Elm Grove Primary School

ELM GROVE PRIMARY SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 17 th - 19 th May 2004

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ELM GROVE PRIMARY SCHOOL

Inspection carried out under section 10 of the School Inspections Act 1996 Elm Grove Primary 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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ELM GROVE PRIMARY SCHOOL

Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the School Inspections Act 1996, the school must provide a copy of this report and/or its summary free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. Elm Grove Primary School - 3

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Type of school: Primary School category: Community Age range of pupils: 4 – 11 years Gender of pupils: Mixed Number on roll: 441

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Elm Grove Brighton East Sussex Postcode: BN2 3ES

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Telephone number: 01273 708004 Fax number: 01273 708300

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: The governing body Name of chair of governors: Chris Morley

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: 6 th July 1998

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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SCHOOL

Elm Grove Primary is a larger than average community school with 441 pupils on roll aged 4 to 11 years. Pupils’ social circumstances are similar to those found nationally. The number of pupils who are eligible for free school meals has reduced in recent years and is now broadly average. A small proportion of pupils are from minority ethnic groups, and one pupil is at an early stage of learning English. An average number of pupils have special educational needs, and the number of pupils with statements of special educational need is also average. The proportion of pupils with special needs has reduced in recent years, although the attainment of current children on entry to the reception classes is slightly lower than that expected of similar aged children, particularly in their language skills and knowledge and understanding of the world.

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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SCHOOL

While the school’s pupil population has remained relatively stable in recent years, the school has experienced some significant turbulence in staffing over the last two years. During the inspection, a number of teaching positions were of a temporary nature, mainly covering staff absence and class size initiatives. Elm Grove Primary 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

21095 Lynn Adair Lead inspector Foundation Stage, history, art and design, physical education 9646 Geraldine Osment Lay inspector 22778 Anne Shannon Team inspector English, religious education, special educational needs, English as an additional language 6138 Keith Page Team inspector Mathematics, information and communication technology 25778 Andrew Hicks Team Inspector Science, geography, design and technology, music

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Penta International Upperton House Eastbourne East Sussex 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.oftsed.gov.uk). Elm Grove Primary 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 11

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

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OVERALL EVALUATION

Elm Grove Primary is a sound and improving school that provides satisfactory value for money. When pupils join the reception classes, standards are slightly below those expected for their ages in some areas of learning. Pupils’ achievement is satisfactory overall so that by the end of Year 6 standards are about average. Teaching and learning are good. Leadership of the school is sound. Parents and pupils feel satisfied with the school.

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OVERALL EVALUATION

The school’s main strengths and weaknesses are • The good leadership of the headteacher has been effective in maintaining the positive climate in the school and the good quality of teaching and learning despite some significant staff turnover. • Most pupils achieve well in English. Achievement is good in Years 3 to 6 in science, although there is some underachievement in religious education, geography and history in these years. • Pupils with special educational needs are provided with very well targeted support • A strong focus on the promotion of pupils’ personal development has created a nurturing environment where there are very good relationships. • There is an imbalance in the way the curriculum is planned for different subjects. • Assessment is not thorough enough in most subjects other than English and mathematics.

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OVERALL EVALUATION

The school has made sound improvement since the last inspection and has dealt with most issues successfully. Provision has been improved in information and communication technology (ICT) and science with subsequent impact on standards, but weaknesses in geography and religious education still exist. Planning has improved in English and mathematics for pupils of different ability, but not enough has been done in other subjects, which affects the depth of study especially in Years 3 to 6. The current staffing structure enables members of the senior management team to conduct their roles more effectively and has gone some way to addressing concerns expressed in the last inspection. Barriers to further improvement have arisen as a result of long-term staff absence and changes, so there is still some work to do to in involving staff effectively in evaluation.

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED

All schools similar schools Results in National Curriculum tests at the end of Year 6, compared with: 2001 2002 2003 2003 English E D D A Mathematics C D D B Science C D B A Key: A - well above average; B – above average; C – average; D – below average; E – well below average Similar schools are those whose pupils attained similarly at the end of Year 2.

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED

Achievement is satisfactory overall . Children in the reception classes achieve satisfactorily, with some good achievement in knowledge and understanding of the world, so that many are likely to reach the goals expected nationally by the end of reception in most areas of learning. Language skills are an exception; in spite of sound achievement they remain below expected standards. By Year 2, standards are broadly average in all subjects, demonstrating sound achievement overall. By Year 6, achievement continues to be sound overall so that standards in most subjects are average, with some good standards seen in science. However, standards in religious education are unsatisfactory, and there is also some underachievement in geography and history in Years 3 to 6 due to a lack of depth in their study. Standards seen during the inspection in Year 6 are higher in English and mathematics than those seen in last year’s national tests, and reflect the school’s

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED

concerted efforts to raise standards, especially in English where there is good achievement among current pupils. Last year’s group, which contained a high proportion of pupils with special needs, Elm Grove Primary School - 7 achieved particularly well based on their attainment at age seven. Pupils with special educational needs and English as an additional language achieve well because they are provided with very effective support.

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED

Pupils’ personal qualities are good. Pupils’ attitudes to work are good as is their behaviour, in spite of a small number of pupils with challenging emotional problems. The school provides many opportunities that develop pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural skills and have a positive influence on their approach to learning and establish very good relationships between pupils and with adults. Attendance is satisfactory.

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION

The quality of education provided by the school is good.

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION

Teaching and learning are good . Teaching in the reception classes is satisfactory and in Years 5 and 6 it was very good during the inspection because teachers used methods that engaged pupils’ interest and made them think. Across the school there are strengths in: carefully prepared and organised lessons that build on previous learning effectively; some imaginative strategies to check pupils’ understanding and capture their imagination; and good management of behaviour so that most pupils concentrate well. In some lessons, time is not always well used and this affects the rate of learning and how much is gained during lessons. Some lessons do not help pupils to learn enough because tasks are repetitive or uninspiring, particularly for higher attaining pupils.

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION

The curriculum is satisfactory overall and provides a good range of enrichment activities. However, the balance of learning opportunities is not well thought out and leads to a lack of depth of study in some subjects. Systems for monitoring pupils’ progress are thorough in English and mathematics, but systems are not effective enough for tracking pupils’ progress in other subjects. The school provides good care for its pupils. It has created a sound partnership with parents, and makes good use of community links and those with other schools to enhance the curriculum for pupils.

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LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

Leadership and management of the school are satisfactory. The headteacher provides good leadership. This gives clarity of vision and has created a successful partnership with staff and governors in spite of long-term staff absence and changes. The school analyses and makes effective use of pupil performance data to improve provision, especially in English. Leadership by key staff is satisfactory, but the contribution of some staff is not yet influential enough in the school self- evaluation process. Governance is satisfactory. The governing body is becoming more knowledgeable, especially about the curriculum. They are well organised and play an increasing part in formulating school policies, although they recognise the need to have more involvement in monitoring how well the school is doing. Financial management is good.

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PARENTS’ AND PUPILS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

Parents and pupils have positive views of the school. The great majority of pupils like school. Most parents feel that the school is doing a good job and feel comfortable about approaching the school with concerns, although a number feel that communication could be improved.

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IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED

The most important things the school should do to improve are:

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IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED

Raise achievement in religious education, geography and history. Develop curriculum provision to create a better balance between subjects, as well as making better use of the teaching time available. Improve the effectiveness of assessment. Elm Grove Primary School - 8 Elm Grove Primary School - 9

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Standards achieved in areas of learning, subjects and courses

Standards are broadly in line with national expectations in most subjects by the age of eleven. Achievement of pupils across the school is satisfactory overall in building on their attainment on entry to the reception classes, a similar picture to the last inspection.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Pupils achieve well in English in Years 1 to 6, and in science in Years 3 to 6. • Children in the reception classes achieve well in their knowledge and understanding of the world. • Pupils with special educational needs achieve well. • Standards in religious education are below average by Year 6. • Pupils do not achieve well enough in religious education, geography and history in Years 3 to 6.

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Commentary

1. When children join the school in the reception classes, their attainment is slightly below average as their language skills and knowledge and understanding of the world are below those expected of similar aged children. Sound teaching helps children in the Foundation Stage to learn and develop their skills satisfactorily, resulting in sound achievement overall. A good range of experiences helps children to achieve well in increasing their knowledge and understanding of the world. Attainment in most areas of learning is therefore on course to meet expected standards by the end of the reception year, the exception being in communication, language and literacy skills that are still below expected standards.

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Commentary

2. By the time pupils reach Year 2 standards in work seen in English, mathematics and science are broadly average. This reflects satisfactory achievement from the end of the reception year, with some good achievement in English, especially in speaking and listening and reading, resulting from improved provision in this area. In national assessments, there has been some variation year on year in results. For example, results rose steeply in reading and mathematics in 2000 but were difficult to maintain in subsequent years as the cohorts were of lower attainment and results fell to below average. However, results have begun to rise again and were average in 2003. Current pupils look on course to achieve the targets set for this year to continue the trend of improvement. In writing, results have fallen gradually over the last few years so that in 2003 results were below average and did not compare well with similar schools as few pupils attained level 3. Work of

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Commentary

current pupils in Year 2 shows that the strategies to improve spelling and handwriting have still to have a sufficiently positive effect on writing standards and they are still slightly below expectations. Results in science were lower than average, again with very few pupils attaining level 3, which was well below results in similar schools. Standards among current Year 2 pupils indicate attainment in science is much closer to the national average, although not enough pupils reach higher levels because assessments are not used effectively enough to adapt work for pupils of different levels of attainment.

