Netherhall Learning Campus Junior School

RAWTHORPE JUNIOR SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 26 th – 29 th April 2004

p.1

RAWTHORPE JUNIOR SCHOOL

Inspection carried out under section 10 of the School Inspections Act 1996 Rawthorpe Junior School - 2 Crown copyright 2004

p.1

RAWTHORPE JUNIOR SCHOOL

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.

p.2

RAWTHORPE JUNIOR SCHOOL

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

p.2

INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Type of school: Junior School category: Community Age range of pupils: 7 – 11 Gender of pupils: Mixed Number on roll: 241

p.3

INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Rawthorpe Lane Dalton Huddersfield West Yorkshire

p.3

INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Telephone number: 0 1484 300080 Fax number: 0 1484 300080

p.3

INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: The governing body Name of chair of governors: Mrs Rachel Sixsmith (Acting)

p.3

INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: 2 nd November 1998

p.3

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SCHOOL

This average sized community junior school has 241 pupils (126 boys and 115 girls) on roll. It is situated about a mile to the east of Huddersfield on a large open site, which includes an infant and nursery school and a high school. Most pupils come from the surrounding council estates, where there are high levels of social and economic disadvantage. The school is involved in the Excellence in Cities initiative. When pupils start at the school, their attainment, although variable from year to year, is below average. Almost half the pupils are entitled to free school meals. The majority of pupils are white, although the number of pupils from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds has increased since the last inspection. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is now high. The 49 pupils who are at an early stage of learning to speak English include an increasing number from families seeking asylum. There is a high level of mobility, with 28 pupils joining the

p.3

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SCHOOL

school other than at the usual time last year, and 39 leaving. Pupils are taught in nine single age classes. There are 61 pupils (25 per cent) on the special needs register, which is above the national average. Pupils’ difficulties include learning, behavioural and physical difficulties. Twenty-four pupils (ten per cent) have statements of special educational need, which is well above the national average. This number includes seven pupils with physical disability, for whom the school provides specialist facilities and staff to enable them to take part in normal class lessons. The school is not full, and there are also more places available for pupils with physical disabilities. About 40 pupils are gifted and talented in at least one subject. Since the last inspection, a PFI (Private Finance Initiative) has resulted in a refurbishment of the building. The school received a national award for improved

p.3

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SCHOOL

achievement in 2001, and was designated as a ‘Healthy School’ in 2000. Since 2001, there have been seven changes of headteacher, and shortly before this inspection an acting headteacher was brought in from another school. Rawthorpe Junior School - 4

p.3

Members of the inspection team Subject responsibilities

18101 J Ann Sharpe Lead inspector English Art and design Music 9974 Daljit Singh Lay inspector 10144 Mary Marriott Team inspector Mathematics Information and communication technology Religious education Personal, social, health and citizenship education 17681 Roger Sharples Team inspector Science Design and technology Geography History Physical education 32926 Pauline Hilling-Smith Team inspector

p.4

Members of the inspection team Subject responsibilities

peakschoolhaus ltd BPS Business Centre Brake Lane Boughton Newark NG22 9HQ

p.4

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). Rawthorpe Junior School - 5

p.4

STANDARDS ACHIEVED BY PUPILS 9

Pupils’ attitudes, values and other personal qualities

p.5

QUALITY OF EDUCATION PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL 12

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

p.5

PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS 27

Rawthorpe Junior School - 6 Rawthorpe Junior School - 7

p.6

OVERALL EVALUATION

This is a poor school. The new acting headteacher is trying to put the school back on course, following the problems created by too many changes of headteacher in recent years. There is still a lot of work to do, however, in order to ensure that all pupils have the teaching and quality of education they need, to do as well as they can. Too many parents and pupils are not entirely satisfied with their school, and it does not have the hallmarks of a happy place to be. The school provides poor value for money.

p.7

The school’s main strengths and weaknesses are:

• Pupils underachieve because teaching is not strong enough. • The lack of settled leadership, management and governance has held the school back. • Unsatisfactory behaviour, attendance and punctuality slow down the learning of some pupils. • The partnership with parents is unsatisfactory. • The acting headteacher has started successfully to tackle the most urgent problems. • Standards in information and communication technology (ICT) are starting to improve. • The good links with the community and other schools help to enrich pupils’ education.

p.7

The school’s main strengths and weaknesses are:

The school is not as good as it was in November 1998. Even when taking account of the many unavoidable changes of headteacher, there has not been enough improvement in recent years. National test results have been falling rapidly since 2001, and standards are well below those found in similar schools. The recent improvements in teaching have come too late to put a stop to falling standards. The issues in the 1998 report have not all been dealt with successfully, and standards in reading, writing and religious education are still too low. Leadership, management and governance now fail to ensure a good enough quality of education for the pupils. The school has continued to widen links with the community and other schools, resulting in a more interesting curriculum and better achievement for some pupils from time to time. In ICT, the improving provision is now helping to raise standards.

p.7

STANDARDS ACHIEVED

All schools similar schools Results in National Curriculum tests at the end of Year 6, compared with: 2001 2002 2003 2003 English C E E E Mathematics D E E C Science C E E E 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.

p.7

STANDARDS ACHIEVED

Achievement is unsatisfactory. The attainment of pupils starting in Year 3 varies from year to year, but it is below average overall. Test results show that pupils do not make enough progress between Years 3 and 6. The improvement in mathematics test results in 2003 is unlikely to be maintained this year. Unsatisfactory achievement is often seen in pupils’ work and sometimes in lessons. In English, mathematics, science and religious education, unsatisfactory achievement is not confined to any specific group of pupils. Lessons do not always provide the right opportunities for pupils of all Rawthorpe Junior School - 8 capabilities and backgrounds to build on what they can already do. This includes gifted and talented pupils, pupils who speak English as an additional language and those who are learning to speak English. The achievement of pupils with special educational needs, including physical disabilities, is

p.7

STANDARDS ACHIEVED

satisfactory. They do best when they have extra support to reach their learning targets. There are some promising signs of improving achievement in pupils’ literacy, numeracy and ICT skills.

p.8

STANDARDS ACHIEVED

Pupils’ personal development is unsatisfactory. The unsatisfactory attendance, punctuality and behaviour of too many pupils limit their own progress and, often, that of others. The recent good moves to improve matters have not had time to have full effect, and teachers do not all handle behavioural problems consistently. Pupils’ attitudes are mixed, but they show how much they can enjoy learning when lessons are good. Good attitudes when pupils work in the computer suite help them to do well. The good examples of spiritual, moral, social and cultural development are not consistent enough to make much difference to pupils’ personal development.

p.8

QUALITY OF EDUCATION

The quality of education is unsatisfactory. Teaching, learning and assessment are unsatisfactory overall. The frequent use of supply teachers slows down pupils’ progress, especially in Years 3 and 4. Pupils rarely know enough about how they need to improve, and they are not always encouraged to get involved in their own learning and progress. The care, welfare and guidance of pupils are satisfactory, and pupils with physical disabilities are well cared for. The satisfactory curriculum is enriched well by activities outside class lessons – often as a result of the good links being forged with the community and with other schools. The unsatisfactory partnership with parents has a negative impact on school improvement.

