Wormholt Park Primary School

WORMHOLT PRIMARY SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 28 th - 30 th June 2004

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WORMHOLT PRIMARY SCHOOL

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

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WORMHOLT PRIMARY SCHOOL

Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the School Inspections Act 1996, the school must provide a copy of this report and/or its summary free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. Wormholt Park Primary School - 1

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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: 449 School address: Bryony Road London Postcode: W12 OSR Telephone number: (0208) 743 5073 Fax number: (0208) 743 8858 Appropriate authority: The governing body Name of chair of governors: Cllr Colin Aherne Date of previous inspection: March 1998

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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SCHOOL

The school is much bigger than most primary schools, currently with 449 boys and girls aged between three and 11. The school has grown considerably in size since the last inspection. Pupils’ attainment when they join the school is very mixed and is overall well below that usually found. Three-quarters of pupils are from ethnic minority backgrounds and many ethnic groups are represented, including pupils from Traveller families and a very high proportion of refugees and asylum seekers. Half of all pupils are from homes where English is not the first language. Apart from English, the main first languages spoken are Arabic, Somali and Albanian. Sixty-one pupils are at the very early stages of acquiring English and a total of one hundred and five pupils are supported through additional Ethnic Minority Grant Funding. The proportion of pupils identified as having special educational needs is above that found nationally and a high proportion of these pupils are on the

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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SCHOOL

higher stages of the Code of Practice, including ten pupils who have a statement of special educational need. Pupils’ particular needs relate to learning, speech and communication, hearing impairment, physical needs and behavioural difficulties. The social and economic backgrounds of pupils are well below those usually found and the proportion of pupils entitled to free school meals is very high. Pupil mobility is high and some pupils stay at the school for a short time before being rehoused. Staffing has been quite stable over the past few years. Nevertheless the school has, on occasions, found it difficult to recruit teachers suitably equipped and experienced to meet the many demands of working in a large inner city school. The school received a School Achievement Award and the Artsmark in 2002, and is part of the Excellence in Cities Initiative. Wormholt Park Primary School - 2

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Members of the inspection team Subject responsibilities

22424 Kathryn Taylor Lead inspector Science Provision for pupils learning English Design and technology 9406 Roy Cottington Lay inspector 18703 Christine Canniff Team inspector Mathematics Personal, social and health education Music Geography 12261 Rosemary Adams Team inspector English Information and communication technology Physical education Special educational needs 3574 Kawal Singh Team inspector Foundation Stage of learning History Art and design Religious education

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Members of the inspection team Subject responsibilities

Tribal PPI Barley House Oakfield Grove Clifton Bristol BS8 2BN

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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 637 833) or Ofsted’s website (www.ofsted.gov.uk). Wormholt Park Primary School - 3

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED BY PUPILS 6 - 10

Standards achieved in areas of learning and subjects

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED BY PUPILS 6 - 10

Pupils’ attitudes, values and other personal qualities

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL 10 - 15

Partnership with parents, other schools and the community

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OVERALL EVALUATION

Wormholt Park Primary School is a good school with some very good features. The headteacher’s very good leadership has generated very strong teamwork and effective delegation. As a result, all staff work determinedly to meet the needs of pupils with a wide range of ability and from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds. The school very successfully achieves very good racial harmony and enables pupils of all capabilities to achieve well, both academically and personally. The senior staff, subject managers and governors make a good contribution to ensuring that the school is very well managed. There is a strong focus on raising standards in all aspects of the school. The school provides good value for money.

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The school’s main strengths and weaknesses are:

• The headteacher’s very good leadership sets high expectations for everyone. • Good provision for children in Nursery and Reception classes enables them to settle into school well and get a good start to their education. • Although a higher than average number of pupils attain standards below those expected in English, mathematics and science, pupils of all capabilities make good progress during their time in the school. • Teaching and learning are good. • The school promotes pupils’ personal development very well. They develop very good attitudes to learning, behave very well and develop very good relationships as a result. • Staff organise a very good range of after-school activities, visitors and visits to extend pupils’ learning. • Staffing levels and resources are good and these are used well to help raise standards. • Recent developments means the school is increasingly making good links between pupils’

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The school’s main strengths and weaknesses are:

learning in different subjects. This should be extended, in particular to provide more opportunities for pupils to write about their learning in different subjects. • Subject managers lead and manage their subjects well, but some do not as yet analyse test results or have opportunities to observe teaching and learning. • The daily acts of collective worship do not always meet statutory requirements.

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The school’s main strengths and weaknesses are:

At the time of the last inspection in 1998, the school was much smaller than it is now, and pupil intake was far less diverse. The school has improved well . The headteacher, staff and governors have worked very determinedly to address the weaknesses identified. They have also responded very well to changes in pupil intake and other developments in education. The role of governors, the quality of teaching and of assessment, and the provision in the Nursery are all much better now than at the time of the last inspection. The school has a good capacity to continue to improve.

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED

Standards are low when children start school. Although they make good progress in Nursery and Reception, children’s overall standards in mathematics and English are still well below those expected when they join Year 1. Their knowledge and understanding of the world is below that expected. In Years 1 to 6, pupils continue to make good progress. Standards in reading, writing, mathematics and science improve well as pupils move up the school, but remain below national expectations at age 11. The table below shows that in 2003, test results in English and mathematics were well below those found nationally, and those in science were very low. The school’s results compared more favourably with those in similar schools. Test results fell sharply in 2003 because in Year 6 last year there was a particularly high number of pupils with special educational needs, or who were still at the early stages of learning English, and who had spent little time in this country

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED

before taking the tests. Standards in English, mathematics and science in the current Year 6 classes are better than those in Year 6 last year, but remain below those found nationally. Standards seen in other subjects are in line with those expected . Pupils of all prior attainments achieve well during their time at this school. Wormholt Park Primary School - 5 all schools similar schools Results in National Curriculum tests at the end of Year 6, compared with: 2001 2002 2003 2003 English D D E D mathematics E D E C science D D E* E Key: A - well above average; B - above average; C - average; D - below average; E - well below average; E* - very low. Similar schools are those whose pupils have a similar number of pupils entitled to free school meals.

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED

Pupils behave very well and develop very good attitudes to learning. This is because the school promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development very well. Relationships and racial harmony are very good among pupils from a very wide range of backgrounds. Attendance has improved well and is now good.

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION

The school provides a good standard of education. Teaching and learning are good. Teachers work hard, have good knowledge of subjects, and teach the basic skills well. All staff have high expectations of pupils and manage them very positively. They keep a good overview of how well pupils are learning and provide lots of encouragement. Pupils are keen to do well and try very hard even when they find things difficult. This contributes very well to their good learning. The curriculum is satisfactory and it is good in Nursery and Reception. The school makes very good use of visits, visitors and after-school activities to support and extend pupils’ learning. All staff ensure that pupils are very well cared for and safe at school. The school works very well with parents.

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LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

The headteacher leads and manages the school very well. She provides a very clear educational direction that ensures that the school is constantly seeking to find ways to extend what it offers its pupils. She has put in place many initiatives to improve standards and pupils’ achievement, as well as to provide personal support and advice for both pupils and their families. Senior managers support the headteacher well and make a very good contribution to the way in which the school is led and managed. Staff with subject and management responsibilities lead and manage them well. The governors are very supportive of the school, are fully involved, and carry out almost all of their statutory responsibilities well. One exception is that they do not ensure that the content of the daily act of collective worship always meets statutory requirements.

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PARENTS’ AND PUPILS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

Parents are very satisfied with the school and feel that their children are getting on well. They are happy with the standards that their children attain and the quality of teaching. They appreciate the way the staff make them welcome and give time to talk with them and to help them. Pupils enjoy coming to school and are very happy there. They say they enjoy all types of lessons. They like and trust their teachers and the support staff. They say they get lots of help from the staff, that they are kind and fair and respond to their needs and concerns. Pupils have a secure understanding of what they do well and what they need to do to improve.

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

• Continue to raise standards in English, mathematics and science. • Provide more opportunities for pupils to develop their skills in writing as part of their work in other subjects. • Provide more opportunities for some of the co-ordinators to observe teaching and learning in lessons, and to analyse test results. Wormholt Park Primary School - 6 • Meet statutory requirements in relation to the daily act of collective worship. Wormholt Park Primary School - 7

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Standards achieved in areas of learning and subjects

Although overall standards in English, mathematics and science are below those expected, pupils of all capabilities achieve well from a low starting point on entry to school. Standards in other subjects are broadly in line with what is expected, but in some subjects pupils’ weak skills in English means that their written work does not always reflect this.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Pupils throughout the school achieve well, from a low starting point. • Test results at age seven and 11 usually compare well with those in similar schools. • The school uses its additional funding well, to help raise the standards that all groups of pupils achieve.

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Commentary

1. Children enter the Foundation Stage of learning (Nursery and Reception classes) with much lower attainment levels than are usually found. Their communication, language and literacy skills, mathematical knowledge and understanding of the world are particularly low. As a result of the good provision that is well matched to their needs, the children progress well in Nursery and Reception across all areas of learning. Their attainment in literacy and in mathematical development nevertheless remains well below that expected when they join Year 1. Children’s knowledge and understanding of the world is below national expectations, but standards in physical development, creative development, and their personal, social and emotional development meet those expected by the end of Reception.

