Figures in brackets are for the previous year

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Commentary

2. Childrens’ attainment on entry to the school is below average particularly in the area of communication, language and literacy. During the reception year children achieve very well in their personal, social and emotional development and well in communication, language, literacy, mathematical and physical development. They make satisfactory gains in knowledge and understanding. Most of the children reach expected standards by the end of the year in all areas of learning except in communication, language, literacy and this is because of the their low initial attainment in this area.

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Commentary

3. Pupils achieve well in reading and mathematics and attain standards at the end of Year 2 that consistently match or exceed both national averages and the results of in similar schools. This consistency has been maintained by the school despite an increase in the percentage of pupils with special educational needs. Standards in writing have been more variable being average in some years and below average in others and generally lower than the averages for similar schools. Pupils’ achievement in writing is however generally good because they start from a significantly lower level of attainment in this area.

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Commentary

4. Standards in science seen during the course of the inspection showed that pupils are attaining in line with national expectations and are on course to exceed national averages by the end of Year 2. These levels of attainment in science have been maintained consistently since the last inspection.

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Commentary

5. Pupils’ achievement and standards are average in ICT. This is not as good as in the previous inspection when standards and achievement were judged to be above average. The Bursledon Church of England Infant School - 9 difference is primarily because the current quality and location of some computers creates some barriers to ensuring all pupils have sufficient opportunities to learn and practise new skills and also because teachers’ planning has very little reference to the use of ICT to support teaching and learning.

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Commentary

6. Standards in art are above average and they are average in music and physical education. It was not possible to make overall judgements about standards or pupils’ achievement in design and technology, history, geography and religious education during the period of the inspection.

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Commentary

7. Pupils achieve well in the school because of a combination of factors: • Children are given a good start in the reception classes. • Overall, there is good teaching in Years 1 and 2. • A good emphasis is placed on developing basic skills of reading, writing and numeracy. • Provision for pupils’ personal and social development is very good and this helps pupils develop positive attitudes to learning, behave well and work very well with each other. • Teachers know their pupils very well, match work well to pupils’ capabilities and capture pupils’ interest. • Teachers and support assistants provide good support to individuals and groups of pupils. • Pupils who have special educational needs receive good support and are given appropriate challenge. This is well matched to the clear targets in their individual education plans. They make good progress as a result and many meet their targets and are taken off the register.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and other personal qualities

8. Pupils’ attitudes values and other personal qualities are good because of the very good personal, moral, social and cultural development. Attendance and punctuality are good and pupils clearly enjoy coming to school. Their spiritual development is good.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• The Foundation stage helps pupils settle into school well and improves their confidence and independence. • Pupils’ personal, moral, social and cultural development is very good. • The school has high expectations for pupils’ conduct and behaviour. • Pupils have good attitudes to learning • There are very positive relationships throughout the school. • Pupils willingly accept responsibility when it is given. • The school has not finished the development of its policy on race relations.

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Commentary

9. As a result of the attention paid by the school to pupils’ personal, social, moral, cultural and spiritual development, the school is very successful in encouraging all pupils to have positive attitudes to learning, to value and respect each other very well and to behave well. Staff work very hard at building relationships with pupils and these are very good. They work well together helping one another and sharing resources. Pupils’ behaviour has improved since the last inspection and is now good both in lessons and around the school because of the clear procedures and consistent approaches used by staff. Pupils are very aware of the ‘Golden Rules’, which are displayed around the building. The concerns in the previous report about the management of pupils’ behaviour and provision for personal, social and health education have been thoroughly addressed.

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Commentary

10. Pupils are given a good start in the reception year. This helps them settle well into school and make particularly good progress in the development of their personal and social skills. A ‘nurture’ group successfully provides for pupils needing extra support in their personal and social development. Bursledon Church of England Infant School - 10 11. Time set aside for discussion is used well to develop pupils’ sensitivity to the feelings of others and to explore the importance of true friendship and how to help others. This contributes well to both their personal and spiritual development. Pupils learn about the value of true friendship and the school carefully approaches education about the use and misuse of drugs with the help of the community police officer and the school nurse. There is no formal sex education but questions are answered sensitively and openly and aspects are covered during work in science about living and

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Commentary

12. Links with the local community contribute well to pupils’ personal, social and moral development. For example, pupils raise money for charities both locally and different countries abroad and learn about life and schools in Uganda from a Diocesan linked school there.

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Commentary

13. There is a wide range of planned activities to support pupils’ cultural development. For example pupils learn about the achievements of the Victorian age in school and dress up in costume, handle artefacts and and visit the Victorian parlour and kitchen at the Search Museum at Gosport; they visit a Hindu Temple and Hindu Dancers come into school. Other visitors to school include local police, musicians from the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and circus performers.

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Commentary

14. Pupils have good opportunities to take responsibility, for example there are weekly elections of ‘golden children’ in every class and the pupils in Year 2 make their own class rules and help to supervise younger pupils on occasions such as sports day.

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Commentary

15. No incidents of bullying were seen during the course of the inspection and pupils said that on the few occasions they did occur they were dealt with promptly. There have been no racial incidents and no exclusions of pupils. A race relations policy and associated action plan have been produced. Arrangements to monitor the plan need to be developed. 16. The school has taken substantial action to improve attendance and the level of unauthorised absence has declined since the previous inspection. Current figures are shown in the table below.

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Commentary

Attendance in the latest complete reporting year (%)

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Commentary

Authorised absence Unauthorised absence School data: 5.8 School data : 0.6 National data: 5.4 National data: 0.4 The table gives the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year.

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL

17. The quality of education provided by the school is good. Teaching is good, overall, and the curriculum provides a good range of learning opportunities for pupils. The school provides a very high level of care and there are very good links with parents; these factors contribute substantially to helping pupils succeed at school. There are shortcomings are in the allocation and use of time and in aspects of lesson and curriculum planning.

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Teaching and learning

18. The quality of teaching ranges from satisfactory to very good. Overall, it is good. The quality of pupils’ learning is also good. The assessment of pupils is good overall.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Expectations that pupils will learn and work hard are consistent throughout the school. Bursledon Church of England Infant School - 11 • The management of pupils’ by teachers is good. • Teachers use a good range of strategies to engage pupils and develop their interest. • The use of assessment to match work to the needs of pupils is good. • Teaching assistants are used well. • The use of time in some lessons and shortness of some lessons limits pupils’ learning. • There is little planning for the use of ICT in lessons.

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Commentary

19. The quality of teaching has improved since the last inspection when 20 percent of the teaching was judged unsatisfactory. There is now no unsatisfactory teaching and weaknesses that were apparent at the time of the last inspection, for example low expectations of pupils and the weak assessment practice, have been addressed well.