p.8

LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

Leadership, management and governance are unsatisfactory. There has not been enough time for the good work now being done to make much difference to pupils. The new acting headteacher, new associate deputy headteacher and deputy headteacher are working hard together to tackle the most urgent problems. The contribution of other leaders to improving the school is unsatisfactory. The new acting chair of governors is trying to find new members to fill the many vacancies. The few remaining governors have the determination and skills they need to do their job properly, but they do not currently ensure that the school’s budget is used to best effect.

p.8

PARENTS’ AND PUPILS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

Parents and pupils have very mixed views of the school, but many have concerns about pupils’ behaviour, bullying, unhappy children and the number of supply teachers used by the school. Inspectors agree that these problems often have a detrimental effect on school improvement.

p.8

IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED

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

p.8

IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED

• Improve the quality and consistency of teaching and learning. • Improve the effectiveness of leadership, management and governance in raising achievement. • Improve pupils’ behaviour, attendance and punctuality. • Strengthen the school’s partnership with parents. Rawthorpe Junior School - 9

p.8

Standards achieved in subjects

Standards by the end of Year 6 are well below average in English, mathematics and science. Achievement is unsatisfactory across the school and most pupils could do better. Standards are improving in ICT, where pupils’ achievement is closer to what it should be.

p.9

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Pupils do not achieve as well as they should in lessons and over time because much of the teaching fails to challenge and inspire them to want to do better. • Standards in religious education have not improved enough since the previous inspection. • There are clear signs of improving achievement in some literacy, numeracy and science lessons. • The standard of pupils’ work in ICT is improving because they enjoy their lessons.

p.9

Commentary

1. Standards across the school are not high enough. Raising achievement across the subjects of the curriculum and continuing to nurture a culture of achievement are, rightly, two of the school’s main priorities for improvement. There has not been enough improvement since the previous inspection in the key issues relating to raising standards in reading, writing and religious education. Since 2001, when the school received a national award for its 2000 improved test results, pupils’ performance in national tests in English, mathematics and science has been falling rapidly. This coincides with a long period of school instability and changes of headteacher. The school fell far short of meeting its targets in English and mathematics in 2003, and inspection evidence suggests little improvement for the pupils currently in Year 6, despite the school’s very challenging English and mathematics targets.

p.9

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

Most pupils are expected to move on one point every term, so if a school’s scores are one point above the national, the pupils are, typically, a term ahead. Standards in: School results National results English 23.3 (24.2) 26.8 (27.0) Mathematics 24.9 (24.0) 26.8 (26.7) Science 25.7 (27.0) 28.6 (28.3) There were 62 pupils in the year group. Figures in brackets are for the previous year

p.9

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

2. Pupils’ performance in the 2003 tests was well below the national average and well below that of similar schools. Results indicate that the attainment of pupils who left the school last July was about a year behind that of most pupils nationally, and that they had made slow progress since they were tested at the age of seven. Three-year averages of results suggest that there has not been much difference in the performance of girls and that of boys. Many pupils, particularly those in the current Year 6, have suffered disruption to their education in the past, due to a number of reasons beyond the control of the school, such as long periods of time being taught in mobile classrooms. Also, the attainment of many pupils in all year groups is affected by high mobility, unsatisfactory attendance and other social factors. Nevertheless, these factors do not account fully for their unsatisfactory achievement. The differences in the

p.9

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

quality of teaching between classes and the inconsistencies in how well teachers follow the agreed teaching and learning policy too often prevent pupils of all levels of capability from doing as well as they can. This was most evident in pupils’ recent work and discussions with them Rawthorpe Junior School - 10 about it, but also in some lessons across the subjects inspected. Standards in religious education are below the expectation of the locally agreed syllabus, and achievement is unsatisfactory for the same reasons in English, mathematics and science.

p.9

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

3. Owing to staff training in the teaching of literacy and numeracy, there are clear signs of improving achievement in some lessons. Teaching is usually well focused to increase pupils’ knowledge and understanding of the terminology of grammar and literature. Pupils are often improving their ability to talk about their work in all subjects, because teachers are becoming more skilled at asking the right questions. In numeracy, pupils are getting better at working out answers to questions about numbers, both in their heads and on paper. They do not always listen carefully in all subjects, however, and their answers to questions often lack detail. In mathematics, pupils are not very good at planning and carrying out investigations because they have not had many opportunities to learn to do so. They remember facts well in science, but, as in mathematics, they have had few opportunities to learn to plan and carry out experiments

p.10

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

4. The achievement of pupils with special educational needs, including those with physical disabilities, although variable, is satisfactory. Pupils often do well when they have extra help to reach the targets in their individual education plans. When they work without such help, however, pupils’ achievement is the same as that of other pupils in the class – sometimes unsatisfactory. Support staff are not always deployed effectively enough, and some have had little specialist training. While gifted and talented pupils have a few good opportunities to do well outside normal class lessons, they too underachieve because their work does not always provide the right opportunities for them to build on what they can already do.

p.10

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

5. The achievement of pupils who speak English as an additional language is unsatisfactory. Most pupils are already fairly fluent in English, but the achievement of pupils who are still learning English is limited by the same weaknesses in teaching, learning and assessment as experienced by other pupils.

p.10

Pupils’ attitudes, values and other personal qualities

Pupils’ attitudes, values and other personal qualities, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, are unsatisfactory. Attendance and punctuality are unsatisfactory.

p.10

Main strengths and weaknesses

• The unsatisfactory behaviour of a significant number of pupils holds other pupils back. • The school has not done enough in the past to improve pupils’ attendance and punctuality. • Staff do not apply the behaviour policy consistently in all classes and situations. • The associate deputy headteacher is now having a good effect on improving pupils’ behaviour. • The ethos of the school does not do enough to encourage pupils’ personal qualities. • Pupils’ good attitudes towards their work in ICT are helping to raise their achievement.

p.10

Commentary

6. The school is right to identify developing effective behaviour management strategies as one of its main priorities for improvement. The inspection questionnaire for pupils indicates that many are not very happy at school. In most lessons, however, many pupils show interest in their learning, and their attitudes are mainly satisfactory. In ICT lessons, pupils’ behaviour and attitudes are good because they enjoy the practical nature of the subject and the challenges that it presents them. Pupils’ success raises their confidence and self-esteem and encourages them to want to learn more. In some lessons in other subjects, however, work is not challenging or interesting enough to capture pupils’ attention. Too often, some teachers accept poor work and do not do enough to encourage pupils to want to try harder. Rawthorpe Junior School - 11 7. Teachers are concerned about pupils’ behaviour, especially that of the minority of pupils who

p.10

Commentary

are very challenging and disruptive at times. The new associate deputy headteacher is already having a positive impact on improving behaviour in the school. The recently agreed behaviour policy sets out a clear and useful approach to behaviour management. This is, however, relatively new and is not followed consistently by all teachers. Some teachers make too many allowances for the inappropriate behaviour of pupils with particular difficulties. There are sometimes serious incidents requiring the involvement of the most senior staff. The exclusion rate in the school is too high.