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Commentary

2. In Years 1 to 6 pupils continue to progress well, but standards in reading, writing and mathematics, although improved, remain below those expected by age seven and 11. Standards in science are in line with those expected by age seven and below those expected by age 11. This difference in science standards occurs because as pupils move up through Year 3 to 6, the science curriculum becomes more complex and a significant minority of pupils struggle with increasingly complex scientific language and abstract ideas. Overall standards in English, mathematics and science are depressed by the higher than average number of pupils still learning English, or who have special educational needs. Although these pupils progress well, their standard of work is below, and often well below, that expected.

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Commentary

3. The tables below show the school’s test results in 2002 and 2003. In 2003, at age seven, national comparative data shows that the school’s results in writing were below, and those in reading and mathematics were well below, national results. The school’s results, however, compared well with those in similar schools. At age 11, test results in English and mathematics were well below national results and those in science were very low. Mathematics results were in line with those in similar schools, those in English were below similar schools and science results were well below those in similar schools.

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Commentary

4. Between 2002 and 2003 test results at age seven fell slightly, while those at age 11 fell sharply. The staff had anticipated the sharp fall in Year 6. This was due to the composition of the Year 6 classes, which had a large number of pupils with complex additional needs. Prior to this, the percentage of pupils attaining the expected Level 4 in the tests had improved each year. This is despite significant changes to the school’s intake since the last inspection: the proportions of pupils who have a statement of special educational need and of pupils at the early stages of learning English have doubled in recent years. Tests results in 2004 show that standards in Year 6 this year are much better than those in 2003 and are similar to those in 2002. In this Wormholt Park Primary School - 8 school, test results can also be somewhat unreliable as a measure of the school’s yearly improvements because pupil mobility is increasingly high and spare school places are often

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Commentary

taken up by new arrivals to this country. It is precisely for this reason that although the school is effective and has a strong focus on raising standards, test results do not necessarily always reflect this.

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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 14.7 (15.0) 15.7 (15.8) Writing 13.7 (13.8) 14.6 (14.4) Mathematics 15.4 (15.9) 16.3 (16.5) There were 56 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 23.5 (25.9) 26.8 (27.0) Mathematics 25.1 (26.5) 26.8 (26.7) Science 24.9 (28.1) 28.6 (28.3) There were 59 pupils in the year group. Figures in brackets are for the previous year.

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Commentary

5. The school works determinedly to raise standards, and allocates a lot of additional resources to address weaknesses in pupils’ attainments. For example, the school employs a good number of well-trained additional teaching and support staff who provide extra support for lower-attaining pupils and pupils with special educational needs. The quality of additional teaching and support for these pupils, and for those learning English, is both skilled and effective. In addition, the school uses its additional Ethnic Minority Achievement Grant funding and Excellence in Cities funding well to focus on individual pupils, or year groups where there are factors that get in the way of pupils attaining better standards. The teaching challenges pupils of above average ability, and they also receive some additional teaching through the school’s gifted and talented provision.

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Commentary

6. Senior staff set individual pupils’ results against their good knowledge of individual pupils, their attainment when they started school, any additional needs they have or any barriers to learning. This helps them to determine how well individual pupils are doing, as well as any dips and troughs that sometimes occur from one year to the next. What the school does not do well enough, however, is to analyse the national and optional test results systematically to determine any patterns in performance, such as common errors that pupils make, so that they can then feed this back into future curriculum planning.

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Commentary

7. Standards in ICT are in line with those expected, which represents good achievement and good improvement since the last inspection. Standards in other subjects inspected are broadly in line with those expected and pupils achieve well. In some subjects, for example history and geography, pupils’ weak writing skills mean there is less recorded work than is usually the case. Inspection evidence clearly shows that some pupils know and understand more than they can convey in written tasks; however, weaknesses in pupils’ writing skills do impact on pupils’ rate of progress.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and other personal qualities

Pupils’ attitudes, behaviour, relationships and all aspects of their personal development are very good . Attendance levels are good . Wormholt Park Primary School - 9

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Relationships across the school are very good and contribute well to a harmonious and inclusive community where pupils from a wide range of backgrounds get on very well together. • Pupils enjoy all aspects of school life and show very positive attitudes to learning. • The very effective management of pupil behaviour is consistently and fairly applied across the school. • The school promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development very well. • Daily assemblies do not always meet the legal requirements for a daily act of collective worship. • The school has been very successful in addressing the poor attendance level found at the last inspection.

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Commentary

8. The school has further strengthened this area of its work and has successfully addressed the poor attendance levels identified in the previous inspection report. The school places a great deal of emphasis on creating an environment in which all pupils feel valued, safe and happy. There is also a very strong emphasis on respect for the individual, irrespective of cultural or social background or ability. The school achieves these aims very successfully.

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Commentary

9. From their first days in school in the Nursery, teachers instil in the pupils the need for tolerance, sharing and kindness to others. These values are reinforced throughout the rest of their time in school, to such an extent that these principles have become an integral part of the school’s culture. Pupils treat each other very well and form close and supportive friendships with pupils from a very diverse range of backgrounds and cultures. Racial harmony is very good. Pupils say (and their parents confirm) that they like being in school, enjoy lessons, and the other activities provided. In most lessons pupils do their best, take a pride in their work, want to do well and show very good levels of interest and concentration. In some lessons, they become very excited and are enthusiastic participants. Pupils’ very positive attitudes to school and lessons are making a very good contribution to their learning.

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Commentary

10. A significant minority of pupils joining the school have behavioural difficulties or have previously had limited opportunities to develop good standards of behaviour. As a result, the school places very strong emphasis on ensuring pupils develop a very clear understanding of rules and boundaries. Pupils in each class produce their classroom rules that are prominently displayed and which they also present to the whole school in assemblies. School rules are also prominently displayed. The key to the school’s success, however, is the fairness and consistency with which the rules are enforced by all staff across the school, both in lessons and around the school. As a result, pupils’ behaviour is very good. In lessons, pupils almost always behave very well and they show respect for their teachers and for each other. On the few occasions when individual pupils do forget, other pupils tend to ignore any unsatisfactory

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Commentary

behaviour and teachers very quickly and effectively remind the offenders about the expected standard of behaviour. There have been no exclusions during the past year, as the table below shows. Wormholt Park Primary School - 10

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Ethnic background and exclusions

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

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Ethnic background and exclusions

Categories used in the Annual School Census Number of pupils on roll Number of fixed period exclusions Number of permanent exclusions White – British 93 0 0 White – Irish 3 0 0 White – any other White background 29 0 0 Mixed – White and Black Caribbean 23 0 0 Mixed – White and Black African 5 0 0 Mixed – White and Asian 3 0 0 Mixed – any other mixed background 3 0 0 Asian or Asian British – Indian 1 0 0 Asian or Asian British – Pakistani 2 0 0 Asian or Asian British – Bangladeshi 5 0 0 Asian or Asian British – any other Asian background 1 0 0 Black or Black British – Caribbean 33 0 0 Black or Black British – African 85 0 0 Black or Black British – any other Black background 9 0 0 Chinese 1 0 0 Any other ethnic group 39 0 0 No ethnic group recorded 9 0 0 The table gives the number of exclusions, which may be different from the number of pupils excluded.

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Ethnic background and exclusions

11. The provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral and social development is very good. The school places strong emphasis on promoting pupils’ personal development through the curriculum, assemblies, circle time and the personal, social and health education programme. Pupils develop spiritual awareness through, for example, their responses to music and art. Younger pupils were overawed when, learning about life cycles, they witnessed butterflies emerging from a chrysalis and then later when they set the butterflies free. In assemblies, pupils have brief opportunities for reflection but assemblies do not include a prayer, nor do they always contain a religious element. They therefore do not always meet statutory requirements. Pupils’ moral development is provided for well and includes learning to care for the environment and to show concern for the elderly. Several pupils are also members of the Young People’s

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Ethnic background and exclusions

Parliament, working on environmental issues.

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Ethnic background and exclusions

12. Pupils take part in a wide range of activities that enable them to actively take responsibility within the school community. The school council is the main forum for dialogue and consultation with school managers about all aspects of school life. Increasingly, however, discussions on issues relating to a particular year group take place in class. A good recent example involved Year 6 pupils who had been given additional support through setting arrangements. They were consulted about the effectiveness of this method of teaching, compared to working as a whole class. After discussions, pupils decided that they were benefiting from these arrangements and as a result, these were continued. Other initiatives aimed at developing responsibility include “Helping Hands”, which involves over thirty pupils who happily assist others during lunchtimes and playtimes, issue resources and provide emotional support for pupils who visit the “Friendship Stop”.

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Ethnic background and exclusions

13. The school’s attention to promoting good attendance has proved very effective. There are very good systems in place to monitor patterns of attendance, and parents are left in no doubt about the school’s attitudes to poor attendance. Leaflets outside every class remind them about the consequences of non-attendance on their children’s education and they are reminded about the legal requirements. Good advice is given to help parents improve punctuality. The excellent work of the learning mentor has been instrumental in significantly raising attendance levels Wormholt Park Primary School - 11 during the past few years. She has worked tirelessly and relentlessly with individual parents and pupils. Unpublished attendance figures for 2003/4 show that overall attendance rose again last year.

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Attendance

Attendance in the latest complete reporting year (%)

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Attendance

Authorised absence Unauthorised absence School data 6.3 School data 0.3 National data 5.4 National data 0.4 The table gives the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence in 2002/3.