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Commentary

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 43 lessons

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Commentary

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Poor Very Poor

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Commentary

( 0%) 3 (7%) 20 (48%) 19 (45 %) ( 0%) ( 0%) ( 0%)

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Commentary

The table gives the number of lessons observed in each of the seven categories used to make judgements about lessons; figures in brackets show percentages where 30 or more lessons are seen.

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Commentary

20. Most lessons start with a discussion or clear explanation. Teachers ensure that these beginnings of lessons are quiet and peaceful and they use effective strategies to engage pupils and develop their interest from the start. This helps pupils settle down quickly and pay attention. Teachers manage pupils effectively and relationships are very good.

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Commentary

21. Teachers make lessons interesting for pupils and motivate them. For example some very imaginative work was seen in which pupils had been learning and writing about traditional tales; in the story about the poor shoemaker pupils had had their imagination really captured by being able to see and try on a set of clothes for an elf. In history, pupils placed photographs in chronological order; the inclusion of photographs of teachers on their wedding days contributed to engaging pupils’ interest well.

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Commentary

22. Day-to-day assessment of pupils’ knowledge and understanding is usually good. Strategies include good questioning in many lessons, observation of pupils and discussion with them and checking written work. Targets are set in English. Pupils know their targets, work towards achieving them and discuss their progress with their teachers. As a result of these strategies teachers have a good knowledge of what pupils can do and use this information to plan lessons. Good records of pupils’ progress are kept but the approach is not always consistent between years. Pupils’ work is generally marked but marking is not consistent between all classes.

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Commentary

23. Activities are generally well matched to pupils’ attainment and abilities and a variety of strategies are used to support pupils. Pupils are grouped by attainment for English, mathematics and science. The groupings are carefully chosen and the activities varied to suit the different groups. Learning support assistants are briefed well and used well to support different groups and teachers also deploy themselves well to support different groups. These arrangements are consistently effective and enable pupils of different levels of attainment, including both higher attaining pupils and pupils with special educational needs to learn well and make good progress. Pupils’ progress is also facilitated by teachers’ expectations that they will learn and work hard. Pupils work well individually and in groups and pairs. They feel that they are well supported by their teachers.

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Commentary

24. The special needs coordinator and special needs assistant plan carefully for the pupils with individual education plans and seek to identify these needs at the earliest opportunity so that pupils get the appropriate support. Teaching assistants work closely with the class teachers when Bursledon Church of England Infant School - 12 planning work for pupils who have special needs and provide good learning support for these pupils. They contribute effectively to the management of all pupils’ behaviour .

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Commentary

25. Some of the consistently best teaching was seen with reception pupils. This resulted from very thorough assessment of each child’s attainment and progress, very careful record keeping and use of this information to plan learning activities that matched childrens’ needs very well. Teachers had established routines early on which the children knew and followed and they managed children’s behaviour well. Good emphasis is placed on the development of children’s personal, social and emotional development and communication, language and literacy skills and teachers made the activities interesting and relevant. The very good use of learning support assistants, the provision of good resources and the well organised classrooms also contributed to ensuring that lessons were very productive and that the children make good progress.

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Commentary

26. Common shortcomings in teaching relate to: • the use of time: o The time allocated for some lessons is too short; this both limits the kind of activities that pupils can undertake and does not give sufficient time for pupils to consolidate learning. o Some English lessons are too long and pupils achieved the objectives some time before the end of the session. o Sometimes introductions to lessons are too long and some pupils lose concentration and become restless. • planning: o Little use of ICT was seen during the course of the inspection and the use of ICT to support teaching and learning in different subjects was not included in the teachers’ planning. o In a few lessons, there is insufficient planning or learning objectives are not clear with the result that the work is not sufficiently well matched to pupils’ needs or the lesson lacks focus.

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The curriculum

28. The curriculum provided by the school is broad and balanced and offers pupils a good range of learning opportunities. It enables all pupils to develop very well socially, morally and personally. It provides children in the reception classes with a good foundation for future learning and enables older pupils to progress well in English, mathematics and science. Overall provision is satisfactory because the length of some lessons needs changing and more detailed planning is needed in some subject areas. The school is well staffed and resources are good. Accommodation in the main building is good.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• The curriculum provided for pupils in the reception classes is good. • The planning of the curriculum around ‘themes’ in years 1 and 2 helps pupils’ learning. • There is very good provision for pupils’ personal and social development. • There is good provision for pupils with special educational needs. • There is good enrichment of pupils’ learning through the opportunities for visits and the contributions from visitors to the school. • Time allocations and planning for some areas of the curriculum in years 1 and 2 need revising. • The arrangements for subject leadership and coordination need clarifying. • There is no provision for extra-curricular activities.

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Commentary

28. The curriculum is much improved since the previous inspection when there were weaknesses in the planning of most subject areas and in the provision for pupils with special Bursledon Church of England Infant School - 13 educational needs. Curricular planning now fully addresses the National Curriculum and the curriculum provided by the school meets statutory requirements and the requirements of the locally agreed syllabus for religious education.

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Commentary

29. The curriculum provided by the school is very inclusive. Provision for pupils with special educational needs has significantly improved since the last inspection and is now good. Pupils who have special educational needs are well supported in meeting the targets identified for them on their individual education plans and they have full access to all areas of the curriculum.

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Commentary

30. The Foundation Stage curriculum is well planned and develops children in all aspects of learning; provision for childrens’ social and emotional development, communication language and literacy, mathematical development and physical development are particular strengths because of the emphases placed on these areas and the careful planning and good teaching.

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Commentary

31. The curriculum in Years 1 and 2 is planned around themes. The themes effectively link areas of learning for the pupils and add considerably to making the work relevant. Parents commented positively about how their children were motivated by what they were doing at school. Examples of good links were writing done by Year 2 pupils linked to history work on the Victorians and work on maps in geography and coordinates in mathematics linked to the theme of ‘Scott of the Antarctic’. ICT is, however, underused. Little use was seen during the course of the inspection and there is little reference to the use of ICT in curricular plans and teachers’ lesson plans. In some areas of the curriculum, for example science, there is a need for more detailed guidance to underpin the school’s existing planning.