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

Standards in: School results National results Reading 15.5 (15.3) 15.7 (15.8)

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

There were 65 pupils in the year group. Figures in brackets are for the previous year Elm Grove Primary School - 10 3. As a result of downturns in results in national tests for eleven year olds, the school placed a strong focus on improving provision in the English, mathematics and science. This had a significant effect on science results in 2003, which improved from below average to above average and compared well with similar schools. While results in English and mathematics were still below average and did not compare well with similar schools, the cohort had actually achieved particularly well based on their prior attainment at the end of Year 2. Pupils did much better than expected considering the high level of special needs in that group. Standards in the current Year 6 are much closer to the national average in English and mathematics and are above average in science. Pupils look set to meet more challenging targets set for the latest cohort. Achievement is good in both

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

English and science and satisfactory in mathematics in building on these pupils’ attainment at the end of Year 2.

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Standards in national tests at the end of Year 6 – average point scores in 2003

Standards in: School results National results English 26.4 (26.5) 26.8 (27.0) Mathematics 25.7 (25.7) 26.8 (26.7) Science 29.4 (27.9) 28.6 (28.3) There were 69 pupils in the year group. Figures in brackets are for the previous year

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Standards in national tests at the end of Year 6 – average point scores in 2003

4. In most other subjects, pupils achieve standards that are in line with those expected among seven and eleven year olds, the exception being in religious education by Year 6. In this subject, some improvement has taken place since the last inspection in Years 1 and 2 to increase the rate of progress so that achievement is broadly satisfactory. However, although some examples of sound attainment were observed in some junior classes during the inspection in the subject, both standards and achievement are still unsatisfactory overall by the age of eleven because not enough opportunity is given for pupils to cover themes in sufficient depth to build their knowledge and understanding well enough. In ICT, much improved provision has had a good effect on improving standards in the subject since the last inspection so that they are broadly as expected by the age of seven and eleven. Achievement is satisfactory in ICT. Achievement is generally satisfactory in other

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Standards in national tests at the end of Year 6 – average point scores in 2003

subjects, although there is some underachievement in geography and history in Years 3 to 6 as study of the subjects is not covered in sufficient depth or with sufficient challenge to enable pupils, particularly higher attaining pupils, to reach higher standards. While the school has, quite rightly, focused its attention on improving standards in the core subjects this has, to some extent, been at the expense of other subjects, particularly humanities.

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Standards in national tests at the end of Year 6 – average point scores in 2003

5. Pupils with English as an additional language and those with special educational needs make good progress in relation to the targets set for them in their individual learning plans. Some of those with special needs make such good progress that they are removed from the register. This is because they are well supported by staff deployed to aid their learning. Higher attaining pupils achieve satisfactorily overall. They are challenged in English and mathematics through work planned to extend their learning, but they do not do so well in some other subjects as described earlier. No significant variation was noted between boys’ and girls’ achievement in lessons.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and other personal qualities

6. Pupils’ attitudes and behaviour are good. Their personal qualities are developed well. Attendance is satisfactory, and most of the pupils arrive at school on time.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Pupils behave well as a result of teachers’ high expectations of conduct and manners. • The very good quality of relationships is a strength of the school. • Pupils’ personal development is good because the school gives a high priority to nurturing it. Elm Grove Primary School - 11 • The procedures to monitor attendance are good and are having a positive effect on increasing pupils’ attendance rate.

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Commentary

7. Since the last inspection, the good behaviour, attitudes and very good relationships have been maintained through the continued effective promotion of pupils’ moral and social awareness.

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Commentary

8. The school expects high standards of courtesy and conduct from the pupils who are happy to do all they can to follow the example set by adults and led well by the headteacher. Prior to the inspection parent and pupil questionnaires raised some concerns about bullying in the school. The school’s anti-bullying policy and practice is good, and there were no signs of problems between pupils during the inspection. Pupils spoken to were very positive about the school’s approach to dealing with any bullying that might occur. Behaviour is good at play times, in the restaurant at lunchtime and in the classrooms during lessons. For example, in a good Year 4 science lesson the pupils were very well behaved as they sensibly planned and carried out experiments on insulation. However, there are some pupils in the school who have emotional problems, which sometimes result in difficulty in controlling their behaviour. This was evident when the flow of a Year 2 religious

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Commentary

education lesson was interrupted by the difficult behaviour of a few pupils. However, most teachers employ effective strategies to overcome such disruption at an early stage of intervention. Support from specific sessions in nurture groups outside of lessons helps those with special needs to develop better social skills to control their behaviour more effectively. The headteacher and his staff work hard to keep all of the pupils in school and exclusions are handled appropriately as part of the very successful behaviour management strategy.

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Commentary

9. Relationships are very good and reinforced consistently by the way pupils’ personal skills are developed in lessons. Pupils work together very well, they listen to each other and their teachers respectfully and they share resources sensibly. All of the adults in the school are kind and considerate and show respect to the pupils. This helps them to develop a sense of empathy with others. For example in a very good Year 6 personal, social and health education lesson, the pupils discussed the pressure they might be put under to do things that aren’t right and some of them were able to show how they might help their friends in difficult situations. The headteacher has successfully created an ethos in which all pupils can grow and flourish and this is major contributory factor to pupils’ good levels of enthusiasm for school and their confidence increasing as they move through the school.

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Commentary

10. Provision for pupils’ spiritual and cultural development is good, an improvement in increasing pupils’ spiritual awareness since the last inspection. Pupils’ self-esteem is promoted well. Their achievements are applauded. These include their academic and social efforts in class and at other times. In one Year 5 personal, social and health education lesson, for example, a ‘pupil of the week’ was nominated, and other pupils talked about their efforts and achievements. An interesting variety of visitors and school trips to places in the local environment help pupils to learn about their heritage. These range from a ‘Roman visitor’ to enliven history and a trip to Brighton beach to look at sculptures, to Book Week. Pupils learn about other cultures by studying the world’s main faiths in religious education and through geography and history lessons, although this could be developed further to study these in more detail. At appropriate times there are celebrations of major festivals,

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Commentary

11. Attendance rates were below other schools nationally last year, but they show gradual improvement year on year and current attendance rates are satisfactory. This is because there are good systems in place to promote attendance; the registers are checked daily by the secretary and if no reason for absence has been received parents are telephoned or written to. The education welfare officer supports the school and families as necessary. The headteacher reminds parents in newsletters of the importance of consistent attendance but there are a number of parents who still take their children out of school for term time holidays or days off. Elm Grove Primary School - 12

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Attendance in the latest complete reporting year (%)

Authorised absence Unauthorised absence School data 6.3 School data 0.1 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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Exclusions

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

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Exclusions

Categories used in the Annual School Census No of pupils on roll Number of fixed period exclusions Number of permanent exclusions White – British 394 4 0 White – Irish 5 0 0 White – any other White background 6 0 0 Mixed – White and Black Caribbean 6 0 0 Mixed – White and Black African 1 0 0 Mixed – White and Asian 2 0 0 Mixed – any other mixed background 6 0 0 Asian or Asian British – Bangladeshi 1 0 0 Asian or Asian British – any other Asian background 3 0 0 Any other ethnic group 13 0 0 No ethnic group recorded 4 0 0 The table gives the number of exclusions, which may be different from the number of pupils excluded.

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL

12. The quality of education provided by the school overall is good .

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Teaching and learning

13. Teaching and learning are good. Assessment is satisfactory overall.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Some very good teaching in Years 5 and 6 helped these pupils to achieve well during the inspection. • Lessons are usually well organised and well prepared with effective strategies employed in some lessons to develop learning effectively. On occasion, a lack of challenge in tasks and some ineffective use of time reduce the gains made, particularly by higher ability pupils. • Teachers manage pupils’ behaviour well and have developed very good relationships with pupils so that they confidently and sensibly contribute to discussion. • Pupils with special educational needs are given good support to help them learn well. Elm Grove Primary School - 13 • Assessment is thorough in English and mathematics, but assessment in other subjects is not always good enough to track pupils’ progress effectively.

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Commentary

14. Teaching and learning are good overall. They are satisfactory in the reception classes, good in Years 1 to 6, with some very good features in Years 5 and 6 in the methodology used to engage and motivate pupils. The good teaching has been maintained since the previous inspection, in spite of high levels of staff turnover. Strengths in teaching, such as good management, organisation and support for pupils with special educational needs, have been maintained and the use of ICT has been improved. Planning for higher attainers is better in some English and mathematics lessons, but is not so well planned for in other subjects. Not enough has been done to improve assessment of pupils’ achievements beyond the core subjects of English, mathematics and science.

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Commentary

15. Lessons are usually well organised and well prepared so that they build on prior learning well. Teachers refer back to previous sessions which helps pupils to recap on what they have learnt so far and focus on what they are going to do next, for example as part of the weekly literacy framework. On occasion, introductions go on for too long and too much explanation or reiteration reduces the amount of time for pupils to carry out their own practical activity, as seen in some physical education and art sessions. Lesson planning is most effective in English and mathematics and usually identifies work that is adapted for pupils of all abilities. This aids their progress as they work hard to achieve these specific objectives, which are shared at the beginning of lessons. In other lessons, there is sometimes not enough challenge in the planned activities to cater for the full range of ability, especially for higher attaining pupils, and work can be dull and uninspiring. In geography, history and

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Commentary

religious education work in Years 3 to 6, expectations in terms of recorded work, and the skills demonstrated in the limited amount of written work that has been completed since the start of the year, are not high enough.

