Forest Fields Primary and Nursery School

FOREST FIELDS PRIMARY AND NURSERY

Dates of inspection: 15 th – 18 th March 2004

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FOREST FIELDS PRIMARY AND NURSERY

Inspection carried out under section 10 of the School Inspections Act 1996 Forest Fields Primary and Nursery - 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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FOREST FIELDS PRIMARY AND NURSERY

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. Forest Fields Primary and Nursery - 3

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Type of school: Primary School category: Community Age range of pupils: 3-11 Gender of pupils: Mixed Number on roll: 418

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Bradgate Road Forest Fields Nottingham Nottinghamshire Postcode: NG7 6HJ

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Telephone number: 0115 915 6872 Fax number: 0115 915 6873

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: Interim Executive Board Name of chair of Interim Executive Board: Mr R Aldridge

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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SCHOOL

Forest Fields is a large primary school. It includes a nursery of 50 places and serves an inner city area of Nottingham, with almost a quarter of its pupils travelling to the school from outside its traditional catchment area. Most pupils are from a well below average socio-economic background in an area of high unemployment. The proportion of pupils who are eligible for a free school meal is above the national average. Pupils are from a variety of ethnic backgrounds; 55 per cent of pupils are from a Pakistani background, 20 per cent are white, eight per cent are Indian and small percentages are from mixed race, other Asian backgrounds, Bangladeshi, Black African, Black Caribbean and other black backgrounds. The school’s population also includes 24 refugees from Angola, Kurdistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Turkey and Eastern Europe. Nineteen languages are spoken by pupils in the school. Pupils who speak English as an additional language form the majority, almost 80 per cent, of

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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SCHOOL

the school population. Most of these pupils speak little or no English when they first enter the school. An above average proportion of pupils join or leave the school during the course of the school year. Overall, pupils’ attainment on entry is very low. The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs is well above average and the proportion with a Statement of Special Educational Needs is below the national average. These pupils have difficulties in learning, physical disabilities, impairments in their speech, hearing and vision, emotional and behavioural problems or autism. In 2001, the school received an Achievement Award for the improvement in its national test results. The school has recently gained Investors in People status. The school provides many services for the community, such as a collection point for the Credit Union Bank and accommodation for a Saturday school in Urdu. Forest Fields Primary and Nursery - 4

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Members of the inspection team Subject responsibilities

2440 Mrs P Francis Lead inspector Science, information and communication technology, design and technology. 32655 Mr J Bostock Lay inspector 20230 Mrs J Clayphan Team inspector English, English as an additional language, religious education, art and design, music. 21910 Mr G Longton Team inspector Mathematics, geography, history, physical education, special educational needs. 23048 Mrs D Wilkinson Team inspector Foundation Stage.

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Members of the inspection team Subject responsibilities

Serco QAA Herringston Barn Herringston Dorchester Dorset DT2 9PU

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Members of the inspection team Subject responsibilities

Any concerns or complaints about the inspection or the report should be made initially to the inspection contractor. The procedures are set out in the leaflet ‘Complaining about Ofsted Inspections’ , which is available from Ofsted Publications Centre (telephone 07002 637833) or Ofsted’s website (www.ofsted.gov.uk). Forest Fields Primary and Nursery - 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

The school’s effectiveness is good , and it provides good value for money. The quality of teaching and learning are good and all groups of pupils achieve well. The school is well led and managed and is improving its standards steadily.

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OVERALL EVALUATION

The school’s main strengths and weaknesses are:

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OVERALL EVALUATION

• Very good provision in the nursery means that children receive a very secure foundation to their learning. • The school’s provision for pupils with special educational needs is very good and they achieve well. • Due to the school’s very good provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, pupils’ personal qualities are well developed; they have good attitudes and values, and they are well behaved. • The school treats pupils fairly and there is very good racial harmony. • Pupils who speak English as an additional language achieve well but national test results do not yet reflect the standards seen in class. • While new assessment systems in English, mathematics and science provide good information for teachers to plan the next steps in learning, this is not the case in the remaining subjects.

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OVERALL EVALUATION

Improvement since the last inspection is good. The majority of the key issues have been addressed fully. All groups of pupils now achieve well because teaching and learning are more consistently good across the school. Pupils’ attitudes, personal qualities and behaviour have improved from satisfactory to good. The requirements of the National Curriculum are met in information and communication technology (ICT) and the curriculum is now enriched very well.

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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 E E D mathematics C E E C science C E E D 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 good overall. All groups of pupils achieve well across the school from their very low standards on entry. Children in the nursery achieve very well. In the reception classes, they achieve well and they reach the goals children are expected to reach by the end of the reception year in their physical development. Their attainment is below average in their personal, social and emotional development and in their knowledge and understanding of the world. They attain well below average standards in their communication, language and literacy, mathematical development and creative development. In Years 1 and 2, pupils achieve well and the current Year 2 pupils are reaching well below average standards in reading and writing, and below average standards in mathematics and science. In Years 3 to 6, pupils continue to achieve well and the current Year 6 pupils are reaching below average standards in English, mathematics and science. The inspection findings on

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED

standards are higher than the 2003 Year 6 national test results. The school recognises that significant numbers of pupils who speak English as an additional language find the formal language of national tests difficult to interpret. Forest Fields Primary and Nursery - 7 Pupils’ personal qualities are good overall. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is very good. Their attitudes and behaviour are good. Attendance is satisfactory because the school works hard to encourage attendance, but some parents do not always encourage their children to attend fully.

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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 is good overall. Assessment is satisfactory. Teaching is very good in the nursery and good in the remaining years. There are strengths in teachers’ planning to meet the needs of all groups of pupils, in the management of pupils’ behaviour that provides a calm, ordered environment for learning, and in teachers’ good use of their skilful assistants and other adult support. As a result all groups of pupils learn well. Not all teachers are consistent in the methods they use to introduce and reinforce new and complex vocabulary and not all give enough attention to helping pupils learn through working together. The quality of assessment is good in English, mathematics, science and the nursery and reception classes but not in the other subjects.

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION

The curriculum is satisfactory. It is enhanced through a very good range of clubs and other out-of- school activities. Accommodation and resources are satisfactory but there is a lack of resources for the library and the school works hard to provide the curriculum for physical education in accommodation that is limited. The provision of support, advice and guidance for pupils is good. Links with parents and the community are very good.

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LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

Leadership and management are good . The headteacher provides a clear direction for the school’s work and is very committed to the best achievement for all groups of pupils. The Interim Executive Board provides good governance and has restored the school’s confidence in the work of governors in a short time. The school complies with statutory requirements.

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PARENTS’ AND PUPILS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

Parents and pupils are very pleased with the school. Both groups strongly agree that children like the school. Parents particularly praised the good teaching and the arrangements for their children to settle into the school. The inspection team agrees with parents in their views that teaching is good and induction is very good.

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IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED

The most important things the school should do to improve are to do with making the good practice that exists fully consistent across the school:

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IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED

• class teachers should use more consistent methods to introduce and reinforce formal and technical language; • assessment systems for subjects other than English, mathematics and science should be introduced to assist teachers in planning the next steps in learning; • class teachers should focus more consistently on developing pupils’ skills in collaborative learning. Forest Fields Primary and Nursery - 8

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Standards achieved in areas of learning, subjects and courses

All groups of pupils achieve well across the school from their very low standards on entry. In English, current standards in Year 2 are well below average, but in Year 6 they are below average. Standards in mathematics and science are below average in Years 2 and 6.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Children in the nursery achieve very well from their very low standards on entry due to the very good teaching that they receive. • All groups of pupils, including the majority who speak English as an additional language, pupils with special educational needs, refugees and high attainers, achieve well in English, mathematics, science, ICT and religious education.

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Commentary

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

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Commentary

Standards in: School results National results reading 13.5 (12.8) 15.7 (15.8) writing 13.1 (11.0) 14.6 (14.4) mathematics 13.3 (11.6) 16.3 (16.5) There were 57 pupils in the year group. Figures in brackets are for the previous year

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Commentary

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

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Commentary

Standards in: School results National results English 24.3 (24.2) 26.8 (27.0) mathematics 25.0 (24.2) 26.8 (26.7) science 26.2 (25.7) 28.6 (28.3) There were 46 pupils in the year group. Figures in brackets are for the previous year

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Commentary

1. National test results for pupils in Years 2 and 6 have been consistently well below average since 2001, when the school received a national award for improvement. The standards of the current Year 2 and Year 6 pupils, however, are better than the standards last year’s pupils reached in tests. The school and the team recognise that many of the pupils who speak English as an additional language find the formal language of tests a significant barrier to demonstrating the skills they have. This means that both comparisons to all schools and comparisons to similar schools give a more negative picture of how well the pupils are learning for much of the year. For instance, when the school’s results for Pakistani pupils are compared with the Local Education Authority’s (LEA’s) results for the same group, the school is broadly in line with them. The challenge for the school now is to move pupils on from adequate fluency in

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Commentary

day-to-day spoken English to a command of the language that encompasses full understanding of written formal and technical terms, particularly by Year 6.

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Commentary

2. Children receive a very good start to their education in the nursery. They go on to achieve well in the reception classes due to the good teaching, and they attain the goals children are expected to reach by the end of the reception year in their physical development, but are below Forest Fields Primary and Nursery - 9 average in their personal, social and emotional development and in their knowledge and understanding of the world. They attain well below average standards in their communication, language and literacy, mathematical development and creative development.

