Blenheim Primary School

BLENHEIM PRIMARY SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 8 th - 10 th March 2004

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BLENHEIM PRIMARY SCHOOL

Inspection carried out under section 10 of the School Inspections Act 1996 Blenheim Primary School - ii 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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BLENHEIM 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. Blenheim Primary School - iii

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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: 182

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Lofthouse Place Leeds West Yorkshire

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Telephone number: 0113 293 0808 Fax number: 0113 293 7666

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: The Governing Body Name of chair of governors: Dr S Zaghloul

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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SCHOOL

This average sized, primary school is situated in the inner city of Leeds. The school roll of 182 pupils has stabilised after falling sharply when the school was threatened with closure. Over 75 per cent of the children come from ethnic minority groups; 27 different nationalities and 21 different languages are represented. A further 10 per cent come from families of asylum seekers and refugees. Approximately 40 per cent of pupils come from families where parents are attending courses at the University of Leeds.

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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SCHOOL

A high percentage of children come from families where English is an additional language (EAL) and many children start school already fluent and communicating well in their mother tongue, but not in English. The main languages spoken are Arabic, Farsi and Mandarin. Many families take their children on extended leave during term time to visit relatives in their countries of origin. Many more pupils join and leave the school at different times than is seen in most primary schools; about 35 per cent of the current roll have joined the school in this way. The school has a nursery, which is open in the morning only, with 18 children on roll. Whilst the full range of ability is represented, overall when children start in the reception class their skills and knowledge in most areas of learning are well below those typical for their age. The percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals (35 per cent)

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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SCHOOL

is above average. The percentage of children with special educational needs (SEN) (12 per cent) is below the national average but the percentage with statements of educational need is above. Most of these have either specific learning difficulties or behavioural problems. The current headteacher has been in post for almost two years. The governing body has changed significantly with only two of the present group serving at the time of the last inspection. The school is involved in a number of initiatives, which provide it with additional resources. They include Excellence in Cities (EiC), The Children’s Fund and the Single Regeneration Budget (SRB). In 2003 the school achieved the nationally recognised ‘Investors in People’ and the ‘Healthy Schools’ awards. Blenheim Primary School - iv

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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

1065 Mr J Hagan Lead inspector Mathematics Physical education Geography History 11084 Mrs J Hughes Lay inspector 17907 Mr M Bowers Team inspector The Foundation Stage English as an additional language Science Art and design 2810 Mrs C McBride Team inspector English Information and communication technology Religious education Music Design and technology Special educational needs

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM

CfBT incorporating Primary Associates Suite 13 West Lancs Technology Management Centre Moss Lane View Skelmersdale Lancashire WN8 9TN

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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). Blenheim Primary School - v

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED BY PUPILS 3

Standards achieved in areas of learning, subjects and courses

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED BY PUPILS 3

Pupils’ attitudes, values and other personal qualities

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL 7

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

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OVERALL EVALUATION

This is a sound school with some good features. Standards in the core subjects are below average. With sound and better teaching most pupils manage to overcome the barriers to learning they face; they achieve at least satisfactorily and often better. Children who arrive with no English do particularly well; higher attainers could achieve more. Leadership and management by the governors, headteacher and most of the key staff are sound. The school has, a strong ethos, high quality relationships and very good racial harmony. It 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

• Children who arrive with no English make excellent progress and receive high quality support; • Most pupils who stay at Blenheim throughout the infant or junior classes reach the national average levels at 7 and 11 years respectively; • Pupils have an impressive understanding of what it means to live in a culturally diverse society; • Standards in English, mathematics and science need to be raised; higher attainers could achieve more; • Systems for identifying and dealing with weaknesses in teaching and learning need to be sharper and more rigorous; • Pupils need more opportunities to develop skills in a systematic way in some non-core subjects such as music, history and art and design; and to practise skills of information and communication technology (ICT), problem solving and investigative work in different subjects; • Pupils’ attendance is poor and punctuality rates are unsatisfactory.

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OVERALL EVALUATION

The level of improvement since the last inspection has been satisfactory. Changes in leadership have affected the rate of progress but the governing body is more effective and now meet their statutory duties. Whilst the curriculum and teaching in the Foundation Stage is better, the need to ensure higher attainers are well challenged has not been fully met. Some key staff are still not effective enough.

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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 C E E* E* mathematics A E E* E science D D E* E* Key: A - well above average; B – above average; C – average; D – below average; E – well below average Similar schools are those with similar percentages of pupils eligible for free school meals.