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Commentary

16. Pupils with special educational needs are given good and unobtrusive support by teaching staff and assistants to ensure that they are included in all activities in the classroom, and receive individual and group support directly related to their needs. This results in good progress in basic skills acquisition and in more specialist skills such as co-ordination and social skills development.

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Commentary

17. Some imaginative strategies are used that help pupils to learn in different ways. In one reception class, for example, hand signals were used effectively to check understanding and to reinforce the concepts of addition and subtraction in mathematics. In religious education, pupils in Year 6 were encouraged to use all of their senses as a means of recalling key features in a church that they had previously visited. Good use is made of the ICT suite to develop pupils’ skills in the subject, although opportunities are sometimes missed to use ICT as an alternative resource in other lessons. On occasion, the lack of extension work and reliance on mediocre worksheets in Years 1 and 2, limited pupils’ acquisition of higher skills in ICT. On most occasions, the pace of learning is good, particularly in some other ICT lessons, as teachers make good use of all the time available to help pupils gain new skills effectively. Sometimes time is not used well enough in lessons. For

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Commentary

example, in the reception classes, time is wasted at the end of day due to insufficient thought and planning for how to use the time to best effect. In some lessons, such as a Year 2 English lesson, teachers start to clear away too soon prior to assemblies and break times. Timetabling difficulties mean that not enough time is available in some sessions to develop skills sufficiently, such as in music in Year 1 and religious education in Year 4.

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Commentary

18. Teachers and their assistants manage pupils’ behaviour well, particularly those experiencing behavioural problems. The very good relationships between the teachers and pupils encourage pupils to contribute to sessions and air their views and ideas openly. For example, in a Year 6 personal, social and health education session, pupils openly shared their feelings about peer pressures, and confidently entered into role-play, which helped them to consider their thoughts more deeply. Elm Grove Primary School - 14 19. Assessment in English and mathematics is good and individual progress is well recorded. Pupils are becoming increasingly involved through access to individual targets so that they know what they are expected to learn. The assessment of pupils with specific needs is very good. A strength of the provision for special educational needs is the early identification of these pupils and ensuring that learning is built on and rarely repeated. In most other subjects, there are few effective

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Commentary

systems to track individual progress effectively. Marking is often not constructive enough in helping pupils identify strengths and weaknesses in their work and what they need to do next.

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Commentary

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 66 lessons

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Commentary

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactor y Poor Very Poor

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Commentary

0 (0 %) 9 (14 %) 26 (39 %) 31(47 %) 0(0 %) 0 (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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The curriculum

20. Provision for the curriculum is satisfactory overall. Opportunities for enrichment are good. Staffing, accommodation and learning resources are satisfactory overall.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Provision for pupils with special educational needs is very good, supported by a good level of staffing. • There is good extra-curricular activity that enhances and extends the breadth of the curriculum for pupils. • The provision and level of resources for ICT have improved significantly since the last inspection • Some imbalance in the planned curriculum and ineffective implementation of timetabled intentions adversely affect the depth of study in some subjects.

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Commentary

21. Since the last inspection, the school has successfully embraced the national literacy and numeracy strategies and has substantially improved its ICT provision so that it now meets statutory requirements. In the Foundation Stage, the curriculum is planned to cover all the areas of learning and includes a good balance of indoor and outdoor experiences. In Years 1 to 6, it covers the full range of subjects of the National Curriculum and the locally agreed syllabus for religious education. Some pupils in Year 6 also have an opportunity to start learning a modern foreign language. The school’s best curriculum policies and schemes of work have been fully customized to cater for the interests, abilities, and needs of the pupils and provide good guidance on effective classroom practice. However, they have yet to be cross-referenced successfully to show clearly how skills, such as literacy, numeracy and ICT, are developed in within other subjects. The time allocated to

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Commentary

literacy, numeracy and ICT has increased since the last inspection and has led to a stronger focus and subsequent improvement in standards, especially in English and ICT. However, this has been at the expense of some other subjects, particularly humanities, so that the overall balance of the curriculum has become adversely affected. The limited amount of recorded work in religious education, geography and history samples since the start of the year, and discussion with pupils shows that they have not had enough planned opportunities to develop their skills in Years 3 to 6 to a high enough level. In addition, there are significant differences between the times identified and allocated to subjects in timetables and what is actually provided in practice. This shortens the amount of time actually available in some lessons to develop skills successfully.

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Commentary

22. A good range of enrichment activities successfully extends the breadth of learning opportunities for pupils. In addition to appropriate and well-planned visits to support the teaching of Elm Grove Primary School - 15 subjects, such as visits to churches in religious education, extra curricular activities are offered every day at lunchtime and after school. The overall provision is a broad and a varied mix of creative and physical activities and clubs enhance the main provision.

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Commentary

23. The school’s focus on ensuring all pupils are provided with equality of opportunity in accessing the full curriculum is good. Provision for pupils with special educational needs is very good. The special needs co-ordinator works very effectively with all members of staff to organise support programmes for learning, improving co-ordination and nurturing self-confidence and self- esteem. Individual targets are set and reviewed regularly. A combination of in-school and external support makes effective provision for pupils whose first language is not English. Other initiatives are also used to support pupils, for example the additional ‘booster’ sessions in literacy and numeracy.

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Commentary

24. There is good provision for the pupils' personal, social and health education. A systematic programme of experiences has been developed. Sex education, including the misuse of drugs and alcohol are taught as part of the personal, social and health education and science programmes. Provision is enhanced by opportunities for pupils to be representatives on the School Council and residential visits for older pupils.

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Commentary

25. Good links with a number of pre-school groups help the youngest children to settle easily into the reception classes. Good links with secondary schools help pupils to make a smooth transfer to the next stage of their education. It is through participation in a programme with one secondary school that pupils are receiving useful ‘taster’ sessions of modern foreign language teaching.

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Commentary

26. The school is satisfactorily resourced, a similar picture to the last inspection. The quality and match of teaching staff expertise to the demands of the curriculum are both satisfactory. During a time of staff turbulence, teamwork has had a positive effect on the maintenance of good classroom relationships and minimized disruption. Teachers work well with the good level of teaching assistants. ICT resources have significantly improved. Classrooms often have computers and interactive whiteboards and all teachers have laptops. The library has become a resource centre housing fifteen computers and an interactive whiteboard. The accommodation is satisfactory overall. Classrooms are generally of a good size and easily allow for different types of activity and organisation. The school efficiently uses the remaining space indoors for specialist support and activity areas. It has made good use of the limited outdoor space, for example to improve outdoor

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Commentary

learning areas for the reception classes. It has further plans to improve some unused and less accessible spaces outdoors to enhance the personal development of pupils.

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Care, guidance and support

27. Procedures to ensure the care and welfare of the pupils are good. Provision of support, advice and guidance is satisfactory overall. The involvement of the pupils in the school’s work and development is good.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Pupils feel valued because their views are actively sought and acted on. • Support for pupils with special educational needs is very effective. • The induction procedures for the youngest children are good. • Pupils’ academic progress is monitored well in English and mathematics, but few systems have been developed to track progress effectively in foundation subjects and for most pupils’ personal development.

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Commentary

28. The good pastoral care provided six years ago has been maintained. There is good provision for first aid and child protection procedures are satisfactory. Health and safety procedures are thorough and issues highlighted at the last inspection have been addressed. Elm Grove Primary School - 16 29. Support, advice and guidance are satisfactory overall. Parents are very happy with the induction procedures into school. The youngest children and their families are invited to pre-school sessions, which helps them all to become part of the school community. Although a high number of pupils who responded to the pre-inspection questionnaire said they did not feel that there are adults they would go to if they had worries, this was not obvious from responses of the vast majority spoken to during the inspection. There are very good and trusting relationships between staff and pupils. During a meeting with the school council representing pupils across the school, they said that

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Commentary

their teachers are quick to help them and their classmates if they have problems. Staff give good support based on monitoring of pupils’ achievements in English and mathematics. Academic monitoring in some other subjects and tracking personal development are not as well developed. However, pupils with special educational needs are given very good support. The school identifies pupils with special needs at a very early stage and individual education plans contain appropriate targets, which are informed by detailed assessment of pupils’ difficulties. Support assistants keep detailed records to ensure that pupils are being given the correct support. The school works closely with other agencies to provide any additional or specialist support, for example the behaviour unit, educational psychologist, sensory needs support and English as an additional language service.

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Commentary

30. Involvement of pupils is good. They feel able to express their opinions, whether positive or negative, because the headteacher and staff are very good listeners and respond to their comments. The school council meets regularly and pupils are encouraged to bring discussion points from their classes to these meetings. For example the interior décor has changed due to suggestions of the school council and the playground environment is evolving with their participation. School council members also form the Eco Council and together with the Eco Club are gaining a greater awareness of their own responsibilities towards the environment.

p.16

Partnership with parents, other schools and the community

31. The school has a satisfactory partnership with the parents. Links with the community and other schools are good.

p.16

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Parents make valuable contributions to their children’s learning. • Some parents do not feel that communication between home and school is effective enough. • The curriculum is enriched through good links with the local and wider community. • Good links with other schools successfully promote pupils’ personal development.