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Commentary

3. Inspection findings show that in Year 2, pupils’ standards in reading and writing are well below average, and in speaking, mathematics and science standards are below average. These standards demonstrate that as a result of the good teaching in Years 1 and 2, pupils achieve well from the levels reached at the end of the reception year and from their very low standards on entry to the nursery. In Years 3 to 6, the good teaching is maintained and pupils continue to achieve well. In Year 6, standards are below average in English, mathematics and science. The very good achievement in the nursery and reception classes in children’s knowledge and understanding of the world, and particularly the very good progress made in their skills in using computers, provides a good base for further work in the rest of the school. This progress, combined with the good, and often very good, teaching by the ICT support teacher in Years 1 to

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Commentary

6, means that in Year 6 pupils reach average standards in ICT.

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Commentary

4. There are no significant differences between the achievement of boys and girls. Pupils with special educational needs achieve well in relation to their prior attainment because they are well supported in classrooms by teachers and support staff, and the co-ordinator provides very good leadership and management. Due to the teachers’ effective planning to meet the needs of pupils of all abilities, pupils who attain more highly also achieve well.

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Commentary

5. The majority of pupils learn English as an additional language and many do not speak English at home. Most children arrive in the nursery with little or no knowledge of English and they achieve well so that by the time they leave Year 6, their English language skills are below the national average. The good support that these pupils receive from members of the team financed by the Ethnic Minority Achievement Grant (EMAG) enhances their good progress in lessons.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and other personal qualities

The attitudes and behaviour of pupils throughout the school are good. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is very good. Pupils’ attendance is satisfactory.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• There are good relationships throughout the school, effectively underpinned by the caring ethos. • There is very good racial harmony throughout the school. • Pupils show good interest in all school activities, but sometimes find it hard to learn collaboratively. • The school has high expectations of good conduct. • Extended breaks taken by families and high mobility of pupils affect the school’s attendance figures and the continuity of learning for pupils.

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Commentary

6. Very good foundations are laid in the nursery for the development of pupils’ personal qualities. Children achieve very well from a very low base in personal, social and emotional development in the foundation stage, and by the end of the reception year they reach below the expected standards. In Years 1 to 6, good relationships exist between all groups of pupils and between teachers and pupils. These are based on a foundation of mutual respect. The teachers and other adults in the school are good role models and pupils copy their good example. The very good provision for the pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development results in a strong community feeling within the school. Most pupils are polite and helpful; whilst there are a very small number of pupils in some classes who exhibit anti-social behaviour, these pupils are very well managed by their teachers and support staff. Pupils of all ages enjoy responsibilities and

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Commentary

are most willing to help teachers in many ways. For example, they help with the distribution of Forest Fields Primary and Nursery - 10 fruit and milk and older pupils are trained as cashiers to help with The Credit Union Bank. Through the questionnaire replies and in discussions with inspectors, pupils made it clear that they enjoy their lessons and like their teachers. Although overall behaviour is good, there were three fixed period exclusions last year involving two pupils that were fully justified. There have been none so far during this academic year.

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Commentary

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

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Commentary

Categories used in the Annual School Census No of pupils on roll Number of fixed period exclusions Number of permanent exclusions White – British 52 0 0 White – Irish 2 0 0 White – any other White background 11 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 Asian or Asian British – Indian 25 0 0 Asian or Asian British – Pakistani 180 1 0 Asian or Asian British – Bangladeshi 4 0 0 Asian or Asian British – any other Asian background 5 0 0 Black or Black British – Caribbean 5 2 0 Black or Black British – African 12 0 0 Black or Black British – any other Black background 3 0 0 Any other ethnic group 14 0 0 No ethnic group recorded 3 0 0 The table gives the number of exclusions, which may be different from the number of pupils excluded.

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Commentary

7. Most pupils are interested in their lessons; they are eager to join in discussions and answer questions. They are confident that their teachers and fellow pupils will listen to them and respect their views. They take an active part in lessons and the vast majority work very hard. The pupils do sometimes find it harder to work collaboratively in lessons. In science and ICT, for example, pupils sometimes have difficulty in working in groups or sharing equipment. The school recognises this and is trialling various strategies to improve these skills. In mathematics, for example, the use of a ‘talking partner’ was effective in some classes. There is good support for the activities held during and after school. For example, so many pupils wanted to join the Signing Club to learn sign language that would help them to understand the difficulties of hearing impaired pupils that the course has had to be repeated several times. The

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breakfast and nurture club is a very good way of helping pupils who find it hard to settle into school and is an important part of the good caring ethos throughout the school.

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8. Most pupils live up to the high expectations their teachers have of them. They clearly know and understand the school rules and pupils debate their own rules in classes. Pupils are equally well behaved when moving about the school, and at break and lunchtime, though the school is very short of playing space. They show respect for their environment and take very good care of school equipment.

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Commentary

9. Pupils generally play well with each other so that bullying is rarely an issue though some of their behaviour at breaks and lunchtime is quite boisterous. If bullying does occur, pupils are Forest Fields Primary and Nursery - 11 confident that they can discuss it with their teachers and both pupils and parents feel that it is dealt with well. 10. The school provides very good support for most aspects of the personal development of pupils. There are good opportunities for pupils to reflect upon their own views, and to consider the effects of their actions on others. As a result, the school is a harmonious and considerate community. The curriculum provides good opportunities for cultural development. Pupils learn about different faiths through their programme of religious education. They visit places of worship and experience different cultural traditions by studying music and art from other countries and times. In subjects such as history and geography, they learn about different ways

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Commentary

of life and have opportunities to see events from various viewpoints. Pupils are encouraged to appreciate the needs of others in the wider world. Most pupils with special educational needs have good attitudes to school and are very well integrated within the school community. The very good level of support and encouragement that they receive has a significant impact on their self-esteem and on their achievements. They are confident to ask for assistance and assured that it will be readily available. This was particularly noticeable in a Year 6 physical education lesson when many pupils gave very good support to one of their friends with special educational needs. The school’s very good community provision also helps pupils to extend their social, moral and cultural development.

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Commentary

11. The school works hard at encouraging attendance by including in newsletters a reminder to parents about the detrimental effect on pupils’ learning of poor attendance, by sending appropriate letters to individual parents, by involving the Educational Welfare Officer and by using incentives. However, some parents do not always encourage their children to attend fully. In the current year so far, 58 pupils have had extended breaks averaging over four weeks each. Although attendance was satisfactory during 2002/3, during the first half of this school year, attendance (at 93.2%) has worsened. The high mobility of pupils is another part of the reason for the higher levels of recorded absence, since the school remains responsible for pupils’ attendance until they are relocated to another school.

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Commentary

Attendance in the latest complete reporting year (%)

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Commentary

Authorised absence Unauthorised absence School data 3.6 School data 2.1 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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QUALITY OF EDUCATION PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL

The quality of education is good. Teaching and learning are good. The school’s curriculum is satisfactory. Provision for pupils’ care and for their guidance and support is good. The school has a very good partnership with parents and the community and good links with other schools and colleges.

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Teaching and learning

Teaching and learning are good across the school. Assessment is satisfactory.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• In all subjects reported, teaching and learning are good across Years 1 to 6. • Teaching and learning in the nursery are consistently very good. • Teachers plan effectively to meet the needs of different groups of pupils and all pupils receive a fair deal from the school. Forest Fields Primary and Nursery - 12 • The EMAG team of teachers and support staff provide very good specialist support for pupils who speak English as an additional language, but the methods that class teachers use do not always focus sufficiently on the further development of pupils’ language needs. • Although there is some good practice in assessment to monitor pupils’ progress in the nursery and reception classes and in English, mathematics and science, procedures are inconsistent across all other subjects.

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Commentary

12. Teaching and learning have improved since the previous inspection because they are more consistently good across the school. In the nursery, the very good quality has been maintained because there is very good teamwork from the teaching adults, they plan very well together and ensure that information from assessments is used very effectively to meet children’s diverse needs. The good staffing levels ensure that children are well supported, especially in their development of language, and all groups of pupils experience a very good start to school and achieve very well.

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Commentary

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 62 lessons

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Commentary

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Poor Very Poor

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Commentary

1 (2%) 13 (21%) 39 (63%) 8 (13%) 1 (2%) 0 0

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Commentary

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

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Commentary

13. Across the school, there are strengths in teachers’ planning. Learning objectives are clear and are shared with pupils at the start of lessons. Teachers identify technical vocabulary to be learned or revised in the lesson and where there is the very good specialist support for pupils who speak English as an additional language, this ensures that they make good progress in learning in small group situations. Home languages are celebrated and used when necessary in lessons so that pupils' learning is not impeded by a lack of English. There are group education plans that are well targeted to help pupils to keep up in lessons, and they are amended and updated regularly. In the foundation stage and in many lessons in Years 1 and 2, pupils are well supported by bilingual assistants who translate the teachers’ words for them and give good assistance to pupils for them to understand and respond in English.

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Commentary

14. In Years 3 to 6, teachers often do not have specialist support in lessons, which can restrict pupils’ learning and understanding. Teachers have to find other ways of assisting pupils to understand what they are expected to do. Some teachers reinforce their verbal introduction of new vocabulary by visual means, such as pictures, labels, and number fans in mathematics; others by role-play. These methods to reinforce language are not constantly used across the school and while achievement is good for these pupils, it could be better with a more consistent approach, particularly where the use of technical and formal language is concerned. The EMAG team do not share their specialist knowledge sufficiently with class teachers of how best to help these pupils to improve their English, so that all class teachers become fully skilled teachers of pupils with English as an additional language.