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THE QUALITY OF EDUCATION PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL

The school provides a good standard of education. Teaching and learning are good . The curriculum in the Foundation Stage is good and in Year 1 to 6 it is satisfactory . Curricular enrichment is very good and the school is well resourced. The school provides very good levels of care. Links with parents are very good . Links with the community are good and links with other schools are satisfactory .

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Teaching and learning

Teaching and learning are good in the Foundation Stage of learning, and across Year 1 to 6, Assessment is good .

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• All staff manage pupils very well and very positively and strive to make learning interesting and fun. • Teaching in the Nursery and Reception classes meets pupils’ needs well. • In Years 1 to 6, the basic skills are taught particularly well. • Teaching assistants and other support staff make a very good contribution to pupils’ learning. • Assessment is effective so that staff are clear about what different groups of pupils need to learn next, but end-of-year optional assessments are not analysed in sufficient depth.

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Commentary

14. Parents say they are very happy with the quality of teaching. Teaching has improved well since the last inspection, despite the problems posed by difficulties in recruiting experienced staff. Teachers throughout the school are very conscientious and committed to the school and pupils. They expect pupils to work hard and they manage them extremely well. They are unfailingly positive and give pupils lots of encouragement. As a result, pupils try hard to do their best. Any inappropriate behaviour, when it does occur, is dealt with promptly, firmly and positively. Staff understand that some pupils find learning difficult and do all they can to make tasks interesting and exciting, and learning accessible.

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Commentary

15. Teaching and learning in the Nursery and Reception classes are always at least good and frequently very good. Staff have a very good understanding of how young children learn. Lessons are well planned to provide very interesting and exciting activities that promote children’s independence, and incorporate all six areas of learning within an overall theme. Staff keep detailed notes of individual children’s progress and use this very well to guide future planning. General classroom organisation and deployment of staff are very good. This ensures that all adults know what they want children to gain from carrying out various activities. There is a good mix of independent and teacher-directed activities, which is an improvement since the Wormholt Park Primary School - 12 last inspection when children were given too much freedom to choose their own tasks. Teachers in the Nursery make very good use of the outdoor areas to promote children’s

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Commentary

learning throughout the day. The lack of immediate access to outdoors restricts this in Reception classes. However, staff do make good use of the hall for physical development, and they organise some sessions outdoors. Children achieve well as a result of the good teaching and quickly settle into school routines.

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Commentary

16. In Years 1 to 6, teaching and learning are also good. Teachers are well organised, use questioning well and they have good presentation skills. Lessons have a clear structure; teachers routinely explain to pupils what they will be learning and explain tasks clearly so that pupils learn at a good pace. Occasionally, however, learning intentions are not simplified for pupils. Staff provide pupils with plenty of opportunities to discuss their ideas and clarify their thinking and learning. Because they know that many pupils’ vocabulary and speaking skills are weak, they usually take time to introduce, explain and reinforce new vocabulary and get pupils to repeat it and use it themselves. They also provide lots of visual clues for pupils, which supports lower-attaining pupils, those learning English and pupils with special educational needs particularly well. Homework is used well to extend pupils’ learning.

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Commentary

17. The basic skills are taught well. Almost all of the teaching seen in the core subjects of English, mathematics, science and ICT was at least good, and was often very good. This is also reflected in the quality of pupils’ past work. Teachers’ knowledge of these subjects is good, and they give good attention to planning tasks that meet the needs of pupils with a very wide range of prior attainment. They also work very well with the support assistants as well as with teachers employed to support pupils with special needs and those learning English. This ensures that pupils receive lots of small group teaching and well-informed support and guidance. An excellent example of this was seen in Year 2 when the specialist teacher employed to work with pupils learning English worked very effectively alongside the class teacher and two teaching assistants. Teaching ensured that all pupils could fully access the

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Commentary

curriculum. The lowest-attaining pupils learned very well from lots of first-hand experiences, repetition and emphasis on key vocabulary, while higher-attaining pupils were challenged to move forward and to record their knowledge and ideas independently. During whole-class teaching sessions, additional staff provide very good support for pupils with additional need, including those with a statement of special educational need. They quietly and unobtrusively provide additional input for pupils, which keeps them on task and learning at a good rate. They encourage pupils to develop independence by giving the right amount of guidance and lots of praise, feedback and encouragement.

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Commentary

18. Teaching and learning in most other subjects are good. Staff have good subject expertise and give good attention to teaching the subject-appropriate skills. They run after school activities and organise visits and visitors to school which extend pupils’ learning well. Teachers are increasingly making effective links between work in other subjects so as to make learning more meaningful.

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Commentary

19. Assessment is good. Staff know their pupils well and they understand what different groups of pupils need to learn next. They keep detailed records of pupils’ progress, especially that in English, mathematics and science. Pupils have a secure understanding of the strengths and weaknesses in their work and what they need to do to improve, because they are regularly set relevant personal targets. The procedures for identifying pupils with special needs are very good and their individual education plans are well written, with precise targets that can be easily measured. Special needs staff keep a very regular check on pupils’ progress, both in lessons and over time. Arrangements for assessing the needs and progress of pupils at the early stages of learning English are also very good. The specialist teacher promptly assesses pupils who are new to the school and keeps very detailed records of their progress. She and

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Commentary

the class teachers also keep a close check on the progress of those pupils no longer being targeted for extra support, to make sure that they are not slipping back. A weakness in assessment is that the end-of-year optional assessments are not analysed in sufficient depth to help inform whole-school developments for the following year. Wormholt Park Primary School - 13 Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 50 lessons

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Commentary

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Poor Very poor

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Commentary

1 (2%) 11 (22%) 25 (50%) 11 (22%) 2 (4%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) The table gives the number of lessons observed in each of the seven categories used to make judgements about lessons; figures in brackets show percentages where 30 or more lessons are seen.

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The curriculum

The curriculum is satisfactory . Curriculum enrichment is very good . The accommodation and resources are good .

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• The curriculum for children in the Foundation Stage of learning is good. • The school provides lots of after-school activities, visits and visitors to enhance pupils’ learning • The school provides well for pupils learning English and those who have special educational needs. • The school is well resourced and there have been good improvement to the accommodation.

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Commentary

20. The curriculum in the Nursery and Reception classes has improved significantly since the last inspection and is now good. It covers all six areas of learning well and provides children with a good start to their education. One weakness in provision is that pupils in Reception do not have direct access to outdoors from their classrooms. In Year 1 to 6, the curriculum covers all National Curriculum subjects, religious education, drugs education and personal, social and health education. Teachers in parallel classes plan together, largely basing work on national guidelines. As a result, pupils of the same age, but in different classes, cover the same work. Teachers in Years 1 to 6 are beginning to take a more integrated approach to planning so that, for example, pupils can apply and develop their skills, across different subjects. This new way of working is currently being trialed in Years 1 and 2 with a good level of success. The

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Commentary

school’s main development priority for next year is to extend this, so as to ensure that pupils’ learning is more meaningful, and that subjects such as history and geography can be covered in greater depth than is presently the case.

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Commentary

21. Teachers carefully plan an interesting range of visits and visitors, which enriches the curriculum very well and greatly enhances pupils’ learning in subjects such as science, history and the arts. Involvement in music, dance and drama projects as, for example, in “A Chance to Dance”, provide very good opportunities for pupils to work with professionals and to take part in workshops and performances. Pupils have performed at the Lyric Theatre and other well- known venues. These opportunities extend pupils’ skills and provide new insights into how music is composed, dances are choreographed and performances prepared. These opportunities also contribute significantly to pupils’ personal development as pupils cope with the different challenges and work together co-operatively. The residential visits for Years 5 and 6 are well planned. They broaden pupils’ experiences and present them with new challenges.

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Commentary

The Year 6 trip to the Kingswood Activity Centre, for example, provides opportunities for pupils to develop their physical skills beyond those practised in physical education lessons.

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Commentary

22. Pupils can pursue their interests at a wide variety of after-school clubs, which include for example homework club, those for gifted and talented pupils, music, drama and gardening as well as many opportunities to take part in sporting activities. These clubs are very popular and well attended. They contribute well to pupils’ personal development as well as extending the skills they acquire in lessons. The school takes part in sporting activities with other schools, Wormholt Park Primary School - 14 such as competing in the Borough Athletics Tournament. The girl’s football team proved their skills by winning the Mayor’s Cup in 2004.