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Commentary

32. Links with parents are satisfactory overall and reflect the findings of the last inspection. The majority of responses to the pre-inspection questionnaire were positive and reflect parents’ confidence in the school. However, they do not always think their views are sought or fully taken account of, or that they are well informed about how well their children are progressing. The school does not regularly canvas parents’ opinions and the headteacher and governors recognise that this is an area for development. However, scrutiny of documentation and further discussion with parents show that information for parents about how well their children are doing is generally sound. In the autumn term they are invited to meet their child’s new teacher and in the spring term parents, teachers and children set targets for the rest of the year. The annual written reports are sent home in the summer term and they inform parents of how well the child has achieved the previously set

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Commentary

targets, say what needs to be done to fully meet them or set new ones. Parents are also invited to discuss the reports if they wish. At the pre-inspection meeting for parents, most attending felt that teachers were approachable and willing to talk to them about their children. The school works closely with parents when their child is put on the register for special educational needs. A parents support group has developed into ‘Link Up’ incorporating other schools and now regularly organises outings for special educational needs children and their families. Parents support school activities very well. They raise substantial funds through the Friends of Elm Grove, which helps to pay for the Elm Grove Primary School - 17 many visits that the pupils make and the high number of visitors that come into school. Parents share their skills with the pupils by helping in class and through their culinary, artistic and musical

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Commentary

talents in Book Week, the Brighton Festival and the Global Awareness Day. Parents attend performances and the teacher consultations in high numbers and they support their children well with their homework.

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Commentary

33. Good links with the community have also been maintained. The school plays a full and active role in the life of the local community and pupils benefit from working as members of the Eco Club in a local park, taking part in the Brighton Festival and visiting Brighton Pavilion and museum to enrich history and geography lessons. The community police officer is involved with the delivery of the PSHE programme. Many community groups use the school facilities, which encourages greater participation in school events by local people. All of these good opportunities enrich pupils’ learning experiences well.

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Commentary

34. There are strong links with other primary schools that enable pupils to take part in a range of sporting and musical activities. Good curriculum links have been made with secondary schools. The modern foreign language learning opportunities for Year 6 pupils resulted from their teachers sharing training with their secondary colleagues. The Eco Club regularly makes contact with another local secondary school. Year 6 pupils have a large choice of secondary schools so the school completes a thorough “moving on” pupil profile. This aids effective communication with secondary school staff. All of these experiences provide benefits for the pupils.

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LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

35. Leadership and management of the school are satisfactory overall. The headteacher’s leadership is good. The leadership by other key staff is satisfactory. Governance and school management are satisfactory.

p.17

Main strengths and weaknesses

• The headteacher has led the school well through a difficult period of staff changes, although these changes have had an adverse effect on the work of some key staff. • The school is making good use of pupil performance data in English and mathematics to improve provision. • The governing body is well informed about school performance but recognises the need for more active involvement in wider monitoring of the school’s work. • The school is effective in contributing to training programmes for new recruits to the teaching profession. • Financial management is good.

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Commentary

36. The quality of leadership and management has been sustained despite significant barriers in terms of staff turnover and absence since the last inspection. The headteacher is a good leader with a clear sense of purpose. Managing frequent changes to staff has taken up much of his time in the recent past but he has successfully recruited to maintain a team of committed and well-qualified teachers and support staff despite the many changes, both temporary and permanent, which have occurred. Staff morale is good and both staff and governors are committed to raising standards. The headteacher has also successfully led initiatives to improve pupils' behaviour, which deteriorated somewhat after the last inspection. The needs of all pupils are central to the school’s work and approaches to ensuring every child is included in all activities are good. This has had a positive effect on developing a good climate and ethos in the school, which supports pupils’ personal

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Commentary

37. The headteacher reorganised the school’s management structure to increase representation from a wider cross section of the school community and address issues identified in the last Elm Grove Primary School - 18 inspection. This has generally been successful and key staff, particularly those on the senior management team, are clear about their roles and responsibilities. However, the frequent changes that have occurred in staffing have reduced the overall effectiveness of senior managers in working for improvement. For example, oversight of the curriculum has passed from one person to another, including on a temporary basis. This has led to a lack of clear and systematic monitoring by key staff so that imbalances in curricular provision have occurred. The role of some members of the senior management team is still not strong enough in terms of assisting the school’s whole school self evaluation process in order to have a stronger influence on change and improvement in the school’s

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Commentary

38. The school has a well-established programme for inviting student teachers from local colleges into the school at regular intervals over the course of the school year. They are provided with a good level of support from host teachers. The success of the programme is evidenced by the fact that a number of these students are keen to join the existing staff roll at the end of their periods of study as newly qualified staff. They are successfully inducted into school at this point.

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Commentary

39. The headteacher has a clear vision of where the school should be heading, based on an analysis and comparison of its current performance both nationally and within the local community. Detailed analysis of performance data in English and mathematics has led to improvements in provision, for example in the adoption of consistent approaches to teaching multiplication and division, with subsequent improvements to standards. The headteacher is currently overseeing the introduction of new assessment procedures aimed at raising standards further through more effective assessment in the classroom. However, this project is in its early stages of implementation and its impact has yet to be fully realised as part of all teachers’ practice. Priorities for further school improvement are clearly set out in the school development plan. They are focussed well on improving performance in key areas such as English, mathematics and science, and further

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Commentary

development of assessment systems. Time scales and financial implications are very clear. Financial control is very good. Well-organised accounting systems and regular budget monitoring reports provide good information for managers to monitor progress towards its key educational priorities.

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Commentary

40. Regular feedback from the headteacher and other staff ensure that the governing body is kept well-informed about pupil performance in core subjects of English, mathematics and science. The curriculum committee is particularly active in its contribution to policy development and in ensuring that the school meets its statutory requirements. The governor with responsibility for special educational needs works in the school and meets regularly with the special needs co- ordinator. She knows pupils well and contributes effectively to discussions on pupils' progress. Governors have a sound understanding of other aspects of the school’s work but recognise the need to take a more active involvement in monitoring wider school issues, such as gathering the views of the whole parent body to gain their perceptions of what the school is doing well and where improvements are needed. Relationships between the governing body and the headteacher and

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Commentary

other staff are strong and supportive, but governors are not always rigorous enough in holding staff to account, for example to ensure that long-standing concerns surrounding roles and responsibilities have been addressed successfully.

p.18

Financial information

Financial information for the year April 2002 to March 2003(including capital income and expenditure)

p.18

Financial information

Income and expenditure (£) Balances (£) Total income 1 047 882 Balance from previous year 46 296 Total expenditure 1 079 955 Balance carried forward to the next 14 223 Expenditure per pupil 2270 Elm Grove Primary School - 19

p.18

AREAS OF LEARNING IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

41. The overall provision for children in the reception classes is satisfactory .

p.19

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Achievement is good in knowledge and understanding of the world. • Good teamwork between teachers and teaching assistants supports children’s learning well on most occasions. • Good induction procedures provide children with a smooth start to their schooling. • Ongoing assessment of children’s achievement is not yet established firmly enough to guide planning to include more precise targets for learning. • Time is not always used to best effect at the start and end of the day to promote children’s learning.

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Commentary

42. Children are helped to achieve satisfactory standards overall in the Foundation Stage through provision of a sound range of experiences that are taught satisfactorily. Most children are on course to meet the early learning goals required of children at the end of the reception year in almost all areas of learning, the exception being in communication, language and literacy skills where standards are still below these expectations. However, children make satisfactory progress in all areas of learning, building on their attainment on entry to the school, with some good achievement in their knowledge and understanding of the world. It is not possible to make a judgement on improvement since the last inspection because no teaching of the school’s youngest children was seen at that time. In addition, expectations for young children’s learning have changed nationally so it is also difficult to compare standards. Some monitoring of practice in the reception classes takes

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Commentary

place, although evaluation could be more specific in terms of the learning of this age group to identify what works well and where practice could be improved, for example in making better use of time at the start and end of the school day.

p.19

PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

43. Provision for children’s personal, social and emotional development is satisfactory .

p.19

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Staff employ some good strategies that encourage children to behave well and pay attention in whole class activities. • There is not always enough challenge in some of the activities that children access independently to sustain their concentration.

p.19

Commentary

44. Sound teaching and learning results in satisfactory achievement so that most children are on course to attain the expected standard at the end of the reception year. Children are helped to settle into school quickly with the support of effective induction procedures. Routines are established well and children are building positive relationships with adults and other children. They share resources fairly and take turns. For example, when involved in a ‘matching’ activity, each child in the group waited their turn and followed the rules of the game appropriately. Children usually behave well. This is because teaching staff and teaching assistants work together well and consistently reinforce school rules and routines. Expectations for children’s conduct are made clear. Teachers have also Elm Grove Primary School - 20 developed positive reinforcement strategies, using hand signals and rewards, such as smiley faces,

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Commentary

to remind children about expectations and to gain their attention quickly in whole class situations. On occasion, noise levels are high as children are not sufficiently enthused by some small group activities or become restless as they have to sit for too long as a larger group, particularly at the end of the school day.

p.20

COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

45. Provision in communication, language and literacy is satisfactory .

p.20

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Key skills, such as letter recognition and sound work, are well taught. • Teachers tell stories expressively. • Sometimes group activities are not organised well enough to develop learning effectively.

p.20

Commentary

46. Satisfactory teaching and learning overall help children to make sound progress over the course of the year and to achieve satisfactorily in lessons, although there are still fewer children than average on course to reach the early learning goals by the end of the reception year. Teachers place a good emphasis on encouraging children to talk about their experiences, and to ask each other questions. This helps them to extend their vocabulary and many children construct simple, coherent phrases and sentences showing sound standards, including children with English as an additional language. Teachers encourage children to enjoy books by considering story lines and key characters together as a class. Teachers employ some effective expression when reading stories aloud. On one occasion this enthralled the children. They sat open-mouthed and with rapt attention and this really helped them to understand the story line. They were keen to offer their ideas about

p.20

Commentary

47. A good focus is placed on teaching letter sounds with good strategies to enable children to learn different sounds. They use hand signals to signify different sounds. Knowledge of letter sounds helps higher attaining children to recognise some common words in books, but quite a large proportion of children still have only a limited recognition and recall of letters. Nevertheless, this shows sound achievement in building on their below average skills on entry. In guided reading sessions with groups of children, achievement is not so good. Other children in the classroom, who are not fully engaged in their work, interrupt the teacher. Opportunities are also missed to record children’s achievements in a precise way so that these can be built on successfully in the next session. In writing, few children can form recognisable letters when they join school. By the end of the reception year, a small number of higher attaining children make good attempts at writing words

p.20

Commentary

using their knowledge of letter sounds, but many other children are still writing strings of letters, which are not always well formed.

