Greenfield Primary School

GREENFIELD PRIMARY SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 3 – 6 November 2003

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GREENFIELD PRIMARY SCHOOL

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

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GREENFIELD 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. Greenfield Primary School - 3

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Type of school: Primary School category: Community Age range of pupils: 3 – 11 years Gender of pupils: Mixed Number on roll: 290

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Cherrytree Street Hoyland Barnsley Postcode: S74 9RG

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Telephone number: (01226) 743468 Fax number: (01226) 742734

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: Governing body Name of chair of governors: Mr S Angel

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: 20 September 1999

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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SCHOOL

This is a large primary school with 290 boys and girls aged three to eleven. The pupils are taught in nine classes and there is a nursery housed in a separate building. The school’s roll was falling, but has recently risen quite significantly and it is now virtually full. The school is situated in Hoyland, on the edge of Barnsley, and serves the local area. The percentage of pupils who are eligible for free school meals is broadly average, but the areas that many pupils come from are areas that have been identified as being well below average in socio-economic terms, with some pockets of high child poverty. The socio-economic circumstances of pupils are below average overall. Pupil mobility is broadly average, although currently there are more pupils entering the school than leaving.

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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SCHOOL

There is a wide range of attainment on entry to the school, but information from assessments made as children enter the school indicates that overall their skills are below that of other children of the same age. Virtually all pupils are of white British ethnic origin, but there are currently in school two children of asylum seekers who do not speak English as their first language. Nine per cent of pupils have been identified as having special educational needs, which is below average.

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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SCHOOL

Since the last inspection the school has been through a very difficult time, with lack of leadership for a long period. The circumstances surrounding this situation were quite traumatic for the staff at the time and there was a very high level of staff illness and absence. There is still a legacy from this time present in the school, reflected in the attitudes of some members of staff and the achievement of some pupils. A new headteacher was appointed in September 2001 and new deputy headteacher a term later. Greenfield Primary School - 4

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Members of the inspection team Subject responsibilities

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

21420 Paula Allison Lead inspector Mathematics Information and communication technology Foundation Stage 19740 Allan Smith Lay inspector 16831 Marcia Ewart Team inspector Science Art and design Design and technology Music Physical education 20815 Patricia English Team inspector English History Geography Religious education Special educational needs

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

Parkman Ltd. in association with PkR 35 Trewartha Park Weston-Super-Mare North Somerset BS23 2RT

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

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

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED BY PUPILS 8

Standards achieved in areas of learning and subjects

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED BY PUPILS 8

Pupils’ attitudes, values and other personal qualities

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL 11

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

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OVERALL EVALUATION

The school’s performance is satisfactory . The school provides an acceptable quality of education and its pupils achieve reasonable standards. The headteacher has successfully re- established the school after a troubled past and the positive ethos and improving results show that there is now the potential to move forward. It currently provides satisfactory value for money.

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OVERALL EVALUATION

The school’s main strengths and weaknesses are:

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OVERALL EVALUATION

• Standards are improving, but they are currently better in Year 2 than they are in Year 6. • The headteacher has been successful in creating a positive ethos after a very difficult time, but the direction in which the school is going is not always accepted by everyone and this limits development. • Pupils enjoy school, work hard and behave well. • The school cares well for its pupils and has established good relationships with parents. • Provision in the nursery and reception classes is good. • There are inconsistencies in planning and in the curriculum, which are not sufficiently monitored and addressed. • Teachers encourage pupils to learn, but are not always aware of what they have achieved.

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OVERALL EVALUATION

Since the last inspection the school has been through a very troubled time with a lack of leadership and stable staffing. This had a significant impact on the quality of teaching and the achievement of pupils. The new headteacher and deputy headteacher have worked hard and successfully to regain confidence in the school and set it on its way again. Most issues from the last inspection have now been addressed and the school has improved provision in many areas, for example, in information and communication technology. Standards are improving, although they are not yet high enough in Year 6. The quality of teaching has improved, but there are still some inconsistencies that have not been addressed by the leadership of the school.

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED

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

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED

Achievement overall is satisfactory. Achievement in the Foundation Stage is good and children are well on the way to reaching the goals that they are expected to reach by the end of the reception year. Achievement in Key Stage 1 is good and standards in Year 2 are now above those achieved in similar schools. Achievement in Key Stage 2 is satisfactory, but there is a legacy from the past in terms of pupils’ achievement and this affects the standards in Year 6. The standards in Year 6 are improving and are now closer to those achieved in similar schools, but are still well below the national average and are not high enough.

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Pupils’ personal qualities, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development,

are good. Pupils’ attitudes and behaviour are very good. Pupils enjoy school and involve Greenfield Primary School - 7 themselves in all the activities provided. They respect others and behave well. Attendance is much improved and is almost in line with that of other schools.

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Pupils’ personal qualities, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development,

The quality of education provided by the school is satisfactory. The quality of teaching is satisfactory . Teachers support and encourage pupils and insist on high standards of behaviour. In this secure learning environment pupils are happy, work hard at the tasks they have been given to do and are productive. Teachers and other adults are good at involving all pupils in class lessons, valuing individual contributions and supporting those who are less confident. There are some inconsistencies in planning and the structure of the teaching that have a negative impact on the learning in some lessons.

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Pupils’ personal qualities, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development,

The curriculum is now supported with schemes of work, but there is a lack of continuity between classes and this means that what pupils are learning does not always build on what has gone before. Creativity is not adequately developed. The school cares well for pupils and the partnership with parents is good.

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LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

Leadership and management are satisfactory. The headteacher and deputy headteacher have worked hard to create a more positive ethos in the school after a very difficult time. This has been achieved and now parents and pupils are much more confident in the school. Appropriate priorities have been identified and standards are improving. However, a shared sense of purpose and determination to achieve high standards is not fully established throughout the school and this is hindering further development. There are inconsistencies in planning and curriculum delivery that have not been properly monitored and addressed. Governors are much more involved than they were with the school and its work. They are developing a more strategic role, but do not yet have a clear overview of curriculum matters.

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PARENTS’ AND PUPILS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

Parents are very satisfied with the school and its provision for their children. They recognise the improvements that have been made and are pleased with the way in which the school cares for their children as individuals. Parents’ confidence in the school is much better than it was. Pupils are happy in school and show a high level of trust in their teachers.

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IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED

The most important things the school should do to improve are: • Raise standards in Year 6. • Provide the school with a clearer sense of direction, so that everyone shares a common purpose and there is a consistent approach to development. • Promote pupils’ systematic development of skills, knowledge and understanding as they move through the school by a revision of the curriculum and improvements to teacher assessment. • Improve monitoring and evaluation of the curriculum and teaching and learning by the senior management team and subject coordinators, so that weaknesses can be addressed and strengths shared. Greenfield Primary School - 8

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Standards achieved in areas of learning and subjects

Achievement in the nursery and reception classes and in Years 1 and 2 is good. Achievement in Years 3 to 6 is satisfactory. In Year 2 standards in reading, writing and mathematics are average. In Year 6 standards in English, mathematics and science are below average.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• The quality of the provision in the nursery and reception classes enables children to make good progress. • Good achievement in Years 1 and 2 has led to considerably improved standards in Year 2. • Achievement in Year 6 is still affected by recent problems of staff absence. • Standards overall are improving year on year, but those in Year 6 are not yet high enough.