p.11

Commentary

8. The school is keen to promote pupils’ personal development and to help them to become increasingly mature. The recent positive move to improve pupils’ learning skills and their relationships with one another includes setting up a school council. The council has been formed to encourage pupils to play a more active part in the life of the school, and there are promising signs of its effect on pupils’ social development coming through in the enthusiasm that pupils show when they are consulted about planned improvements. Relationships are unsatisfactory, however, because of the large number of occasions when pupils find it very difficult to play and work together amicably, even when teachers plan activities especially to help them to get better at doing so. The enthusiastic visiting story-teller, for example, had a lot to offer Year 4 pupils, but some did not listen well enough to her to benefit from the very good

p.11

Commentary

lesson she had planned for them to improve their ability to communicate and co-operate with one another. There are limited opportunities for pupils to learn to take responsibility and show initiative. Pupils do, however, usually show a good level of care and consideration for those pupils with physical disabilities.

p.11

Commentary

9. Provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is unsatisfactory. Although teachers sometimes plan good opportunities, the picture throughout the school is too inconsistent to give pupils a clear and positive picture of their own place in the school community and the wider world.

p.11

Attendance

10. Unsatisfactory attendance and punctuality adversely affect pupils’ personal development and the relationship between teachers and parents. During the period of instability of leadership, lack of co-operation between the education welfare service, the school and parents led to a decline in attendance and punctuality. Since the acting headteacher took over, relationships are better, and there has been a slight improvement. The appointment of a new community development worker, for example, is beginning to improve co-operation with parents of pupils with poor attendance and punctuality records.

p.11

Attendance

Attendance in the latest complete reporting year (%)

p.11

Attendance

Authorised absence Unauthorised absence School data 5.5 School data 1.2 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. Rawthorpe Junior School - 12

p.11

Exclusions

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

p.12

Exclusions

Categories used in the Annual School Census No of pupils on roll Number of fixed period exclusions Number of permanent exclusions White – British 149 34 White – any other White background 2 Mixed – White and Black Caribbean 23 Mixed – White and Black African 10 Mixed – White and Asian 4 Mixed – any other mixed background 2 Asian or Asian British – Indian 2 Asian or Asian British – Pakistani 23 Black or Black British – Caribbean 6 1 Black or Black British – African 9 Black or Black British – any other Black background 4 Any other ethnic group 7 The table gives the number of exclusions, which may be different from the number of pupils excluded.

p.12

QUALITY OF EDUCATION PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL

The quality of education is unsatisfactory because teaching does not enable pupils of all capabilities to do as well as they can. The satisfactory curriculum is enriched well by extra-curricular activities and by links with the community and other schools. Provision for pupils’ learning in ICT is improving. Links with parents are unsatisfactory.

p.12

Teaching and learning

Teaching, learning and assessment are unsatisfactory. Although there are a few examples of good and very good teaching, teaching overall is not strong enough to improve pupils’ achievements and raise standards.

p.12

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Teaching lacks sufficient rigour, inspiration, consistency and challenge. • Pupils know very little about how they need to improve their work. • Teachers do not plan securely from what pupils already know. • Teachers often make good use of national guidance about teaching literacy and numeracy. • Teachers’ confidence to teach ICT is improving. Rawthorpe Junior School - 13

p.12

Commentary

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 32 lessons

p.13

Commentary

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Poor Very poor

p.13

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.

p.13

Commentary

11. Although the above sample of selected lessons provide a snapshot of satisfactory teaching and learning during the inspection, pupils’ previous work, discussions with them and with staff and parents indicate that this is not always the case. Teaching and learning have not improved enough since the previous inspection. One problem is that the school finds it very difficult to recruit good quality supply teachers to cover teachers’ absences. As a result, there has been too much poor teaching in the past, because of the frequent use of supply teachers. Another problem is that temporary teachers have not taken part in the school’s training programmes to improve teaching, or participated in the school’s arrangements for performance management.

p.13

Commentary

12. Even during the period of instability of leadership and management, the school has provided a lot of good quality training and support for teachers in literacy and numeracy, especially recently. The benefits of this training were seen in the way that teachers often used national guidance well as a basis for planning their lessons. They were usually very clear about what they wanted their pupils to learn in each lesson, and they often asked questions skilfully. This resulted in some good and very good lessons, especially in one Year 4 class and one Year 6 class. Teachers have agreed a good teaching and learning policy and a behaviour policy, but a major problem is that there are considerable differences in the extent to which individual teachers follow them. Inconsistencies are found in all the subjects inspected in relation to how well teachers:

p.13

Commentary

• follow the agreed procedures for encouraging good behaviour; • assess pupils and give them clear and measurable learning targets to aim for; • take account of what pupils already know, understand and can do; • engage the more reticent pupils and motivate them to want to learn; • plan the work of classroom assistants and use their time to good effect; • mark work thoroughly and helpfully for pupils; • insist on a good standard of presentation of work; • use homework as a means of improving pupils’ learning skills.

p.13

Commentary

13. Teaching, learning and assessment are, therefore, unsatisfactory in English, mathematics, science and religious education. This is the main reason why pupils in the school are not doing as well as they should, and why so many pupils say that they do not find lessons interesting and fun. The above inconsistencies impact negatively at times on the learning skills and achievement of all groups of pupils represented in the school. This includes the more capable pupils, those with special educational needs and physical disabilities, those who speak English as an additional language and pupils from families seeking asylum. Too often, the obvious strengths seen in teaching, learning and assessment are the result of thoughtful initiatives on the part of individual teachers.

p.13

Commentary

14. There is a sense of despondency amongst teachers, owing to the large number of changes of headteacher and to the increasing number of problems that they have to tackle on a daily basis. Nevertheless, the pockets of good and very good teaching demonstrate that these problems can be overcome, and that most pupils have good potential to improve their learning skills. A more unified approach is necessary if teaching, learning and assessment are to improve quickly enough to halt the decline in standards. Rawthorpe Junior School - 14 15. Teaching and learning in ICT are satisfactory. As a result of the skills and enthusiasm of the co- ordinator, along with the assistance of the technician, teachers are becoming more confident to teach the subject when they work in the ICT suite. Although there is clear evidence of some good teaching and improving achievement, teachers do not often make use of the computers in

p.13

Commentary

classrooms to raise pupils’ achievement in other subjects. Teachers often use the interactive boards (large computer screens that can be seen by all the pupils in the class) well as a means of explaining ideas clearly to their pupils.

p.14

The curriculum

The satisfactory curriculum is enriched well by extra-curricular activities and by the school’s participation in local and national projects. Resources are satisfactory and the accommodation is good.