p.20

MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

48. Provision in mathematical development is satisfactory .

p.20

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Some good use of interesting resources aids children’s understanding of calculation. • Opportunities are sometimes missed to make independent group activities more challenging.

p.20

Commentary

Elm Grove Primary School - 21 49. Many children are on course to reach the expectations expressed in early learning goals for the mathematical area of learning. This shows sound achievement since their attainment on entry to the school in number, calculation, shape and measures. Satisfactory teaching helps children, for example, to recognise larger numbers and to count with greater accuracy. Children are beginning to use symbols to calculate simple sums. Some good use of real life fruit helped one group to understand the concepts of addition and subtraction using different numbers of different types of fruit. In addition, the teacher used clear gestures to represent different symbols, which the children copied effectively to show their understanding. Sometimes, tasks are planned that fail to challenge or hold the children’s interest sufficiently to help them learn more effectively. For example, children in

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Commentary

one group threw two dice and counted the sum total but were soon bored by the repetitive activity and were not encouraged to record their calculations to reinforce their learning more effectively. Learning is sometimes reinforced more successfully in other tasks, for example in a role play activity children were helped by a teaching assistant to recognise the value of coins when buying and selling ice creams.

p.21

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

50. Provision in knowledge and understanding of the world is good .

p.21

Main strengths and weaknesses

• A good range of opportunities is provided to help children understand different elements about the world around them. • Planning could be better focused on the precise skills that children are expected to learn, particularly in self-chosen activities.

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Commentary

51. By the end of the reception year, children’s knowledge and understanding of the world has increased well in each aspect of this area of learning since they started school and is supported by sound teaching and learning. Some regular activities, such as observing the weather daily, help children to become more aware and interested in the world around them. Children are encouraged to be curious and to raise questions as they explore and investigate in more focused sessions. These cover different aspects of this area of learning so that children have access to a good range of different experiences. For example, they have looked carefully at different fruits and have planted apple seeds with the intention of observing changes as they grow. They have also planted other types of seeds and have been taught successfully to make simple predictions for what they think will happen. They have observed changes in themselves from when they were babies. Teachers have

p.21

Commentary

taught specific techniques to increase children’s design and make skills, for example children have made bear puppets using sound sewing skills. Children are given independent opportunities to develop their skills in using computers, for example children use a mouse confidently and accurately to make simple pictures and patterns. However, in some of the more independent activities, there is scope for a stronger focus to be placed on what the children are expected to learn which would help adults to help the children to gain more from the experiences.

p.21

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

52. Not enough evidence was seen to make an overall judgement on provision in physical development.

p.21

Commentary

53. Children have opportunities to develop their physical skills regularly and on a larger scale outdoors. Sound skills were observed in children’s use of large equipment outdoors, for example to pedal scooters and tricycles around a prepared obstacle track. They made good use of the space and were aware of other children to safely steer around them and to stop, when asked by other Elm Grove Primary School - 22 children, at the zebra crossing. Children also showed sound finer control of small equipment and tools in a range of activities, for example when writing and drawing, and cutting out figures of animals for puppets to use in role-play.

p.21

CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

54. Provision in creative development is satisfactory.

p.22

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Children are able to use a range of media and materials to experiment and develop their creative skills. • Some role-play areas could be more inspiring to encourage imaginative play.

p.22

Commentary

55. Standards match those expected for children of this age. Children are achieving satisfactorily in this area of learning as a result of sound teaching and learning. Teachers provide a range of opportunities for artwork in two and three dimensions and on different scales in individual and group work. Children are helped to explore different media to experiment successfully with colour, shape and texture, such as reproducing designs based on aboriginal art. Some areas have been developed effectively to help children to encourage imaginative scenarios and enable children to work in smaller groups with either teachers or their assistants who are clear about their respective roles. Children respond well, pretending to be different characters in a jungle in one area, and to sell ice creams in another. However, the role-play area in one classroom was less effectively resourced and did not attract or engage the children’s interest in imaginative play.

p.22

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Achievement in English is good in Years 1 to 6, particularly in developing speaking and listening skills. • Leadership and management of the subject are good and have had a positive impact on improving achievement in the subject. • Teaching and learning are good with effective support provided for pupils with special educational needs. • Assessment is effective in tracking pupils’ progress. • Resources are good and used well.

p.23

Commentary

57. Standards remain similar to those at the time of the previous inspection by the age of eleven, but achievement is better as pupils appear to have come from a lower starting point than in the previous inspection in terms of their English skills. Most current pupils in the school achieve well in English to build successfully on the below average standards at the end of the reception year. This is because teaching and learning are effective. In lessons, key skills are well taught and learning builds effectively on pupils’ prior attainment. Teachers are effective at recapping on previous learning, which sets a context for pupils in each session, and in sharing key objectives for learning with pupils which helps them understand what they are about to learn. Pupils with special educational needs and the lower attainers achieve well, and some very well, to make good progress in the subject. They are given clear well-focused targets that help them to improve. Experienced

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Commentary

teaching assistants support them well in lessons.

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Commentary

58. Results in national tests for Year 2 in 2003 were in line with the national average in reading. Although a majority of pupils reached the expected level 2 in writing in the national tests in 2003, very few attained the higher level 3, which meant that results were below average. Pupils’ attainment in the national tests in Year 6 was similar to the national average for the expected level 4 and the higher level 5, but overall was slightly below average because of the large number of pupils with special educational needs in the year group who did not achieve the expected level. Against their prior attainment in Year 2, however, these pupils had achieved very well. After significant falls in standards in 2001 achievement in English is improving and evidence among current pupils in Year 2 and Year 6 shows the upward trend is likely to continue this year.

p.23

Commentary

59. Throughout the school, staff work hard to ensure that pupils have many opportunities to develop their skills of speaking and listening and standards are good as a result by the age of seven and eleven. Pupils generally are attentive and listen well in class. Most pupils are confident and articulate speakers. This is because teachers question pupils effectively, drawing out their views and encouraging them to share their thoughts and ideas in an environment that values their contributions. Paired, group and then whole class discussion is an effective strategy for enabling all pupils to articulate their ideas. This was evident in good quality outcomes in a discussion about a Caribbean story in Year 5 where pupils asked and answered questions to talk about discrepancies in the story. Pupils across the school talk expressively about their work and things that interest them, with each other and with adults.

p.23

Commentary

60. Standards in reading are satisfactory by the end of Year 2 and Year 6. The good, systematic reading programme and daily opportunities to read to themselves and others provide well for pupils of all abilities. The recently introduced ‘Guided Reading’ session, where a small group of pupils work with the class teacher studying the same text, is popular with the pupils and ensures that each pupil Elm Grove Primary School - 24 is regularly heard to read. Very good records that track the individual’s progress and inform subsequent sessions are kept. Use of large text for class discussion also enables pupils to extend and develop their vocabulary. For example, in Year 2, pupils showed a good understanding of synonyms to find alternative words, and made good attempts to change the vocabulary in an amusing poem while maintaining the rhyming element. The library facilities and resources in classrooms are used well and contribute effectively to pupils’ choice in and enjoyment of reading.

p.23

Commentary

The good management of the subject has ensured that there is a good range of reading materials available to suit all pupils’ interests and needs.

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Commentary

61. Attainment in writing by the end of Year 2 is still below the national average. Standards have dropped steadily since the national tests in 2000. The reason for this has been analysed and areas for development have been identified. New whole school targets have been set and new assessment systems introduced which identify specific areas of writing requiring attention, or particular pupils for focussed support. Handwriting and spelling, for example, are the main areas of weakness and this was supported by evidence collected during the inspection. The school has already taken steps to improve these areas of pupils’ literacy but the initiative has not yet had sufficient effect on current pupils’ writing standards in the year group. The initiative does, however, bode well for future groups. By the end of Year 6 pupils writing skills have improved well in terms of accuracy, coherence and better use of vocabulary. They write for many different purposes and in a

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Commentary

range of styles so that attainment is in line with standards expected of eleven year olds by the end of Year 6. In one very effective lesson in Year 6, the teacher effectively used sound tracks from movies to inspire pupils’ ideas for writing. They responded to the challenge and wrote coherent and well- structured playscripts, diary entries and wanted posters to reflect different sound tracks.