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Whilst most pupils achieve at a satisfactory or better rate, higher attainers could achieve

more. The dismal picture of test results for the last two years is not an accurate reflection of pupils’ overall achievements. The E* indicates that these results were in the lowest 5 per cent of all schools, but this needs to be treated with caution. In 2003, only 11 pupils were in Year 6 and therefore each child accounted for 9 per cent of the total. Four pupils had SEN. There are also factors that are not taken into consideration when scores for each school are calculated: many pupils join or leave Blenheim at different times, some of whom speak little or no English and some families take their children on extended holidays. Pupils with SEN achieve well in relation to their capabilities. Those who have little or no English achieve really well. The school gives good support to children from families of asylum seekers or refugees; they achieve well despite a difficult start. Inspection findings indicate that standards are below average in English, mathematics and science

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Whilst most pupils achieve at a satisfactory or better rate, higher attainers could achieve

Blenheim Primary School - 2 at the ages of 7 and 11 with approximately 70 per cent of the current Year 2 and 50 per cent of the current Year 6 likely to attain the average levels for their age. Children achieve well in swimming, religious education, design and technology and they make good gains in their knowledge of scientific and historical facts. Children do not develop their skills as well as they might in some of the non core subjects or in their investigative and problem solving work in science and mathematics. In the Foundation Stage, children achieve well. Whilst they are on course to meet, or come close to meeting, the Early Learning Goals for their physical, mathematical and personal, social and emotional development, they are unlikely to do so in the other areas of learning.

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

are good. Their attitudes to work and behaviour are good. Levels of attendance are poor. Some pupils are regularly late for school.

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION

The quality of education provided by the school is satisfactory; teaching is satisfactory. Whilst over half of the lessons are good or better there are too many where higher attainers are not sufficiently challenged because the work does not stretch them. Support staff make a significant contribution to the teaching and learning for pupils with EAL. Pupils with SEN also benefit from good teaching in small groups. All staff have good relationships with the pupils; humour and praise are used effectively to raise their self-esteem and confidence. Pupils’ speaking and listening skills are well promoted; reading is taught satisfactorily, but handwriting is not taught well enough. The teaching of number is effective, but not enough attention is given to problem solving or investigations in mathematics and science. Amongst other subjects, the best teaching is in religious education and design and technology. The teaching in reception is consistently good; children learn at a fast rate.

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION

The school provides a very good range of after school activities. The curriculum successfully meets the needs of most pupils except for higher attainers. In some of the non-core subjects, history, geography, music and art and design it does not provide well enough for pupils to develop skills or use ICT to support their learning. The school ensures that pupils know how to stay healthy and safe and it sows the seeds of good citizenship well. Staff provide children with good levels of care and guidance.

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Leadership and management of the school by the headteacher and most key staff are

satisfactory. There is a very positive ethos, underpinned by good quality relationships within the whole school community. Systems for evaluating the strengths and weaknesses in teaching and learning are not effective enough. Governance is satisfactory. Governors give a clear lead to the school’s work in building on pupils’ wide range of cultural heritage and in promoting racial equality; the governing body is not as successful in acting as a critical friend to the school.

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PARENTS’ AND PUPILS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

Parents and pupils have very positive views of the school. Pupils enjoy school and appreciate the way the staff care for them. Parents are very happy with the wide range of after school activities and the way that the school helps their children to live in harmony.

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IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED

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

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IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED

• Raise standards in English, mathematics and science and ensure higher attainers are well challenged in all lessons; • Improve attendance and punctuality rates; • Improve the effectiveness of the procedures for identifying and dealing with weaknesses in teaching and learning; Blenheim Primary School - 3 • Improve the rate and opportunities for pupils to develop skills in some of the non-core subjects, problem solving and investigations and use ICT to support learning in different subjects.

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Standards achieved in areas of learning, subjects and courses

Standards are below average in English, mathematics, and science at the ages of 7 and 11, but given their starting point, most pupils achieve at a satisfactory or better rate throughout the school. Pupils in the Foundation Stage achieve well and their rate of progress is particularly good in the reception class.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Pupils with SEN are achieving well in relation to their capabilities; • Standards are below average in the core subjects; • Standards in geography and art and design at the age of 11 are not high enough; pupils could achieve more; • Children with EAL achieve well and particularly in the speech and communication skills; • Higher attainers could achieve more; • Pupils do not have enough opportunities to apply their ICT skills in other subjects.

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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 22.1 (23.8) 26.8 (27.0) mathematics 23.2 (25.6) 26.8 (26.7) science 24.3 (28.1) 28.6 (28.3) There were 11 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 2 – average point scores in 2003

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Commentary

Standards in: School results National results reading 14.0 (14.5) 15.7 (15.8) writing 13.1 (14.8) 14.6 (14.4) mathematics 14.9 (16.8) 16.3 (16.5) There were 28 pupils in the year group. Figures in brackets are for the previous year.

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Commentary

1. The school’s published test results are not fully reflective of pupils’ overall achievement by the ages of 7 and 11; they do not take into account all the factors that affect pupils’ progress. Many children join or leave the school at different times, some of whom speak little or no English; others are children of refugees or asylum seekers and need time to settle into school life. Some families take their children on extended holidays to visit relatives in other countries; these children often fall behind and this is a barrier to what would otherwise be particularly good achievement. Too many children are also late for school and miss the start of lessons. A small minority of children have SEN, often exacerbated by behavioural problems. Blenheim Primary School - 4 2. Most children start school with skills that are below those typical for children of their age. Some are already fluent and communicate well in their mother tongue, but not in English.