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Commentary

32. The National Strategies for Literacy and Numeracy are generally used well by the school and they have been adapted to meet pupils’ needs for example more time is provided for English. The teaching of mental mathematics at the end of the day when pupils are tired and finding concentration difficult does, however, need reviewing. The total allocation of time for subjects is appropriate but the use of time during the week needs improving. The time allocated for some lessons, for example religious education and music is too short. Furthermore the taught time was sometimes less than this when the previous lesson overran. These very short lessons limit active participation by pupils and also their progress and achievement. In contrast, the longer art lessons have a positive impact on pupils’ attainment and progress. The curriculum experienced by pupils in some classes on some days is not well balanced as the curriculum is almost entirely devoted to English activities. The

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Commentary

school recognises that these recently introduced arrangements were not working as effectively as originally expected and plans to change them.

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Commentary

33. The development of pupils’ personal, social and health education is very good. The programme is well planned and linked into other aspects of the curriculum. It is very well underpinned by the ethos of the school, for example the very good relationships, the good role models provided by adults and the valuing of individuals. A ‘nurture’ group introduced by the school last year successfully provides for pupils needing additional support to develop personally and socially.

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Commentary

34. The school has a good vision statement which sets out how it intends to develop the curriculum further led by year teams of staff. These new arrangements are not yet well developed and there is a lack of clarity about overall leadership and coordination in different subjects of the curriculum.

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Commentary

35. The curriculum is enriched by a good range of visits for pupils, for example to museums, an art gallery different places of worship and by contributions from visitors to the school including musicians, artists, dancers and the police. There are no extra-curricular opportunities for pupils. Pupils are very well prepared for transition to the neighbouring junior school.

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Commentary

36. The school is well staffed and the staff are well deployed to support learning. The main school building provides an attractive learning environment. The outside classrooms for Year 2 are in a very poor state of repair and provide much less satisfactory accommodation. Plans for their Bursledon Church of England Infant School - 14 replacement next year by an extension to the main school building are well advanced. The dedicated areas for ICT are small and are not a good learning environment. Resources for teaching and learning are very good for reception age children and good in Years 1 and 2. Bursledon Church of England Infant School - 15

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Care, guidance and support

37. The level of care provided by the head teacher and other staff for pupils is very good. Pupils themselves feel well supported and safe.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Procedures for ensuring the welfare, health and safety of pupils, including child protection are very good. • There are very good relationships between teachers and pupils and between pupils. • Induction arrangements for pupils and their parents are very good. • There are no formal ways of seeking pupils’ views.

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Commentary

38. The good standards of care identified in the last inspection have improved further and are now very good. All staff are briefed about child protection and are aware of their responsibilities. Routines for dealing with first aid, medicines and accidents are well established. The staff and governors make sure that the school is a healthy and safe place to work in. Pupils feel safe and think that they are well supported and these views are echoed by their parents. A recent survey by the LEA judged the health and safety standards in the school to be high. Pupils are helped to develop a good understanding of the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle through work in science, physical education and personal, social and health education.

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Commentary

39. Pupils and their needs and backgrounds are known very well. Those who need additional educational support are quickly identified through the use of good assessment procedures. A ‘Nurture Group’, which helps pupils with a range of needs including managing behaviour and friendship problems, provides valuable additional support.

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Commentary

40. There are very good relationships between staff and pupils, between boys and girls and different age groups. Staff work very hard at building relationships and this promotes confidence in pupils. There are no formal arrangements for the school to seek pupils’ views .

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Commentary

41. The school has been successful in obtaining funding to enable it to continue running a recently trialled and successful breakfast club introduced by the school to meet the needs of some pupils.

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Commentary

42. Teachers carry out home visits prior to children joining the school and arrange for parents and their children to visit the school. As a result children are very well prepared for starting in the reception year.

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Partnership with parents, other schools and the community

44. The school has very good links with parents and carers and with the wider community. The school encourages parents to communicate with them and is committed to its partnership with parents. There are effective links with other schools.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Parents are happy with what the school provides for their children. • Parents receive high quality information regarding the school, the curriculum and their children’s progress. • The school organises a variety of opportunities for parents to become involved in their children’s learning and parents regularly help in school. • Parents feel able to confide in the school when they have a problem. • Attendance by parents at meetings is often poor. Bursledon Church of England Infant School - 16

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Commentary

44. Parents have very positive views about the school reflecting a very high degree of satisfaction with all aspects of the work of the school. Their children are happy at school and they feel that they learn well. All parents were happy about the behaviour in the school and the way the school looks after their children. Parents said that the headteacher and teachers were very approachable and always willing to discuss concerns with them.

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Commentary

45. The need to provide better information for parents was a key issue for action for the school raised in the last inspection. It has been addressed fully and the school now has very good links with parents and carers and is working hard to achieve further improvement. The information provided for parents is very good. Parents are provided with detailed and relevant information through frequent letters and regular information about the curriculum. Pupils’ annual reports about their children are very detailed and clearly indicate what pupils know , understand and can do. The school prospectus deals with what parents need to know prior to their child joining school and the annual governor’s report to parents meets statutory requirements. As a result parents are kept very well informed about the work of the school and their children’s achievement and attainment.

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Commentary

46. The school has good strategies for involving parents in their children’s learning. The arrangements for involving parents in helping their children to learn to read are well organised and effective. The school runs curricular evenings and other information sessions for parents but the attendance of parents can be low despite the best efforts of the school. A family learning workshop was provided for parents last year in partnership with Eastleigh College. Parents also make a valuable contribution to work in school, for example helping in classrooms, the library and supporting a range of other activities and tasks. Parents of children with special educational needs are kept fully informed of the procedures and with the provision that has been made for their child’s individual education plan and their views and opinions are regularly sought.

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Commentary

47. There is a strong parent teacher association which raises funds that are used to improve the school’s facilities and to provide additional resources.

p.16

Commentary

48. Links with the community and a good range of visits and visitors provide good enrichment of the curriculum as well as improving pupils’ confidence and enhancing their social skills. Liaison with the junior school is very good. When pupils move to the adjacent junior school they know their new teachers, they have visited their new classroom, they know their way around school and they have had strong links with the year above them. This eases the settling down period and they fall into the routines of their new school very quickly. Good links with pre-school settings helps prepare children for entry to the reception year.

p.16

LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

49. The leadership, management and governance of the school is good overall. The new arrangements for staff to work in year teams do not yet ensure effective subject leadership and the improvement of pupils’ achievements in different subjects

p.16

Main strengths and weaknesses

• The headteacher’s drive and clear sense of purpose has brought about some significant improvement since the last inspection. • The governing body is effective in its strategic role. • Staff work together well as a team. • New school improvement planning processes have yet to be firmly embedded. • The role of key staff in leading, monitoring and evaluating different areas of the curriculum is not sufficiently developed. Bursledon Church of England Infant School - 17