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Commentary

62. Teachers use ICT to further develop pupils’ literacy skills. Pupils listen to taped stories and record themselves retelling stories. Video cameras are also used to record oral work. Pupils have internet access to use in research, and some classrooms have interactive whiteboards that are used regularly by teachers in the whole class teaching of reading and writing skills.

p.24

Commentary

63. The subject is well led and managed by two co-ordinators representing Years 1 to 6. Their close analysis of performance data has identified areas for development and, as a result of subsequent action, raised standards. They are currently introducing new strategies to make assessment more effective in writing as part of each teacher’s ongoing practice, but the quality is still variable in its effectiveness. Most teachers mark work carefully, with many positive comments that show pupils how to improve. However, some comments are excessive in their praise and are more appropriate to the pupil’s efforts than standard of work. There is scope for closer monitoring of practice in order to identify where improvement is needed.

p.24

Language and literacy across the curriculum

64. The use of some literacy skills - speaking and listening and reading - in other subjects is good. For example, in a Year 2 history lesson, the teacher emphasised key skills in how to use reference books to research information about holidays in the past. In ( PSHE ) lessons, a good level of discussion arises from good use of speaking and listening skills. However, opportunities are sometimes missed to use writing skills to best effect in subjects such as geography, history and religious education to extend the range of writing for different purposes. The co-ordinators are presently involved in developing links in other areas of the curriculum to address this issue.

p.24

Main strengths and weaknesses

• The quality of teaching and learning is good and is effectively enriched by the use of ICT. • Assessment records clearly identify what pupils can and cannot do. Elm Grove Primary School - 25 • The quality of leadership is very good. • The development from mental to written calculation is slow.

p.24

Commentary

66. The results of national tests taken at the end of Year 2 in 2003 were in line with the national average for all and similar schools. At present, achievement in Years 1 and 2 is satisfactory and the standards attained in line with the national average, reflecting last year’s results. The results of national tests taken at the end of Year 6 in 2003 were below the national average and well below those of similar schools showing a slight decline since 2002 in pupils reaching the national average although the attainment at higher levels has been maintained. However, the progress made by last year’s group, based on their attainment at the age of seven, was better than average. Although test results showed that girls out-performed boys, there was no difference in attainment detected during the inspection. Present standards in Years 2 and 6 are broadly average, and achievement and progress are both satisfactory. An area that is not so effective is evidenced in samples of work

p.25

Commentary

where standards of written numeracy attained by the average pupils are depressed by the slow development of mental calculation into “jottings” and “written methods”.

p.25

Commentary

67. The overall quality of teaching and learning in Years 1 to 6 is good and has improved since the subject was inspected in 1998. Where teaching is very good, it raises achievement through the effective use of very good questioning and use of ICT skills. In a Year 3 session, for example, the use of ICT was second nature to the teacher who used it in a very good way to demonstrate and explain the concept of division, which aided pupils’ achievement in this area. Good classroom relationships and the regular use of subject specific vocabulary increase the confidence of all pupils so they willingly discuss and present their ideas to the whole class. The quality of teaching and learning falls to satisfactory when the pace is slowed by activity that does not encourage pupils to independently go further than the “answer” and results in waiting for the teacher to provide the next task. This was observed in another Year 3 session, and reflects to some extent the variation in

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Commentary

quality in introducing similar concepts using different strategies.

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Commentary

68. The good implementation of the National Numeracy Strategy by teachers has ensured all mathematics sessions commence with a good mental and oral starter, and provide satisfactory or frequently better main activities and plenary. There is a very clear policy for developing calculation skills and planning is closely monitored for coverage of the schemes of work and the quality of activity. Planning usually takes into account the needs of different levels of ability and group work is well organised, a notable feature of the very good teaching in Year 6, which challenges and motivates pupils when collating and representing data. On occasion, inflexibility in adapting planning at class level to provide more suitable work for pupils of different levels of attainment slows the progress being made. For example, in Year 1, pupils struggle to conceptualise a two-stage calculation using money and would have benefited from the opportunity to record their findings as

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Commentary

they went along to provide a framework for their working out.

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Commentary

69. Pupils with special educational needs make good progress because their specific numeracy targets are effectively addressed through the high quality teamwork between teachers and support staff and the expert use of ICT.

p.25

Commentary

70. The quality of leadership is very good and this has contributed to the good improvement to provision since the last inspection. Although standards have remained the same, the breadth and depth of the curriculum have improved significantly and assessment records show that teachers have greater knowledge of what pupils can and cannot do. The subject leaders provide very good role models for teaching and learning. Management of the subject is good. The effective use of data has resulted in targeting areas of the curriculum, such as division and multiplication, where standards are lower, and the assessment of pupil progress is measured against very specific areas of learning. However, closer monitoring of teaching and learning, to ensure consistent effectiveness in implementation of new initiatives and school expectations for mathematics, has been delayed by the secondment of one subject leader to a local deputy headship.

p.25

Mathematics across the curriculum

71. Competence in use of mathematics across the curriculum is satisfactory but it is improving as teachers adopt a stronger policy on developing calculation skills and opportunities to use numeracy skills in other sessions. A good example is in ICT where there are planned opportunities to define position and direction.

p.26

SCIENCE

73. Provision in science is satisfactory.

p.26

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Standards in Year 6 are above average and pupils achieve well in Years 3 to 6. • Lessons are well planned with a good emphasis on practical investigation. • Teaching is good in Year 3 to Year 6. • Teachers make insufficient use of assessment information to guide planning.

p.26

Commentary

73. Standards attained by pupils currently in Year 2 are average, although fewer pupils than would be expected in comparison with all schools nationally attain at higher levels. This suggests a similar picture to the last inspection findings but a better picture than last year’s national assessment results where results were below average and did not compare well with similar schools. Achievement overall is satisfactory. Standards at the end of Year 6 are higher now than at the last inspection. They are above the national average and are similar to last year’s national test results, when pupils performed very well compared with their performance at the age of seven. Achievement overall by the end of Year 6 is good.

p.26

Commentary

74. Teaching is satisfactory in Years 1 and 2, and good in Years 3 to 6. The teaching of practical investigation skills has improved since the last inspection, where it was reported as a weakness. This is now done well throughout the school. For example in studying similarities and differences, Year 2 pupils measured their own hands and feet to find out whether children with large hands also had large feet. Older pupils know, through investigation, how to separate mixtures such as crystals of copper sulphate and copper chloride by dissolving, filtering and evaporation. They also understand how the application of heat affects the rate at which substances dissolve in water. Older pupils have a good understanding of a “fair test”, for example using the same size cans with equal amount of water at the same starting temperature to investigate which materials are the best thermal insulators. Teachers adapt investigation templates and recording sheets well for pupils of different

p.26

Commentary

ages and abilities. These support learning effectively, helping to ensure that pupils work methodically at all stages from making initial predictions to drawing final conclusions about what they have discovered.

p.26

Commentary

75. Teachers organise pupils into groups of mixed ability for practical work. This generally works well. A challenging Year 6 lesson on electric circuits was organised this way. Expectations were high, pupils were actively engaged in the lesson and learned effectively from each other. By the end of the lesson all pupils had advanced their understanding of how adding additional batteries or components such as light bulbs and buzzers into a series circuit affects the brightness of the bulb or the volume of the sound produced by the buzzer. Teachers make some use of ICT and numeracy skills to support learning, for example using automatic data logging equipment to record temperatures or sound levels, and drawing graphs to show the results. However, examples such as this are not widespread or well planned for throughout the school.

p.26

Commentary

76. Subject management is satisfactory. Although the issue of better investigation opportunities has been addressed, there has been insufficient action to address previously low levels of attainment in Year 1 and Year 2. Additionally, although there are satisfactory systems for tracking Elm Grove Primary School - 27 pupils' progress, the use of assessment information to identify strengths and weaknesses in performance and to guide planning is underdeveloped. These two factors are the principal reasons why fewer pupils than would be expected from national comparisons reach higher levels of attainment by the end of Year 2.

p.26

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

77. Provision in information technology is good.

p.27

Main strengths and weaknesses

• The quality of teaching and learning is good and is effectively enhanced by increased teacher expertise and confidence. • Assessment records accurately identify pupils’ level of attainment. • The quality of leadership and management is very good. • Identifying where to use ICT in other subjects is not effective enough.

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Commentary

78. Current standards in Years 2 and 6 are in line with national expectations in ICT for seven and eleven year olds respectively. Most pupils are achieving at least satisfactorily as they move from year to year, with some good achievement directly related to the quality of teaching in lessons. The overall quality of teaching and learning in Years 1 to 6 is good and has improved dramatically since the subject was inspected in 1998. Teaching and learning are very good when the teacher is confident and expert in the use of ICT and has high expectations of the ability and knowledge pupils bring to lessons. Interactive teaching programmes and whiteboards are used effectively to raise standards in calculation skills for all pupils, particularly in understanding and recording division. The regular use of exploratory and decision-making activity ensures the most able and talented pupils make good progress. For example, within thirty minutes high-attaining pupils in Year 5 effectively

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Commentary

programmed the control of several complex lighting sequences to assist the flow of traffic. Pupils’ ability to use spreadsheets and control software to explore and create patterns and sequences is good. Samples of work saved on the school’s database and displayed throughout the school show that standards in using word processing and graphics software to record and save texts and images and model real life are sound. All pupils confidently use e-mail and the internet to send and retrieve information and by the end of Year 6 pupils competently use databases and power point presentations to refine and present information.

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Commentary

79. Satisfactory teaching and learning occurs when a complimentary activity in written form is less motivational than the activity involving the computer. For example, in Year 1, the expectation for simply colouring in a worksheet reduced lower attaining pupils’ achievement in developing either their ICT or language skills successfully. In a Year 2 lesson, the lack of extension work for higher attaining pupils limited their acquisition of higher levels of skill in programming a robot. However, the provision of specific hardware and software for pupils with special educational needs ensures that they make good progress in some sessions. For example, by listening to the computer read a sentence they had written, pupils independently corrected spellings and sentence construction.

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Commentary

80. The school has a good policy and schemes of work to guide teachers’ planning and help to ensure pupils receive the full breadth and balance of the National Curriculum requirements, a much improved position since the last inspection. The school’s allocation of teaching and learning time is clearly evident in class timetables and extra curricular activities are well linked to the main provision. However, as indicated in the development plan, the use of ICT as part of teaching and learning in most other subjects is underdeveloped.