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Commentary

15. Pupils who have special educational needs are identified as soon as possible in the nursery and reception classes or when they begin at the school partway through their primary education. The co-ordinator for special educational needs and the class teacher discuss the pupil’s individual education plan, which is shared with the pupil. Each plan contains short steps, which are essential to enable pupils to realise that progress is being made. Class teachers work hard to help pupils with special educational needs make progress and they receive very good support from all support staff, who receive training to help them fulfil their roles. Forest Fields Primary and Nursery - 13 16. Teachers meet the needs of pupils who attain more highly within their planning, and a feature of the very good teaching was the challenge for all pupils and especially for the higher attainers. In ICT, when teaching a higher ability set, the teacher challenged three more able pupils well and,

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Commentary

as a result, they attained within the higher levels of the National Curriculum for the subject. The school has identified some pupils who are talented in music and the specialist teacher provides suitable support and challenge for these pupils.

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Commentary

17. During lessons, teachers and their assistants assess pupils’ work while supporting them and teachers often bring the class together to make further teaching points from information gained from these assessments. The final parts of lessons are not always used so well for assessment and are often a means of sharing some pupils’ work with the class. In the marking of pupils’ work, there are good examples where some teachers clearly focus on the main objective of the task and make useful comments so that pupils know how to improve their work, but this is not consistent in all subjects, for example in science, many comments in the marking, particularly in Years 1 and 2, are praise for work done and are related neither to the learning objective in the scientific content of the lesson, nor to how the pupil can improve. There is some good practice in assessment in the foundation stage and in English, mathematics and

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Commentary

science and the outcomes are used effectively to help monitor pupils’ progress. The quality of assessment in the foundation stage has been maintained since the last inspection and is good. Adults are very good at giving immediate feedback to help children improve and this supports the good learning seen. Most adults also annotate children’s work and often include a target for the next step in learning. This is especially useful when judging the progress children are making and where further help and support will be needed.

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Commentary

18. While the school has started an assessment book for each child as an effective record of progress in English, mathematics and science, there are no systems for recording pupils’ progress in other subjects. The school has also analysed the information on pupils’ attainment in English, mathematics and science, but in other subjects, information on individual pupils’ performance is not sufficiently detailed. As a result, teachers do not have a clear picture of what pupils know and understand and of the skills they have in these subjects. This reduces the security for teachers in planning the next stage of learning by building on what pupils have learned in previous lessons. The school is aware of the need to relate pupils’ attainment to the descriptions of the National Curriculum levels in ICT and the foundation subjects, and to the agreed syllabus in religious education. This would enable teachers to see clearly the progress

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Commentary

which pupils are making and communicate this to them.

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The curriculum

The curriculum in the foundation stage provides a very good range of learning opportunities. The curriculum for Years 1 to 6 is satisfactorily broad and balanced and includes all subjects. Pupils benefit from a very good range of enrichment activities. There is a good match of teaching staff to meet the demands of the curriculum. The accommodation and resources are adequate to meet most needs of the curriculum.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Teachers need to plan to ensure that pupils who speak English as an additional language truly understand all vocabulary and concepts that they meet during lessons. • There is very good provision to support pupils with special educational needs, and very good specialist support for those in the early and intermediate stages of learning English as an additional language. • There is very good provision for pupils' enrichment beyond the classroom.

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Commentary

19. The quality of the curriculum has been maintained since the last inspection. Priority has been given to English and mathematics, and there has been good improvement in the provision for Forest Fields Primary and Nursery - 14 ICT so that the requirements of the National Curriculum are now met. The school is currently investigating ways to improve the planning of the rest of the curriculum. There is good emphasis throughout the day on encouraging pupils to speak and to listen intently. Specialist staff continue to plan very good support for pupils who are in the early and intermediate stages of learning English as an additional language through well conceived group plans which are regularly updated. This support is more evident in Years 1 and 2 where pupils' English language skills are less well developed. The curriculum for children in the nursery and reception classes is very good. It is very well planned with good links between the areas of learning. It gives

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children a wealth of first-hand experiences, which motivate and interest them well. There is a very good balance between activities led by adults and those that children choose for themselves.

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20. Adults give their time generously beyond the classroom and there is a wide variety of clubs which give pupils many and varied experiences. These are very valuable in developing their personalities and in deepening their understanding of the wider community in which they live.

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Commentary

21. The quality and quantity of accommodation is generally satisfactory for the present numbers on roll. Teachers are well organised and innovative in order to overcome the lack of water in the temporary classrooms, and the playground is small and its slope is not ideal, particularly for physical education. Provision for physically disabled pupils presents some problems, which the school is successful in overcoming.

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Commentary

22. All pupils with special educational needs have full access to the curriculum and this is a good feature of the school. Pupils with special educational needs are very well supported so they can work alongside their friends as often as possible to take advantage of the curriculum offered. Provision for pupils with mainstream support grants and statements is very good. Where necessary the curriculum is adapted to suit their needs so that the targets in their individual education plans are met.

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Care, guidance and support

Arrangements for ensuring pupils’ care, welfare, and safety are good. The school provides pupils with good levels of support, advice and guidance. The school takes satisfactory account of pupils’ views .

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Teachers and other staff take very good care of pupils so they feel safe and, consequently, pupils have good trusting relationships with the adults in the school. • The school manages arrangements for health and safety well. • The systems for monitoring and assessment of pupils’ development are only applied satisfactorily in literacy, numeracy and science. The result is that targets for pupils’ development in other subjects are sometimes not set appropriately. • Induction arrangements are handled very well and are outstanding in the nursery.

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Commentary

23. All groups of pupils, including the many who speak English as an additional language, have a trusting, secure and confident relationship with their class teachers and teaching assistants, and the vast majority of pupils feel that they have a person to go to if they have problems or concerns. During play and lunch times the children are well supervised. In lessons, teachers care for the feelings of pupils as well as their physical health and pupils’ successes are celebrated . Parents consider that good care is taken of their children and that they enjoy school. Bullying (and other forms of harassment) or bad behaviour of pupils are not seen as an issue by most parents, although a significant minority of pupils consider that the behaviour of other pupils is not good. The ‘breakfast clubs’, available to help pupils who experience Forest Fields Primary and Nursery - 15 difficulties with behaviour, settle pupils down calmly to school and are well attended.

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Commentary

Procedures for child protection are very good, reflecting the wide spread of pupils’ needs.

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Commentary

24. The school supports pupils with special educational needs very well, and this is a strength of the school. For example, the very popular extra-curricular sign language club helps pupils understand the problems that pupils with hearing impairments experience. During an assembly the younger pupils enjoyed using their signing knowledge to ‘sing’ a song and this gave great pleasure to those with hearing impairment. The school has good relationships with all outside agencies, which are used regularly.

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Commentary

25. Routine health and safety arrangements such as the testing of fire and electrical equipment and property maintenance are managed well, and with particular regard to the age of the buildings. The school is in discussion with the local authorities to further protect overall access to the site. Energetic and boisterous play times are safely monitored, despite the small playground.

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Commentary

26. The system for monitoring and assessing pupils’ achievement in order to direct their future development is applied inconsistently. In numeracy and literacy this information often forms the basis of new learning targets. In other subjects, this aspect of guiding pupils’ learning is not applied and needs to be implemented. As a consequence, teaching is sometimes not as well focused on accurate targets within learning as it could be.

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Commentary

27. Induction arrangements for pupils are very good overall and excellent in the nursery.

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Commentary

Example of outstanding practice The exceptional induction procedures in the nursery encourage positive attitudes to school and significantly promote children’s achievement. Nursery staff do everything possible to ensure that a child’s first day in the nursery is a positive experience. The nursery teacher visits the child’s home accompanied by one of the nursery nurses who speaks several languages. This is very important as a significant number of children come from families who speak little or no English at home. To ensure that children gain maximum benefit from the nursery activities as soon as they start, they are given a welcome pack containing books, drawing and colouring materials. This is very helpful as a considerable number of children only have a limited number of toys or books at home. Children are then invited to spend a day in the nursery before they start and the supportive ethos and very good

p.15

Commentary

relationships and behaviour of the nursery children help to make this a happy and positive occasion. When children do take up their nursery place, parents are encouraged to stay until their child feels secure enough to be left. The effect of this excellent induction programme is evident in the fact that, from the start, children thoroughly enjoy their time in the nursery and develop very positive attitudes to learning.

p.15

Partnership with parents, other schools and the community

The school’s links with the community and partnership with parents are very good. Links with other schools and colleges are good.

p.15

Main strengths and weaknesses

• The development of pupils’ social, religious and moral understanding is greatly assisted by the school’s work with the local community. • The school provides a wide range of information to parents about the activities of the school and the development of their children so parents can help them at home. • The school works closely with other community groups to provide support for parents and other adults in the community. • There are very good arrangements to ensure parents are satisfied with the school. • Pupils benefit from the close links with other schools in the area.

p.15

Commentary

Forest Fields Primary and Nursery - 16 28. The local community is closely integrated into the activities of the school, working together to recognise the many religions involved in the rich ethnic mix of pupils. Celebrations of Muslim, Hindu and major Christian religious events are a fundamental part of the school’s activities and various events are held throughout the year. The obligations of Ramadan are respected and Eid parties are held as well as activities at Christmas and Easter. Pupils, parents and the community contribute to many charity events organised through the school that benefit a variety of national and international charities, and also assist the school’s funding of trips. These activities help develop in pupils their awareness of religious values, of right and wrong, of the responsibilities of being part of a community, and also their self-confidence and skills in social interaction.