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Commentary

50. The headteacher’s strong, purposeful and forward looking leadership has provided the impetus and drive to bring about improvement since the previous inspection and address most of the key issues identified at that time. She has used initiatives that are in sympathy with the school’s aims as part of this determined approach to raising standards for example, the Basic Skills Quality Mark. There has been significant improvement in the ethos of the school and a strong focus on meeting the needs of individual pupils. Parents commented very favourably on how the school has improved and on the very positive relationships that have been developed between home and school that support their children’s learning and welfare. The headteacher is well respected by the whole school community and is well supported by a hard working staff team. Teaching staff and teaching assistants show a strong commitment to achieving the school’s primary aim of nurturing the

p.17

Commentary

children’s learning and helping them to succeed. The school takes professional development seriously. Regular training is provide for all staff and effective procedures for reviewing the performance of teaching and support staff are in place. Teachers in the school who have been newly qualified have received good support.

p.17

Commentary

51. A good vision statement has been developed in collaboration with staff and governors of the school as well as those in the associated junior school so that there is a clear purpose to the work of both schools. The statement forms the basis of the school’s strategic plan. However, school improvement planning has some shortcomings. For example, some of the foci for the coming year have little detail to show how they will be implemented. There is little information about the intended outcomes particularly in terms of pupils’ achievement. The plan only relates to one year, and priorities after this time are unclear. The plan is not being linked closely enough to the school’s finances. Operational planning to achieve the aims of the strategic plan is in the early stages of development.

p.17

Commentary

52. The school is currently undergoing a change in staffing structure based on teams of staff working collaboratively on different areas of learning as opposed to subject specific leadership. However, the new initiative is in its early stages. The team approach is working successfully in the Foundation Stage and enables staff in year teams to contribute to the development of subjects but there is a lack of clarity about overall leadership and coordination in different subjects of the curriculum. This reduces the overall effectiveness of the work of the school in promoting and improving pupils’ achievements in different subjects.

p.17

Commentary

53. The special needs coordinator, who works closely with the head teacher, gives strong leadership to the staff in making good provision for pupils who need additional educational support. She manages this area of school well. There is a governor responsible for special educational needs who meets regularly with the coordinator to discuss this area of school life. The use of external agencies, for example speech therapy, is appropriate and well managed. The school is aware of the requirement for social inclusion and of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act and has made the necessary arrangements.

p.17

Commentary

54. Management of the school is good. The headteacher has introduced a range of effective means for tracking pupils’ progress and for analysing performance data that is used to inform targets for individuals and groups of pupils. She monitors and evaluates the quality of teaching and learning in lessons, and the information gained has enabled staff to be given appropriate support and development opportunities to increase their skills. This has brought about improvement in teaching with subsequent impact on improving pupils’ progress in the core subjects, and also addressed key issues identified in the last inspection. All teaching is now at least satisfactory. Staff are not given enough opportunities to be involved in monitoring, evaluating and developing the quality of teaching and learning to understand where there is variation in practice and offer their ideas on how the quality could be improved. This is an issue that was identified in the previous report and has not been fully

p.17

Commentary

addressed. Bursledon Church of England Infant School - 18 55. Since the appointment of the head teacher, the governing body has made an increasing contribution to the leadership of the school and this is an improvement on the last inspection. The governing body is knowledgeable, well organised and involved in school life. Governors carry out their statutory duties well. They visit the school, spend time in lessons and meet with teachers in governors’ committees to discuss school policies. Governors analyse the school’s national assessment results. As a result, collectively, the governing body has a good grasp of the school’s overall strengths and the areas in which it needs to improve. Governors show that they often discuss proposals in depth before making decisions, for example in relation to establishing the nurture group. They provide a good level of support for the school and its staff, but provide insufficient challenge to

p.17

Commentary

the school more in terms of the new initiatives currently being introduced, and in ensuring that school improvement is well-planned, as part of their accountability for the standard of education the school provides .

p.18

Commentary

56. Budgets are set in accordance with statutory requirements and governors are regularly informed about financial matters through reports prepared and presented by administrative staff. The local education authority has recently carried out a financial audit and verbal feedback offered only minor recommendations.

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Commentary

Financial information for the year April 2002 to March 2003

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Commentary

Income and expenditure (£) Balances (£) Total income 602,004 Balance from previous year 61,019 Total expenditure 617,847 Balance carried forward to the next 45,176 Expenditure per pupil 2686 Bursledon Church of England Infant School - 19

p.18

AREAS OF LEARNING IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

57. The overall provision for children in the reception classes is good . • Good teaching results in the children achieving well overall. • Effective links between home and the school provide the children with a smooth start to their schooling. • Effective monitoring of the children’s progress informs planning, grouping and individual targets for learning • The number of objectives for learning in some lessons is too many and this makes planning appropriate activities more difficult. • The outdoor learning area does not provide a stimulating environment for the children.

p.19

AREAS OF LEARNING IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

58. Children are helped to achieve well in the Foundation Stage through provision of a good range of experiences that are taught effectively. From a low starting point, particularly in communication, language and literacy skills, many pupils are well on course to reach most of the standards expected at the end of the reception year, although only a very small proportion look likely to exceed them. Effective staff teamwork maintains the focus on high standards and there is regular monitoring by the head teacher. Displays of good quality show that the school values children’s work. The displays create a vibrant climate for learning, especially in the well-designed role-play areas on the theme of building sites which promote imaginative play. Pupils’ good achievements have been maintained during a period of change nationally in expectations for these young children’s learning. Other features of high quality, such as teaching and learning and careful assessment, monitoring

p.19

AREAS OF LEARNING IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

and use of assessment information to match work to childrens’ needs have also been maintained. In some lesson plans there are too many objectives and this makes planning lesson activities and focussing teaching more difficult. The school establishes very good links with parents of reception aged children and the induction arrangements for children joining the school are very good.

p.19

PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

59. Provision in personal, social and emotional development is very good .

p.19

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Children achieve very well in this area of learning so that a large proportion are on course to reach the standards expected at the end of the reception year. • There are effective procedures for settling children into school. • Teachers have very high expectations that encourage children to behave well and work independently of adults for sustained periods.

p.19

Commentary

60. Children make very good progress in developing their personal, social and emotional skills, many from a low starting point, through very good teaching and learning that permeates much of the curriculum. Although it was early in the school year, children showed a high degree of independence during the day, and were building positive relationships with adults and other children. The group activity cards are a very good way of reminding children of what they are expected to do during their independent work. Quite a number of children still have difficulty with aspects of self-care, such as dressing and undressing, but teachers persevere to encourage independence. Children are well behaved. This is because all adults consistently reinforce school rules and routines and high expectations for children’s conduct made clear. Children’s views are valued and they are helped to Bursledon Church of England Infant School - 20

p.19

Commentary

feel safe and secure in their new environment. For example, children are helped to find their way around the school by following a ‘Tiger Trail’ of footprints and photographs to find particular areas and personnel. These strategies help pupils settle well into school.