p.14

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Despite recent improvements, there are weaknesses in curriculum planning still to address. • There are good opportunities for pupils to get involved in a range of activities outside normal lesson time. • The indoor accommodation provides ample space and good facilities to match pupils’ needs. • Improved resources for ICT and reading are beginning to have an effect on pupils’ achievement.

p.14

Commentary

16. All the subjects of the National Curriculum, including the locally agreed syllabus for religious education, are taught. Since the previous inspection, the school has improved the curriculum for religious education, and teachers have now embedded the National Strategies for Literacy and Numeracy more firmly into their day-to-day work. The school has maintained the good range of enrichment and extra-curricular activities offered to pupils, including participation in art and sport. The list of examples of visits and visitors demonstrates the good extent to which the school forges links with various branches of the community in its efforts to broaden pupils’ learning experiences. As part of work in science, for example, the school organised a ‘Science Week’, and some pupils visited the Earth Centre. Similarly, a storyteller is a regular visitor to the school, offering good opportunities for pupils to improve their communication skills. Provision

p.14

Commentary

for pupils identified as gifted and talented is improving as a result of participation in a project to extend the range of activities available to them.

p.14

Commentary

17. There is further work to do to ensure that pupils benefit from a curriculum that is consistently well organised and managed by subject co-ordinators. A Year 6 pupil, for example, complained of being bored in history lessons, and others were disappointed that they did not finish their design and technology project. Although curriculum provision in ICT has improved, pupils do not have regular opportunities to practise and apply their skills in lessons in other subjects, such as English, science and mathematics. The investigative aspects of the mathematics and science curriculum are not always included as often as they need to be.

p.14

Commentary

18. Provision for pupils with special educational needs is satisfactory. Pupils achieve satisfactorily when they have help from classroom assistants to reach the targets in their individual education plans. The targets are sometimes too vague, however, and this limits pupils’ achievement at times. There is no specific manager of provision for pupils with physical disabilities, and the special needs co-ordinator currently has responsibility for overseeing it. Pupils are fully integrated into normal class lessons because of the school’s good access for the disabled and the relative ease at which support assistants can attend to pupils’ physical needs. The school takes making curriculum provision for pupils identified as gifted and talented seriously. A co-ordinator organises good opportunities outside normal class lessons for pupils to extend their skills by attending workshops along with pupils from neighbouring schools. Most

p.14

Commentary

pupils who speak English as an additional language are already fairly fluent in English. Pupils who need help to understand English take part in extra lessons in very small groups with a Rawthorpe Junior School - 15 specialist teacher. This provision, although satisfactory, is not always tied closely enough to pupils’ normal work in the classroom.

p.14

Commentary

19. The satisfactory curriculum for personal, social, health and citizenship education takes account of national and local schemes. In Year 6, the school nurse helps with teaching sex education, and local police help pupils to learn about the dangers of taking drugs.

p.15

Commentary

20. The re-modelled building provides good indoor accommodation in terms of appearance, maintenance, size and specialist facilities. Improved resources for ICT and for reading are beginning to help to raise pupils’ achievement, most notably when pupils work in the ICT suite and in the well-organised library. There are plans to improve the use of the potentially good outdoor premises in the future.

p.15

Care, guidance and support

Provision for the support, care, welfare, health and safety of pupils is satisfactory. The school involves pupils satisfactorily in its work and development.

p.15

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Some pupils say that they do not like school because of the poor behaviour of other pupils. • The physically disabled pupils are well cared for by support assistants. • The recent training for lunchtime supervisors is helping to improve the quality of pupils’ care at lunchtimes. • The school council is helping to increase the amount of trust between adults and pupils. • Despite the school’s strong efforts, the lack of a perimeter fence makes the outdoor premises insecure.

p.15

Commentary

21. The inspection questionnaire for pupils suggests that many pupils do not always enjoy school because of the poor or unfriendly behaviour of other pupils. The school has recognised this as a true reflection of pupils’ experiences, and is making very determined efforts to improve matters. Many of pupils’ worries about school stem from what happens at playtimes and lunchtimes. Recent training for lunchtime supervisors has given them a clearer view of how they can help to make lunchtimes more enjoyable for pupils. They are now better informed and display the caring approach necessary.

p.15

Commentary

22. Arrangements for child protection meet requirements. Since the previous inspection, the school has maintained the caring and sensitive arrangements for attending to the healthcare needs of pupils with physical disabilities. They are well supported by the school nurse, physiotherapist, occupational therapist and other staff, who all help pupils to feel part of the school community.

p.15

Commentary

23. In order to involve pupils more fully in the school’s work and development, a school council has been established. It is growing stronger, and is now beginning to make a contribution to pupils’ welfare and learning. As a result of seeking, valuing and, where appropriate, acting on pupils’ views, the school is building more trusting relationships between staff and pupils. Pupils have put forward a number of innovative ideas on how to improve behaviour, and they have been consulted about the new code of conduct.

p.15

Commentary

24. The school site is very large and open. Serious vandalism committed out of school hours detracts from the quality of pupils’ learning and their attitudes towards school. Governors and headteachers have gone a long way towards addressing the problem by planning for the erection of a perimeter fence. Problems beyond the control of the school are currently hindering arrangements, however, although governors are hoping to be able to move forward with the project in the near future. Rawthorpe Junior School - 16

p.15

Partnership with parents, other schools and the community

Links with the community and with other schools make a good contribution to pupils’ education, particularly their personal development. The unsatisfactory partnership between the school and parents hinders pupils’ progress.

p.16

Main strengths and weaknesses

• The school’s partnership and relationship with parents have deteriorated since the previous inspection, and they are now unsatisfactory. • The school reaches out well into the community in its efforts to enrich pupils’ learning and to raise their achievement. • Good links with other schools improve the quality of pupils’ education.

p.16

Commentary

25. Good links with the local community, including the business community, and links with other schools extend pupils’ understanding of the wider world and further their personal development. Pupils take part in raising funds for national and worldwide organisations, for example, and some pupils regularly take part in community educational and leisure activities, such as football competitions and attending junk workshops. Pupils have played an active part in the ‘Save the Energy Campaign’, and this has helped them to understand the part that they can play in conserving the planet’s energy. Such initiatives help pupils to know what they need to do to become responsible citizens. Very good links with a local education authority advisory teacher are helping teachers to improve their teaching in literacy and numeracy lessons, and some of the benefits to pupils’ progress were evident during the inspection. Good links with other local

p.16

Commentary

schools include taking part in shared training days for teachers, and sharing a Yellow Bus to improve the attendance and punctuality of pupils. The good links with outside agencies help the school to meet the health and welfare needs of pupils with physical disabilities.

p.16

Commentary

26. The school says that attendance by parents at special events and parents’ evenings is good. Very few parents attended the meeting prior to the inspection, however, and there was a fairly low return of parental questionnaires. Many parents who did respond expressed concerns about the quality of education provided by the school, including its leadership and management. They are concerned, for example, about pupils’ behaviour, and say that bullying is not dealt with robustly and consistently enough. Parents are also concerned about the lack of communication between home and school, provision for homework and the high number of instances when supply teachers teach pupils in Years 3 and 4. Inspectors found that, in many respects, parents are right to be concerned.