p.16

Commentary

29. The school makes great efforts to welcome the parents of pupils who speak English as an additional language. In addition, refugee parents attend clubs organised and supported by the school. Comprehensive information is provided to parents about the school and the development of pupils. Frequent newsletters and other communications provide clear information about clubs and out-of-school events, invitations to activities such as accompanying pupils on trips, requests for parental involvement and contributions, as well as changes to day-to-day arrangements. Parents’ evenings provide opportunities to discuss pupils’ development as well as their annual reports, and are well attended. The annual reports on pupils’ performance are highly informative, well presented and personal to each pupil. Nearly all parents feel well informed about their children’s progress and feel comfortable discussing their development with the school if necessary. The school establishes close relationships with

p.16

Commentary

parents of pupils with special educational needs. They are always invited to reviews of their children’s progress and an increasing number now accept the invitation. During the pre- inspection parents’ meeting with the Registered Inspector, there was much praise for the school’s provision for such pupils.

p.16

Commentary

30. Parents and other adults in the community are assisted by activities held in school in conjunction with colleges and various other groups. English language courses are held most days (run by a local college, but organised by and held at the school) for parents who speak English as an additional language and who want to improve it. During the autumn term, other courses including mathematics, art and crafts and aerobics were held and some visitors also came to speak about welfare and oral hygiene matters. The school provides a weekly ‘drop in’ centre for refugee parents of pupils at the school and, in partnership with other groups, also arranges art therapy courses and advice on welfare and legal matters for them. Each week a bank holds a banking session for parents, teachers and pupils at which trained senior pupils act as the cashiers and carry out the various banking duties. This is a very good example of

p.16

Commentary

applied numeracy and workplace experience in action. Most of these activities take place during school time since previous arrangements during the evenings have not been popular. However, with the increased number of pupils in recent years the school’s accommodation is fully utilised most of the year and so opportunities are now more limited. Pupils receive some secondary benefit to their learning and well being from these courses.

p.16

Commentary

31. The school has a friendly and close relationship with most parents and informally discusses any issues as they arise. Parents feel it easy to approach the school. Generally these processes are enough to satisfy parental concerns. There have been instances, however, where more formal processes have been required and these have been less successful, although in some part this has been complicated by the changes to the arrangements for governing the school.

p.16

Commentary

32. The main local secondary school supports the careful transition of pupils into the next phase of their school life by sending pupils to visit the school and to work with pupils in Year 6. There is a shared ‘body’ of numeracy and literacy work which Year 6 pupils commence at the school and then take with them into the new school. In art subjects, the facilities of the secondary school are utilised and another school has offered sports facilities. The school also works with several other secondary schools that pupils might choose to attend. Pupils with special educational Forest Fields Primary and Nursery - 17 needs are taken to their new school and introduced individually. The school is also a member of a network of primary schools in the area. Forest Fields Primary and Nursery - 18

p.16

LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

Leadership and management are good overall. The headteacher provides good leadership based on a clear vision for the school’s direction that is shared by her staff. The leadership of the deputy head, senior teachers and co-ordinators is good. Management by the headteacher and key staff is good overall. Governance is good.

p.18

Main strengths and weaknesses

• The headteacher and her deputy have a good working partnership that provides a good sense of purpose and a clear direction for the school. • In a short time, the Interim Executive Board has restored the staff’s confidence in the governance of the school. • The leadership of most subject co-ordinators, the foundation stage and English as an additional language is good; for special educational needs, it is very good. • The school’s commitment to inclusion and concern for the needs of individuals are very good and have led to very good racial harmony in the school. • The good systems for performance management and the resulting professional development of staff have been recognised in the school’s recent Investors in People award.

p.18

Commentary

33. The headteacher, in partnership with her deputy and supported by the Interim Executive Board, provides a clear direction for the school. The headteacher and staff have overcome many setbacks, such as the suspension of the governing body and three long-term absences of teachers. Parents at the pre-inspection meeting with the Registered Inspector expressed their confidence in the good leadership of the head and deputy, and believed that this had continued during the autumn term when the deputy had been acting headteacher. In the high number of pre-inspection parental questionnaires returned, over 90 per cent of the parents felt that the school is well led and managed. The partnership between the head and deputy in leading the curriculum and teaching is good. The deputy head is a very good role model in her own teaching and supports the leadership of co-ordinators well in her role as co-ordinator for the

p.18

Commentary

whole curriculum. She meets with each subject co-ordinator termly to discuss their progress in developing the subject and improving standards through their action plans. The school has a very good commitment to inclusion and concern for the needs of individuals. In the pre- inspection meeting with parents, very positive views on the school’s multicultural family were expressed, and positive comments were made about the headteacher’s help for parents when they experienced difficulties.

p.18

Commentary

34. Overall, the leadership by key staff is good. There are particular strengths in the leadership of English, mathematics, science, religious education, art, music and the foundation stage. The co-ordinator for special educational needs leads a dedicated and enthusiastic team of teachers and support staff who provide a high quality service to the children in their care. The leadership and management of the specialist teachers who help pupils who speak English as an additional language are good, but their role could be broadened to ensure that all teaching staff are trained to be able to give informed guidance to the pupils in their classes.

p.18

Commentary

Financial information for the year April 2002 to March 2003

p.18

Commentary

Income and expenditure (£) Balances (£) Total income 962,627 Balance from previous year 45,430 Total expenditure 989,457 Balance carried forward to the next 18,600 Expenditure per pupil 3,082 Forest Fields Primary and Nursery - 19 35. Overall the management of the school is good. There are effective arrangements for the induction of new staff, financial management and the professional development of staff. The school makes a good contribution to initial teacher training by its support to student teachers on teaching practice and by the mentoring and training of a student on the programme for graduate teachers during the current year. The good systems for performance management include the appraisal of all staff and are led by the school’s senior management team. While the school monitors its performance well in its analysis of data from national test results and in its comparisons with the LEA’s data on the performance of ethnic groups, it tracks pupils’

p.18

Commentary

progress in English, mathematics and science but does not have any means of tracking pupils’ progress in other subjects. The headteacher and some co-ordinators have monitored teaching, but most co-ordinators receive limited time to monitor teaching in their subjects due to current financial constraints.

p.19

Commentary

36. The school is recovering from the suspension of its governing body and the Interim Executive Board has shown good governance in the six months that its members have been working together. The members have a good understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses and have insisted on being involved in drawing up the school’s improvement plan. They have had a strong input into the revised plan that now matches the budget, identifies priorities to improve standards, particularly in literacy and numeracy, and runs for the financial year. In this way the Board has played a good role in the strategic planning and has helped to shape the school’s direction. Sensibly, in its current membership of six people, it includes representation from ethnic minorities. One of its first tasks was to try to restore the confidence of the community in the school’s governance, so it dealt with issues such as provision of fresh water

p.19

Commentary

for drinking and purchased screens for classrooms to separate boys and girls when they change for physical education. The Board has clear plans to return to full community membership, including parental elections, over its two-year term of office. The Board ensures that the school fulfils its statutory duties; it is aware that the sex and relationships policy should be revised and has plans to undertake this in consultation with parents. The previous governing body did not undertake the headteacher’s appraisal for two years, but the Board has corrected this omission. Forest Fields Primary and Nursery - 20

p.19

AREAS OF LEARNING IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

37. Overall provision for the foundation stage is good and is well led and managed by the co- ordinator. Improvement overall is good, as provision is very good for the nursery and good for the reception classes. This maintains the quality seen at the time of the last inspection. Children attend the nursery part time, either for a morning or afternoon session, and are admitted from the age of three. There is a long waiting list, but most children join before they are four and the majority spend at least four terms in the nursery. They move on to one of the two reception classes, where they attend full time, at the beginning of the term in which they reach their fifth birthday. When they start in the nursery, many children have very limited experiences and their skills in communication and language are particularly low.

p.20

AREAS OF LEARNING IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

38. Teaching is good overall so, by the time they enter Year 1, children have achieved well. Teaching is very good in the nursery where the highly skilled teaching and support staff make a very positive contribution to learning. As a result, nursery children achieve very well.

p.20

AREAS OF LEARNING IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

Example of outstanding practice The very generous staffing in the nursery and the adults’ very good skills are benefiting children’s learning particularly well. As a result of particularly effective teamwork, adults in the nursery provide learning opportunities that are exceptionally well supported. They plan especially well together and regular meetings ensure that information from the frequent assessment of children’s learning is fully taken into account. Very good attention has been paid to ensuring that some adults can interpret for children who speak little English. For example, in whole-class activities led by one adult, others sit with the children ensuring they fully understand. At other times there will be small groups of children working on focused activities with an adult, with other adults carefully monitoring children at work on their chosen tasks. This ensures that the needs of children who might be experiencing a problem are always met especially well. In the focus groups, adults

p.20

AREAS OF LEARNING IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

learn with the children, effectively modelling activities such as writing or counting and gently probing and questioning children to help them understand. The result of this highly effective support is that the nursery is a hive of activity, where excited children explore all the areas of learning and make very good progress.