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Commentary

23. The provision for pupils with special educational needs and those learning English is good. The school has worked diligently to extend its provision since the last inspection, in response to the changes in pupil intake. The school has a strong team of additional teachers and teaching assistants, including a learning mentor, to support vulnerable pupils, pupils learning English and those with special educational needs. These staff and class teachers have a good understanding of their role. They very ably support pupils who need additional teaching and guidance. They work closely with teachers to support individuals and groups of pupils. This ensures that pupils have good access to the curriculum and make similar progress to their peers in their learning and personal development.

p.16

Commentary

24. The school is well resourced with good quality books and materials. The building is spacious and well cared for. Since the last inspection, crucial repairs have been carried out. The refurbishment of the exterior of the building and the creation of a landscaped play area have created a more attractive environment for those pupils who wish to sit and talk or reflect. The addition of a computer suite provides pupils with greater access and more opportunities to practise and apply their skills so that they can progress at a faster rate. Careful planning and preparation ensure that space is used efficiently for whole-class and group work. Further improvements are planned, and the school is seeking to find a way of providing access for the disabled which, at the present time, is not possible because of the design of the building. Attractive displays throughout the school are informative and celebrate pupils’ achievements

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Commentary

and efforts well, inspiring them to work hard and endeavour to improve.

p.16

Care, guidance and support

Pupils are very well cared for. Support, advice and guidance is good . They views are actively sought and they are given good opportunities to be involved in all areas of school life.

p.16

Main strengths and weaknesses

• The procedures for ensuring pupils’ health, safety and welfare are very effective. • Teachers know their pupils well and are effective in helping them improve. • Pupils trust staff and feel confident enough to discuss concerns if they need to. • Pupils are consulted about various aspects of school development and their views are valued.

p.16

Commentary

25. The care of pupils, including promoting their emotional and physical wellbeing as well as raising their self-esteem and confidence, is central to the school’s ethos. The importance the school places on these aspects is reflected in all of its policies and practice.

p.16

Commentary

26. Induction procedures when children join in Nursery and Reception are good. Arrangements for settling pupils who join the school at other times and have no previous schooling in this country or are at the early stages of learning English are very good. Regular health and safety checks are carried out as well as frequent risk assessments. Staff know the medical needs of individual pupils, and first-aid provision, when it is required, is quick and effective. Pupils say that they feel safe and secure while at school. Child protection procedures are well established and used well. Promoting healthy eating is an important aspect of the school’s attention to health and welfare and it is developing pupil awareness about these issues. Good initiatives include participation in the National Fruit Scheme, when fresh fruit is made freely available to pupils during breaks.

p.16

Commentary

27. Teachers have a very good understanding about the abilities and individual needs of every pupil in their class, and they work hard to help pupils to do their best. Pupils say that teachers help them improve. In lessons, teachers provide good levels of one-to-one support. Pupils with Wormholt Park Primary School - 15 special needs are very well supported, including, for example, circle time for vulnerable pupils led by the learning mentor. These sessions help to raise pupils’ self-esteem and confidence and also motivate reluctant pupils to participate in school, as well as to attend regularly.

p.16

Commentary

28. The school is increasingly involving pupils in its plans for future development. Their views about all aspects of school life are obtained through informal discussions, in organised classroom sessions and through questionnaires. Pupils say that they feel that their views are valued and that the school had introduced changes as a result of their suggestions. There are very good relationships based on high levels of mutual respect and trust between pupils and staff. Pupils know who they can turn to if they have concerns. Pre-inspection consultation with parents shows that they also appreciate the very good attention given to pupils’ care, welfare and support. They especially appreciate how well staff treat pupils, the good arrangements for helping pupils settle in to school and the support they are given to improve.

p.17

Partnership with parents, other schools and the community

The school provides very good support for the parents and involves them fully. Links with other schools and colleges are satisfactory and those with the community are good .

p.17

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Almost all parents express very positive views about all aspects of the school. • The school keeps parents very well informed about their children’s education and progress. • Procedures for transfer to other schools are effective. • Parents’ views are actively sought and valued.

p.17

Commentary

29. Parental views expressed by those who attended the pre-inspection meeting, those spoken to during the inspection and in completion of the questionnaire show that the parents have a very high regard for the school. The quality of teaching, the hard work expected from pupils and the good range of activities were particular strong features mentioned.

p.17

Commentary

30. The school works closely with parents and is very aware of the needs of particular groups of parents, including from different ethnic communities or from different backgrounds. To this end, the school provides good levels of support, for example through interpreters and its involvement with specialist support workers and groups. There is a very good range of written information for parents, often in other languages, which provides advice about the school or about wider educational information. Parents know that they can approach staff with any concerns and say that issues raised are dealt with promptly and effectively. They are kept well informed about their children’s progress through parents’ meetings and informative progress reports. They find staff approachable and responsive.

p.17

Commentary

31. The social and other circumstances facing a significant minority of the parents means that educational support in the home is limited. The school is aware of this and has developed very good support systems to keep those parents in touch. Parents’ views are actively sought and valued as is their help in school.

p.17

Commentary

32. Pupils benefit from good links with the community. A wide range of visits and visitors provide an extra dimension to the curriculum, which includes visits to places of historical or environmental interest. The school also makes good use of various community-based groups to help targeted pupils with their personal and emotional development. The school draws on external advice appropriately. The special needs co-ordinator and staff liaise well with external agencies that provide support and expertise in relation to pupils with special educational needs. There are good liaison arrangements with the local secondary school that receives many of the Year 6 pupils on transfer. Such arrangements ensure that staff from both schools meet to Wormholt Park Primary School - 16 exchange information about the pupils concerned and the pupils themselves benefit from ‘taster days’. The school identifies pupils who may have difficulties when moving and, under

p.17

Commentary

the guidance of the learning mentor, they benefit from additional visits to explore their concerns with other students in the secondary school. There are also some links with other schools and a local college, aimed at raising standards, but the range of initiatives and the sharing of good practice are fairly limited.

p.18

LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

The school is well led and very well managed. The headteacher provides very good leadership, which underpins the work of the school. This enables the school to respond well to the many challenges presented, as well as to adapt to needs of its changing pupil intake. The deputy headteachers and senior managers support the headteacher very well . Subject co-ordinators perform their duties well. The governance of the school is good .

p.18

Main strengths and weaknesses

• The headteacher sets high expectations for everyone. • The deputy headteachers are effective managers and support the headteacher and staff well. • The subject leaders lead and manage their subjects well, but not all of them have had opportunities to check on teaching and learning in lessons. • Governors have a good understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses and challenge and support the school. • The daily act of collective worship does not fully comply with regulations. • Arrangements for staff training and development are very good.

p.18

Commentary

33. Under the headteacher’s very good leadership, the school has improved well since the last inspection and has responded very well to the changes in pupil intake. All of the staff speak highly of the headteacher, her vision, drive and her strong commitment to the school and the wellbeing of every pupil. She has successfully cemented relationships between senior managers, teachers and teaching assistants so that they all work together to enhance the quality of education for pupils and raise standards. The headteacher has also been very successful in recruiting and retaining good teachers, in a context where there are teacher shortages. She successfully develops new staff’s skills so that they can later take on leadership and management responsibilities.

p.18

Commentary

34. The two deputy headteachers work very hard and make a very good contribution to the way in which the school is led and managed. They and the senior managers work well with the headteacher. Collectively, they support the staff very well, help them to improve their performance, identify their training and development needs, share best practice and turn the vision for the school into reality. They have empowered the staff teams to be self-critical, enabling them to constantly review their work so as to make a valuable contribution to the school improvement process. All staff have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities. Job descriptions are reviewed annually and the school’s performance management policy is implemented well. The school development plan has been much improved since the last inspection. It ensures that everyone is clear about the school’s goals and what they need to do to help achieve them. The school’s administrative staff are very

p.18

Commentary

efficient, which assists the very smooth running of the school on a day-to-day basis.

p.18

Commentary

35. Subject leaders and those responsible for special needs, pupils learning English and the Foundation Stage of Learning have a good understanding of their roles and the strengths within their subjects and areas of responsibility. They keep abreast of good practice within their subjects, ensure they are well resourced, and support and advise other staff to the best of their abilities. Some are new to this role, but recent management training opportunities have Wormholt Park Primary School - 17 extended their skills. In some subjects, the co-ordinators do not have enough opportunities to monitor teaching and learning in lessons in order to be able to evaluate the provision and the impact of any support, advice and guidance they provide.

p.18

Commentary

36. Governors collectively share a good range of expertise that is well used to benefit the school, and their role has improved well since the last inspection. Governors take a keen interest in school developments, monitor spending closely, and are prudent when making financial decisions. This has enabled the school to be well staffed and resourced and to carry forward a significant amount of money, as the table below shows. This carry-forward is to be used for planned redecoration, developing the playground and to extend specialist music and drama facilities. Governors unreservedly support the headteacher and work effectively with her in setting whole-school targets and in formulating the school improvement plans. Governors are involved and they visit the school regularly. As a result, they are well informed, share the headteacher’s vision and are able to rigorously question the school as well as to suggest

p.19

Commentary

priorities. One weakness is the governors’ role in ensuring that the Daily acts of collective worshipfully meet the legal requirements.

p.19

Commentary

37. The headteacher, staff and governors ensure that the school and its policies promote inclusion very well and that all groups of pupils achieve well. This is borne out by the introduction of many initiatives to raise the achievement of lower attaining pupils and those who are gifted or talented, as well as enriching the curriculum with a wide range of out of school activities, ensuring that all pupils have the opportunity to realise their talents. Taking account of pupils’ good achievements, the good quality of education, the very good leadership of the headteacher and strong contribution of governors and senior managers, the school provides good value for money.

p.19

Commentary

Financial information Income and expenditure (£) 2003/4 Balances (£) Total income 1,568,400 Balance from previous year 96,568 Total expenditure 1,506,444 Balance carried forward to the next year 158,524 Expenditure per pupil 3,042 Wormholt Park Primary School - 18

p.19

AREAS OF LEARNING IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

The provision in the Foundation Stage is good and has improved well since the last inspection.