p.16

Commentary

27. The school wants parents to become more involved in their children’s education. The acting chair of governors is keen to extend the partnership with parents by encouraging more parents to want to work hand in hand with the school, for example to improve behaviour, attendance and pupils’ learning skills. The home and school agreement is not currently having the desired effect, and the systems for finding out what parents think of the school are not very helpful. The school has yet to reach out to the increasing number of parents from ethnic minority groups who may not speak or read English. The attendance of parents of pupils with physical disabilities at annual review meetings is good, and every term the school invites parents to comment on their children’s individual education plans. Rawthorpe Junior School - 17

p.16

LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

Leadership, management and governance are unsatisfactory. The new acting headteacher is now tackling the most urgent problems, with very good support from the deputy headteacher and the associate deputy headteacher. The effectiveness of the leadership roles played by other key staff is unsatisfactory.

p.17

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Frequent changes of headteacher have held the school back in almost every area of its work. • The new acting headteacher is now restoring confidence in the leadership of the school. • The deputy headteacher performs a prominent and visible leadership role. • Teachers who hold key posts or have responsibilities for leading and managing subjects are not effective enough. • The few remaining governors have the will and skills they need to improve governance in the future.

p.17

Commentary

28. Owing to circumstances beyond the control of the school, there have been seven changes of headteacher in the last three years. This has limited the amount of sustained improvement the school has made since the last inspection in 1998. The lack of stable leadership and management means that the school has not kept up with the national pace of educational change. As a result, the declining performance of the school has not been checked in several important areas, including:

p.17

Commentary

• National test results and pupils’ achievement have dipped significantly. • Behaviour, attendance and punctuality have deteriorated. • Teaching and learning are not improving quickly enough. • Relationships in the school, including those with parents, have suffered. • The ethos of the school is not as positive and inclusive as it needs to be. • Strategic management and financial planning are not as good as they were.

p.17

Commentary

29. Previous headteachers, including the deputy headteacher while working as the acting headteacher, have tried unsuccessfully to get the school back on an even keel. The deputy headteacher’s supportive and hardworking approach and her good knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of the school are assets. Although she has correctly identified most of the improvements needed, she has not had opportunities to work with any one headteacher in a stable situation in order to address them fully. The new acting headteacher has started to make some inroads. He works closely with the deputy headteacher and the new temporary associate deputy headteacher to deal with the most urgent problems, including pupils’ unsatisfactory behaviour. Staff, governors and parents appreciate this, and some say that they can already see improvements coming through. Governors have now appointed a new permanent headteacher. The acting headteacher is working hard to try to secure the best circumstances

p.17

Commentary

possible in order to ensure that the school opens after the summer holiday break well prepared for the significant challenges ahead.

p.17

Commentary

30. The effectiveness of the leadership roles played by other key staff and by teachers with responsibilities for leading subjects has not developed as well as it should have. As a result, the school has yet to build an effective whole-school team approach to getting things done. The historical management structure is not linked closely enough to agreed priorities for improving the school and to strategic financial planning. Also, while subject co-ordinators oversee the work undertaken in their subjects and areas of responsibility, they do not have a sufficiently clear and informed view of how well the school is doing and of the standards achieved by pupils. They have not yet been able to ensure a consistency in the quality of teaching, learning and assessment. Some problems have remained unresolved since the previous inspection, for Rawthorpe Junior School - 18 example who is responsible for co-ordinating provision for pupils with physical disabilities. This

p.17

Commentary

means that the management of provision for pupils with special educational needs is, overall, unsatisfactory. The acting headteacher has responsibility for managing the special funding for pupils who speak English as an additional language. He is very new to the school, however, and funding is not always used effectively to ensure that pupils do as well as they possibly can. While arrangements for managing the performance of teachers are now established, there is further work to do to advance working practices for all staff, Re-modelling of the Work Force .

p.18

Commentary

31. Governance has also deteriorated since 1998. At the time of the inspection, there was an acting chair of governors and only about half the number of governors there should be. The acting chair has already started a strong and promising recruitment campaign. The few remaining governors are very keen to revive their support for, and their involvement in the life of, the school, as well as starting to hold the school to account properly. At the moment, however, there are too few governors with clear responsibilities for checking that the school is meeting requirements, or that the school improvement plan is progressing as well as it should be. Governors are, therefore, not meeting requirements fully, and their application of best value principles is unsatisfactory.

p.18

Commentary

32. The school’s socio-economic circumstances and staffing instability present significant barriers to raising achievement. Although the school often takes good advantage of opportunities to take part in projects to help to overcome these barriers, such as Excellence in Cities, it does not have the consistent practices in place to make sure that pupils always benefit as fully as they should.

p.18

Financial information for the year April 2002 to March 2003

Income and expenditure (£) Balances (£) Total income 797,977 Balance from previous year 74,665 Total expenditure 792,491 Balance carried forward to the next 80,151 Expenditure per pupil 3,169

p.18

Financial information for the year April 2002 to March 2003

33. The carry-forward budget is much greater than it should be because there has been little strategic financial planning and spending recently. This is linked to the instability of leadership and management, and to uncertainties about the school’s most urgent resource needs. Nevertheless, financial planning is unsatisfactory because the school does not always ensure that the high cost of educating each pupil results in raised achievement. The most recent financial audit included many recommendations. The school has recently appointed a financial manager who has started to improve the way that the school’s finances are managed. Rawthorpe Junior School - 19

p.18

ENGLISH

Provision in English is unsatisfactory .

p.19

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Standards have dipped in recent years and show few signs of improvement. • Pupils often underachieve because of weaknesses in teaching and learning. • Leadership and management are not effective enough to raise achievement. • A good link with the local education authority has pointed teachers in the right direction. • Teachers have now put the National Literacy Strategy into place fairly successfully. • The library and the good quality books used by teachers help pupils to have good attitudes towards reading.

p.19

Commentary

34. Since 2001, national test results have dipped significantly, while standards in most other schools have improved. The school did not meet its targets in 2003, and is not expecting to meet the higher targets set for pupils’ performance in the 2004 tests. Pupils’ speaking, listening, reading and writing skills are well below average by Year 6, and achievement in the school is unsatisfactory. A key issue following the previous inspection was to raise standards in reading and writing. Test results did improve for the following two years, but a decline coincided with the start of a long period of instability in the leadership and management of the school. The current co-ordinator, although very new to her role, is well supported by the deputy headteacher in current efforts to improve provision. There are still great strides to make, however, in improving the quality of teaching, learning and assessment. The school has a lot of data about pupils’

p.19

Commentary

attainment in relation to National Curriculum levels that is not used systematically enough to raise the achievement of different groups of pupils, including pupils who speak English as an additional language and those who are at an early stage of learning to speak English.