p.20

AREAS OF LEARNING IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

39. The curriculum is especially effective and very well planned to give all children a wealth of exciting experiences, which motivate and enthuse them particularly well. There is a very good balance between focus activities where adults teach and assess new skills and learning and those that children choose for themselves. In the latter, children can apply the skills they have learnt as well as discover things for themselves. Very effective links are made between the different areas of learning. For example, during the inspection the class storybook was about an elephant called Elmer and this was linked to work in mathematics, art and ICT. Nursery nurses and classroom assistants, including those who support children with special educational needs or those who speak little English, make a very valuable contribution to learning. The accommodation for nursery children is good with easy access for outdoor play and staff have

p.20

AREAS OF LEARNING IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

created an inviting and stimulating environment in which children want to learn. The accommodation for reception children, although satisfactory, is not so good and there is no adjacent outdoor play area, although good arrangements are made for children to use the nursery outdoor area. The reception teachers have organised their classrooms well and created a positive learning environment. Resources are good overall and very good in the nursery, where excellent attention has been given to providing resources that match the learning needs of children. The nursery has an excellent relationship with parents, who are true partners in their children’s education. This is fostered through the exceptional induction procedures where parents are supported particularly well in preparing their children for school. The parents particularly value home visits, where the multi-lingual nursery nurse often accompanies a nursery teacher.

p.20

PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

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

p.21

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Achievement is very good because of adults’ very high expectations of the children. • Adults provide excellent role models and their expertise in this area is very good. • Learning in this area is promoted in a great number of activities throughout the day. • The care, respect and support given to children help them to feel secure and confident.

p.21

Commentary

40. At the heart of learning in this area is the respect that adults have for the children and the care they show them. This was evident in the sympathetic care given to a new nursery child who was very upset on leaving his mother. The curriculum, teaching and learning are very good. This aspect of children’s development is considered when planning all activities and teachers focus on it very well in lessons. Adults share the same very high expectations of children; of what they can do for themselves and of how they should behave and relate to others. In this adults provide particularly good role models. At the start of a session, children help their parents to find a coloured shape card bearing their name, very important for those who speak little English, so that children register themselves. They then settle happily to one of the many activities set out for them and quickly become absorbed. Children fully understand the rules for

p.21

Commentary

taking part in different activities and few seek the help of an adult to organise themselves. They wait their turn patiently and are kind to each other, often taking care of younger children.

p.21

Commentary

41. By the time they move on to the reception classes, children are confident and much more self- assured. They clearly understand the need to apply themselves to tasks and to work co- operatively with other children. They are sympathetic to and support those children who find learning difficult; especially those who do not find it easy to stay focused and work hard. From the time they enter the nursery, children are expected to take responsibility for the resources and in the reception classes they help tidy the classroom without being prompted. The very good provision helps children to make very good progress in this area of learning. However, only a minority are likely to reach the early goals for learning in this area and overall children’s attainment is below average. This is because few children are beginning to take more responsibility for their learning, for example, in selecting their own resources.

p.21

COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Provision in communication, language and literacy is good .

p.21

Main strengths and weaknesses

• A very well planned curriculum meets children’s needs particularly well. • Good teaching of the basic skills of reading and writing helps children to make good progress in their development. • Many children find reading difficult and, by Year 1, only a minority of children recognise a good range of common words or build up new words well by using the sounds. • Despite good teaching of writing, many children have difficulty in forming letters. • The specialist staff give very good support to those children who speak little or no English. • Despite their very low starting point children achieve well, and very well in the development of their spoken English language. Forest Fields Primary and Nursery - 22

p.21

Commentary

42. The curriculum planned for this area is very good. It is well taught and children achieve well, although standards at the end of the reception year are well below average. Many children start in the nursery with only a very limited knowledge of books and writing and so they start from a very low point. The early skills of reading and writing are taught well, but opportunities are missed to address the particular problems that children have in developing more advanced reading skills. Many children find writing very hard and more could be done to encourage this in the reception year.

p.22

Commentary

43. A high level of support is given to promote the development of children’s spoken language. This is particularly important, as a many children speak English as an additional language. Every opportunity is taken to model how language is used and to help children gain a good English vocabulary. Bilingual classroom assistants are very effective in supporting this area of learning. The many role-play activities also help children to use English in a range of different situations. As a result, most children in the reception classes speak confidently in English although their vocabulary and skills in sentence structure are below average.

p.22

Commentary

44. An enjoyment of books is promoted particularly well in the nursery where story time plays a very important part in learning and children develop positive attitudes to reading. Here children are helped to recall the plot and ‘guess’ what might happen next. This is very effectively carried on in the reception classes where teachers’ very good expertise helps children to easily understand what some characters are like. There are inviting book areas in all the classrooms, but only a minority of children choose to use them and more emphasis could be placed on encouraging them to do so, especially in the reception year. Good teaching helps children to recognise the different sounds made by the letters of the alphabet, but few can use these sounds to build up new words. In addition, their knowledge of simple common words is poor and they do not readily use the pictures to ‘guess’ what the word might be. These weaknesses

p.22

Commentary

are inhibiting children’s progress and very few are likely to reach average standards.

p.22

Commentary

45. Early writing skills are taught well through a range of practical activities. Adults model writing well and help children to develop good habits such as holding a pencil correctly. Cursive script is taught and all children are clear about how letters should be formed. However, many find it very difficult to form their letters correctly and so progress is very slow. A significant number of children in the reception classes are still having to copy what their teacher has written and a few still find it difficult to form the letter. There is a very high incidence of children writing letters the wrong way round. This is partly because some children are used to writing in another script, which is written from right to left. Good opportunities for writing are provided in the nursery and in teacher led activities in the reception classes, but a greater promotion of writing in the activities children choose for themselves would benefit their development. The vast majority of

p.22

Commentary

children are unlikely to reach the standards expected and overall, standards are well below average.

p.22

MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Provision in mathematical development is good .

p.22

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Based on many practical activities, the curriculum is very good. • The basic skills of numeracy are well taught. • The number and range of activities for counting and ordering numbers are very good. • Aspects about shape, space and measures are especially well taught so children achieve very well. • A high number of children write numbers the wrong way round. Forest Fields Primary and Nursery - 23

p.22

Commentary

46. Very interesting, practical activities are planned in both the nursery and reception classes that motivate children and help them to do well.

p.23

Commentary

47. Adults are skilled in encouraging children to count in many activities throughout the day. As a result, very nearly all children can accurately count objects and order numbers up to ten by the time they leave the reception classes. Practical activities help children to combine groups of objects and correctly identify the total of two groups. However, children in the reception year are not given enough opportunities to express this as a number sentence, for example, 5 + 2 = 7 and this limits their progress. In addition, reception children are often encouraged to count far beyond 20 and to count in tens without really understanding the concept of place value. So, while children have a secure understanding of number, their knowledge of calculation is limited. Children make very good progress in developing their understanding of shape, space and measures because this aspect is very well taught. A wealth of practical activities in the nursery

p.23

Commentary

helps children to easily recognise common two-dimensional shapes. Their knowledge is especially well built on in the reception classes. Well-planned activities help children to recognise that a cube has six faces and eight corners and that they can make a three- dimensional shape by using a net. While accurately identifying quantities and matching these to the correct number, a high proportion of children write their numbers the wrong way round and not enough emphasis is placed on correcting them. As the result of the well below standards on entry, although children achieve well, few are likely to reach the early learning goals by the time they enter Year 1 and, overall standards are well below average.

p.23

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

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

p.23

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Children entering the nursery have little understanding of the world around them. • A very rich and interesting curriculum gives children a wealth of learning experiences. • Teaching is very good and adults have very high expectations of what children can do. • Very effective resources promote children’s interest and help them to learn easily. • Children make very good progress in learning to operate computers.

p.23

Commentary

48. Nursery children’s experiences of the world around them are very limited. Very good staff awareness and very high expectations of what children can learn help them to provide a wealth of activities which lead to very good acquisition of knowledge. For example, nursery children discussed the different ways that they travelled to school, and helped their teacher to complete a block graph showing which was the most popular. In design and technology they found out how axles help wheels to turn and designed and made model cars. A wealth of visits and visitors helps to increase their knowledge and understanding. For example, as part of their history topic, children studied toys from the past at The Castle Museum. In addition, a Malaysian parent came to talk to them about the toys she had had. There was great delight when children discovered that many toys are the same in different parts of the world.

p.23

Commentary

49. Reception children thoroughly enjoyed comparing what they were like as babies with how they are now, and know what a baby needs to help it grow. They investigate different mini-beasts and compare their characteristics. All children enjoy taking part in cookery activities and are gaining an understanding about the importance of healthy eating. Children are helped to understand about the different religions of children in the school and this helps to promote respect and tolerance. Starting in the nursery, ICT is very well taught so that children operate Forest Fields Primary and Nursery - 24 the computer confidently to help their learning in different areas. Because the activities interest and motivate children they make very good progress in acquiring new skills and knowledge so their achievement is very good. However, because of their very low base on entry, standards are below the level expected when they enter Year 1.

p.23

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Provision in physical development is very good .

p.24

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Children achieve very well and the vast majority are likely to reach the standards expected for their age by the time they enter Year 1. • The curriculum is very good; in particular very good attention is given to helping children control pencils and other small equipment. • The resources to help promote this area of learning are very good, especially in the nursery. • Teaching is very good and children are continually encouraged to improve and extend their skills in movement. • The reception classes do not have easy access to an outdoor play area, although very good arrangements are made to compensate for this.