p.20

AREAS OF LEARNING IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

When children join the Nursery and Reception classes, attainment in their communication, language and literacy, mathematical development and knowledge and understanding of the world is well below that usually found. Many children have limited understanding of English when they start and a significant minority of children whose first language is English have delayed speech and language. Attainment is below that usually found in children’s personal, social and emotional development, creative and physical development. Not all pupils attending the school have previously attended the Nursery and some children join the school in Reception without any previous experience of schooling, playgroup or nursery provision. Despite the good teaching and learning, a significant number of children’s attainment in literacy and in mathematical development remains well below that expected when they join Year 1. Their knowledge and understanding of the world are below national

p.20

AREAS OF LEARNING IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

expectations but standards in physical development, creative development, and personal, social and emotional development meet those expected. All children achieve well during their time in the Foundation Stage. Children with special educational needs and those who are learning English are well supported by teachers. Children from ethnic minorities and boys and girls achieve equally well. Assessment is very good and is used well to track children’s progress.

p.20

AREAS OF LEARNING IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

The curriculum is broad, interesting and relevant, providing a good start to the children’s education. The provision in the outdoor areas for Nursery is very well developed and enriches children’s experiences. However, outdoor learning for Reception classes is limited by lack of direct access to outdoors. The resources are good and are used very well to provide stimulating activities. Parents are given good opportunities to visit the school before their children start school. Staff develop good links with parents and regularly send books home to help reinforce children’s learning at home. The Foundation Stage is well led and managed, resulting in good improvements since the last inspection when Nursery provision had important shortcomings.

p.20

PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Provision for personal, social and emotional development is good .

p.20

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Relationships are very good; children develop very positive attitudes to learning and enjoy being in school. • Children achieve well so that attainment is in line with that expected by the time children join Year 1.

p.20

Commentary

38. Children settle down quickly into school routines. The good curriculum and the staff’s good knowledge of the needs of young children ensure that children develop an interest in their activities and an ability to sustain concentration. Children learn to share resources, take turns and respect each other and play together, as was seen in all outdoor and indoor activities. Most children are attentive and eager to learn, and find it easy to conform to the standard of behaviour set by the staff. The quality of teaching and learning is consistently good and all staff’s approach to behaviour management is very positive. As a consequence children of different backgrounds work and play well together in harmony. Children are appropriately active sometimes and at other times sit and listen and concentrate, as was seen in literacy and numeracy lessons in both Nursery and Reception classes.

p.20

COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Wormholt Park Primary School - 19 Provision for communication, language and literacy is good .

p.21

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Teaching of reading and writing skills is consistently good and children achieve well. • Staff provide many good opportunities for children to engage in reading and writing activities.

p.21

Commentary

39. Staff explain key vocabulary well, using body actions and props, as, for example, when reading ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’. Very good modelling of language and explanations of vocabulary help children to develop their speaking and listening skills. Children have very good opportunities to learn from first-hand experiences, as seen, for example, when they observed the butterflies emerging from cocoons and could explain, ‘First it was a caterpillar, then a cocoon and now a butterfly’. Teachers place great emphasis on teaching phonics and word- recognition skills and most children know some letter names and their sounds by the time they leave Reception. Higher-attaining children can link these sounds to create whole words and can read simple texts. However, a significant minority are still at the early stages of learning letter sounds and many children cannot yet read familiar words by the time they join Year 1.

p.21

Commentary

40. Children have many opportunities to practise their writing skills in both Nursery and Reception classes. Most children in Reception can write their names unaided. Specific skills, such as using knowledge of letter sounds to read, and analysing the picture clues in stories, are taught well. Children are praised for their successes and teaching picks up on their responses well to take learning forward. Children write and make their own books about stories they know and a few are beginning to write simple sentences. However, a significant minority still write strings of letters.

p.21

MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Provision for mathematical development is good .

p.21

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Teaching and learning are good and children achieve well. • Practical activities, including the use of ICT, support children's mathematical development well.

p.21

Commentary

41. Children make good progress from a low level on entry to school because teachers take every opportunity to help children to develop mathematical skills through meaningful activities. For example, children count the number of pupils present and absent each day, and devise simple games involving throwing and counting beanbags. Nevertheless, by the end of Reception, a significant minority of children cannot recognise the value of numbers beyond five. Most children can name simple two-dimensional shapes, recognise some coins and can sort large and small objects. Children learn about symmetry when they paint on one side of the butterfly wings and fold this to create symmetrical shapes.

p.21

Commentary

42. Teachers match work to children’s needs well and have high expectations of them. As a result, higher-attaining children attain standards that exceed expectations. They count and recognise numbers to 20, and can solve simple problems involving the use of vocabulary such as ‘one more than’ and ‘one less than’. They record answers to simple problems accurately, as, for example, when children counted the total number of legs on two spiders. Teachers link ICT very well to support children’s mathematical learning. Wormholt Park Primary School - 20

p.21

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

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

p.22

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Very good use of resources supports children’s learning well. • Children achieve very well in this aspect of learning. • The good teaching of ICT means children attain good standards by the time they join Year 1.

p.22

Commentary

43. Teaching and learning are very good and children achieve very well in this area. Children learn about a variety of materials, and to independently select tools, and apply a range of techniques to their work, as, for example, when they make models using recyclable materials and construction kits. Staff made very good use of books, models of eggs, caterpillars and butterflies, as well as live caterpillars that formed cocoons and came out as butterflies, to develop children’ understanding of growth. The children also learn well from activities such as planting tomatoes and beans and watching them grow. As a result, higher-attaining children can explain that plants need soil, water and light to grow, but others do not have the vocabulary to explain what they have seen and learned. Children in Reception are taught religious education in line with the locally-agreed syllabus.

p.22

Commentary

44. Staff make good links with work on children’s creative and physical development when they design and make their own minibeasts with vegetables and dance like ‘Incey Wincey Spider’. Children have regular opportunities to use computers and they develop good skills because children in Reception now benefit from regular lessons in the ICT suite. They are confident in using the mouse to draw, click and drag objects. A wide range of stimulating practical activities supports the children’s learning well in this area.

p.22

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Provision for physical development is good .

p.22

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Children use a good range of tools to improve hand and eye co-ordination • Teaching is good so that children learn to move with control and confidence.

p.22

Commentary

45. Children's achievement is good. The staff encourage children to be adventurous in climbing and balancing, and jumping on and off equipment without jeopardising safety or reducing challenge. Children are taught how to use space well, as, for example, when they throw and catch balls and beanbags. Reception children use the hall to develop their dance skills and develop confidence in controlling their movements. They know about the effects of exercise on their bodies and the need to their keep bodies clean. Children use a good range of tools, such as different sized paintbrushes, pencils, felt tips, scissors and jigsaw puzzles. They learn to hold a pencil correctly when they write and use scissors well to cut in straight lines. Children’s attainment is in line with expectations when they join Year 1.

p.22

CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Provision for creative development is good . Wormholt Park Primary School - 21

p.22

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Good teaching means children achieve well and attain the expected standard by the time they join Year 1.

p.23

Commentary

46. Children are introduced to a range of media, for example painting, song, dance and role-play. They learn to sing simple songs, including those learned in numeracy and literacy lessons. Reception children join in singing in assemblies and achieve well. They use musical instruments to develop their composing and singing skills. Staff provide regular opportunities for children to draw, paint and make collages. Children still learning English show good skills in using tools and making pictures. They experiment with paint and use their observations to create pleasing results. Children observe butterflies, spiders and other mini-beasts to develop drawing and painting skills. They feel different materials and develop their tactile skills.

p.23

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Pupils achieve well. • Assessment is used well to set targets for pupils and to plan different work for pupils of different capabilities. • Teaching and learning are good. • Pupils with special educational needs and those for whom English is an additional language are well provided for and therefore make good progress. • Opportunities are missed to promote pupils’ writing skills as part of their work in other subjects. • The co-ordinator leads and manages most aspects of the subject well, but she has as yet had too few opportunities to observe teaching and does not analyse test results

p.23

Commentary

47. Although overall standards are below national expectations by age seven and 11, all pupils achieve well, given their low attainment on entry to school. Test results at age 11 have been improving each year, despite increasingly high pupil mobility and a sharp increase in the number of pupils attending the school for whom English is not their first language. Test results in Year 6 did dip last year, but this had been anticipated due to the nature of the cohort of pupils. Test results in 2004 are much better than in 2003, and are at least as good as those in 2002. There are no significant differences in the achievements or attainment of boys and girls or different groups of pupils.

p.23

Commentary

48. Standards in reading are close to those expected. By the time they are in Year 2, most pupils have a good range of reading strategies and they are keen to read to others. They know the difference between fiction and non-fiction, can predict what might happen next in a story and can suggest alternative plots. In Years 3 to 6, pupils talk confidently about the books they have read and the genres they prefer. Most, if not all, pupils read fluently by the time they are in Year 6. They then use the ideas gained from texts to add interest and detail to their own writing. The school has a very good number and range of books that all pupils can enjoy reading. Teachers provide good opportunities for reading each day and make good use of play scripts to motivate lower-attaining pupils. They respond enthusiastically, reading simple texts with confidence, Wormholt Park Primary School - 22 sounding out unfamiliar words accurately. Pupils whose reading skills lag behind those of

p.23

Commentary

others are given extra support and are heard to read very regularly.