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Commentary

1. Standards overall are satisfactory, but they are better in Year 2 than they are in Year 6. Results in end of key stage tests in English, mathematics and science are usually well below average compared with all schools nationally, and until recently they were also well below those achieved in similar schools. However, in 2002 there was a significant improvement in standards. Whilst still well below average, results were getting closer to those achieved in similar schools.

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Commentary

2. In 2003 standards improved again. There was considerable improvement in Year 2 where results in reading were in line with the national average and well above similar schools. Results in writing and mathematics were below the national average, but compared favourably with similar schools. These better results are shown in the table below:

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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 15.8 (14.6) 15.7 (15.8) Writing 14.4 (13.4) 14.6 (14.4) Mathematics 15.9 (13.9) 16.3 (16.5) There were 37 pupils in the year group. Figures in brackets are for the previous year.

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Commentary

3. Improvements in Year 6 were not as dramatic and remained well below other schools, but results in mathematics and science were almost in line with those achieved in similar schools. Few pupils reached higher levels in English and this brought the overall result in this subject to below similar schools. The gap between the national average and this school is shown below:

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Commentary

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

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Commentary

Standards in: School results National results English 24.2 (25.6) 26.8 (27.0) Mathematics 24.8 (25.2) 26.8 (26.7) Science 27.0 (26.6) 28.6 (28.3) There were 39 pupils in the year group. Figures in brackets are for the previous year.

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Commentary

4. Currently, standards in Year 2 in reading, writing and mathematics are good. Work seen shows that pupils are usually working at expected levels and are often working above this. In Year 6, Greenfield Primary School - 9 standards in English, mathematics and science are not as good, as there are still a number of pupils, who have suffered from a recent unsettled staffing situation and have gaps in their learning. Their work shows they are often working at below or well below expected levels.

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Commentary

5. Since the school became more stable after some troubled years, standards have been improving. The improvement was particularly good for Year 6 in 2002 and for Year 2 in 2003, but overall the trend is an improving one throughout the school, the improvement trend being above the national trend in both Year 2 and Year 6. The school sets itself challenging targets based on available data and, although they have failed to reach them in the past, is now getting closer to reaching them, especially those set for Year 2.

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Commentary

6. Achievement is satisfactory overall, but is good in the nursery and reception classes and in Years 1 and 2. Children enter the nursery with a wide range of skills, but assessments made at this time show that overall their skills are below and sometimes well below those of other children of the same age. Good provision in the nursery and reception classes enable children to make good progress, particularly in personal, social and emotional development. By the time they leave the Foundation Stage many have reached the goals expected of them, but a small number still have weak skills, particularly in language development.

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Commentary

7. In Years 1 and 2, pupils achieve well. They make good progress in gaining skills in reading, writing and mathematics, mainly because of the effective use teachers make of the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies to help them in their planning. The skills pupils gain are sufficient to help them make progress in other areas of the curriculum, but teachers do not always exploit this and give pupils opportunities to use the skills. In Years 3 to 6 achievement in English, mathematics and science is satisfactory. In the recent past there has been some staff absence that has led to problems with continuity of learning and this means that the achievement of a number of pupils is still uneven, particularly in Years 5 and 6. Skills in literacy and numeracy are still weak, and this sometimes hinders pupils’ progress in other subjects.

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Commentary

8. Achievement in religious education and information and communication technology (ICT) is satisfactory through the school and an improvement from the time of the last inspection. However, skills in ICT are not yet used to support learning across the curriculum. Achievement in other subjects is largely satisfactory, although weaknesses in the curriculum can have a negative impact on achievement, for example, in art and design.

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Commentary

9. The school has identified that girls tend to achieve better than boys in reading and especially writing, but do not achieve as well as boys in mathematics. However, this is not significantly different from the picture nationally. The achievement made by pupils with special educational needs in relation to their individual education plans is satisfactory overall and is good in the younger classes or when they are well supported. More able pupils also achieve satisfactorily, but weaknesses in teacher assessment sometimes means that work is not sufficiently challenging for all pupils and this results in some of them not always achieving as well as they could do.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and other personal qualities

Pupils’ attitudes and behaviour are very good throughout the school. Their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good overall. Attendance is below average, but improving.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Pupils are eager to be included in learning activities. • A high standard of behaviour is consistently promoted. • The quality of relationships is very good. • Provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. • As a result of efforts made by the school, attendance has improved considerably. Greenfield Primary School - 10

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Commentary

10. The quality of pupils’ attitudes makes a considerable contribution to their attainment and levels of achievement. Across the school pupils settle quickly in class and are anxious to be included in the learning activities. They confidently share ideas because their responses are valued and self esteem is promoted consistently. This is particularly so for pupils with special educational needs. Pupils enjoy the challenge of such practical tasks as, in Year 5, investigating a range of historical artefacts to date them appropriately or, in Year 2, working with a friend to use new techniques to develop a picture of a Mister Man by computer.

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Commentary

11. Throughout the school pupils clearly demonstrate their understanding of the differences between right and wrong and show a proper regard for the property of others and the school environment. Pupils respond well to school rules and are clearly aware of the consequences of their behaviour. Their understanding of what constitutes appropriate behaviour is established at a young age and makes a major contribution to this orderly community and good quality learning environment. The school places a high priority on moral development. A whole school policy ensures staff members have a consistent approach to promoting this aspect and equally high expectations.

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Commentary

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

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Commentary

Categories used in the Annual School Census No of pupils on roll Number of fixed period exclusions Number of permanent exclusions White – British 314 0 0 White – any other White background 2 0 0 The table gives the number of exclusions, which may be different from the number of pupils excluded.

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Commentary

12. Relationships within the school are very good and enable all pupils to learn and achieve effectively. They are characterised by the mutual respect evident between pupils and the adults who work with them. Members of staff provide role models in demonstrating how relationships are initiated and sustained. In response pupils work and play constructively and show sensitivity and concern for feelings and values of others when, for instance, sharing their work in plenary sessions. Pupils relate well to unfamiliar visitors too, offering unaffected courtesy and politeness. Pupils of all ages enjoy responsibilities when asked to help with school routines such as older pupils befriending younger pupils and accepting responsibility as house captains. There are, as yet, very few examples of activities initiated by pupils themselves.

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Commentary

13. Whilst the provision for spiritual and cultural development is satisfactory, there is no whole school guidance to ensure an agreed approach to planning opportunities for promoting development through areas of the curriculum.

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Commentary

14. Attendance rates have improved significantly in recent years and are now almost in line with other schools, as the table below shows. The school rigorously monitors attendance and punctuality and attempts in many ways to make parents and pupils fully aware of the importance of full attendance and punctuality. The success of this is shown in the improved rates. Also the improved ethos of the school makes children happy to come to school.