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Commentary

81. The quality of leadership and management is very good and has led to very good progress since the last inspection. The curriculum is now very well resourced and standards have risen as a result of teachers’ confidence in teaching the subject. Monitoring and evaluation records show that Elm Grove Primary School - 28 teachers have a greater competence in teaching ICT and a good understanding of what pupils need to achieve at each national curriculum level. The subject leader provides a very good role model for teaching and learning and regularly provides technical and training support.

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Information technology across the curriculum

82. Competence in the use of ICT is broadly satisfactory. There was some evidence of its effective use as a teaching tool in some subjects such as mathematics and English and for pupils to use to support their learning. In addition, there were some examples in other subjects, such as history, of its use to research life in the past. However the general lack of evidence in pupils’ work in most other subjects reflects the school’s own identification of the need to develop its use across the curriculum further.

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Religious Education

84. Provision in religious education is broadly satisfactory .

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Teaching in lessons seen during the inspection in Years 5 and 6 was good. • Pupils demonstrated positive attitudes to the subject. • Improvement since the last inspection is unsatisfactory so that standards by the end of Year 6 are below expectations for eleven year olds and achievement in Years 3 to 6 is unsatisfactory.

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Commentary

84. Standards by the end of Year 2 are similar to what is expected of pupils of this age in the locally agreed syllabus and their achievement is broadly satisfactory. By the end of Year 6 standards are below what is expected of eleven year olds and achievement is unsatisfactory. This is the same as at the time of the last inspection and shows that there has not been enough improvement in the subject. There is very little recording of work and this contributes to the reason for unsatisfactory achievement. Planned themes in Years 3 to 6 are broadly covered but not in enough depth. Pupils’ level of understanding is not assessed effectively enough so that teachers can build knowledge and understanding more effectively year by year on a stronger foundation. In some lessons, the position of religious education on the timetable means that not enough time is given to develop pupils’ knowledge and understanding effectively to meet the objectives for learning. This happened in Year 4

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Commentary

where pupils had hardly begun to work independently to consolidate their ideas when the lesson finished as it was break time.

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Commentary

85. The quality of teaching and learning seen during the inspection varied but was satisfactory overall and pupils usually made sound progress in relation to what was being taught. There was some very good teaching observed in Years 5 and 6. Teachers had good relationships with their pupils and pupils had good attitudes in their lessons, which encouraged good discussion and healthy debate of different issues. Lessons were pacy and expectations for learning were achieved. Year 5 pupils successfully grasped the concept of the importance of positive rather than negative rules and were able to write three rules for a mixed community stranded on a desert island to live in harmony. This was also a good example of how pupils’ personal development was promoted. Year 6 pupils showed a good understanding of the areas of the church after their recent visit to a local Anglican church and were able to discuss their experience in terms of the five senses. As at the time of the

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Commentary

last inspection, there is evidence that some activities are repeated. Pupils in Year 1 went on a church visit during the inspection and planning for older pupils conducting the same sort of visit does not show clearly how knowledge and understanding is improved. Elm Grove Primary School - 29 86. The locally Agreed Syllabus is used as the basis for teaching religious education but the school’s scheme of work is out of date and is due to be revised. The co-ordinator was appointed at the beginning of the school year and is enthusiastic but inexperienced and has not yet begun to make a difference to how the subject is taught and thereby raise achievement.

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Geography

88. There is insufficient evidence to judge overall provision in Year 1 and Year 2. Provision in geography is satisfactory in Year 3 to Year 6.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Standards of work overall are in line with national expectations by the end of Year 2 and Year 6, but work by older pupils often lacks depth. • There are few effective systems for tracking pupils’ progress.

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Commentary

88. No lessons were seen in Year 1 and Year 2, but standards are average and achievement overall is satisfactory. For example, pupils in Year 1 draw simple maps to show their route from home to school and they compare how features such as the weather and language spoken in foreign countries is different from Britain as the class teddy “Digger” goes on holiday. Year 2 describe their immediate locality and compare living in Brighton with living on a small island, listing differences such as the amount and type of traffic, noting for instance that more people walk “because the island is small.”

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Commentary

89. Teaching in Year 3 to Year 6 is satisfactory. Teachers use learning resources effectively to promote discussion. Year 4 pupils, for example, compared photographs of the real St Lucia with those in holiday brochures to discuss the different images they portray. Planning has improved since the last inspection and weaknesses in older pupils' understanding of physical geography have been partially remedied. Year 6 pupils know, for example, how bays and cliffs are formed, and have a sound understanding of earthquakes and volcanoes. However, not enough is expected of many pupils. For example Year 3 work on settlements is limited to exploring the origin of place names and simple map work. Year 5 pupils debated the issues surrounding difficulties with car parking in the local area, but questions were not challenging enough to improve their understanding of others’ point of view. Standards of attainment are in line with those expected for pupils of their age. However,

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Commentary

achievement overall in Year 3 to Year 6 is unsatisfactory because work is often fragmentary and studied at a superficial level.

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Commentary

90. Subject management is satisfactory, but there is no system for assessing and recording pupils' progress. This contributes to the underachievement of older pupils because teachers are not clear what is expected nationally of similar aged pupils.

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History

91. Provision in Years 1 and 2 in history is satisfactory . No lessons were seen in Years 3 to 6 to enable a judgement about overall provision to be made.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Some good teaching was observed in Year 2 that aided the effective development of historical enquiry skills. • Standards overall are broadly in line with national expectations by the end of Year 2 and Year 6, but pupils are not achieving as well as they could do in Years 3 to 6, particularly higher ability pupils. Elm Grove Primary School - 30 • Insufficient information is collected about pupils’ achievement to track progress effectively enough in the subject.

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Commentary

92. Standards in history are in line with national expectations for seven year olds and achievement is satisfactory, which is a similar picture to the last inspection. Pupils are gaining an understanding of changes that occur over time, comparing similarities and differences in different time periods, for example in toys and nurses uniforms in Year 1, and in seaside holidays in Year 2. They also know some basic information about famous people and events, such as Florence Nightingale in Year 1 and the Gunpowder Plot in Year 2.

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Commentary

93. However, while standards are about the same as expectations for eleven year olds in the work seen in history, pupils do not achieve as well as they could do, demonstrating that there has not been enough improvement since the last inspection to maintain the sound progress observed at that time. This is because current pupils demonstrate only a cursory understanding of different time periods, and do not have enough planned opportunities to develop their knowledge, skills and understanding to a more advanced level through more in-depth studies and challenging activities. For example, in Year 6, pupils know basic facts about Greek gods and mythology, but activities such as simply colouring in maps of the area and completing worksheets do not offer enough challenge for pupils to develop their historical skills, particularly the higher attainers. Some examples of sound enquiry skills were seen in some work, such as in Year 5 where pupils conducted independent

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Commentary

enquiries about their locality, identifying key features from the Victorian period. In Year 4, pupils were encouraged successfully to offer some solutions to problems encountered by Henry VIII. However, such enquiries are not planned for and pursued regularly enough to develop skills satisfactorily from Years 3 to 6.

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Commentary

94. Teaching and learning are satisfactory overall. In one lesson seen in Year 2, the quality was good. A variety of good quality resources were used to support pupils’ enquiries to compare holidays in the past with today’s holidays. Pupils were encouraged to research with a good level of autonomy and were able to do so because the teacher had placed key questions at each table to guide their enquiries and was on hand to check that pupils were engaged in the activity. As a result, pupils worked together well to produce mind maps of key facts associated with transport, clothing and activities in different time periods. A key barrier to learning across the school is curriculum planning which is often not detailed enough to show how work is adapted for pupils of different abilities. This is compounded by the fact that assessment is not an effective aid to future planning. Marking is limited in identifying what pupils have achieved and what they could work at next to develop their

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Commentary

skills more effectively. Neither are there any whole school systems in place to record pupils’ achievements and progress.

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Commentary

95. Some sound opportunities for using and applying literacy skills in history were seen in pupils’ work. For example, pupils in Year 3 have written news items telling of Boudicca’s death. ICT was used well to research information about changes in holidays during a Year 2 lesson, but little further evidence of its use to support learning was seen in pupils’ work across the school. Opportunities are taken to enrich the curriculum through visits to museums and by visitors to the school, for example in Year 3 a ‘Roman soldier’ brought history to life for pupils.

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Commentary

96. A new co-ordinator has just taken on responsibility for leading and managing the subject and has specific qualifications in history. However, there has been little opportunity to date to influence development of the history curriculum by identifying where the most important areas for improvement are required.

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CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

97. No lessons were seen in design and technology . Examination of completed work shows that pupils attain the standards expected for their age and nearly all achieve satisfactorily throughout the school. Standards are similar to those seen at the last inspection. Pupils in Year 1 and Year 2 Elm Grove Primary School - 31 design and make products such as moving toys, based on levers and sliding mechanisms, fruit salads and glove puppets. Design drawings are satisfactory and include details to show for instance how pupils intend to decorate their work. Finished products, such as the puppets on display in Year 2, are well made. Pupils evaluate their work satisfactorily and suggest ways in which they could improve it, for instance by adding legs to their puppets. In Year 3 to Year 6, pupils design and make a diverse range of products such as pneumatically operated “moving monsters”, bread, packaging for

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CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

chocolate sweets and a variety of model shelters. Finished products are robust and attractively finished. Although most pupils achieve satisfactorily, more could be expected of higher attaining pupils in Year 3 to Year 6. For example, the best shelter designs in Year 6 show how the use of struts makes structures rigid in order to withstand a strong wind. However, such detail is rare and not enough work includes higher order design skills such as developing a range of alternative solutions to meet the given design criteria.