p.24

Commentary

49. Pupils achieve well in speaking and listening. They listen well, but standards in speaking are below national expectations by the end of Year 2 and Year 6. A significant minority of pupils enter school in Nursery and Reception, and at other times, with poor speaking skills. Most pupils develop confidence to speak openly within the classroom situation and can make themselves understood, although a significant minority are restricted by a limited vocabulary. In informal situations, pupils are confident to speak with one another, to adults and visitors. Teachers provide good opportunities for pupils to talk, including making good use of paired talk. This helps pupils to extend their skills and to order their thoughts, which also promotes better standards of writing.

p.24

Commentary

50. Standards in writing are below national expectations. The work of higher-attaining pupils is fairly accurate and meets nationally expected standards by the end of Year 6, but there is little evidence of higher attainment. Standards in handwriting and spelling have improved well since the last inspection and work in pupils’ books is neat and easy to read. Improved presentation is also supported well by pupils’ increased capability in using ICT. Scrutiny of pupils’ work clearly shows that pupils make good progress in writing, from a low starting point. Pupils are taught and learn well the conventions of writing within different genres and they try hard to incorporate what they have learned into their own writing.

p.24

Commentary

51. Teaching and learning are good. Teachers work well with specialist staff and teaching assistants to meet the learning needs of pupils with a very wide range of attainment. Very good use is made of group work and group teaching. Teachers also make very good use of drama and music to help pupils to develop confidence in speaking, and to help them produce interesting prose and poetry. Pupils’ writing improves well because teachers use a small-step approach to teaching pupils how to plan, develop, craft and redraft their work. They display word banks, points of grammar and examples of different writing styles to support pupils to write independently. Pupils learn well how to evaluate their work and to identify how they can make improvements. They regularly review their progress towards targets they have set for themselves, with help from the teachers. They can also clearly see how their writing and

p.24

Commentary

spelling have improved, by looking at their evidence books which contain samples of past work. An area for improvement is providing more opportunities for pupils to practise their writing skills as part of their work in other subjects, because this aspect is not sufficiently developed.

p.24

Commentary

52. The school has adapted the National Literacy Strategy to meet the needs of pupils at the school, including giving more time to extended writing and making good use of additional literacy programmes for those pupils who need extra support. A very structured approach to teaching reading and writing is used for pupils with special educational needs, pupils learning English and lower-attaining pupils. This ensures that they progress well in developing good phonological skills, learn to spell accurately and to use grammar and punctuation correctly.

p.24

Commentary

53. There have been good improvements to work in English since the last inspection because the subject has been well led and managed. The co-ordinator has a clear view of what else needs to be done to continue to improve the provision. She has supported other staff to extend their skills and confidence, particularly in using drama. Regular and effective monitoring of lesson plans and pupils’ work enables her to identify gaps in provision and equipment. However, the limited amount of monitoring of teaching and learning in lessons, and weaknesses in analysing end-of-year test results, mean that she cannot readily identify all aspects of teaching that are most successful.

p.24

Language and literacy across the curriculum

54. Pupils have good opportunities to develop speaking and listening skills as part of their work across subjects, and teachers often give good attention to teaching key vocabulary. A Wormholt Park Primary School - 23 weakness is that currently, pupils have too few opportunities to write independently as part of their work in other subjects. This aspect is better in the lower school, where a more cross- curricular approach to planning has been introduced.

p.24

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Although standards by the end of Year 6 are below national expectations, pupils achieve well during their time in the school. • Good, positive leadership by the co-ordinator supports staff well. • Teaching and learning are good, but teachers should sometimes make better use of practical equipment to extend pupils’ understanding. • Pupils respond well to their teachers and develop good attitudes to learning. • Ongoing assessment is good, but the results of end-of-year optional and national tests are not used to their best advantage.

p.25

Commentary

55. Although standards by age seven and 11 are below nationally expected standards, pupils achieve well during the time at the school, from a low starting point. The school works hard to improve standards and to raise achievement. It has put in place good initiatives to support this, including staff training, grouping pupils according to their prior attainment and providing additional teaching and adult support for pupils. As a result, significantly more pupils in Years 6 are now attaining the expected standard than was the case at the time of the last inspection. This is despite a significant increase in pupil mobility, the number of pupils who have special educational needs or who learn English as an additional language.

p.25

Commentary

56. By the end of Year 2, many, if not all, pupils have a secure understanding of the programmes of study. Higher attaining pupils understand, for example, place value to hundreds, tens and units, and recognise halves and quarters. By the time they are in Year 6, the majority of pupils have a satisfactory grasp of mathematics, including number operations, but are not as secure when applying this to solving word problems. They do not find it easy to think mathematically or to understand how their skills can be applied in real life. For example, Year 6 pupils had difficulty in creating a simple net for a cuboid-shaped package, because they did not automatically take into account the measurements, but instead relied on visual impressions.

p.25

Commentary

57. The co-ordinator provides strong, enthusiastic leadership. She has a clear focus on raising standards and has identified strengths and weaknesses through observation of teaching and learning, and tracking pupils’ progress. She has worked particularly well in partnership with the local authority numeracy team to develop teaching and ensure greater consistency throughout the school. The training has also helped teachers to broaden the range of methods to aid pupils’ understanding. However, in some lessons, particularly with younger pupils, teachers do not make enough use of practical resources to help pupils see how numbers are created and change, and thereby develop a greater understanding.

p.25

Commentary

58. Teaching and learning across the school are good. Lessons are well planned and clearly focused. Teachers explain the purpose of the lesson so that pupils know what they are to learn and do. Occasionally, however, teachers do not present the learning objectives in words that can easily be understood by all pupils, particularly those who are learning English and pupils with special educational needs. Mathematics displays in some classes provide a useful teaching and learning resource, which teachers can use to reinforce what they are teaching. Teachers’ questioning is good and staff explain and demonstrate new work effectively so that pupils know how to proceed. Teaching assistants are deployed well in lessons, either teaching Wormholt Park Primary School - 24 targeted groups or supporting pupils with special educational needs. They also help to clarify what the teacher has explained and give step-by-step guidance so that pupils can access the

p.25

Commentary

work and make similar progress to their peers. Pupils appreciate the support and help they receive from adults in lessons and they respond well to their advice. Pupils are well motivated and develop good attitudes to learning. They work hard and do their best most of the time, which helps them to make good progress.

p.26

Commentary

59. Teachers know their pupils well and keep careful records of their progress. This information is used well to identify pupils who would benefit from additional help and to guide the organisation of groups within the classes and the Year 6 sets. Weekly targets relating to the focus of the mathematics topic are set to meet the needs of each group so that pupils can make appropriate progress. Although ongoing assessment systems are well established, end-of- year test results are not analysed to find out what common errors pupils make, so that teachers can adapt their yearly mathematics plans to remedy them and accelerate pupils’ progress. Not all teachers make best use of comments in marking to guide pupils about what they need to do to improve. Day-to-day evaluations of lessons, however, do ensure that lessons build well on pupils’ previous learning.

p.26

Mathematics across the curriculum

60. Satisfactory use is made of mathematics to support work across the curriculum. For example, there are constructive links with ICT, design and technology and science.

p.26

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Pupils of all prior attainments achieve well. • Teaching is lively, interesting and challenging. • Pupils try hard, work hard and develop very good attitudes to learning. • There are some good links between science work and that in other subjects. • The subject is well led and managed.

p.26

Commentary

61. Across the school boys and girls of all prior attainments achieve well from a low starting point. Pupils’ attainment at age seven is broadly in line with national expectations, and at age 11 is below that expected. There are several explanations for the differences in attainment at age seven and 11. Pupil mobility is high and some pupils join the school throughout Years 3 to 6 with no previous schooling in this country. Furthermore, the demands of the curriculum in Years 3 to 6 are such that, although lower attaining pupils and those with special educational needs achieve well, they do experience difficulties grasping and using increasingly complex scientific language, concepts and abstract ideas. Standards at age 11 have improved well since the last inspection, when less than half of all pupils attained the expected Level 4 in the tests. Over the past few years, about four out of every five pupils have attained at least the

p.26

Commentary

expected level. One exception was in 2003, when test results dipped quite considerably, but this had been anticipated because of a high number of pupils with complex additional needs in that cohort. Inspection evidence also shows that some pupils clearly know more than their written work or contributions in lessons might initially suggest. This is because they sometimes struggle to find the right vocabulary to explain scientific facts and processes. This was the case, for example in a lesson in Year 5, when pupils were discussing the Solar System and the Earth’s movements. Most pupils had at least a secure, and sometimes good, knowledge of what they had previously learned, but some found it difficult to explain this. Wormholt Park Primary School - 25 62. Pupils throughout the school achieve well in science as a result of the good teaching and their very good attitudes to learning. Strengths in teaching are that;

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Commentary

• Most teachers’ have good knowledge of the subject, know their pupils well and keep a good overview of their progress. • Teachers provide many interesting activities and lots of practical experiences. This promotes the development of scientific enquiry and ensures good learning. • Teachers display, emphasise, explain and get pupils to use the correct scientific vocabulary. This makes learning accessible, especially to pupils with weak skills in English and those still learning English. • Recent improvements mean that pupils are regularly learning to plan and carry out scientific investigations with increasing independence, to explain what they are doing and to draw conclusions from their findings. • Interesting activities and group tasks help pupils to learn well from each other, as well as to develop the skills of co-operation and collaboration. This also makes a good contribution to pupils’ personal development.

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Commentary

• Teaching assistants are well deployed, provide good support and make a very good contribution to pupils’ learning.