p.24

Commentary

50. Good improvement has been made in improving the outdoor provision, especially for nursery children, since the last inspection. Nursery children have regular access to outdoor play activities and this helps them to make very good progress in developing their skills in movement. During the inspection they were seen climbing over, under and around large equipment, forward, backwards and sideways with good control. Reception children do not have an adjacent outdoor area, but the school compensates for this by arranging regular opportunities for children to use the nursery playground or school hall for physical activities. It was not possible to observe any activities for the reception children during the inspection, partly due to inclement weather. However, nursery children are well on the way to reaching the early learning goals in movement, sense of space and using large equipment by the time they enter

p.24

Commentary

Year 1. The very good provision also extends to encouraging children to use and control small equipment well. In the nursery there are many activities involving, cutting, sticking and manipulating materials as well as using construction equipment of various sizes. The resources are very good and are enhanced by exciting art and craft materials which children are encouraged to explore. Nursery children make very good progress so that, by the time they enter the reception classes, their skills are well developed. They build on these effectively, for example, a group of reception children made cuboids with very little help from their teacher. In addition, many areas in the classrooms encourage the children to cut and stick materials. Teachers also promote the control and use of pencils and other drawing resources such as paintbrushes. This is particularly important because very few children have had much

p.24

Commentary

experience in using these before they begin in the nursery. They make very good progress, which is evident in the quality of their artwork.

p.24

CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Provision in creative development is good .

p.24

Main strengths and weaknesses

• When they start in the nursery children have had very few creative experiences; in particular, their drawing and painting skills are very low. • The curriculum is very rich and interesting and enhances children’s imagination. • Story activities promote this aspect especially well. Forest Fields Primary and Nursery - 25 • Effective use of the specialist music teacher’s expertise ensures that children have access to a good range of musical experiences. • Very good role-play activities are provided in the nursery, but children’s attainment is limited by their prior experiences.

p.24

Commentary

51. Few children have had many creative experiences when they enter the nursery so staff make very good arrangements to address this. Teaching is good and in both the nursery and reception classes, story times are exciting and stimulating so that children begin to develop their imagination and suggest what might happen next. Children love dressing up and enjoy the many role-play activities provided. However, they choose to play out situations well known to them and adults have to introduce different themes to extend children’s experiences further. In the reception classes, children extend their skills and are helped to act out the role of different characters. The artistic skills of children entering the nursery are very low. Despite this, teachers have high expectations of children’s understanding. For example, during the inspection, nursery children were looking at a Picasso painting and trying to produce artwork in

p.25

Commentary

the same style. However, although children’s appreciation of different styles of art is much enhanced, they still find it very difficult to produce similar effects in their own painting and are highly dependent on adults for their ideas. Their skills in exploring different materials and their imagination are well below those expected for their age by the time they enter Year 1.

p.25

Commentary

52. The provision for music is very good in the nursery and good in reception. In the nursery, themed lessons taught by the music specialist are based on a story, and the involvement of the whole nursery team creates exciting and stimulating learning experiences. Children begin to respond automatically and are developing a good sense of rhythm. Throughout the day, many activities include action songs, which the children enjoy, remembering the words and actions. Music is well taught in reception where the music teacher creates a very positive atmosphere. Children can use percussion instruments in different ways, producing loud and quiet sounds. Children also sing and perform action songs, although less frequently than in the nursery. Children make good progress to achieve well in this area, but their very low prior attainment means that very few reach the early learning goals by the time they leave reception, and overall

p.25

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Teaching and learning are good, and pupils achieve well. • Pupils find complex comprehension questions in formal tests particularly difficult, and technical terms are not always truly understood. • Assessment procedures are good.

p.25

Commentary

53. Standards in English at the end of Year 2 are well below average in reading and writing. They are below average in speaking. Pupils' listening skills are well developed. This represents good achievement because pupils enter school with very low skills and the majority speak no English when they arrive. In Year 6, standards are a little below average in reading and below average in writing. Speaking skills are below average because many pupils only speak English in school, but listening skills are good and pupils continue to achieve well. Standards for the current Year 6 are better than those reached in the National Curriculum tests last year. Those in Year 2 are Forest Fields Primary and Nursery - 26 similar to last year’s results.

p.25

Commentary

53. Pupils generally listen well and by Year 2 are gaining confidence in contributing to the class discussions that are led by their teachers. The many pupils who speak English as an additional language have limited vocabulary and while they find it easier to express themselves as they grow older, they continue to be restricted in their ability to describe feelings and ideas in English. By Year 6, pupils contribute well to challenging topics but still have occasional problems in expressing themselves precisely. Pupils are confident in asking questions as well as answering them.

p.26

Commentary

54. In reading, most pupils have a reasonable grasp of how to sound out words, and by the end of Year 2 are starting to master a suitable range of other skills to help them to read unfamiliar words. Not all pupils can explain all the words they read, but many can retell a simple story. By the end of Year 6, pupils read fluently and show good interest in the books they read, both in school and at home. The school supplies a wide range of suitable books and pupils discuss them with good understanding of plots and characters. Many pupils find difficulty in answering the relatively complex comprehension questions set in the national tests. They understand clearly the difference between fiction and non-fiction books, but do not use the library regularly for research.

p.26

Commentary

55. Pupils in Years 1 and 2 are encouraged to use their phonetic knowledge when writing so that they become accustomed to putting their thoughts on paper. Higher attaining pupils in Year 2 understand simple points of grammar and reach nearly average standards. As they progress through the school, pupils' spelling and punctuation improve but in many cases remain below the national average. Standards of handwriting and presentation improve markedly through the school and are at average levels by the end of Year 6. Pupils write for a wide variety of purposes.

p.26

Commentary

56. Teaching is good and teachers use the national literacy strategy well to promote good learning. Teachers use a firm structure for their planning which identifies the learning steps for each piece of work. There is a good balance between class activities led by the teacher and individual and group work. Good opportunities are given for pupils to use their talking partners to enhance their speaking skills, but teachers do not consistently give enough new, clearly explained vocabulary to enrich their pupils' knowledge. Where teaching is very good, teachers skilfully blend questions and information so that pupils are extended beyond what might be expected of them. At the beginning of each session they ensure that pupils understand the learning objectives for the lesson, and at the end they use strategies that help pupils realise to what extent they have achieved them. Pupils with special educational needs and those in the

p.26

Commentary

early and intermediate stages of learning English as an additional language are very well supported by specialist teachers and teaching assistants so that they achieve well. Various strategies are used to boost targeted pupils' performances with satisfactory results.

p.26

Commentary

57. The subject is led well by an enthusiastic co-ordinator. Detailed assessment of writing is recorded regularly and this gives a clear picture of how pupils are performing and where further work is needed. Pupils are shown how they can improve through feedback and personal targets that help to maintain standards. There is still a need to develop assessment of pupils' speaking and comprehension skills. Marking is becoming more useful with pointers for improvement. There has been monitoring of teaching when the co-ordinator accompanied the local authority’s literacy consultant in observing lessons, and teachers' planning and pupils' work are sampled regularly. The school is aware of the deficiencies in the library and has plans to improve facilities in the next eighteen months. There is a selection of dual-language fiction books, mainly in Urdu and Panjabi, in the classrooms and the base for the EMAG team.

p.26

Commentary

Improvement in English since the previous inspection has been satisfactory.

p.26

Language and literacy across the curriculum

Forest Fields Primary and Nursery - 27 58. The promotion of pupils' speaking skills in work across the curriculum is satisfactory. Pupils are taught technical terms, but there is inconsistent emphasis on ensuring that they are truly understood and then remembered. Appropriate opportunities are given for discussion, but although pupils write for a wide range of specific purposes in subjects across the curriculum, the quality of their writing could be developed further.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Teaching is effective in helping most pupils to achieve well throughout the school. • Good leadership of the subject gives a good impetus to improvement. • Many pupils have difficulty understanding English mathematical language. • Insufficient use is made of ICT in the classroom though it was being used very successfully in the ICT suite, during the inspection, by a Year 6 class.

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Commentary

59. There have been significant improvements in the provision for mathematics in the past two years. Pupils currently enter Year 1 with well below average standards in mathematics. By the end of Year 2 and Year 6 standards are still below average for several main reasons. Firstly, there is a large number of pupils in the school with special educational needs. Secondly, the pupils lack understanding of mathematical language when they arrive in the nursery and reception classes because 80 per cent of pupils speak little or no English. Thirdly, a significant number of pupils join the school part way through their primary education with little knowledge of the English language. Pupils’ poor knowledge and understanding of English mathematical language affect their ability to understand how to solve problems.

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Commentary

60. The quality of teaching has improved since the previous inspection. Overall it is good; in lessons observed it was never less than good and in half of the lessons it was very good. It is well supported by teaching assistants, who make a valuable contribution to the younger pupils’ achievement. The setting of pupils by ability in Years 2 and 6 is helping to improve standards. Generally speaking, the pace of lessons is brisk, expectations are high, pupils are very well managed and work is well matched to the pupils’ prior attainment. Teachers make good use of praise and encouragement, which helps to boost the pupils’ self-esteem. This is particularly noticeable at the beginning of lessons when teachers use a variety of good resources and all pupils use small whiteboards, number fans and counting sticks to develop mental strategies in response to quick-fire question and answer sessions which pupils enjoy. Teachers have

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Commentary

worked hard to raise standards in mathematics and this is now beginning to bear fruit.

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Commentary

61. The school makes good use of information from assessments in mathematics, particularly the National Curriculum tests at the end of Years 2 and 6. Areas of weakness are identified so that future teaching and learning can address them. Teachers are now concentrating on improving pupils’ skills in solving problems by finding different ways to overcome their difficulties. For example, in a Year 4 lesson, taught well by the co-ordinator of mathematics, pupils discussed their problem sums with a ‘talking partner’ before underlining the key words that helped them solve the problem. This method also helped to develop their speaking and listening skills and improved their understanding of mathematical language. Teachers are now making better use of ICT. For example, during the very good team teaching lesson by a class teacher and the specialist ICT teacher, pupils in Year 6 made very good progress as they prepared

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Commentary

spreadsheets to help solve problems and answered questions based on the information provided. However, teachers are not yet using ICT on a regular basis in their classrooms to support learning in mathematics. Forest Fields Primary and Nursery - 28 62. The subject leadership is good. The co-ordinator is realistic and has a good overview of the subject. She is able to support colleagues and believes teachers are developing and adapting ideas well for the teaching of mathematics. The school is in a strong position to move forward with this increasing level of improvement and good overall improvement since the previous inspection.