p.20

COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

62. Provision in communication, language and literacy is good .

p.20

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Children achieve well in this area of learning, but standards overall are still below those expected of similar aged children by the end of the reception year. • Reading skills are taught very well in whole-class lessons, in groups and individually. • Occasionally whole class teaching sessions are overlong.

p.20

Commentary

62. Children’s skills are generally low when they start school. Good teaching and learning helps children to make good progress over the course of the year and to achieve well in lessons. Occasionally too much time is spent teaching the whole class and this reduces time available for independent work. Teachers encourage children to enjoy books by having time to look at them together as a class, and individually. This means that children are developing strategies to understand stories by using pictures, and a small number of more able children use letter sounds well to sound out words. A good focus is placed on teaching early reading skills in groups, matched to children’s needs so that attainment in reading is broadly in line with that expected of children of similar ages. Children are encouraged to listen attentively and to respond with an increased vocabulary. Teachers place a very strong emphasis on eliciting responses from even the most

p.20

Commentary

reluctant child. Despite this, many children still have difficulty constructing coherent replies beyond one or two words. A very small number of more able children use simple phrases, for example to explain their views on particular books. In writing, children can often make only a very few marks when they join school. By the end of the reception year, some are using very simple words in their own writing, although letters are not always correctly formed and upper and lower case letters are mixed with no clear definition between words. They are given good opportunities to practise writing skills in independent activities, such as tracing patterns and letters, and writing for different purposes, such as sending postcards to ‘Miss Muffet’.

p.20

MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

63. Provision in mathematical development is good .

p.20

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Children achieve particularly well in counting and in developing their knowledge of numbers. • Teachers use good methods to help children to achieve accuracy in their number work.

p.20

Commentary

64. Many children are on course to reach the expectations expressed in the early learning goals for the mathematical area of learning in counting, calculation and in shape, space and measures. This shows good achievement compared with their low attainment on entry to the school. Good teaching helps children to count accurately with good deployment of adults to support children in group activities and a good range of resources and activities to engage and challenge the children effectively. For example, in one class the children were encouraged to build and count towers out of colourful bricks. This encouraged the higher attaining children to build high towers and they were able to count to more than 10 accurately. With lower attaining children, large trucks were used for children to count accurately to 5, and large numerals were hidden and slowly revealed to aid their Bursledon Church of England Infant School - 21

p.20

Commentary

number recognition. Children were beginning to use symbols to form and calculate simple addition sums. Sometimes opportunities are missed to reinforce number in role-play activities.

p.21

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

64. Provision in knowledge and understanding of the world is satisfactory.

p.21

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Teachers use a good range of resources to bring learning alive. • Sometimes whole class activities and independent investigative work are not well-balanced and children sit for too long.

p.21

Commentary

66. By the end of the reception year, children’s knowledge and understanding of the world has increased satisfactorily since they started school and match standards expected nationally. Teachers used real life resources, such as builders’ tools, effectively to raise children’s curiosity and enabled them to explore first hand. As a result children learnt to compare the different functions of tools and how they are used. Outdoors, children were able to develop their experiences on a larger scale by using cardboard boxes and large construction material to ‘build’ sound structures for themselves. Children are helped to understand more about the world around them by comparing textures of different materials through ‘rubbings’ they have made. On occasion, teachers keep the children on the carpet as a whole group for too long so that the balance between sitting watching the teacher and investigating and doing things for themselves is not effectively timed. Children are given

p.21

Commentary

independent opportunities to develop their skills in using computers, for example children use a mouse confidently and accurately to make pictures and readily change colours.

p.21

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

68. Provision in physical development is good.

p.21

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Gymnastic skills are taught well and children achieve well. • There is less opportunity to develop skills further outdoors because of the limited range of large equipment in the outdoor area.

p.21

Commentary

68. Children achieve well in developing their physical skills overall, which match the standards expected of similar aged children. Some good achievement was observed in a gymnastics session where children’s control and coordination of their movements were improved and short sequences developed imaginatively. Children sometimes found difficulty in finding spaces to move and occasionally huddled together but they hopped, jumped, slid and turned with increasing control on the floor and large apparatus. They were inspired not only by the example set by the teacher, but also by other children, who were encouraged to demonstrate good practice and evaluate their efforts. This provided an effective incentive for them to improve. Children have some opportunity to develop their physical skills on a larger scale outdoors, using large wheeled vehicles but the area is rather spartan and lacks a range of larger equipment for the pupils to explore independently. Children

p.21

Commentary

show sound control of small equipment and tools to make marks, join small construction material and cut out shapes. Bursledon Church of England Infant School - 22

p.21

Commentary

69. Not enough evidence was seen to be able to make a judgement on provision in creative development. In the work seen, standards match those expected for children of this age. Teachers provide a good range of opportunities for artwork in two and three dimensions, as seen in a simple but effective activity concerned with making ‘spiders’. Children are helped to explore different media to experiment with colour, shape and texture. Individual style is encouraged, which results in variety and imagination in children’s work, such as pictures of families and ‘Doctor Foster’. In spite of the rather barren outdoor area, teachers have done their best to provide resources to complement the theme of building and inspire children to develop imagined situations on a larger scale using large construction equipment and large boxes. The new building, scheduled for next year, will have a new extended play area.

p.22

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Pupils’ achievement is good. • Standards in reading are consistently average or above. • Standards in writing are variable and not as good as those in reading. There is no action plan for the development of writing. • The quality of teaching and pupils’ learning are good overall. • There is good use of classroom assistants to support the learning of pupils who have special educational needs. • A well resourced library is used effectively to promote pupils’ interest in reading.

p.22

Commentary

71. Pupils’ attainment in reading at the beginning of Year 1 is just about average. By the end of Year 2 standards of reading are average or above. Results in National Curriculum assessments are above average, particularly for pupils attaining at the higher levels.

p.22

Commentary

72. Pupils achieve well in reading because of the emphasis the school places on developing pupils’ reading skills and the good teaching which encourages an enjoyment of reading. Each day starts with a lesson devoted to reading activities, which the pupils enjoy. The pupils are attentive and listen carefully to their teachers. Some of the sessions are overlong though and time is wasted because pupils achieve the learning objectives before the end of the lesson. Resources to support reading are very good. The school is well resourced for books and there is a pleasant, bright library area where whole classes are taken to choose books. Pupils are able to sit comfortably and share books with their friends. The library is a valuable resource, which the school uses well to support reading. Reading in school is complemented by good arrangements in which parents are very well involved to support reading at home. Assessment and monitoring of pupils’ progress in reading is

p.22

Commentary

good and extra help is provided for pupils that need it.