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Commentary

63. Strengths in teaching far outweigh any weaknesses. Relative weaknesses relate to:

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Commentary

• Occasionally pupils need a bit more time to talk to each other about their ideas, so as to clarify their thinking. • The phrasing of learning objectives that are shared with pupils is sometimes too complicated, and occasionally indicates what pupils are actually meant to discover from an investigation. • There is not enough emphasis on helping pupils to determine different ways of recording their findings and as a result, pupils tend to rely too much on the teachers’ advice and guidance.

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Commentary

64. The science curriculum is satisfactory, with some good and developing features. The provision is enhanced well through visits and visitors to support pupils’ learning. For example, pupils visit the local park and Holland Park Ecology Centre, and are involved with the Groundwork Trust in the developments to the school garden. The staff are increasingly making good links between science work and that in other subjects, especially mathematics, ICT and design and technology. Links between science and other subjects are good in Years 1 and 2, where a more topic-based approach to the overall curriculum planning is currently being trialed.

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Commentary

65. The co-ordinators lead and manage the subject well, but do not often enough observe teaching and learning in lessons. They ensure that the subject is well resourced, have a clear understanding of most of the strengths and weaknesses and support other teachers well. They have worked very successfully during the past year to ensure that the curriculum provides more opportunities for pupils to learn from practical activities. This is proving very effective in raising standards, but has as yet not impacted significantly on pupils’ attainments in Year 6, where many lack confidence to hypothesise, make predictions and draw conclusions independently of their teachers. The overall provision for science has improved well since the last inspection.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

Provision for information and communication (ICT) is good . Wormholt Park Primary School - 26

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Pupils achieve well, from a low starting point. • There have been very good improvements to resources since the last inspection. • The co-ordinator leads and manages the subject well.

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Commentary

66. Pupils’ attainment is in line with national expectations by the end of Year 2 and 6. This represents good achievement. By the end of Year 2, pupils have learned to select and open programs, gather and save information, present information using simple graphs and charts and combine pictures and texts. They can program a turtle to travel in different directions. By the end of Year 6, pupils can access and use the Internet and CD-ROM to research information and they can interpret, select, classify and present information in a variety of formats, including using databases spreadsheets, graphs and charts. Higher-attaining pupils are able to generate and organise ideas effectively and work out formulae to solve problems.

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Commentary

67. The considerable investment in ICT resources and training since the last inspection has led to better provision, teaching and learning. Good use is made of the facilities, which enables pupils to achieve well. For example, older pupils proudly video younger pupils’ dance sequences to enable them to critically review and improve their performance. They use video recordings to improve their interview techniques and digital cameras to present images and information about themselves. Pupils say that they like to use ICT for story-writing because it helps them to draft and re-draft their work on screen. Older pupils with special educational needs say that computers take the stress out of writing, and the scrutiny of the quality of these pupils’ work clearly shows that their writing is greatly improved when they use ICT.

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Commentary

68. Teaching and learning are good. Teachers have at least secure knowledge of the subject and some teachers are very skilled in using ICT. They explain tasks clearly. They use the interactive whiteboard well, which ensures that all pupils, including those learning English, fully understand what they need to do. Teachers have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour and manage them very effectively. This ensures that all pupils concentrate and focus on their work. When working in the ICT suite, pupils are encouraged to assess their performance at the end of the lessons, but this tends to focus on the completion of task rather than the learning that has taken place. Teachers’ planning also indicates that teachers identify learning objects in terms of tasks rather than skills to be learned.

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Commentary

69. The subject is well led and managed. The co-ordinator has planned and implemented the improvements in the provision and provides good quality support to her colleagues. She has a clear view of what is needed to develop the subject further. She ensures that all aspects of the curriculum are taught in a way that builds progressively on pupils’ skills and knowledge as they move up the school.

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Information and communication technology across the curriculum

70. Links between ICT and other subjects are satisfactory, but not extensive. Secure and relevant links are made with science, English, art and design and mathematics. Links between ICT and other subjects can be extended with further developments to the overall curriculum

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HUMANITIES

Wormholt Park Primary School - 27 Religious education was inspected in full. Work in geography and history was sampled. Few history lessons and none in geography were seen. Judgements are also based on looking at a limited amount of pupils’ past work, discussions with pupils and with the subject co-ordinators.

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Geography

71. There is insufficient evidence to make an overall judgement on standards, teaching and learning. Teachers’ planning, along with the limited work in pupils’ books and on display around the school, suggests that pupils are taught the appropriate skills and knowledge. However, in some year groups, there was less recorded work than that normally found for pupils of a similar age. This indicates that the topics are not covered in sufficient depth, and that pupils do not have enough opportunities to develop their literacy skills as part of their work in geography. Work that was available shows that pupils in Year 2, for example, have a satisfactory knowledge and understanding of the differences between features of the environment found in White City and on the Island of Struay. The Year 6 topic, ”What’s in the News?,” encourages pupils to take an interest in events around the world and to discover

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Geography

where these countries are located on a world map. The school makes good use of the local area to explore environmental issues, which makes an effective contribution to pupils’ learning.

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History

72. There is insufficient evidence to make a secure judgement about standards and provision throughout the school. However, scrutiny of work indicates that pupils in Years 1 and 2 are working at the levels expected. In a good lesson in Year 1 when pupils were comparing holidays in the past with those today, they showed a secure understanding of chronology. There is insufficient recorded work in older pupils’ books to judge standards there, but in the two lessons seen, the standards of a significant minority of pupils were below national expectations. For example, pupils in Year 6 had limited prior understanding of primary and secondary sources of information. Teaching and learning was at least good in lessons seen. In Year 6 when pupils were studying the history of their locality since 1865, they learned well how to use a census. The teacher made very good use of aerial photographs of different periods and pupils compared these with recent maps. Higher-attaining pupils were later able

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History

to talk about the differences that had taken place in the locality, noting, for example, that ‘It is now an urban area’ and ’ There are now no fields but lots of roads’. The school’s documentation indicates that National Curriculum requirements are met and the history curriculum is effectively enhanced by visitors to school and through visits to places of historical interest.

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Religious education

The provision for religious education is satisfactory .

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Visits to places of worship support pupils’ learning well. • The co-ordinator leads and manages the subject well. • Pupils do not have enough opportunities to write about what they have learned.

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Commentary

73. All pupils achieve satisfactorily, including those with additional needs in learning English and pupils with special educational needs. Pupils’ attainment is in line with the expectations of the locally agreed syllabus. For example, they develop a secure knowledge of books that are special to different religions and they understand the importance of, for example, the Torah for Jews, the Bible for Christians and the Qu’ran for Muslims. Pupils demonstrate a secure understanding of the topics studied and make connections with their own lives and beliefs. In Wormholt Park Primary School - 28 Year 5, for example pupils discussed the moral issues outlined in two Sikh stories and understood the messages, ‘be true to yourself’, and ‘help others even at the expense of your own freedom’. Pupils do not, however, have enough opportunities to write about their learning to consolidate what they have learned.

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Commentary

74. 76.Teaching and learning are satisfactory over time, and some good teaching was seen in lessons. In the best lessons, teachers’ knowledge of the subject was good and activities were interesting. Staff make good use of pupils’ knowledge of their own religion to support the learning of others, which also encourages pupils to be proud of their heritage. A weakness in lessons seen is that no artefacts were used to extend pupils’ understanding. Teachers do arrange visits to places of worship and invite visitors to school and these contribute well to pupils’ learning.

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Commentary

75. The curriculum meets the requirements of the locally-agreed syllabus and incorporates Christianity and other faiths. The curriculum is enhanced well by visitors to school as well as visits to places of worship. The subject makes a good contribution to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Pupils are proud of their own religious background and show respect for others’ beliefs and traditions. They develop an awareness of moral issues and the emphasis religions place on these, as was evident in Year 6 in a lesson on Humanism. 76. The co-ordinator leads and manages the subject well. She regularly monitors teaching, learning and pupils’ work and ensures that the subject meets requirements. Assessments against the criteria in the locally-agreed syllabus have been introduced recently, but these are not yet well enough established to enable staff to track individual pupils’ progress as they move

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Commentary

up through the school. The priorities for future development, such as blocking time to teach topics in religious education and improving writing opportunities, are appropriate. The school’s satisfactory provision and standards have been maintained since the previous inspection.

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CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

Physical education, design and technology and art and design were inspected in full. Music was sampled. Judgements about music are based on evidence from four lessons.

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Music

77. Only four lessons were seen in music, so there is insufficient evidence to make reliable judgements on overall provision, standards and achievements. Nevertheless, it is clear from the available evidence that provision is now better than it was at the last inspection when it was judged unsatisfactory. Teachers ensure that pupils have regular opportunities to develop their skills across the expected range of musical activities. Teaching and learning in the lessons seen were satisfactory overall. Lessons had a clear focus and sought to develop pupils’ skills and understanding through practical activities. Pupils enjoyed lessons and responded well to the interesting range of songs and music that reflected music from different cultures. The music curriculum is greatly enriched by a wide range of opportunities for pupils to see and work with professional musicians. For example, a string quartet from the London Symphony

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Music

Orchestra introduced Year 4 pupils to music that they were to hear played at a concert. This gave them a better understanding of what they were listening to and how to listen. Projects such as “Let’s write an Opera” and “Music in Literacy” contribute well to music provision as well as pupils’ learning in other areas of the curriculum. These have motivated and inspired pupils, who have produced interesting stories and poetry as a result. Pupils regularly take part in musical performances in school and in local community events, including the Hammersmith and Fulham Schools music festival. Pupils can further extend their skills by joining the choir, the Steel Pans group or learning a musical instrument. The music co-ordinator makes good use of her musical expertise to extend the provision and provide pupils with many experiences they would otherwise not have access to. The school’s plans for the forthcoming year will

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Music

enable her to have regular release from class to develop music across the school. Wormholt Park Primary School - 29

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• The subject is well led and managed. • The school makes very good use of visitors to enhance provision. • Pupils have very good attitudes to learning. • Work in art and design contributes well to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. • Pupils achieve well as a result of good teaching. • Goods links are established between art and design and pupils’ work in other subjects.