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Commentary

Attendance in the latest complete reporting year (%)

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Commentary

Authorised absence Unauthorised absence School data 5.9 School data 0.0 National data 5.4 National data 0.4 The table gives the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year. Greenfield Primary School - 11

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL

The quality of education provided by the school is satisfactory. Teaching is improving, but there are weaknesses in the curriculum. The school cares well for pupils and has established good relationships with parents.

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Teaching and learning

Teaching and learning are good in the nursery and reception classes and satisfactory in the rest of the school. The quality of teacher assessment is good in the nursery and reception classes, but unsatisfactory in the rest of the school.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Teachers support and encourage pupils well and expect high standards of behaviour. • Pupils are involved in lessons and concentrate on the work they have been given to do. • Teachers and support staff work together in the nursery and reception classes to provide well for children’s learning. • Teachers use resources well, but do not always plan effectively. • Not enough use is made of assessment information to help teachers plan.

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Commentary

15. The quality of teaching in the nursery and reception classes is consistently good, with teachers and support staff working effectively together to provide a wide range of activities and experiences. They have a very good understanding of the needs of young children and plan imaginatively to promote their learning. In the rest of the school teaching is at least satisfactory in most lessons, and there are elements of good and very good teaching in all classes. The few unsatisfactory lessons were due mainly to a weakness in teachers’ subject knowledge. This picture is an improvement from the time of the last inspection. Higher expectations and clearer focus on pupils’ learning has led to better achievement, especially in Years 1 and 2. However, there are still some inconsistencies from class to class, for example, in planning and pace of lessons.

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Commentary

Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 41 lessons

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Commentary

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Poor Very Poor

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Commentary

1 (2%) 5 (12%) 17 (42%) 16 (39%) 2 (5%) 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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Commentary

16. One of the major strengths of the teaching throughout the school is the quality of the learning environment that teachers and support staff create. Adults are supportive and there are very good relationships. Pupils feel secure and this promotes their learning. They remain attentive during class sessions and concentrate on the work they have been given to do. They are not afraid to try things and offer their ideas. There is a positive ethos in each classroom that reflects the quality of the general school ethos developed during the last two years. High standards of behaviour are insisted on and pupils respond well. Pupils with special educational needs are well supported, particularly in group activities. Support staff work hard and make a valuable contribution to the quality of teaching in classes. Where their work is carefully planned by the teacher, their contribution is made even more effective.

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Commentary

17. Teachers are particularly skilled at involving all pupils in whole class sessions. They interest and motivate pupils, include everyone and make sure that all contributions are valued. They use resources well to keep pupils interested and involved. In the Year 1, class a drama lesson, where pupils were acting out parts of the Goldilocks story, was of very good quality and involved Greenfield Primary School - 12 all pupils throughout. The very good relationship the teacher has with her class and her use of humour kept all of the class totally absorbed. So secure were they that they confidently performed in front of each other and were able to evaluate their own work and that of others. In the Year 1 and 2 class the teacher makes particularly good use of resources, of her own making and obtained from elsewhere. For example, in a religious education lesson the use of a good Big Book and some Jewish artefacts captured the interest of all the pupils. Her skilful

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Commentary

questioning kept everyone involved and interested throughout the lesson and ensured that the learning was good.

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Commentary

18. Teachers are developing good skills in the teaching of literacy and numeracy and information and communication technology and this is having a marked effect on pupils’ achievement in these areas. There is now a much clearer focus on pupils’ learning and in most lessons the learning objectives are clear, if not always shared with pupils. In a Year 3 numeracy lesson the teacher’s good subject knowledge and her clear planning ensured that pupils made very good strides in their learning. The well led oral session promoted pupils’ understanding of three digit numbers and there were clear links between this and the tasks she had prepared for groups of pupils. Pupils in this class are well challenged and achieve well.

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Commentary

19. Most teachers plan very well for their lessons. They know what their learning objectives are and what the outcomes should be and they match tasks to the needs of pupils. There are however, some inconsistencies. There is no agreed planning format to support teachers and sometimes, whilst a teacher may know what she/he wants pupils to learn, the structure of the lesson and the nature of the tasks are not well chosen to achieve these intentions. Sometimes the pace of lessons is not good. Occasionally class sessions can be too protracted and pupils begin to lose interest or they are given too much time to complete tasks and are not as productive as they might be.

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Commentary

20. In the nursery and reception classes the quality of assessment is good. There are good systems in place and the information from assessment is used in planning. The quality of teacher assessment in the school is not good enough. Assessment systems are patchy through the school, and although teachers have a good knowledge of pupils, they do not regularly record their achievements in a meaningful way. Assessment is not an integral part of the planning process and teachers do not as a matter of course plan with an awareness of what pupils have already achieved. This can lead to a mismatch between tasks and needs and sometimes a lack of challenge, particularly for the more able pupils. Marking is supportive, but does not give pupils an idea of how they can improve. Staff have looked at what assessment systems are being used in the school and have shared ideas, but currently there is no whole school strategy

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Commentary

for planning, assessment and target setting.

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The curriculum

The curriculum is good in the Foundation Stage and satisfactory in Key Stages 1 and 2. All statutory requirements are met. Extra-curricular provision is satisfactory, but in the early stages of development. Resources and accommodation are satisfactory with some good provision in the Foundation Stage.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• The introduction of schemes of work with related resources for all subjects has improved standards. • The way the curriculum is organised does not ensure that pupils build on what they have previously learned and the variety of approaches to curriculum planning does not always lead to continuity. • Provision for religious education and information and communication technology has improved, creativity is not adequately developed. Greenfield Primary School - 13

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Commentary

21. The curriculum for the nursery and reception classes is well planned and provides a wide range of activities and experiences in all areas of learning and appropriate for the age of the children. In both classes there is a good balance between teacher-directed activities and opportunities for children to initiate their own learning. Unfortunately there are few links between the two classes and this does not promote continuity of learning across the whole Foundation Stage.

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Commentary

22. In the rest of the school the curriculum is satisfactory. The focus by senior management on improving weaknesses identified in the last inspection and on putting in place nationally recognised schemes of work has been appropriate. The basics of curriculum planning are now in place and are having a positive effect on standards. This is particularly the case in English, where the National Literacy Strategy has been adopted and is being adapted in suitable ways to meet the needs of individual pupils. The purchase of resources to match the schemes of work has improved teaching and hence standards. Since the last inspection there have been marked improvements in provision for information and communication technology and religious education, and they both now meeting statutory requirements.

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Commentary

23. While schemes of work have been introduced, there is not a clear enough view of how these are being put into practice, as little monitoring takes place. This is particularly important as pupils from the same year group are often split between different classes. Due consideration has not been given to the curriculum experienced by individual pupils and long term plans show that repetition and omissions occur as pupils move through the school. Teachers plan for their classes without an overall school policy, so the variety of styles and sources for short term planning leads to a lack of continuity from class to class. They also plan subject by subject and are not seeking to make connections across the curriculum to make pupils’ learning more coherent.