p.19

Commentary

35. A good link with the local education authority literacy consultant has set the school along a pathway towards improving teaching and learning. The National Literacy Strategy now provides a good framework for guiding teachers when planning their lessons. As a result, pupils use many grammatical and literary terms correctly, and know how to use books to find information. Similarly, pupils now write in a fairly wide range of styles because literacy lessons are giving them more confidence in their own ability to do so. This was seen as a result of a challenging writing task given to the more capable Year 6 pupils. They wrote thoughtful formal letters, showing how well they can adjust their writing to a specific purpose. Teachers often ask questions skilfully, so that pupils have to think hard to answer them. This helps pupils to become more confident to express their ideas both by talking and writing. The school has

p.19

Commentary

improved resources since the last inspection, and teachers often use them well to encourage pupils to want to read. Some pupils still find it difficult to listen carefully, however, and their speech, use of correct grammar, spelling, handwriting and presentation are not as advanced as they should be by Year 6. Although pupils’ reading is improving, a lot of pupils find it difficult to understand what they are reading about.

p.19

Commentary

36. In 2002, teachers agreed a good quality teaching and learning policy, but it is still not always seen fully in practice. As a result, there are inconsistencies between classes that limit pupils’ achievement. Although teaching and learning in the sample of lessons were satisfactory, they are unsatisfactory overall. This is because pupils’ previous work and aspects of some lessons provide evidence of weaknesses in teachers’ expectations, marking, planning, assessment and use of homework. Rawthorpe Junior School - 20 37. Underachievement is, consequently, not confined to any particular group of pupils. While the more capable girls and boys could often do better if teachers expected more of them, the lower ability pupils and those who speak English as an additional language could also do better if their work was matched more closely to their current learning needs. A significant number of pupils find learning difficult, but they respond very well when lessons are good or very good. This was

p.19

Commentary

seen in one Year 4 class when all groups of pupils made very good progress because their teacher had very high expectations of their work and their behaviour. The lesson was tightly planned to meet pupils’ varying needs, and marking of work in pupils’ books is of a consistently high quality. There was little sign of the poor listening and presentation skills seen in some other classes. Work in this class demonstrates that pupils in the school are often capable of much more than is expected of them. The pockets of good and very good teaching provide a positive starting point for the school to begin to raise achievement.

p.20

Language and literacy across the curriculum

38. Pupils’ use of language across the curriculum is unsatisfactory. Teachers provide some opportunities for pupils to practise their language and literacy skills in other subjects, for example by discussing their work and by writing in most subjects. The progress that pupils make is variable, however, because it is too dependent upon how well teachers expect pupils to listen carefully, try hard with their writing and improve their reading. Pupils have a few opportunities to improve their reading and writing skills through their work in ICT, but computers in classrooms were hardly ever seen being used.

p.20

MATHEMATICS

Provision in mathematics is unsatisfactory .

p.20

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Achievement is unsatisfactory because the quality of teaching is inconsistent between classes. • The role of the subject co-ordinator is under-developed. • Teachers use the National Numeracy Strategy well as a starting point for planning lessons. • Pupils’ numeracy skills are insufficiently developed through work in other subjects. • Very good teaching in the subject co-ordinator’s lesson helped pupils to achieve well.

p.20

Commentary

39. Pupils’ work is well below the national average by Year 6, and achievement in the school is unsatisfactory. National test results have dipped considerably since 2000, and the school did not meet its target for national test results in 2003. Nevertheless, there was an improvement on the 2002 results, and pupils’ performance was about the same as that of pupils in schools serving similar areas. The school has set challenging targets for the 2004 tests, but the most recent assessments of pupils’ attainment suggest that it is likely to fall far short of meeting them. The main reason for underachievement is the inconsistencies in the quality of teaching. Although teaching and learning in the sample of lessons seen were satisfactory, they are unsatisfactory overall. Some lessons and pupils’ previous work indicate that teachers do not apply the teaching and learning policy and the behaviour policy consistently. This limits pupils’

p.20

Commentary

achievement and they do not always do as well as they should.

p.20

Commentary

40. Teachers have been working with the local education authority numeracy consultant, and they now make good use of the National Numeracy Strategy as a basis for planning mathematics lessons. Consequently, pupils often make satisfactory progress in number work, despite frequent occasions when they are taught by supply teachers. Teachers often give all pupils in the class the same work, however, regardless of what they already know, understand and can do. This means that the most capable pupils are not always sufficiently challenged to do better Rawthorpe Junior School - 21 and the less capable ones struggle with work that is too hard. Although the school has collected much information about National Curriculum levels reached by pupils, teachers are not yet skilled at using it to set targets for pupils and teachers to aim for together over time. Marking of work varies considerably between classes. While some marking is very good, a lot does little to

p.20

Commentary

help pupils to know what they have to do to improve. Where teachers set targets for pupils’ future learning, they can be of such a general nature that pupils are unable to explain them. The use of homework to raise achievement remains a weakness, as it was at the time of the previous inspection.

p.21

Commentary

41. Pupils in Year 6 are taught in classes organised according to their capabilities, and this helps teachers to focus more directly on their pupils’ particular learning needs. The lesson for the more capable pupils was taught by the co-ordinator. They achieved well because the teacher ensured that they enjoyed the lesson and were motivated to work hard. High expectations of behaviour and a rapid pace of learning also contributed strongly to pupils’ learning. This was not always the case in some other lessons, however, and pupils’ learning was too often disrupted by misbehaviour.

p.21

Commentary

42. Leadership and management are unsatisfactory because the co-ordinator has not had opportunities to find out about the strengths and weaknesses in provision, or to share his own good practice with other teachers. This was a weakness at the time of the previous inspection. The standard of pupils’ work is not as good as it was, and improvement since then has been unsatisfactory.

p.21

Mathematics across the curriculum

43. Pupils’ use of mathematics across the curriculum is unsatisfactory. They do not achieve as well as they should in relation to practising and applying their mathematics skills through investigative work in other subjects. They have too few planned opportunities to learn to do so. This was a weakness at the time of the previous inspection, and it has not been addressed successfully.

p.21

SCIENCE

Provision in science is unsatisfactory .

p.21

Main strengths and weaknesses

• By Year 6, pupils’ achievements are unsatisfactory and standards are well below the national average. • Leadership and management are unsatisfactory. • There has not been enough improvement since the previous inspection, and teaching and learning are unsatisfactory. • Pupils often underachieve because teachers do not make enough use of assessment information to plan what they need to learn next. • Pockets of good and very good teaching provide a strong point to build upon in the future.