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Commentary

78. Standards throughout Years 1 to 6 are in line with the national expectations. Pupils’ sketches, drawings, collage work, textiles and paintings in the style of famous artists include some good quality work. Pupils’ work is displayed very well around the school; this also provides very good stimulus for learning. Displays are changed every half-term and this provides a good opportunity to celebrate pupils’ achievements, as well as to monitor standards.

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Commentary

79. The headteacher is providing good leadership and management of the subject until a permanent co-ordinator can be appointed. She supports teachers and monitors standards, teaching and pupils’ learning well. She is keen to extend provision further, including establishing an arts studio. Resident artists are regularly invited into school to work with teachers and pupils. This has resulted in good opportunities to, for example, create ceramic murals, and make life-size models. Pupils study the work of famous artists such as Mondrian, Cézanne and Quentin Blake. For example, in Year 6, when pupils observed ‘Relationships’ by Cézanne, they incorporated his style when sketching their own pictures.

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Commentary

80. Pupils’ past work clearly shows that teaching and learning are good. In the two lessons seen during inspection, in Year 4 and 5 classes, teaching, learning and pupils’ achievements were all at least good. Pupils worked at appropriate levels and some attained standards above those expected. In Year 5, for example, pupils arranged some vegetables for a still-life composition and then sketched these well, using smudging techniques to enhance shading. Pupils in Year 4 created an artistic journey into the Egyptian afterlife by using their own designs, and choosing colour and shape to depict their ideas. In both lessons teachers showed good knowledge of the subject, taught skills effectively and guided pupils well. Resources and teaching assistants were used well to support pupils to learn well. Pupils are very interested in the subject, work hard and take a pride in their finished work. Work in the

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Commentary

subject supports pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well.

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Commentary

81. The school has developed a good scheme of work of its own and work in art and design is linked well to pupils’ work in other subjects. For example, pupils illustrate stories and poems written in literacy sessions, and design Greek vases and make collages of the Great Fire of London as part of their work in history. They listen to a piece of music and sketch and paint pictures to reflect the mood. They draw snails after observing ‘The Snail’ by Matisse and make collages to depict pollination in their science work. Pupils learn to draw and paint using ICT programs. There have been good improvements to provision and pupils’ achievement since the last inspection.

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Design and technology

Provision for design and technology is satisfactory . Wormholt Park Primary School - 30

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Teaching and learning are good. • Pupils enjoy lessons and show very good attitudes to learning. • Work in design technology is increasingly well linked to pupils’ work in some other subjects. • The new well-equipped food technology room provides a very good resource, which is used well.

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Commentary

82. Pupils achieve well and attain standards that are in line with those expected. This is a similar picture to that at the time of the last inspection. The satisfactory standards are evident, for example in the ‘houses made large enough for a mouse’, by pupils in Years 1 and 2 as part of a project on homes, the ‘moving monsters’ in Years 3 and 4, and the slippers made by pupils in Year 6.

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Commentary

83. Although few lessons were seen, evidence from these and the quality of pupils’ past work clearly indicates good teaching and learning. The basic skills, including those of designing, planning, making and evaluating, are taught effectively. Discussions with pupils shows they really enjoy design and technology and take a pride in their finished work. This was also often the case in lessons seen. Pupils in Year 1 talked enthusiastically about their work during a lesson when they made moving pictures that incorporated flaps and a sliding mechanism. Pupils in Year 6 worked sensibly and co-operatively when designing and making slippers. In a food technology lesson in Year 5, boys and girls worked very sensibly and co-operatively, and maintained very good levels of interest when following a recipe using World War Two rations.

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Commentary

84. The school ensures that the National Curriculum requirements are met. It has yet to formally and critically evaluate national guidelines in order to adapt them to reflect the interests, attainments and backgrounds of pupils at this school. Nevertheless the school has begun to adapt the overall curriculum in Years 1 and 2 so as to establish better links with pupils’ work in other subjects. This is proving very effective in linking design and technology with other subjects. For example, when Year 2 pupils were learning about healthy food in science, they designed healthy lunchboxes. In a literacy lesson later that week, they made healthy sandwiches and then wrote up the instructions. All of this helped to make learning more relevant and meaningful in ways that helped to develop and reinforce the basic skills. There are also increasingly good links being made between design and technology and science and

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Commentary

85. Improvements since the last inspection are satisfactory. The resources are good and include a recently established and well-equipped food technology room that is suitable for group work. This is used well. The subject manager is new to this role, is enthusiastic and is providing sound leadership and management. She has attended relevant training to help her to develop and extend her skills and the overall provision.

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Physical education

Provision for physical education is good .

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Pupils achieve well. • Good quality teaching, especially in dance, and the specialist teaching in swimming and tennis contribute well to the provision and pupils’ learning. • Despite the lack of playing fields, the school provides a good range of activities and after- school clubs that holds pupils’ interests and ensures they make good progress. Wormholt Park Primary School - 31

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Commentary

86. The good provision and teaching found at the time of the last inspection have been maintained well. Pupils achieve well and attain nationally-expected standards by the end of Years 2 and 6. In Year 2, pupils explored and sequenced a series of linked movements, and collaboratively developed their ideas to represent fire in a dance they had created. They worked well in teams and talked about the difference in their own and other teams’ dances, making suggestions to refine their performance. By Year 6, pupils understand the importance of basic safety rules and understand the importance of warming up and cooling down when taking vigorous exercise. They are developing a sound sense of fair play and becoming good sportsmen and women. Nearly all pupils can swim up to 25 metres by the time they leave the school.

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Commentary

87. Teaching and learning are good. Teachers pay good attention to teaching and demonstrating skills. They expect pupils to work hard, to behave well and to develop a sense of fair play. They encourage pupils to evaluate their own work and extend their performance. Occasionally in lessons teachers do not provide enough equipment to enable all pupils to fully participate throughout the lesson. The curriculum incorporates all the required components. The provision has been extended since the last inspection with the introduction of a good dance component, some specialist teaching and links with other schools and the community.

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Commentary

88. Despite the limited facilities for physical education, the school makes excellent use of what it does have, and, makes very good use of community and neighbourhood facilities. The school is rightly proud of pupils’ success in dance and other competitions. There are also boys’ and girls’ football teams, and the girls won the local championship this year. A number of pupils also represent the school when they participate in local sporting events such as indoor athletics, swimming and tennis. The wide variety of after-school clubs enables pupils to develop and extend their skills and contributes well to their personal development. The subject is well led and managed. Pupils are usually well motivated in lessons.

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PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND HEALTH EDUCATION AND CITIZENSHIP (PHSE)

89. Provision is very good. The school places a very high priority on pupils’ personal development. This is embedded in all aspects of the school’s work and includes sex education and drugs education. Teaching promotes pupils’ personal development very well. Pupils are taught and given many opportunities to work together co-operatively and collaboratively. The school promotes very good racial harmony and very good relationships. Staff provide very good role models for pupils. The work of the learning mentor and the teaching assistants also makes a significant contribution to provision, helping pupils to understand and learn how to work together as part of a community. During regular PHSE lessons, pupils are encouraged to talk about and share their thoughts and feelings, and to explore relationships. Through discussions, they learn to handle their feelings in a positive way. This also helps pupils to form very good

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PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND HEALTH EDUCATION AND CITIZENSHIP (PHSE)

90. Pupils’ personal skills are also developed well through residential visits that take place in Years 5 and 6. These enable pupils to take part in new activities away from home and helps them to mature and gain confidence. A commitment to involving pupils in the performing arts and sport gives pupils of all abilities opportunities to succeed and raises their self-esteem particularly well. Pupils’ confidence increases significantly so that they develop a secure understanding of their own personal worth and an awareness of their place within the school community. They learn to take on responsibilities and participate in all school activities. The Helping Hands initiative enables pupils to contribute to the running of the school and ensures that pupils who need help or experience difficulties of any kind are quickly supported to improve. As part of the PHSE programme pupils in Year 6 are prepared well for the next stage of their education. They

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PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND HEALTH EDUCATION AND CITIZENSHIP (PHSE)

discuss how to cope with the changes they will find at their new school. There are plenty of opportunities for them to express their concerns and hopes. Pupils also set themselves a personal target to help them manage the transfer successfully. For example, pupils identify Wormholt Park Primary School - 32 targets such as “I must not get into the habit of being late for things,” and “ I must be responsible for my own resources”. Wormholt Park Primary School - 33

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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 5 Pupils’ achievement 3

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

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

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

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

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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 2 The leadership of other key staff 3 The effectiveness of management 2

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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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