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Commentary

24. Curriculum development and training have focused on literacy, information and communication technology and now numeracy. Science and the foundation subjects have not yet been tackled in any depth, so teachers’ subject knowledge is sometimes patchy. This is having a particularly negative impact on the teaching of subjects in the arts, where teachers lack the confidence to allow pupils’ creativity to develop. Extra-curricular activities are being offered to junior pupils and are welcomed by pupils and parents. Currently they focus mainly on sports, with insufficient opportunities in the arts.

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Commentary

25. Recent improvements to the accommodation have had a significant impact on improving the learning environment, in particular providing very imaginatively laid out outdoor play areas for the youngest pupils. The refurbishment and redecoration of the whole school has been a worthwhile development, having had a positive impact on the morale of all involved with the school. The mobile classrooms are not ideal places for teachers to teach and pupils to learn, nor is the junior playground an inspiring place in which to play, but plans are in place for these to be remedied very soon. The physical separation of the nursery from the main school does not help with communication, but such moves as putting a gate in the fence is going someway of getting round the difficulty. The school is well maintained and kept very clean.

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Commentary

26. Teaching assistants in every classroom are being used consistently, particularly to support pupils with special educational needs and low attaining pupils who need support. This is allowing these pupils to access the curriculum and achieve alongside their peers.

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Care, guidance and support

The care, guidance and support for pupils are good overall and support pupils’ learning well. The involvement of pupils in the school’s work and development is good. Health and safety procedures are satisfactory. Pupils’ achievement and personal development are monitored satisfactorily. This very positive volume of care contributes well to the welfare and security of all pupils and thus plays a strong part in promoting their confidence and attitudes to learning. Overall, this is maintained from the previous inspection with some aspects being improved. Greenfield Primary School - 14

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• There are very good relationships between pupils and staff. • The induction arrangements for pupils are good. • The school is safe and secure for all pupils. • Good procedures have brought about an improvement in attendance rates. • There is inconsistency across classes in recording pupils’ achievements.

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Commentary

27. All school staff care very well for their pupils. There are very good relationships between all staff and pupils. The school has generated a strong family atmosphere of happiness that is beneficial to all pupils’ feelings of worth. Pupils enjoy coming to school and the vast majority are very eager to please their teachers. They work hard in lessons and are motivated correctly to try to achieve well. Arrangements for children to enter school life are suitably planned in helping children to settle quickly. The school has recently introduced a pupils’ school council and has generated older pupil participation in supporting younger pupils at break times and in the dining hall.

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Commentary

28. The governing body has adopted the local education authority’s policy on health and safety. They carry out risk assessments, both internal and external, in a regular pattern. Child protection is considered as a high priority and those responsible are suitably trained. There are rigorous systems in place aimed at improving pupils’ attendance and punctuality. These include making first morning contact with parents through to the involvement of outside agencies. These measures have brought about significant improvements in the attendance rate.

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Commentary

29. Teaching staff know pupils’ individual qualities and backgrounds well. Pupils feel very well supported. They have very high trust in their teachers, sufficiently so to be confident to discuss any concerns they might have. Although staff know pupils well, little detailed information is consistently recorded across the school about what they achieve in their lessons and pupils are not sufficiently aware of how well they are doing and how they can improve. The school places a high priority on the support for pupils with special educational needs. The good ethos that has been developed enables these pupils to be confidently involved in all aspects of school life. Individual education plans are developed for all pupils with special educational needs. However, too often these are not sufficiently detailed to ensure learning develops in short measurable steps that systematically build on what the pupil already knows, understands and can do.

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Partnership with parents, other schools and the community

The school’s partnership with its parents is good. The links with the local community and other schools are good. These are very supportive in developing the relationships between the school, parents and community, which broadens pupils’ potential learning experience. This is an improvement since the previous inspection.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Parents have very positive views about the school. • Information to parents is good. • Parents are well involved about life and events in school and the school seeks to involve parents in their children’s learning. • There is an active Friends of Greenfield School Association that supports the school well. • Good use is made of the local community. • Documentation issued to parents is inconsistent across the school. Greenfield Primary School - 15

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Commentary

30. Parents and pupils hold the school in very high regard. They are particularly pleased with the quality of teaching, and with what the school does to help their children become mature and responsible young people. Parents also describe the school as a very happy place in which good friendships exist between pupils, teachers and parents. They believe the school is open and very approachable about any concerns they might have. Inspectors agree with these judgements. There is nothing that significantly displeases parents.

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Commentary

31. The school has improved the quality of the information it provides for parents and this overall is good. There are regular and informative newsletters that keep parents suitably aware of the day-to-day procedures, expectations and events of the school. Pupils’ annual reports to parents are overall suitably detailed. However, they are inconsistent in presentation and detail across the classes. Information on what will be taught in each subject is provided for parents at the start of each term. Although this guidance is brief in some subjects and is not consistent across the school, it is still beneficial in the suggestions offered to support parents in helping their children at home.

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Commentary

32. Parents do support the school and their children very well indeed. They know the school routines and expectations including attendance, punctuality and behaviour. However, they do not all fully respond to the school’s efforts to improve attendance and punctuality sufficiently. Limited numbers of parents attend the events the school has put on to assist them in their appreciation of the school’s teaching methods and education systems. However, a significant number of parents help in school on a regular basis and this is very beneficial in supporting learning for pupils.

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Commentary

33. There is a strongly supportive Friends of Greenfield School Association that raises funds, which are suitably targeted and used beneficially. For example, the subsidy made towards the school’s residential trip. There are suitable opportunities for pupils to explore the local community. As a result, lessons are enriched and pupils’ learning benefits through visits into the community or bringing the community into school. For example, a class visit to the local war memorial was an opportunity for pupils to develop a wider understanding of the impact on their own area. There are satisfactory links with other schools in the area.

p.15

LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

Leadership and management are satisfactory. The role of governors is developing well and is satisfactory. A history of disrupted leadership in the past has proven to be a significant barrier in the development of the school.

p.15

Main strengths and weaknesses

• The senior management team has worked hard and successfully to achieve a positive ethos for pupils and staff, following the serious disruption of the past. • The headteacher has a clear idea of what needs to be done, but a shared sense of direction and purpose is not fully established and this limits further development. • There has been an appropriate focus on improving standards, but the action to be taken to achieve this is not always implemented by all members of staff. • Good performance data systems have been introduced so that the overall performance of the school can be monitored, but there is insufficient monitoring and evaluation of the curriculum, teaching and learning. • The governing body is much more involved with the work of the school than it was, and is developing a more strategic role. Greenfield Primary School - 16

p.15

Commentary

34. Although the last inspection report indicated that the school was soundly led and managed, it was very soon after this that irregularities were found in the school and the headteacher and deputy headteacher were suspended. Then followed a period of two years, during which the school was without permanent leadership and there was a very high level of staff illness and absence. Relationships were strained and parents began to lose confidence in the school, some actually taking their children away. It was not until the current headteacher took up his post in September 2001 and the deputy headteacher was appointed the term after that the school began to re-establish itself and regain some stability.

p.16

Commentary

35. The headteacher and deputy headteacher have worked hard to build positive relationships in the school, from a position of mistrust between staff, senior management and governors. There is now a feeling of confidence in the school, shared by the parents, pupils and governors. The ethos is positive, the school roll is rising again and standards are improving. This gives a firm foundation from which the school can develop further.