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Mathematics across the curriculum

63. Teachers provide a good range of opportunities for pupils to use and develop their mathematical skills in other subjects. For example, in a science lesson, Year 6 were observed timing the movement of falling objects with a stop watch and recording their results in tables and graphs and a Year 3 class made a very good link with their design and technology lesson as they made use of their knowledge of solid shapes in making their nets for packaging.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Due to good teaching in Years 1 to 6, pupils learn and achieve well from their very low standards on entry and from their below average standards at the beginning of Year 1. • Teachers give good emphasis to developing pupils’ skills of scientific enquiry and pay good attention to developing pupils’ scientific language. • Although in some classes teachers reinforce the teaching of scientific terms well through visual and other methods to meet the needs of the majority of pupils with English as an additional language, this varies across the school. • There is inconsistency in the structured support that teachers give to pupils to improve their social skills in working collaboratively in groups to solve scientific problems.

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Commentary

64. There has been good improvement since the last inspection. Standards are similar, but the school’s focus on scientific enquiry and the improved consistency in the teaching of scientific skills, such as prediction and drawing conclusions from results, and the clear curricular guidelines in the scheme of work mean that pupils’ achievement is consistently good across the school. Due to the good teaching, pupils in Years 1 to 6, including those with special educational needs and the majority who have English as an additional language, achieve well and standards are below average in Years 2 and 6. While pupils often have a sound knowledge and understanding of the scientific content of life processes, materials and physical processes, their below average social skills of working collaboratively and their below average literacy skills hinder their comprehension of the questions they are asked and their written explanations within

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Commentary

65. Overall, teaching and learning are good in Years 1 to 6 with some excellent teaching in Year 6. In all the lessons seen, pupils were given good opportunities to develop their skills of scientific enquiry; from Year 1, where pupils investigated the best conditions for seeds to grow, to Year 6, where pupils asked the question, ‘How does the mass of a spinner affect how quickly it falls to the ground?’ Teachers identify scientific vocabulary in their effective planning of the lessons and introduce these terms at appropriate points in the activities. To meet the needs of pupils who speak English as an additional language and those with special educational needs, some teachers use a good variety of methods to reinforce their verbal explanations. In Years 1 and 2, the teachers used bilingual support assistants effectively to help pupils. They gave explanations in the pupils’ mother tongue and made constant references to visual aids, such as pictures with

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Commentary

labels. In a Year 3 lesson, the teacher used a whiteboard to reinforce her spoken language when she drew pictures of the five pots of soil and drew two bean seeds being placed in each Forest Fields Primary and Nursery - 29 pot to illustrate the constant factors in the test. Not all teachers use a good variety of methods to ensure that pupils understand the language being used.

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Commentary

66. When working in groups to undertake practical investigations, pupils often encounter difficulties in working together as a group. In Years 3 and 6, the teachers identified team work as an objective for the lesson and planned to develop pupils’ social skills as well as the scientific skills. Before the investigation started, the teachers allocated roles to each pupil within the group by means of picture cards. Each role was explained and through the practical work, the teacher checked that pupils were undertaking their roles within the activity and if not, reminders would be given. Not all teachers place this good emphasis on improving pupils’ social skills to enable them to work collaboratively on a task.

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Commentary

67. There is sound overall use of ICT in science lessons, but good links to science when the specialist ICT teacher teaches each class in the ICT suite. Assessment is good; effective records are kept of pupils’ progress within levels of the National Curriculum and the co- ordinator analyses pupils’ answers to national test questions to improve the teaching of concepts that pupils find difficult. Marking of pupils’ work is good in Years 3 to 6 with helpful comments for pupils to improve their work, but in Years 1 and 2, marking is mainly praise and is not so helpful.

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Commentary

68. The co-ordinator leads and manages the subject well and, since the previous inspection, has improved the balance of scientific enquiry and the storage and accessibility of the good range of resources. In the school’s improvement plan from April 2004, his target to develop the strategies that teachers use to support pupils with the language required for scientific enquiry is very appropriate.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

Provision in information and communication technology (ICT) is good .

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Due to the good teaching, all groups of pupils learn and achieve well and reach average standards in Year 2 and Year 6. • Very good teaching by the ICT support teacher provides a very good model for teachers. • Teachers miss opportunities to use ICT across the curriculum in their own classes. • Too often, pupils’ difficulties in working co-operatively hinder their learning.

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Commentary

69. The good provision in the subject represents good improvement since the previous inspection. The enhanced consistency of good teaching across Years 1 to 6 has had a positive impact on pupils’ standards. All groups of pupils achieve well from the below average standards at the end of the reception year and standards are average in Years 2 and 6.

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Commentary

70. The school employs a teacher with expertise in ICT for a day each week to teach all classes in Years 1 to 6 in the computer suite on a fortnightly cycle. During these lessons, the class teachers work alongside the support teacher and receive very good training that enhances their command of the subject and their skills in teaching it. Her teaching is always at least good, and very often it is very good. This regular specialist input has contributed greatly to the overall good achievement and average standards reached by most pupils and to teachers having greater confidence in teaching the subject themselves. In the two lessons taught by the support teacher with Year 6 groups, one of lower and one of higher ability, teaching was very good. The very effective planning for both lessons was linked to mathematics and the use of a program that produced spreadsheets for calculating profit in a chocolate shop. The teacher matched the

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Commentary

work very clearly to the different abilities in the two groups and provided good challenge to extend three pupils in the higher attaining group so that by the end of the lesson, they were Forest Fields Primary and Nursery - 30 working at above average levels. Her confident approach, cracking pace and very effective support to pupils while they were working led to very good learning in which pupils were very well motivated, and very keen to succeed and to move on to the next stage of the task. They made very good progress and worked hard throughout the lesson. The very high interest levels meant that pupils’ attitudes and behaviour were very good.

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Commentary

71. In lessons taught by class teachers, most teaching was good but learning was occasionally hampered by pupils’ difficulties in taking turns to share equipment. Their social skills detracted from the collaborative working necessary to complete the task and the teacher did not place enough emphasis on supporting pupils in this element of their learning at the beginning of the lesson, instead merely reacting when pupils were unable to work together amicably. Other teachers were more proactive and identified pupils’ social skills as a learning objective and reminded pupils early in the lesson of the expectations for these. During lessons, teachers support and assess pupils’ progress satisfactorily and pupils know what they have to do to improve their skills. However, there are no records of assessments of pupils’ progress to inform teachers of the levels in the National Curriculum reached by each pupil, for teachers to

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Commentary

72. The recently appointed co-ordinator has not yet had time to obtain a clear overview of the subject. She is well supported by the ICT support teacher, who provides a link from the previous co-ordinator who has left the school, and has a good action plan for the development of the subject as well as her personal expertise.

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Information and communication technology across the curriculum

73. Overall the use of ICT across the curriculum is satisfactory. The support teacher links ICT well with subjects in the planning of lessons for each class and teaches ICT skills through other subjects such as mathematics and science. There is limited use of ICT in the classroom, as teachers miss opportunities to use computers to practise or reinforce key skills, learnt in the computer suite.

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HUMANITIES

Geography and religious education were inspected in detail and are reported in full below. History was not a focus of the inspection and has not been reported because no lessons were taught during the inspection period.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Pupils are very enthusiastic and enjoy geography. • Discussion is used effectively in lessons and cultural differences are celebrated. • Teachers’ good knowledge and understanding of the subject leads to good learning. • Teachers provide exciting opportunities in lessons that capture the interest of their pupils.

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Commentary

74. Observation of lessons and an analysis of pupils’ work over the past year and on display indicate that in Years 2 and 6, attainment is average and similar to the previous inspection. Most pupils work hard and achieve well throughout the school.

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Commentary

75. Teachers prepare good displays of books and photographs brought to school by pupils to show where in the world they still have relatives and friends. Pupils had looked at a video made by Forest Fields Primary and Nursery - 31 parents on their visit to relations in India. All Year 1 and Year 2 pupils had enjoyed a visit to East Midlands airport, finding places on the world map to which planes fly. They also enjoy finding out where their Barnaby Bear has been on his travels. This is good support for the pupils’ social and cultural development.

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Commentary

76. The teaching is good. Teachers have good knowledge of the subject and a good rapport with their pupils. They make lessons interesting and exciting and create a very good ethos for learning. For example, the teachers in both Year 3 classes captured their pupils’ interest by providing real suitcases packed with essentials for a holiday. Each group of pupils had to decide if the contents of their case supported a holiday in a hot or a cold country. They had to decide which country they would like to visit and search for information from books and brochures. Each group presented their findings to the whole class and took pride in their achievement.

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Commentary

77. Pupils in Year 4 develop their geographical and literacy studies as they write a book about life in India. During a series of lessons they study many aspects of life in the village of Chembakolli in India, comparing it with life in Forest Fields. An important part of their research into life in Nottingham was the display of photographs taken by the pupils in their own homes with the school’s camera. This helped to develop their improving ICT skills and boosted their self- esteem.