p.22

Commentary

73. Teachers provide many opportunities through reading, role play and class discussion to develop pupils’ skills in speaking and listening. Pupils are generally attentive in class and are good at listening to each other. Pupils achieve well and their attainment in speaking and listening is above average. Bursledon Church of England Infant School - 23 74. Standards in writing are not as good as standards in reading. There are pupils in each class whose attainment is in line with national expectations but quite a high proportion are below. Results in National Curriculum assessments at the end of Year 2 generally are average although they have been below average in some years mainly at the higher levels of attainment. The National Curriculum results in 2003 for writing were below those in 2002, whereas standards in reading rose across the same period. Pupils’ achievement in writing is, however, generally good because of the

p.22

Commentary

low standards of attainment of pupils at the start of Year 1. The attainment of boys is below that of girls but the difference between them is similar to that found nationally.

p.23

Commentary

75. The teaching of writing ranges from satisfactory to very good. Overall it is good in Year 1 and satisfactory in Year 2. In the best lessons, teachers use good strategies to develop and encourage writing. Writing lessons are well planned and varied activities are well matched to pupils’ levels of attainment. Teachers provide good stimuli for writing by linking the writing to stories that the pupils are reading or activities in other areas of the curriculum. A very good example seen during the inspection was a task in which pupils were totally absorbed in writing about ‘secrets’ following reading of a story about ‘The Elves and the Poor Shoemaker’. Teachers give examples of effective writing to pupils and provide good writing aids including word cards, sentence prompts and individual writing targets, which the pupils follow. Teachers are good at checking pupils’ progress during lessons and give additional support where needed. Pupils are taught handwriting well. In some

p.23

Commentary

lessons, judged to be satisfactory, pupils were given insufficient guidance on how to go about the writing task and lost concentration towards the end of the longer lessons. In other satisfactory lessons pupils were not motivated by the writing activity. Marking is not consistent across the school or within year groups. It does not indicate that work has been discussed with the pupil and that the pupil knows what to do to improve. Some limited use is made of ICT by pupils to present written work and write book reviews. Teaching assistants are deployed well and enable pupils they are supporting to complete tasks successfully.

p.23

Commentary

76. There is good support for the pupils with special educational needs. Class teachers work closely with teaching assistants and the special needs coordinator and learning support assistant to provide good support for these pupils in English lessons. The work is well matched to their needs and they make good progress. However, in some lessons, when an adult does not support them, they find it difficult to concentrate – the lesson is too long for them and they have not got the writing skills needed to tackle the work confidently.

p.23

Commentary

77. The National Literacy Strategy is not followed exactly by the school but the elements of the strategy are used well, for example there is effective teaching of letter sounds to develop reading. Also, in order to meet the needs of pupils, the amount of time allocated to the teaching of English is above average. Most of the issues raised in the last inspection have been addressed. There is now no unsatisfactory teaching, the concerns over planning of the subject have been dealt with and teachers monitor standards. There is still no common system for monitoring pupils’ skills at speaking and listening. The leadership and management of the subject is by teams of staff. This arrangement provides effective coordination of the subject within years but not yet across the school as a whole. The school has identified the need to raise standards in writing however there is no action plan to bring this about.

p.23

Language and literacy across the curriculum

78. The arrangements to develop literacy across the curriculum are satisfactory. Opportunities are being taken in other subjects, such as history and geography, to develop the pupils’ skills in reading and writing and this helps to raise standards. However, the objectives for writing tasks are not always formally planned, for example in science, and the activities do not contribute as well as they could to raising standards in writing. Bursledon Church of England Infant School - 24

p.23

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Pupils achieve well and standards in National Curriculum assessments consistently match or exceed national averages. • Teaching is good, overall • Good arrangements for grouping and setting pupils contribute to their progress. • There is no common system for recording pupils’ knowledge, understanding and skills. • There is no formal planning of mental mathematics lessons.

p.24

Commentary

80. Pupils achieve well in mathematics. Their mathematical knowledge and understanding is below average when they start school but they attain at the expected levels or above by the end of Year 2. Pupils are developing good number skills. They can order numbers and can estimate and are beginning to learn written methods for calculation. They are developing good problem solving skills, know about the properties of shapes and use mathematical language correctly. Results in National Curriculum assessments consistently match or exceed national averages and the results of similar schools. Results for 2003 were higher than those for 2002 and were well above national averages.

p.24

Commentary

81. Provision has improved since the last inspection when there was some unsatisfactory teaching and insufficient staff development. Teaching is now good overall. Teachers have good expectations of what pupils can do and they manage pupils well. They are good at explaining and getting pupils to think although these sessions of teaching to the whole class are too long on some occasions and some pupils lose concentration. The work in mathematics lessons is well matched to what pupils are capable of and activities are well planned and organised. Teaching methods recommended in the National Numeracy Strategy are use well. Careful grouping of pupils, support, feedback and marking also contribute well to ensuring the pupils of all levels of attainment learn well and make good progress. In some lessons, questioning by teachers did not involve all pupils sufficiently well. There is a need in some lessons to develop questioning strategies so as to involve

p.24

Commentary

all pupils. Insufficient use is made of ICT and the use of ICT is not included in teachers’ planning.

p.24

Commentary

82. Mental mathematics is taught in separate short lessons. The teaching seen during the inspection, though satisfactory, was not as strong as other mathematics teaching. Contributory factors were, the objectives and activities for the mental maths sessions not being included on teachers’ plans, the need to have to rush some lessons because of shortness of time, with the consequent lack of involvement of all pupils and having all the lessons at the end of the day when pupils tend to be tired. .

p.24

Commentary

83. The subject is led effectively. The amount of teaching time is appropriate. The designation of a Year 1 and a Year 2 classroom as specialist rooms for mathematics makes efficient use of resources. Planning in year teams ensures consistent practice in teaching but systems used by teachers for recording pupils’ knowledge and understanding are not as efficient as they might be because practice is different in different years.

p.24

Mathematics across the curriculum

84. The use of mathematics in different areas of the curriculum is planned well. Examples include measuring in design technology, the production of graphs and charts in science, measuring forces in science and using coordinates in geography. Bursledon Church of England Infant School - 25

p.24

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Pupils achieve well and standards in National Curriculum assessments consistently match or exceed national averages. • Teaching is good, overall. • Insufficient use is made of ICT.