p.16

Commentary

36. The senior management team has a good knowledge of the school and the standards being achieved; it has a clear vision for the future of the school and knows what needs to be done. Action has been taken and the rising standards show that this has been successful. However, not all staff yet share this drive for improvement and there are still some legacies from the past that get in the way of working together as a team. Not enough has been done to unite the staff with a common sense of purpose and a determination to raise standards. Although a Vision Statement has been written that underpins the positive ethos of the school, it does not give a clear direction to practice, which is based too often on individual teachers’ preferences. The lack of common approaches is hindering further development and the consistent achievement of high standards across the curriculum.

p.16

Commentary

37. Governors now have a greater involvement in and knowledge of the work of the school, which is a considerable improvement since the last inspection. They play an effective part in strategic planning, having a good understanding of standards in the school. They have a committee structure in place that provides sound oversight of financial planning and staffing. However, the curriculum committee does not yet have an overview of strengths and weaknesses in the curriculum.

p.16

Commentary

38. The headteacher has introduced effective systems for monitoring and analysing performance data. He has a clear idea of what standards are being achieved and the progress pupils are making from year to year. Good use is made of data to track the progress of pupils, with good systems in place to hand over information on pupils from teacher to teacher. These systems help everyone to have an overview of standards and areas in need of improvement. However, not all teachers and coordinators yet realise the implications of this kind of information for tracking their own pupils and monitoring their progress through the year.

p.16

Commentary

39. The management team has maintained an appropriate focus on raising standards at the end of Year 2 and Year 6. This has been achieved by the careful deployment of staff and the direction of training and support, for example, to develop literacy. Sensible decisions have been made to focus development in other subjects on the introduction of schemes of work and the purchase of resources for teaching. However, little monitoring of planning, teaching and learning has been undertaken by senior management or subject coordinators. This has allowed some weaknesses and inconsistencies to go unaddressed. Monitoring and evaluation processes are being developed but currently are not rigorous enough and do not provide sufficiently detailed information to give teachers feedback on their strengths and aspects of performance that require improvement.

p.16

Commentary

40. The management of the school on a day-to-day basis is good. The administrator and the deputy headteacher play major roles in ensuring that things run smoothly and that the school is a welcoming place for everyone. Financial planning is efficient and effective. Available resources have recently been used to improve the quality of the accommodation and the whole school Greenfield Primary School - 17 environment, which has been appreciated by parents and pupils and has been an important factor in building up the positive ethos of the school. The school now has a secure foundation from which it can put the past behind it and move forward confidently and successfully.

p.16

Commentary

Financial information for the year April 2002 to March 2003

p.17

Commentary

Income and expenditure (£) Balances (£) Total income 581,018 Balance from previous year 48,976 Total expenditure 583,454 Balance carried forward to the next 46,540 Expenditure per pupil 1,951

p.17

Commentary

The carryover balance is being held appropriately to fund the building developments and investment in ICT this year. Greenfield Primary School - 18

p.17

AREAS OF LEARNING IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

41. Provision is good in both the nursery class and reception class. At the time of the inspection the reception teacher was on maternity leave, but a supply teacher well known to the school was making a very good job of ensuring that the quality of provision did not suffer in her absence. There is consistently good teaching and in both classes the support staff make a valuable contribution to the quality of teaching and the level of support for children. The curriculum is well planned and provides an appropriate range of activities and experiences designed to give children the opportunities to reach the goals expected of children of this age in each area of learning. The quality of planning throughout the Foundation Stage indicates a thorough understanding of the needs of young children. There is a good balance between teacher or adult-directed tasks and opportunities for children to be independent and select their own

p.18

AREAS OF LEARNING IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

activities and make choices. Parents are confident in the quality of provision for their children, particularly in the nursery.

p.18

AREAS OF LEARNING IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

42. Although both classes in the Foundation Stage provide a good quality of education, there are few links between the two. Physical barriers, such as the distance between the nursery and the school, as well as historical communication difficulties, have made it very difficult for the school to develop a coherent Foundation Stage. The division between the two classes means that opportunities for sharing ideas, systems, planning and good practice are missed and the transition of children from one class to another is not as good as it could be. For example, assessment is good in both classes and record keeping and the updating of portfolios is meticulous, but different systems are used and this is inefficient. The school is aware of the issue and the current action plan is focused on improving the situation, but things are only moving slowly and currently there is still no Foundation Stage policy or coordinator to unify

p.18

AREAS OF LEARNING IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

things. This was the situation at the time of the last inspection and remains so today.

p.18

PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Provision in personal, social and emotional development is good .

p.18

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Achievement is good because of the strong sense of care and focus on the individual child. • Teachers and other adults have high expectations and constantly encourage children. • Relationships in each class are positive and children are happy and confident in school.

p.18

Commentary

43. Many children enter the nursery with under-developed personal skills and some find it difficult to settle. With the high level of support on the part of the adults, children soon learn the routines and respond to what is expected of them. They learn to organise themselves, for example, in taking their coats off and collecting snacks after playing outside. They form good relationships with the adults and then eventually with other children. They learn to behave appropriately and control their own actions.

p.18

Commentary

44. The teamwork in the reception class ensures that the needs of all children, including those with special educational needs, are monitored and met and as a result, children are happy and confident in the class. This shows itself in the way in which children take part in discussions and are willing to put forward their own ideas and to listen to those of others. There is a lot of positive encouragement for children, the teacher using praise generously but appropriately throughout the day. As a result, children want to do what is right and want to succeed. The consistently high expectations and very good role models provided by the adults ensure that children learn to respect and cooperate with others. They show a genuine care for others, for Greenfield Primary School - 19 example, in the way in which they are patient with one boy who finds it difficult to express himself so he can take part in their activities. They concentrate well when given tasks to do and

p.18

Commentary

they show independence when choosing their own activities. Achievement in personal, social and emotional development is good through the Foundation Stage and children are well on the way to reaching the goals expected of children of this age.

p.19

COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Provision in communication, language and literacy is good .

p.19

Main strengths and weaknesses

• There is a clear focus in both classes on developing early literacy skills. • Teaching is good and children make good progress in gaining skills.

p.19

Commentary

45. Many children start the nursery with under-developed speaking skills and some of them are very reticent. In the secure environment, with the positive relationships and support for individuals, children are encouraged to enter into conversations and talk to adults and other children. Adults interact with children during their activities and they effectively develop vocabulary and confidence. Stories and books play an important part in the life of the nursery and children enjoy listening. They follow stories carefully and respond to the pictures they are shown. They begin to learn sounds which will be the basis for their reading. They are encouraged to communicate by writing.

p.19

Commentary

46. In the reception class children make good progress in developing language skills. Children are provided with opportunities to interact with each other, for example, when a teaching assistant encouraged children to role play a visit to a puppet show. The adult involved herself in the situation and provided a good role model for the children. The teacher regularly provides opportunities for children to talk. In one lesson children were talking about a picture and responding to what they thought the animals in the picture might be feeling. This encouraged some thoughtful discussion. During the reading of stories there is a clear emphasis on hearing and recognising rhythms and rhymes, laying secure foundations for reading skills. There are careful assessments made of progress in writing and it is well monitored. Children make great strides in their literacy skills and they achieve well.