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CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

98. There is not enough evidence to judge provision in music . Teaching was satisfactory overall in the very few lessons seen. A Year 2 lesson developed pupils’ awareness of musical pitch through a range of fun activities that they clearly enjoyed. Taught at a brisk pace, the lesson was well organised and interesting. Pupils correctly identified and sang high and low-pitched sounds, copying the teacher or other pupils satisfactorily. Standards were in line with those expected for pupils of their age. Clear musical direction from the teacher and good attention to rhythmical accuracy developed pupils’ performance skills well in a Year 5 lesson. Pupils used body sounds and played percussion instruments in a good performance of a five part score that they had developed in the previous lesson. Year 6 pupils worked well on group compositions based on an Indian Tala. Performances were satisfactory but the teacher missed opportunities to extend pupils' understanding because

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CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

evaluations of each group’s work did not focus enough on using musical language to explain how performances could have been improved.

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Art

99. The provision in art is satisfactory in Years 1 and 2. No lessons were seen in Years 3 to 6 to make a judgement about provision in art for these year groups.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Some good enrichment activity provides the inspiration for some effective three-dimensional work. • The school’s Art Club provides good opportunities for pupils to extend their interest and skills in art. • Pupils’ individual sketchbooks are not annotated effectively enough to provide a clear record of progress.

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Commentary

100. Improvement since the last inspection has been satisfactory overall in maintaining standards and the progress that pupils make in developing their art skills. Standards at the end of Year 2 and Year 6 are in line with those expected for pupils of similar ages. In addition to the lessons seen, displays and pupils’ work in sketchbooks show that achievement is satisfactory overall in developing different art skills and techniques and in using a range of materials and different media. In sketchbooks, however, opportunities are missed to date and annotate pupils’ work to act as a more effective record of their progress and address the concern raised about assessment in the last inspection. Good standards were seen in some creative three-dimensional work, for example in Year 5 where pupils have produced ornate vases. In Year 3, pupils have developed their own abstract pieces based on ideas and observational drawings gleaned from a visit to view sculptures

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Commentary

on Brighton beach. They have posed some useful questions in their evaluation of sculptures, but such good practice is rarely seen in most art work on display or in sketchbooks. Elm Grove Primary School - 32 102. The quality of teaching is satisfactory. In lessons in Year 2, teachers develop pupils’ ideas satisfactorily from lesson to lesson. For example, pupils have created ‘mind maps’ to develop ideas about their favourite places. They have then experimented with different textures and materials before starting work on abstract sculptures to represent their ideas. Teachers provided pupils with a good range of different materials to enable them to be more creative in their ideas, although sometimes their original ideas are overlooked in their enthusiasm to use new materials. On occasion, the balance between discussion and practical activity reduces the amount of time pupils have to develop their ideas successfully. All pupils were thoroughly engrossed in their work,

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Commentary

however, and worked together well to share resources and consider ideas. In Year 1, pupils have experimented with a range of techniques using materials. They show sound skills in sewing, plaiting and are beginning to understand weaving techniques. However, the quality of finish in the latter is reduced by a lack of focus on ensuring that pupils are using the appropriate technique and the teacher’s acceptance of less than satisfactory work, which pupils have finished hurriedly.

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Commentary

103. Pupils have some opportunity to use computers in art to work in an alternative medium, for example in Years 2 and 4 when exploring patterns, and this is an improvement on the last inspection. However, opportunities are still missed to use it for researching about different artists, for example to support work in sculpture. Teachers use opportunities to promote pupils’ cultural awareness through art well. For example, some effective Aboriginal designs have been created in Year 4 to show ‘journeys’ using colours, signs and symbols drawn from the Aboriginal culture. In Year 6, pupils have used different materials to create sound quality African masks.

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Commentary

104. Sound leadership and management of the subject have maintained standards in art and ensure enrichment opportunities are planned for carefully. An art club helps to develop pupils’ interests and talents, and pieces created by these pupils are valued through prominent displays, such as an effective group piece based on the work of Picasso. The school takes an active part in local parades where large art pieces are prepared with the help of parents and visiting artists.

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Physical Education

105. Provision in this subject is satisfactory .

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Techniques and tactics are taught well. • A good focus is placed on ensuring pupils understand the effect of exercise on the body. • Opportunities are missed in some lessons to explore and use pupils’ views fully to improve performance. • Time not always used to best effect.

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Commentary

106. It was not possible to compare the high standards observed during the last inspection in swimming as no lessons in this aspect of physical education were observed during this inspection. However, the school has maintained the sound standards in other aspects of physical education so that by the age of seven and eleven, standards are as expected for these age groups. Teaching was satisfactory in all the lessons seen and pupils’ achievement is satisfactory overall.

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Commentary

107. All teachers place a strong emphasis during warm up and cool down sessions on making pupils aware of the effects of exercise on their bodies. Most pupils respond well to teachers’ expectations for effort and persistence in lessons. The best warm-up activities are pacy and fun and really challenge the children physically. For example, in Year 2, pupils have to do the opposite of what the teacher says, so they have to listen hard to make sure of and follow the instructions accurately. In Year 6, after a speedy warm up, pupils themselves led the stretching exercise routine for others to emulate. All pupils were strongly supportive of a less confident pupil who led part of the activity, and this pupil’s confidence grew immensely as the activity progressed. Teachers’ Elm Grove Primary School - 33 explanations and instructions are clear, and techniques are modelled well, for example in Years 4 and 5 to demonstrate hurdling techniques and standing triple jumps. As a result these pupils were

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Commentary

attentive to controlling their movements and to safety factors when jumping over hurdles.

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Commentary

108. On occasion, the balance between explanation by the teacher and activity by the pupils is less effective and pupils have to wait too long to begin activities. Opportunities are sometimes missed to use pupils’ accomplishments to act as an incentive to others. In all lessons, teachers’ plans show clearly how they intend learning to develop during each session, and progress from year to year is evident in athletic skills, such as jumping techniques and catching and throwing skills. Sometimes timetable shortcomings mean that not enough time is available to develop skills as fully as intended, as seen in a Year 4 lesson. In other lessons where there is more than enough time, teachers do not always capitalise on it sufficiently to develop pupils’ skills to a higher level and sometimes repeat activities rather than extending skills further and expect too little of pupils. A good feature in one Year 6 lesson was the way in which the teacher used healthy competition to develop

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Commentary

tactics and skills in a game of ‘Kwik Cricket’. Most pupils entered into the spirit of each game whole- heartedly so that teamwork was developed well.

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Commentary

109. Leadership and management of the subject are sound. There is a good range of extra- curricular activities to develop pupils’ interests in physical activities and to compete with other schools in the area.

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Personal, social and health education

110. The provision for personal, social and health education is good

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Very good relationships support effective discussion in lessons and help pupils to explore issues that concern them and deepen their understanding of how to deal with them. • The school places a good emphasis on promoting healthy living as well as gaining and acting on pupils’ views. • A good programme supports personal development but systems for tracking most pupils’ personal development have yet to be developed.

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Commentary

111. The school has developed a good programme for promoting pupils’ personal, social and health education. This is embedded in specifically defined and taught lessons and well-planned themes in assemblies, as well as woven into other parts of the curriculum, such as science and physical education, when pupils consider health related issues. Themes, such as friendship, peer pressure, raising self-esteem, looking at people who help us and religious festivals are explored in specific PSHE lessons, and also in class and whole school assemblies. These good opportunities contribute to the good personal qualities demonstrated by pupils by the time they leave the school, showing good achievement overall during their time in school. However, the school has yet to consider ways of tracking pupils’ personal development as a means of developing their skills still further.

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Commentary

112. In three personal, social and health education lessons seen, teaching was at least good with one very good lesson seen in Year 6. Relationships were very good between pupils and their teachers in all lessons so that pupils were able to express their views openly and engage in discussion. In Year 2, for example, pupils became more confident in sharing their ideas, with the teacher’s encouragement, about how they could help themselves to be happy at school. In Year 5, pupils were proud to be nominated as ‘person of the week’ and were keen to hear compliments from their peers. In Year 6, pupils discussed peer pressure and entered into mature discussion about how they might help others who were in difficult situations. Teachers use role-play to simulate scenarios, which help pupils to consider the best ways to react when dealing with difficulties. Elm Grove Primary School - 34 113. Provision is enriched by the opportunities, such as the School Council, which meets

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Commentary

frequently to discuss any concerns pupils might have about, for example, behaviour. The Council gives pupils a chance to build their confidence and self-esteem as representatives of other pupils’ views. The headteacher and staff take all views expressed seriously and are keen to involve pupils in major developments, such as proposed playground improvements. Pupils also have the opportunity to join an Eco Club, which engages pupils in activities such as growing fresh vegetables, which helps to raise their awareness of healthy eating issues. Elm Grove Primary School - 35

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

The overall effectiveness of the school 4 How inclusive the school is 3 How the school’s effectiveness has changed since its last inspection 4 Value for money provided by the school 4

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

Overall standards achieved 4 Pupils’ achievement 4

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

Pupils’ attitudes, values and other personal qualities 3 Attendance 4 Attitudes 3 Behaviour, including the extent of exclusions 3 Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 3

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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 4 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 3 Support, advice and guidance for pupils 4 How well the school seeks and acts on pupils’ views 3 The effectiveness of the school’s links with parents 4 The quality of the school’s links with the community 3 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 4 The governance of the school 4 The leadership of the headteacher 3 The leadership of other key staff 4 The effectiveness of management 4

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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). Elm Grove Primary School - 36

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