p.25

Commentary

86. Pupils’ achievement in science is good. When pupils start Year 1 their knowledge and understanding is just average. By the time they leave, the majority of pupils attain standards that are in line with or above national averages. Pupils develop scientific knowledge understanding and skills well and understand and use scientific language appropriately. For example, Year 1 pupils through a study of growth of beans were learning about what plants need to grow, they could observe and draw beans and knew the names of some of the parts of a plant. Year 2 pupils know about simple electrical circuits, life cycles of butterflies and carry out simple investigational work into different kinds of materials. Results in National Curriculum assessments at the end of Year 2 consistently match or exceed national averages. The results for 2003 were well above average and above those of similar schools.

p.25

Commentary

87. The quality of teaching ranges from satisfactory to good. It has improved since the last inspection and is now good overall. Teachers manage pupils very well and motivate them well. They know how well pupils are attaining and plan work that is well matched to the needs of pupils. Careful grouping of pupils and good support by teachers and teaching assistants contribute to helping pupils to learn. Teachers have high expectations of pupils. Pupils’ written work is marked regularly.

p.25

Commentary

88. Curricular planning, identified as a weakness in the last inspection, has improved and ensures that the requirements of the National Curriculum are met and that there is continuity in the development of pupils’ knowledge, understanding and skills. More detailed guidance for teachers to underpin the school’s existing planning would however help improve the quality of teaching further. The curriculum is enhanced through good links with other areas of learning, especially health education and through visits and visitors to the school, for example pupils were able to learn about stars from a planetarium brought to the school. The use of specialist classrooms has improved the organisation of resources. There is good recording and monitoring of progress and attainment in science in Year 2 but no common system for record keeping throughout the school. Insufficient use is made of ICT to enhance teaching and learning. There is good coordination of the subject in year

p.25

Commentary

teams but not currently across the school since the precise responsibilities of the new curricular teams for leading the subject are in the process of being established.

p.25

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Pupils enjoy their work with computers. • Limited resources and their location create some constraints to learning. • The use and application of ICT skills are not made clear in planning. Bursledon Church of England Infant School - 26

p.25

Commentary

90. Standards are broadly in line with national expectations by Year 2. Pupils are able to generate, amend and record words and pictures to share their ideas, retrieve information from the internet and use a digital camera to form images. Pupils are confident to use the mouse to control programs and are developing their keyboard skills. However, standards and pupils’ achievement are not as good as at the time of the previous inspection. This is because planning for the use of ICT is underdeveloped and also because the current quality and location of some computers creates some barriers to ensuring all pupils have sufficient opportunities to learn and practise new skills. For example, the location of the computers for the use by pupils in Year 2 means that each class does not have immediate access at all times. The area is also small, cramped and draughty which does not create an effective environment for learning. In Year 1, some computers have no printer for

p.26

Commentary

immediate printouts. Only two computers in the school have internet access – one in the library and one in the staff room.

p.26

Commentary

91. In the two lessons seen involving small groups of pupils from Year 2 the teaching was satisfactory overall. In one of the lessons, the pupils were fully engaged in learning because they enjoyed the activity and this helped them to concentrate, in spite of their surroundings. Just the right amount of support from the teacher enabled the pupils to work independently. In the other lesson the learning objectives were not clear. Pupils conducted simple searches on the Internet to find health related information, but due to the lack of resources pupils could only have a go two at a time while others completed a more mundane task. This limited their overall achievement.

p.26

Commentary

92. Leadership and management of the subject are satisfactory. Although updating and improving resources for the subject is considered a high priority, this does not feature in the strategic plan and provision of ICT has not improved sufficiently since the last inspection when it was judged to be good.

p.26

Information and communication technology across the curriculum

93. There is some evidence of ICT skills being used in other subjects. For example, pupils present their work using text and pictures in English, such as in Year 2 for reviewing books and writing descriptive pieces. In Year 1, pupils use these skills in a design and technology activity concerned with book making. Pupils use the Internet for researching information about Scott of the Antarctic. Digital camera images were used successfully as a stimulus for art. However, ICT skills are not planned for carefully enough to ensure that they are used and developed systematically in all subjects, particularly in mathematics.

p.26

HUMANITIES

94. No teaching of geography was seen during the course of the inspection and there was insufficient evidence to make a judgement about provision in the subject or standards attained by pupils. Planning in the school for the subject covers the requirements of the National Curriculum.

p.26

HUMANITIES

95. Only a small amount of history teaching was seen and it was not possible therefore to make a judgement about overall provision. The quality of the teaching in the lessons seen was mainly good but the short time allowed for the lessons precluded proper consolidation of pupils’ learning. Standards of the work seen was in line with national expectations. The history work was linked well to work in English. Planning in the school for the history covers the requirements of the National Curriculum

p.26

HUMANITIES

96. Only one short religious education lesson was seen during the course of the inspection and there was insufficient evidence to make a judgement about provision in the subject. Planning covers the requirements of the locally agreed syllabus in religious education. Good links with local schools helps ensure continuity of experience for pupils. The local group of schools has agreed that the infant school teaches Christianity and Hinduism. Judaism and Islam are addressed in the junior school and the remaining three major religions are taught in the Secondary School. Bursledon Church of England Infant School - 27

p.26

CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

97. No lessons were observed in design and technology so it was not possible to make a judgement about provision in the subject. Some evidence on display indicated that the principles of design, construction and evaluation are being developed well in Year 1 through a book making activity. The standard of work was above average. In Year 2, the outcomes of structures intended to shelter a small model of a person are more variable in quality and the design and evaluation elements of the process were less well developed.

p.27

CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

98. Only one art lesson was seen during the course of the inspection so it was not possible to make an overall judgement about provision. Work from pupils of different ages on seen in the creative work classroom and around the school is of an above average standard. In the lesson observed, pupils showed enthusiasm for learning and activities were well planned to make sure that everyone including those with special education needs was involved and experiencing satisfaction with the outcome of their work. The quality of teaching and learning was good. Pupils were taught skills and then apply them to their own work. Year 1 pupils had been taught how to mix paint to create different shades and they demonstrated how well they had learned by mixing yellow and blue paint to create many subtly different shades of green to match the leaves they had collected. The extended time given to art allows pupils to develop their ideas and to reflect on and improve their

p.27

CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

work. It also allows time for looking at and talking about paintings by well-known artists thus helping to foster an interest and understanding of art. The Year1 pupils are able to make comments about the way Picasso used brush strokes in his painting of ‘The Child with Dove’.

p.27

CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

99. Year teams of staff are currently responsible for leading and managing art and design and technology. This arrangement ensures good coordination of the subjects between classes in the same year but continuity between years is less secure.

p.27

Music

101. Provision in music is satisfactory.

p.27

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Singing is good. • Lack of time in some lessons constrains the development of pupils’ skills. • There are no extra-curricular opportunities for pupils.

p.27

Commentary

101. During assemblies most of the pupils sing tunefully and expressively and readily join in, keeping good time to a piano accompaniment. They thoroughly enjoy using hand movements to accompany each song, showing good achievement in recalling the words of the chorus line accurately as each song progresses. This is a much better picture than in the previous inspection in relation to singing skills.