p.19

MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

47. In the time available it was not possible to see sufficient work in the Foundation Stage to make a judgement on provision or standards. But evidence from displays and planning indicates that a range of relevant opportunities for children to develop their mathematical skills are provided in the nursery. One excellent lesson in the reception class indicates that children achieve satisfactorily and are working at an appropriate level. In this lesson the teacher encouraged the children in many ways as they practised counting to ten and back and learnt to use mathematical words such as short and long . The lesson involved everyone and the skills they had learnt were consolidated by a range of tasks carefully matched to individual needs.

p.19

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Provision in knowledge and understanding of the world is good .

p.19

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Teachers provide a wide range of activities for children to explore and experiment. • Children are keen to learn and enjoy the experiences provided for them Greenfield Primary School - 20

p.19

Commentary

48. The good quality of the display in the nursery provides a stimulating environment that encourages children to explore and ask questions. The adults work hard to create interesting experiences for children, for example, the chance to fly gliders across the Atlantic Ocean from England to Brazil. Topics are carefully planned to be relevant for children and give them the chance to gain a good knowledge and understanding of the world about them. Activities are provided that give regular opportunities for children to build and construct with different materials.

p.20

Commentary

49. Well planned activities in the reception class ensure that children build on their prior experiences and continue to explore and find out. The teacher uses resources well and inspires enthusiasm by her own interests and positive attitudes. For example, children planted bulbs and had learnt what bulbs needed in order to grow. Some of the children had thought about this carefully, for example, one child could explain that the ones inside will grow quicker because they are warmer . Later in the week children went outside to look at trees and back in the classroom were able to label the parts of a tree in a drawing. Learning is good and most children are working at the expected levels in this area.

p.20

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Provision in physical development is good .

p.20

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Provision has improved because of enhancements to the accommodation. • Teachers make the best use of the available play areas. • Children enjoy physical activity and achieve well.

p.20

Commentary

50. Adults in the nursery provide regular opportunities for children to take part in physical activities. Good use is made of the play space outside the nursery and children were seen confidently riding wheeled vehicles in an imaginatively laid out area. Recently it has been possible for this to be occasionally extended to making use of the play area in the school grounds. This very well created area provides many opportunities for children to develop physically. Children were seen running, climbing and balancing. Inside there are many activities planned for children to develop fine motor skills, for example, cutting and sticking.

p.20

Commentary

51. Provision for physical development in the reception class has been improved since the last inspection with the addition of an outdoor play area accessible from the classroom. This has been imaginatively designed and has made it possible to extend the range of activities available to children. Use is also made of the school hall for more physical activity. During a well planned session in the hall, children were given a range of activities to take part in. They showed that they could balance, jump and hop with a good degree of control and confidence. They also made a good attempt at throwing and catching a large ball. The teacher kept the children active and challenged and included learning about what happens to our bodies during physical activity. Children achieved well and are well on course to reaching the expected goals by the time they leave the reception class.

p.20

CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

52. It was not possible to see enough of creative activities to make a judgement on provision and achievement. However, it is clear that in both classes there is an appropriate range of activities provided for children to develop their skills and opportunities for them to explore and experiment with different media. For example, in the nursery children were exploring colours as they Greenfield Primary School - 21 painted and in the reception class children were mixing their own colours and found out what happened.

p.20

CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

53. One highlight was the visit of a drummer to the nursery. He played Samba music and gave children lots of opportunities to experiment with a wide range of instruments and hear the sounds they made. They enthusiastically joined in with singing, clapping and generally experiencing rhythms and sounds. An extremely well worthwhile experience carefully planned and delivered at the right level for the children involved.

p.21

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Standards are above national expectations in Year 2. • Teaching in Years 1 and 2 is good overall. • Standards in Year 6 are below average.

p.21

Commentary

54. The difference in standards in the school is strongly linked to the fact that older pupils experienced a lengthy period of disruption when teaching lacked continuity. This has had a significantly limiting effect on learning. The school is actively seeking to ensure such gaps in learning are effectively repaired. Overall, the achievement of all pupils, including those who have some degree of learning difficulty, is at least satisfactory and in Years 1 and 2 it is good. This level of achievement owes much to the improvements in the quality of teaching and reading resources and, the effective use teachers make of the National Literacy Strategy.

p.21

Commentary

55. Throughout the school pupils develop speaking and listening skills well. Their good achievement owes much to the role-models teachers provide and the consistent encouragement to share their ideas and explain their thinking. Personal vocabulary is systematically developed and emphasis is given to using subject specific language when discussing their work.

p.21

Commentary

56. In Year 2, attainment in reading is above average. Teachers plan to systematically build up knowledge of sounds and strategies for reading unfamiliar words. Throughout the school the frequent opportunity to talk about what is read with the teacher makes a major contribution to pupils’ ability to understand what they read. In Years 3 to 6 teachers continue to systematically extend pupils’ strategies to interpret a suitable range of texts. However, the development of information retrieval skills is insufficiently rigorous. Whilst by Year 6 pupils know about using tables of contents and indexes, they do not all understand how books are organised in a library or how to effectively locate an information book from its appropriate category.

p.21

Commentary

57. The good achievement made in writing in Years 1 and 2 is supported by the links teachers consistently make between reading and writing and the exploration of writing skills through shared writing tasks. Pupils in Year 6 show understanding of basic grammar, punctuation and spelling in exercises, but a significant minority is insecure when writing independently.

p.21

Commentary

58. Of the teaching observed none was less than satisfactory with predominately good and some very good teaching in Years 1, 2 and 3. Where teaching is best the planning is clearly based on assessment and the introduction catches the interest of pupils. That interest is sustained by the good pace at which the lesson moves, the use made of attractive resources and the setting of purposeful tasks well matched to the needs of all pupils. They are eager to start and there is a buzz of purposeful activity. Pupils’ contributions are positively responded to so that they are aware of their progress and self esteem is consistently raised. Greenfield Primary School - 22 59. When marking work, teachers regularly include appreciative comments, but the good practice of identifying specific ways in which pupils can improve their work is not sufficiently used across the school. Similarly, reading records that do not indicate what pupils need to focus on to

p.21

Commentary

improve have the same limiting effect on progress. Although the practice of scrutinising samples of pupils’ work has been introduced, the lack of procedures to monitor the quality of teaching and learning significantly restricts the information on which the coordinator can identify strengths and areas for development. Effective evaluation of the provision for this subject and planning for improvement is, therefore, hindered.

p.22

Language and literacy across the curriculum

60. Most teachers promote speaking and listening skills in other subjects, but there is much less use made of pupils’ reading and writing skills. Opportunities to independently undertake research activities in purposeful tasks related to other subjects are often overlooked and this has a limiting effect on achievement in reading. Opportunities to use learned writing skills in purposeful activities across the curriculum are also often missed and this has a limiting effect on the progress made in writing.

p.22

MATHEMATICS

Provision in mathematics is satisfactory .