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Commentary

78. The co-ordinator has been absent from school since November 2003, but the headteacher and all staff have ensured that the pupils’ curriculum in geography has been maintained at the appropriate level and leadership of the subject is satisfactory. Geography is next due to be a focus of attention in the spring term in 2005 when it is planned to develop a new assessment system. There has been satisfactory improvement since the previous inspection.

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Religious education

Provision for religious education is good .

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• The school ensures that the subject is taught well and in good detail, which leads to good achievement. • There is no system for assessment in place.

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Commentary

79. The locally agreed syllabus is very detailed and the school ensures that pupils’ attainments are in line with the expectations of the syllabus in Years 2 and 6. The subject is taught sensitively so that pupils of different faiths are never challenged in their own beliefs, but acquire a good working knowledge of the other major world religions. There has been satisfactory improvement since the last inspection and ‘authority’ (knowledge about sacred books) is now taught more comprehensively.

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Commentary

80. Pupils in Year 2 received a visit from the local vicar during the inspection and used their speaking skills well to ask a number of searching questions about Christian symbols and facets of belief. They showed satisfactory knowledge and deep interest. Achievement is good because pupils enter school with no understanding of religion other than their own.

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Commentary

81. Pupils in Year 6 displayed mature interest and insight during a lesson about Hindu sacred texts, which were well chosen to demonstrate the universality of some truths about life and the way it should be lived. References to the Torah and Qur’an indicated that pupils have studied widely, and work in other classes confirms that pupils have appropriate knowledge of several faiths and achieve well. Forest Fields Primary and Nursery - 32 82. Teaching is good and promotes thoughtful discussion well. Tasks are satisfactory in reinforcing each topic and pupils use their literacy skills at appropriate levels.

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Commentary

83. Leadership of the subject is good. The two co-ordinators are keen and knowledgeable, and have ensured that teachers are confident. Management needs further development. There has been no recent monitoring of teaching, and while samples of work are looked at, pupils' books are not all seen regularly. Currently, there is no method of recording information from assessments of pupils' progress and understanding. Resources are satisfactory and are used well.

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CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

Physical education was inspected in detail and is reported in full below. As only two lessons were observed in each of art and design, music and design and technology during the inspection, it was not possible to give a judgement on the provision within these subjects.

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CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

84. Both lessons seen in art and design were of good quality. Teachers had prepared thoroughly and taught basic skills well. In a Year 1 class, pupils looked at examples of Matisse's later work and made colourful pictures in a similar style. In Year 5, pupils used clay to make either thumb or coil pots. Pupils were attentive and tried hard, but their observation and manual skills were underdeveloped so that final work, while average, lacked finesse. Work on display from Year 6, which was the result of layering a limited range of torn, coloured tissue papers to create a misty effect, was very pleasing. The school acknowledges that while teachers do their best, art has not had a high profile lately.

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CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

85. Many pupils show good levels of enjoyment in music . Pupils enter school with very under- developed musical skills. Teaching by a specialist was of good quality in the two lessons seen in Years 4 and 6. He had high expectations and worked hard to gain a good response from the pupils, who did not all automatically share his enthusiasm. He maintained a good pace to lessons with a variety of topics that helped to keep pupils interested, and there was ample time for them to experiment for themselves and to perform and to listen to each other's work. Younger pupils sang simple songs and played simple rhythms, older ones sang part songs and used both tuned and untuned instruments to compose in groups. In Year 6, pupils had built their skills and knowledge to average levels and there is a portfolio of evidence showing that they have written music using non-standard notation. The teacher ensures that they become familiar

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CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

with music from many different countries and they have listened carefully and written regular critiques of what they heard. He has an intimate knowledge of each pupil's ability, but there is no formal recording of their attainment at present. Pupils are taught a wide curriculum and there are good opportunities for pupils to take part in musical activities after school and to perform in large productions organised at the end of each term. Resources are used well.

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CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

86. In the two lessons seen in design and technology , in Years 3 and 4, all groups of pupils learned and achieved well due to the good teaching. In both lessons, the teachers had a secure command of the subject and planned effectively with clear learning intentions that were shared with pupils. In the Year 4 lesson, the teacher had an additional appropriate objective to develop pupils’ social skills of working as a team. She asked questions to make the pupils think about the social skills they would need to work collaboratively. Before they started the activity, pupils in their responses reminded each other about taking turns and performing different roles within the group. In both lessons, to meet the language needs of the majority of the pupils, teachers used visual aids well to introduce and reinforce the correct technical vocabulary that pupils would use within the lesson. In Year 3, the teacher had prepared a large net of a cube that she

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CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

mounted on the whiteboard. As she used the terms ‘tab’, ‘face’, and ‘score line’ in her explanations of the task, she placed labels of the words on to the large net to reinforce visually the terms she used. In this way, pupils who speak English as an additional language and those with special educational needs began to learn the new words and the visual aid was left on display for pupils to remind them of the meanings while undertaking the activity. In a similar Forest Fields Primary and Nursery - 33 visual way in Year 4, the teacher reminded pupils of how to build an electrical circuit to light a bulb when they were designing a light source for a specific purpose.

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CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

87. In Year 4, the teacher and her assistant questioned pupils well to evaluate a torch and table lamp to think about how they work, how they are used and whether they achieve the purposes for which they are intended. When pupils in groups designed a light source themselves, the adults used further good questioning skills to encourage them to think of solutions to problems. When the class came together, pupils spoke clearly when they explained their designs and gave sensible reasons for choosing certain shapes, for example, a cylindrical design for a torch because it would be easier to hold with one hand when using it in the dark. As a result of the good teaching in both lessons, pupils were well motivated by the tasks and were engaged productively.

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Physical education

Provision for physical education is good.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Pupils have a good attitude to the subject and put a good deal of effort into their activities. • Pupils’ achievement in swimming is very good and standards are above average. • There is good enrichment and pupils enjoy a variety of sports. • Teachers overcome the shortage of space, particularly outside, well and provide their pupils with exciting challenges that help to improve their physical skills. • The school make good use of the new basketball court.

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Commentary

88. The school has made good improvement since the previous inspection; teaching is now good overall from unsatisfactory in Years 3 to 6 and the impact of this better teaching has been good achievement across the school. Pupils achieve well from Year 1 to Year 6, and in Years 2 and 6 reach average standards in physical education. In Year 6 in gymnastics, pupils work with poise, control and creativity in their floor work and on the apparatus. They are confident when linking their movements into a sequence. Pupils support each other well and this is an indication of the good relationships that exist in the school. Because of these relationships all pupils are keen and willing to demonstrate their work, whilst the class watch quietly. This was noticeable in several classes when groups of pupils received spontaneous applause after performing their sequences. Pupils use the limited space quite ambitiously, exploring and using

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Commentary

89. The quality of teaching is good. Teachers plan carefully and ensure that pupils understand the reasons for warm-up and cool-down sessions at the beginning and end of lessons. Teachers have good control of pupils and high expectations of effort and behaviour. This means that pupils are keen to begin lessons and change quickly and quietly without fuss. Because the hall is used as a library and tables and chairs have to be stored there, teachers are very aware of safety issues and pupils behave well. Swimming is very well developed and the majority of pupils can swim the nationally expected 25 metres by the time they leave the school, with many pupils swimming much further in good style. Teachers work well with the swimming instructor, playing an active part in lessons and supporting pupils well. This gives confidence to those pupils who are in the early stages of learning to swim. Pupils enjoy their swimming lessons and

p.33

Commentary

are particularly fortunate to have a swimming pool within walking distance of the school, which means they do not have to waste time in travelling.

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Commentary

90. Teachers provide a good variety of after-school activities in physical education. During the inspection pupils in the athletics club were observed improving their hurdling skills. Because of Forest Fields Primary and Nursery - 34 their teacher’s very good knowledge of the subject and her ability to demonstrate the correct techniques, the pupils made good progress and enjoyed themselves.

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Commentary

91. Although the co-ordinator was not present during the inspection, the headteacher was able to provide information and it was evident that leadership and management of physical education are at least satisfactory. Resources are satisfactory and carefully used by all staff and pupils. The accommodation is unsatisfactory for the subject; the sloping playground is small for the size of the school and pupils do not have access to a grassed area for games lessons or sport.

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PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND HEALTH EDUCATION AND CITIZENSHIP

Personal, social and health education and citizenship was sampled.

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PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND HEALTH EDUCATION AND CITIZENSHIP

92. There is limited time identified for personal, social and health education and citizenship within the timetable, but various initiatives support this area of the curriculum separately from the taught lessons. The school promotes a healthy lifestyle. Lunch menus are well balanced and include ‘healthy options’ which are popular with at least half of the pupils. Vegetarians are well catered for. Some teachers use successful strategies within other lessons to encourage social skills such as co-operation when pupils work in groups; others give less attention to this. Social skills and personal development are also encouraged through the very good range of extra- curricular activities. The co-ordinator has drafted a policy that is to be discussed at the next staff meeting and has supported this policy with a scheme of work that gives a clear overview of personal, social, health and citizenship skills to be developed for each year group. It includes

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PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND HEALTH EDUCATION AND CITIZENSHIP

a formal teaching programme for citizenship that involves the school council. Currently, a teacher leads the school council in its monthly meetings, but opportunities are missed within the running of the council to develop further pupils’ personal responsibility and social skills. The residential visits play a positive role in developing pupils’ personal qualities. Forest Fields Primary and Nursery - 35

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

The overall effectiveness of the school 3 How inclusive the school is 2 How the school’s effectiveness has changed since its last inspection 3 Value for money provided by the school 3

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

Overall standards achieved 3 Pupils’ achievement 3

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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 2

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

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

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

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

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

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

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