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Commentary

102. Pupils’ listening skills are developing satisfactorily which is an improvement on the previous inspection. This is because they are encouraged to listen to different pieces of music in lessons, for example to identify changes in pitch and different instruments. The voluntary musician, who leads all music lessons in Year 1 and 2, has a good musical knowledge and understanding, which helps the pupils to develop a satisfactory musical vocabulary and helps them to recognise and explore how sounds can be organised. However, class teachers are insufficiently involved in the lessons and as a result there are lost opportunities to identify and record pupils’ musical skills and for teachers to learn from their observations for their own professional development. Bursledon Church of England Infant School - 28 103. A barrier to more successful learning in lessons is the limited amount of time allowed during

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Commentary

the afternoon rotation of activities with each group. This means that pupils’ skills are not extended sufficiently well, for example there is insufficient time to experiment for themselves with sounds, and to integrate the performing and composing elements of music.

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Commentary

104. There is no designated coordinator for the subject, and little monitoring and evaluation of the subject, which was a similar picture in the last inspection. Some musical enrichment opportunities are provided, for example, through a visiting orchestra but no extra-curricular activities currently exist so that children with a particular interest in music can develop their skills further.

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Physical Education

105. Provision in physical education is satisfactory .

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Written observations of pupils in some sessions helps to identify and record their achievement. • Time constraints limits development of dance skills.

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Commentary

106. It was only possible to observe lessons in the gymnastics and dance elements of the subject. The school has maintained the sound standards observed at the last inspection and improved consistency in the quality of teaching so that teaching was never less than satisfactory in the lessons seen, with one gym lesson being of good quality and pupils’ achievement being satisfactory overall. In all lessons, teachers’ explanations and instructions are clear. The teachers provide good models for the pupils to follow, especially in dance movements so that the pupils move with greater precision, although a small number of boys still have difficulty with moving from side to side in time to the teacher’s movements. However, most pupils are learning how to use their body movements and gestures more expressively. In a well-taught Year 1 gymnastics lesson, pupils participated enthusiastically to move confidently around the hall using different parts of their bodies. Pupils of all

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Commentary

levels of attainment worked hard and achieved well in terms of controlling and coordinating their movements. They responded well to the teacher’s high expectations for effort and persistence in extending their skills on the large apparatus to produce imaginative sequences. The teacher used demonstrations by the pupils very effectively so that other pupils gained a clear understanding of what they could achieve. This increased their efforts to be more adventurous in how they moved so that they produced a variety of individual sequences. Dance lessons are often too short to extend pupils’ skills in this way and opportunities are missed to use pupils’ individual and paired accomplishments to act as an incentive to others. This is because dance is planned as part of a rotation of afternoon activities where time is often wasted in transition between activities.

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Commentary

107. Teaching assistants are used well, for example contributing to assessing the gymnastic skills of a specific group of pupils. Appropriate attention is paid to correct and safe dress codes during lessons, successfully addressing an issue identified in the last inspection. One teacher with an expertise in dance leads all dance lessons, which provides class teachers with an opportunity to learn through observation. However, opportunities are missed to develop teachers understanding because the detailed plans provided by the specialist teacher are not seen by other teachers and they are not sufficiently involved in observation and evaluation. There are no planned extra-curricular activities to develop pupils’ interests in physical activities.

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Personal, social and health education

108. Provision in personal, social and health education is very good . Bursledon Church of England Infant School - 29

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• The school’s ethos contributes very substantially to developing pupils personally and socially. • Very good opportunities are provided for pupils to discuss views and feelings. • Pupils’ learning and progress is limited in some lessons because they are too short.

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Commentary

109. Concerns raised in the last inspection have been addressed very well and there is now a very well planned programme to support pupils’ personal, social and health education that meets National Curriculum guidelines. Personal, social and health education is taught partly through other subjects such as science and physical education and partly through specific time set aside during the week for pupils to deal with issues such as friendships and feelings. The quality of teaching ranges from satisfactory to very good and is good overall. Pupils are taught about the environment, healthy living and making choices. They are provided with good opportunities to discuss their views in subject lessons and in specific lessons concerned with sharing feelings and views. Sensitive issues are managed very well in these lessons and all pupils contribute to the discussion sharing opinions and their experiences. They develop their speaking and listening skills very well. The links with subject

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Commentary

areas are good but some of the lessons are too short to enable sufficient development of pupils’ knowledge and understanding. Additional support is provided for pupils needing help to develop their personal and social skills.

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Commentary

110. The very good arrangements in the school to promote good conduct results in pupils knowing and following the rules for their groups and classrooms. Year 2 pupils contribute to the development of the rules.

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Commentary

111. The very good links with parents and the school’s ethos, for example the high expectations of pupils, the very good relationships, the high level of care for individuals, the good role models of all staff and all make a very substantial contribution to the overall provision. The link with the LEA’s emotionally healthy school’s project further contributes well to developments in the school. Bursledon Church of England Infant School - 30

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

The overall effectiveness of the school 3 How inclusive the school is 3 How the school’s effectiveness has changed since its last inspection 3 Value for money provided by the school 3

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

Overall standards achieved 4 Pupils’ achievement 3

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

Pupils’ attitudes, values and other personal qualities 3 Attendance 3 Attitudes 3 Behaviour, including the extent of exclusions 3 Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

The quality of education provided by the school 3 The quality of teaching 3 How well pupils learn 3 The quality of assessment 3 How well the curriculum meets pupils needs 4 Enrichment of the curriculum, including out-of-school activities 3 Accommodation and resources 4 Pupils’ care, welfare, health and safety 2 Support, advice and guidance for pupils 3 How well the school seeks and acts on pupils’ views 4 The effectiveness of the school’s links with parents 2 The quality of the school’s links with the community 2 The school’s links with other schools and colleges 3

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

The leadership and management of the school 3 The governance of the school 3 The leadership of the headteacher 3 The leadership of other key staff 4 The effectiveness of management 3

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

Inspectors make judgements on a scale: excellent (grade 1); very good (2); good (3); satisfactory (4); unsatisfactory (5); poor (6); very poor (7).

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