p.22

Main strengths and weaknesses

• As a result, of more focused teaching, standards are rising but are not yet high enough in Year 6. • Achievement in Years 1 and 2 is good, but there are gaps in pupils’ learning in Years 3 to 6. • There is some good and very good teaching in the school, but inconsistencies in the curriculum have an impact on pupils’ learning. • Analysis of data is good, but ongoing assessment is weak.

p.22

Commentary

61. Standards in Years 2 and 6 have been well below average and still are in Year 6. Over the last two years, higher expectations and more focused teaching have brought about improvements. Standards are now better than they were and are more in line with those achieved in similar schools. However, standards in Year 6 are not yet high enough and too few pupils reach the levels expected for their age. Achievement in Years 1 and 2 is good. Pupils gain skills and understanding and make good progress. Achievement in Years 3 to 6 is not as good, as there are gaps in pupils’ learning as a result of problems caused by recent staff absences.

p.22

Commentary

62. Inspection evidence indicates that standards continue to be good in Year 2. Most pupils are working at expected levels and a number are working at levels higher than this. In the Year 2 class most pupils were able to solve addition and subtraction problems, although they found the vocabulary involved quite difficult. The more able pupils were confidently making up their own problems and used the mathematical language competently.

p.22

Commentary

63. In Year 6 there are major problems with gaps in pupils’ learning and although the teachers are working hard to make up for this, it will be difficult for them to reach the challenging targets set for this year group. The fact that they are taught in three different classes does not help in this. In the Year 6 class most pupils showed a basic understanding of equivalent fractions, but could not apply this to a task that involved changing to a common denominator. In a booster group pupils were working on mental calculations and it was obvious that they did not have the skills they needed and that they could have been expected to have. This limited their progress in this lesson. Greenfield Primary School - 23 64. The quality of teaching in mathematics is satisfactory overall, with some good and very good lessons in both key stages. But there are some inconsistencies in quality of planning, pace of

p.22

Commentary

lessons and match of work to individuals. In the best lessons:

p.23

Commentary

• planning is thorough with clear learning objectives; • the pace of the lesson is fast and all pupils are involved throughout; • there are clear explanations and an emphasis on pupils understanding key ideas; • and tasks match the needs of individuals.

p.23

Commentary

65. If these strengths are present, pupils learn well and make progress. In a Year 1 lesson for example, pupils successfully learnt to recognise coins, in a Year 3 lesson, pupils made gains in their understanding of place value, and in a Year 5 and 6 class, pupils worked on carefully differentiated tasks involving parallel and perpendicular lines and made strides in their learning. Unfortunately the monitoring and evaluating of teaching and learning is at an early stage and, whilst some of the weaknesses in teaching have been supported, the inconsistencies have not been addressed and the strengths have not been recognised so teachers cannot learn from each other.

p.23

Commentary

66. Although the school is working to the National Numeracy Strategy and teachers use the same basic planning framework, there is a range of different schemes and resources being used to support teachers’ planning and no agreed approach. This is not helpful for the development of skills through the school. Assessment at a whole school level is good. The headteacher has a clear idea of what the standards in mathematics are and how pupils progress from year to year. However, day-to-day teacher assessment is weak. It is not part of the planning process and as a result, sometimes teachers are not sufficiently aware of what skills have been learnt and where the weaknesses are. This affects their ability to plan for work to match the needs of individuals or to set targets.

p.23

Commentary

67. The mathematics coordinator has been absent for a long period and the headteacher and deputy headteacher have taken over the role to fill the gap. They have worked hard on analysing data and tracking progress and have correctly made mathematics a priority for development. They have identified weaknesses in teaching and have recognised the need to have a more consistent approach to planning and curriculum delivery. Some action has been taken, but things are not happening fast enough and the disparities in the curriculum are still having an impact on achievement.

p.23

Commentary

68. At the time of the last inspection standards were low, there was unsatisfactory progress in Key Stage 1 and some inconsistencies in teaching. Despite having been through a troubled time since then, expectations are now higher and standards in mathematics are improving. There are, however, still some inconsistencies in teaching quality and in the curriculum, and these have not been addressed. Until they are, standards are unlikely to improve further.

p.23

Mathematics across the curriculum

69. Pupils’ mathematical skills are satisfactory, but teachers do not plan to use them sufficiently in other lessons.

p.23

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Standards are rising in both Years 2 and 6. • Pupils acquire a good range of knowledge and understanding, but gaps in teachers’ subject knowledge sometimes have an adverse impact on teaching and learning. Greenfield Primary School - 24

p.23

Commentary

70. Although standards in science are still below those achieved nationally, they are improving both in Year 2 and Year 6. In particular, pupils in Year 2 are now reaching nationally expected levels, whereas at the time of the last inspection standards were well below the national average. Their achievement is good. The improvement in standards in Year 6 is faster than that being achieved nationally, although results in tests are still well below the national average. They achieve satisfactorily.

p.24

Commentary

71. The improvement in standards is largely due to a more systematic approach to teaching the subject using a national scheme of work. The science coordinator has ensured that there are now adequate resources to teach each aspect of the science National Curriculum. This is also an improvement that has helped to raise standards. Pupils in Year 6 still have gaps in their knowledge because of the disrupted teaching they have experienced in the past. For example, in Year 6, pupils have a poor understanding of forces. However, the Year 6 curriculum is designed to cover as much of the National Curriculum as possible and so fill in any gaps before pupils move to secondary school. Year 6 pupils were able to talk very clearly about work they had recently completed on plants and animals and were proud to show identification keys they had devised independently.

p.24

Commentary

72. Teaching is satisfactory overall, with some examples of good teaching in Years 1 and 2 and some unsatisfactory teaching in Years 3 to 6, when teachers’ subject knowledge is inadequate. Because the school has focused on developing other core subjects, only the science coordinator has benefited from in-service training. This means that that there are gaps in teachers’ subject knowledge. As a result, some difficult topics are not well taught, science investigations are often too teacher directed and assessment does not establish clearly what pupils understand before they move on to new learning.

p.24

Commentary

73. The latter is particularly important, as the newly implemented curriculum does not provide well for pupils moving through a series of mixed age classes in the school. Depending on which classes pupils encounter, they may miss sections of the National Curriculum altogether, or repeat other sections from one year to the next. The lack of rigorous monitoring and evaluation of the new scheme in operation means that this issue has not been addressed by the senior management team or by the science coordinator.

p.24

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

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

p.24

Main strengths and weaknesses

• There has been considerable improvement in provision and achievement since the last inspection. • Pupils use laptops regularly and confidently and are effectively developing their skills. • Teachers are planning well for the teaching of ICT skills, but do not provide pupils with enough opportunities to use these skills to support their learning across the curriculum. • The coordinator is not sufficiently focused on improving standards and the quality of learning in the school.

p.24

Commentary

74. Achievement overall is satisfactory. At the time of the last inspection pupils were found to have little access to computers and they had poor skills. Since then there has been considerable investment in ICT, and in particular the purchase of laptops which are now timetabled into classes. As a result, pupils have regular access to computers and are rapidly gaining skills. With the valuable partnership with the local secondary school, a technology specialist school, Greenfield Primary School - 25 pupils also have regular access to a broader range of equipment and this is furthering their experiences and their achievement across the whole range of the ICT curriculum.