p.21

Commentary

44. Standards are not as good as they were at the time of the previous inspection. Pupils’ performance in the 2003 national tests continued a rapidly declining trend since the tests in 2000. Results were well below those for pupils in schools serving similar areas, and suggested too little progress since pupils were tested at the age of seven. This is borne out by inspection evidence. Teachers are not anticipating much improvement this year, and they have not set any targets to aim for. Although pupils are often good at recalling facts about the scientific topics they have studied, they are unable to use this information to solve problems when presented as written questions. The science co-ordinator has identified that this is an area for improvement. Rawthorpe Junior School - 22 45. The main reasons for pupils’ underachievement are the inconsistency in the quality of teaching and learning and in the amount of unsatisfactory teaching and learning over time. This has not

p.21

Commentary

been helped by the frequency of changes of teachers, including those occasions when pupils have been taught by supply teachers. Nevertheless, the school does not do enough to ensure a consistency in the quality of teaching and learning. Teaching in three similar lessons in Year 5, for example, ranged from good to unsatisfactory. This was because, while one teacher provided good practical activities to help pupils to understand the scientific ideas, another teacher failed to keep pupils’ interest and had to spend too much time trying to manage their poor behaviour. Also, pupils’ previous work varies in quality, particularly how well teachers have challenged pupils’ thinking skills and encouraged them to improve. Teachers’ marking of work does not always do enough to help them to know how to improve their science skills. Although pupils of different levels of capability often have different work to complete, they can still find it

p.22

Commentary

either too easy or too difficult. This is because teachers pay too little attention to planning work that builds on what pupils already know, understand and can do. It often holds pupils back, particularly the more capable ones, and it was a weakness at the time of the previous inspection. Teachers rarely ask pupils to use ICT skills to further their learning in science, and this too limits their achievement.

p.22

Commentary

46. Pupils have not had many opportunities in the past to learn how to plan and carry out investigations, although photographs of a ‘Science Week’ suggest that they enjoyed several interesting practical activities. The very good teaching in a Year 6 lesson provided the right amount of practical work and challenge for pupils, and they all made good progress with learning to predict the outcome of their investigation on conductors and insulators. This lesson showed how well pupils can respond when higher expectations are placed upon them. Such pockets of good and very good teaching provide a strong starting point for raising achievement in the future.

p.22

Commentary

47. Leadership and management are unsatisfactory because the role of the subject co-ordinator has not been developing in recent years as well as it should. Not enough has been done in the past to halt the declining standards by finding out what the weaknesses in teaching and standards are and working consistently hard to put them right.

p.22

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

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

p.22

Main strengths and weaknesses

• The improving provision is one of the school’s current main strengths. • The co-ordinator and ICT technician make a positive contribution to raising pupils’ achievement. • Pupils’ attitudes are good because they enjoy working on computers. • Teachers do not plan enough opportunities for pupils to practise and apply their ICT skills through work in other subjects.

p.22

Commentary

48. Although the standard of pupils’ work is still below average, their achievement is satisfactory and improving. The recently appointed subject co-ordinator’s enthusiasm is helping to raise the profile of ICT as an important subject of the curriculum. Also, the skills of the technician ensure that teachers have good support in lessons to take pupils forward in their learning. The new programme of work that has been put into place by the co-ordinator is designed to ensure that pupils cover all the required work at an appropriate time in the future. The school has ensured that pupils have safe access to the Internet. Rawthorpe Junior School - 23 49. Leadership and management are satisfactory. The standard of pupils’ work does not appear to be as good as reported at the time of the previous inspection, but rapidly rising national expectations have made it difficult for all schools to keep up the same standard of work as they

p.22

Commentary

reached several years ago. As a result of the input of the co-ordinator and the technician, teachers’ confidence to teach ICT is improving. When the computers crashed in a Year 6 lesson in the computer suite, the teacher and the technician managed the problem very well together, and discussions with pupils confirmed their increasing knowledge, understanding and skills. Teaching and learning are satisfactory overall. Teachers sometimes miss good opportunities to use computers as part of work in other subjects, including in literacy and numeracy lessons. There are some good opportunities, however, for pupils with special educational needs, including those with physical disabilities, to be able to take a full part in lessons by using ICT equipment.

p.23

Commentary

50. All the pupils spoken to and many who completed inspection questionnaires say how much they enjoy ICT, and this is reflected in their good attitudes and behaviour in lessons. They find the work interesting, and like having to concentrate and work hard to complete their tasks. Year 5 pupils, for example, successfully used repeated instructions to draw shapes, using a logo program, and Year 6 pupils used a word-processing program to create a tourist advertisement to support their work in geography. The more capable pupils used their own designs to organise the presentation of their advertisements. Pupils’ achievement is satisfactory, and many pupils are currently achieving higher standards in ICT than they are in other subjects.

p.23

Information and communication technology across the curriculum

51. Pupils have a few opportunities to practise and apply their ICT skills in other subjects. In Year 4, for example, pupils use a computer program to re-create the designs of William Morris as part of their work in art and design. However, the school has yet to plan a curriculum that ensures regular and consistent use of ICT across the curriculum, and there are missed opportunities for pupils to find out about the many uses of technology in society.

p.23

Geography and History

52. Owing to inspection priorities, only two history lessons were seen and no judgements on provision were made in either geography or history. Pupils’ previous work in both subjects indicates that the curriculum meets requirements. In discussions with Year 6 pupils, they had difficulty in placing the periods of history they have studied in chronological order, and complained of repeating the same topics. Pupils said that they enjoyed their work in geography about volcanoes and gave detailed explanations of how they are formed. Pupils in Years 3 and 4 enjoyed working with a visitor who dressed in Viking costume and helped them to learn about everyday life in Viking times. The experience helped to bring learning in history alive for the pupils. Pupils did not always listen carefully, however, and the visitor had to remind them to do so. In a Year 5 lesson, pupils found out about the history of Britain since 1948. Some pupils

p.23

Geography and History

missed part of the lesson, however, because they went out for an extra literacy lesson. Other pupils made good use of the Internet to find information. Good links with local museums make learning in history more interesting for the pupils.

p.23

Religious education

Provision in religious education is unsatisfactory .

p.23

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Pupils’ achievement is unsatisfactory, and standards remain below average. • Teaching and learning are unsatisfactory. Rawthorpe Junior School - 24 • The role of the subject co-ordinator is under-developed. • Pupils have some good opportunities to talk about the major religions of the world.

p.23

Commentary

53. Although there has been some improvement since the previous inspection, it has not been enough to raise standards. The curriculum now includes enough time for teaching and learning, and the locally agreed syllabus provides a better framework of guidance for teachers when planning lessons. The improved resources are now often used satisfactorily. Standards are still below average, however, and pupils underachieve because the quality of teaching and learning, as sampled in three lessons, and as seen in pupils’ previous work, is inconsistent between classes. Teachers do not all have the same level of expectation of pupils’ behaviour in lessons, or of the standard of their written work. Consequently, pupils’ behaviour sometimes becomes unacceptable. Teachers do not apply the agreed teaching and learning policy consistently, and this hinders pupils’ achievement. It was demonstrated in an unsatisfactory lesson that failed to

p.24

Commentary

capture pupils’ interest because of poor planning. In contrast, imaginative teaching in another lesson ensured that pupils were interested in learning about symbolism in religion. They were challenged to think hard and to express their own ideas before recording their learning in a variety of different ways.