p.24

Commentary

75. Inspection evidence indicates that standards are satisfactory, with most pupils reaching the levels expected of them by Years 2 and 6. For example, Year 2 pupils used ICT to generate images as they worked with a paint program and used tools to draw shapes, select colours and amend and improve their work. Year 6 pupils used ICT to present information in different forms as they created multi-media presentations, such as those linked to a topic on healthy living. Throughout the school pupils’ attitudes are positive. They are interested and often excited by what they can achieve when working with computers. They work with concentration and support each other well as they get on with the tasks they have been given to do.

p.25

Commentary

76. The quality of teaching has improved considerably since the last inspection, when it was deemed to be poor. The quality of teaching is now satisfactory, with some good lessons seen during the inspection. Teachers are now more confident and are supported in their planning by the adoption of national guidance. There is a common format for planning used by most teachers and this provides clear learning objectives and an idea of what the outcomes of lessons should be. When this planning format is used, the teaching is focused and effective. However, the planning lacks reference to assessment and so teachers are not always aware of what skills pupils have actually consolidated. As a result, there are times when some pupils, especially the more able in the class, are not being challenged by the tasks they are given to do.

p.25

Commentary

77. The coordinator is relatively new to the role and has a keen interest in the subject. However, he is not sufficiently aware of what is going on in the school in terms of teaching and learning and the standards being achieved, and his influence in this area is minimal. He is currently concentrating on developments in resources, but has not got sufficiently clear plans for the future in terms of overall development in the subject and how improvements in standards and quality will be achieved. The school has made considerable improvements since the time of the last inspection, but has some way to go to ensure that achievement is as high as it could be.

p.25

Information and communication technology across the curriculum

78. The school has made investments in resources and this means that pupils now have regular access to computers in order to gain the skills they need. In some of the ICT lessons there are clear links with other subjects, such as art and design and mathematics. During the inspection, Year 4 pupils worked with repeating patterns, Year 2 pupils were linking their computer designs with the pictures of Jackson Pollack and Year 5 pupils were learning to create databases. However, little use of ICT was seen outside the direct ICT teaching sessions and teachers do not regularly plan for the use of ICT to support learning in other subjects.

p.25

HUMANITIES

79. It was only possible to see one lesson in geography and two lessons in history , so work was only sampled and judgements were not made on provision in these subjects. However, there is every indication from pupils’ work and teachers’ planning that there is an adequate curriculum in place. Appropriate use has been made of national guidance to help teachers meet the requirements of the National Curriculum. The recently introduced curriculum framework effectively organises when the elements in the schemes are to be taught and fixes the time allocations to support suitable depth of study. This supports the development of knowledge and understanding as pupils move through the school except for those pupils in mixed age classes. This is recognised by the history coordinator as an area for development.

p.25

HUMANITIES

80. Teachers try to make the subjects relevant and interesting. For example, Year 2 pupils were taken to the local War Memorial so that they should learn about the significance of Remembrance Day. In a Year 6 history lesson the teacher used various methods to try to develop in pupils the idea of democracy linked to their work of the legacy of the Greeks. Greenfield Primary School - 26

p.25

Religious education

Provision in religious education is satisfactory .

p.26

Main strengths and weaknesses

• The breadth of the curriculum meets the requirements of locally agreed syllabus which is an improvement from the last inspection.

p.26

Commentary

81. Appropriate use has been made of the national guidance for delivery of the curriculum. The recently introduced framework effectively organises when the elements in the scheme are to be taught and fixes the time allocation to ensure suitable depth of study. Whilst this represents improvement since the previous inspection, the problem of ensuring the entitlement of pupils in mixed age classes remains a problem. The school is aware of this and the issue is to be taken up by the newly appointed coordinator.

p.26

Commentary

82. Evidence indicates that current knowledge and understanding in Year 2 is broadly in line with what is expected, but there are some gaps in Year 6. For example, in a Year 2 lesson pupils showed they understand what Christians believe about Creation, but are also aware of other stories about how the world began. In Year 6 evidence from discussion with pupils indicates a lack of sufficient depth in studies related to both Christianity and other major faiths. Some of the gaps in knowledge are due to disjointed provision during the time of staffing difficulties.

p.26

CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

83. No lessons were observed in design and technology or in music . In physical education , only two lessons were observed and a discussion took place with the subject coordinator. This limited evidence indicates that provision in physical education is satisfactory. The curriculum covers gymnastics, dance, games and swimming. Some older pupils experience adventurous activities during a residential visit, but this is not available to all pupils as a cost is involved. The standards and the quality of teaching seen in the two lessons were satisfactory. These lessons followed tightly structured plans with a clear progression of skills. Direct teaching helped pupils to acquire these skills and develop control of their movements. However, not enough attention was paid to reviewing and improving work and allowing enough time for pupils’ creative responses. The physical education coordinator provides satisfactory support to teachers, in

p.26

CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

particular through the collection of a bank of resources for lesson planning, but no monitoring of provision takes place.

p.26

CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

84. In art and design two lessons were seen and the work of pupils was scrutinised, but here was not enough evidence on which to make judgements on provision and achievement. Some good work was seen in some classes, but overall pupils are not producing the quality of work expected. This is mainly because of the way in which the curriculum is planned. In Years 1 and 2, there are periods of up to one and a half terms when pupils do not study art. Pupils’ experiences are limited, so by Year 6 they are not able to call on a wide range of knowledge and understanding of art and design to inform their own creative responses. At this late stage, they are still learning basic techniques and experimenting with materials.

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CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

85. An improvement in the provision for art and design is beginning, due to the introduction of a national scheme of work. Resources are being bought to enable this scheme of work to be implemented. In some cases, this allows pupils in Years 1 and 2 to reach expected standards, although older pupils are unable to follow the scheme at the required level. In some classes there is evidence of good teaching, where a wide range of materials is offered to pupils and there is a creative and developmental approach to teaching. However, in some classes teaching is weaker, as pupils’ choices are limited and there are few opportunities for pupils to evaluate and develop their work further. Greenfield Primary School - 27

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PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND HEALTH EDUCATION AND CITIZENSHIP

86. The arrangements for personal, social and health education (PSHE), including informing pupils about sex education and the dangers of drugs and alcohol, are satisfactory overall. Some teaching takes place in other subjects. For example, the importance of a healthy diet is carried out through direct and related subjects, for example, in science and physical education. The commitment of the staff to supporting this area, informally, ensures that pupils’ learning is consistently reinforced in day-to-day interactions and this makes a significant contribution to the achievement of all pupils. However, they have not yet incorporated PSHE into the whole school curriculum and do not monitor for effective delivery across the school. Greenfield Primary School - 28

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

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

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

Overall standards achieved 4 Pupils’ achievement 4

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

Pupils’ attitudes, values and other personal qualities 3 Attendance 5 Attitudes 2 Behaviour, including the extent of exclusions 2 Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 3

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

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

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

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

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

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

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