p.24

Commentary

54. Teachers now follow the locally agreed syllabus, and this ensures that pupils have opportunities to find out about and discuss major world religions, such as Islam, Christianity and Sikhism. In a Year 4 lesson, for example, a visit from a representative of the Christian church helped pupils to understand more about baptism and confirmation. Although some Year 6 pupils spoken to say that they do not usually enjoy religious education lessons, and that they have never visited any places of worship, they recall previous work about the religions they have studied. They found it hard to talk about it in any depth, however, and their use of correct terminology was not as good as it should be by Year 6. Pupils’ previous work confirms that they have studied major world religions, but their tasks have not always had the potential for raising achievement or promoting good attitudes and increased interest. Provision does not grasp the full potential for

p.24

Commentary

extending pupils’ understanding of the richness of a multi-cultural society.

p.24

Commentary

55. Leadership and management are unsatisfactory. There is no clearly expressed view of how high standards are and what needs to improve in order to raise standards and improve achievement.

p.24

CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

56. Owing to inspection priorities, no lessons were seen, and too little evidence was gathered to make judgements in any of the subjects reported below. Pupils’ previous work was looked at, discussions with pupils in Year 6 took place and a few extra-curricular activities were visited briefly.

p.24

Art and design

57. Pupils’ previous work is displayed carefully around the school and in the art room. It is of the standard expected nationally for pupils by Year 6. Pupils work with a satisfactory range of art materials, such as sketching pencils, paints, pastels, charcoal and sometimes clay, and they record their ideas by observing and imagining. The observational drawings of natural materials are careful and thoughtful. Work on mixing colours shows that pupils can reflect on the work of a famous artist to produce their own pieces using the same technique. Other work in sketchbooks and folders, however, rarely reflects the same standard as the work on display. It includes unfinished or carelessly completed and immature pieces, and some pupils do not appear to have taken much pride in their work. Pupils use sketchbooks to a varying degree of success. A discussion with Year 6 pupils suggests that they do not understand fully the

p.24

Art and design

purpose of doing so, and there is little sense of building up a bank of ideas about skills and techniques to apply to their work in the future. An issue following the previous inspection was to Rawthorpe Junior School - 25 improve pupils’ drawing skills, but there is still further work to do. Pupils know that they can experiment with artistic ideas using computer programs, and have had some opportunities to do so. All pupils spoken to say that they enjoy art and design lessons, and many highlighted it as a favourite subject when they completed inspection questionnaires. Pupils found it difficult to talk about their work other than in a very narrow way, however, for example when explaining the differences between the art materials they have used. The art room provides good quality accommodation, although pupils in Year 6 say that they only use it when they are working with messy materials.

p.24

Design and technology

58. The school is currently promoting design and technology positively to pupils through displays of their recent work. This work is of the standard expected by Year 6, and shows that pupils have been involved in designing and making a range of interesting products. In Year 3, pupils have made healthy sandwiches and have given their opinions on which filling they preferred. In Year 4, pupils have designed and made purses. This has helped them to learn to join and decorate materials by sewing, and helped them to appreciate that different stitches can be used to join a variety of materials. Although pupils can talk about designing and making things, they find it more difficult to describe how they evaluate their work. Pupils in Year 6 expressed disappointment that they started designing and making slippers with one teacher, but when another teacher took over the class, their work had been abandoned.

p.25

Music

59. The school has maintained its tradition for teaching music through extra-curricular activities as well as through class lessons. During the inspection, pupils were seen briefly learning to play recorders and steel pans and taking part in the school choir. A few other pupils are learning to play musical instruments, such as violin or trombone. The number of pupils involved is not extensive, and the majority are girls. All pupils are equally keen, however, and appear to do well. Pupils in the choir did very well with learning to improve the quality of their singing. The visiting teacher’s enthusiasm rubbed off on the pupils, and they all tried exceedingly hard and thoroughly enjoyed their session. Their singing was above average for their ages. Pupils’ behaviour was very good, and they took great pride in performing for a visitor. The quality of pupils’ singing in assemblies is variable, but the older pupils sang a song of worship together

p.25

Music

tunefully and with enthusiasm. The music room and the good quality resources are an asset and, during the inspection, there were several planned opportunities for pupils to use them. In a discussion with pupils in Year 6, they demonstrated a fairly limited knowledge and understanding of music, but used some musical terms, such as rhythm and rest, correctly. Pupils found it very hard to express their own ideas about music, but one pupil said that the quiet music played in class by their teacher helps to calm them down. Pupils who are gifted and talented musically have had several good opportunities to extend their learning by working with adults and pupils from other schools.

p.25

Physical education

60. Teachers’ planning indicates that pupils have opportunities to learn from an appropriate range of physical activities. Year 6 pupils recalled and spoke enthusiastically about lessons in dance, gymnastics and a wide variety of games. There are good opportunities for pupils to participate in extra-curricular sport, such as rhythmic gymnastics, football and basketball. Pupils with physical disabilities also attend an after-school sports club. A teacher is furthering the school’s links with a local specialist secondary school by attending a primary link physical education course for teachers. Rawthorpe Junior School - 26

p.25

PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND HEALTH EDUCATION AND CITIZENSHIP

61. Only one lesson was seen and there was not enough evidence to make judgements about provision. The school has shown recognition of the importance of this area of pupils’ education by appointing a senior teacher to have overall responsibility for co-ordinating it. Pupils have weekly timetabled lessons, including opportunities to take part in circle times (times when the class sit around in a circle with a teacher and discuss matters directly affecting their personal development). The school takes pupils’ health education seriously. It received a national Healthy Schools award in 2000, and has continued to encourage pupils to eat healthily by banning chocolate bars and providing opportunities for them to eat fruit every day. In a Year 4 lesson, the teacher asked pupils thought-provoking questions to help them to understand the importance of eating healthily and taking physical exercise. The co-ordinator has a keen interest

p.26

PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND HEALTH EDUCATION AND CITIZENSHIP

in philosophy. He uses this to plan lessons that help older pupils to develop their ability to ask searching questions and to increase their confidence to think for themselves. Rawthorpe Junior School - 27

p.26

PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

The overall effectiveness of the school 6 How inclusive the school is 5 How the school’s effectiveness has changed since its last inspection 6 Value for money provided by the school 6

p.27

PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

Overall standards achieved 5 Pupils’ achievement 5

p.27

PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

Pupils’ attitudes, values and other personal qualities 5 Attendance 5 Attitudes 4 Behaviour, including the extent of exclusions 5 Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 5

p.27

PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

The quality of education provided by the school 5 The quality of teaching 5 How well pupils learn 5 The quality of assessment 5 How well the curriculum meets pupils’ needs 4 Enrichment of the curriculum, including out-of-school activities 3 Accommodation and resources 4 Pupils’ care, welfare, health and safety 4 Support, advice and guidance for pupils 4 How well the school seeks and acts on pupils’ views 4 The effectiveness of the school’s links with parents 5 The quality of the school’s links with the community 3 The school’s links with other schools and colleges 3

p.27

PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

The leadership and management of the school 5 The governance of the school 5 The leadership of the headteacher 5 The leadership of other key staff 5 The effectiveness of management 6

p.27

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).

p.27