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Commentary

These children make rapid progress in their speech and communication and all of the children achieve at a satisfactory and sometimes better rate. Despite this positive start, by the end of their reception year, in communication, language and literacy they still fall short of the goals expected at this age. Whilst achievement is good overall, their rate of progress is faster in the reception class than it is in the nursery.

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Commentary

3. Pupils who join the infant and junior classes not speaking any language other than their mother tongue, make particularly good progress in developing English language skills and their achievement is better than any other pupil group in this aspect. In all subjects, many are on course to achieve at least the average for their age by the end of the key stage, but some of these leave before taking the national tests. Some pupils are the children of professional families or university students and they are generally of higher than average ability.

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Commentary

4. The school gives good support to children from families of asylum seekers or refugees and helps them to overcome the barriers of insecurity and anxiety that they feel on arrival. They quickly settle into the school community and achieve well despite a difficult start.

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Commentary

5. There are a number of children who speak English fluently, but come from families who speak in their mother tongue at home. These children make steady progress and achieve at least satisfactorily and sometimes better.

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Commentary

6. The small proportion of children identified as having SEN often do not reach national standards at the ages of 7 and 11, but achieve well in relation to their capabilities. The school is successful in helping those with behavioural problems to avoid exclusion and to achieve as much as they can.

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Commentary

7. The school has identified approximately one-third of its children as higher attainers. Although it has implemented ways of stretching especially able children, for example, in mathematics, overall this group could achieve more and reach even higher standards in their work.

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Commentary

8. Pupils’ skills in oracy develop particularly well and all achieve well because of the many opportunities that they have to speak and discuss during lessons. Most pupils achieve at least satisfactorily in reading and writing, but not in their handwriting. In the junior classes, writing standards could be higher, especially for the more able.

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Commentary

9. In mathematics throughout the school, children’s best achievement is in their knowledge and understanding of number work but they do not achieve as well with their problem solving skills.

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Commentary

10. In science, pupils’ knowledge and understanding of scientific facts is better than their investigative and experimental work.

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Commentary

11. In the other subjects of the curriculum, standards in religious education, design and technology and history are average and pupils achieve at least satisfactorily and often better in some aspects. In music, standards are close to average, but at the age of 11 in art and design and geography, they are below. In ICT, children do not achieve as much as they could and although pupils are working at average levels for their age, they do not have enough opportunities to use their ICT skills on a regular basis in other subjects.

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Commentary

12. In swimming, pupils achieve well because of the opportunities they are given in the junior classes. By the end of Year 6, the vast majority meet the national expectation for this age, of swimming 25 metres.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and other personal qualities

Blenheim Primary School - 5 Attendance rates are well below the national average; a persistent minority of pupils regularly arrives late. Pupils demonstrate good attitudes to work and their behaviour is also good. Provision for pupils’ personal, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, is good. Blenheim Primary School - 6

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Too many parents fail to ensure that their children attend school regularly and on time; • Pupils like coming to school; • Staff and pupils benefit from the very warm relationships that flourish here; • The school is a fine example of racial harmony and pupils’ understanding of multicultural diversity is impressive; • Pupils do not yet do enough for themselves in terms of researching or taking responsibility.

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Commentary

13. Parents speak with praise for the school and appreciate what it offers their children; unfortunately, this does not prevent far too many parents from keeping their children away from school far too often. This leads to lower than average attendance figures and interrupts pupils’ schooling to an alarming degree. Similarly, too many pupils arrive late in the morning because their parents pay little attention to the importance of a prompt start to the day. This is particularly noticeable in the nursery, where a good number of children are still arriving in dribs and drabs at 09.30am. When the issue is discussed, it transpires that many parents do not realise that their children miss out on a significant amount of learning, as a result. The very young children also find it hard to understand why they miss out on some of the most interesting activities, such as baking, because they have arrived when it is almost over. The

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Commentary

school analyses attendance data weekly and has tried numerous ways to improve attendance. Figures for the current academic year are pleasing so far, with attendance levels in line with the national average. The headteacher and learning mentor dedicate significant amounts of time to working with outside agencies, such as the local authority education welfare officer, to challenge parental inclinations; progress has been dishearteningly slow. On occasions, children have been left at school at 07.30am or at the end of the day for up to two hours; this is unreasonable as the arrangements have not been agreed with the school beforehand.

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Commentary

14. Pupils speak of the school in glowing terms. They enjoy lessons and feel very much at home here. They quickly realise that the school is a secure and appealingly happy place to be, where they are valued and cared for. The vast majority of children try hard to do their best in lessons; those who find it hard to concentrate are usually children with particular individual needs. Pupils behave well in lessons and around the school. There is a pleasant atmosphere at lunchtime and play outside is fun, but self-disciplined. Pupils respond well to the clear expectations of staff and know exactly what is acceptable. Pupils of all races mix well together. There have been three fixed period exclusions, all relating to one pupil, in the past year. The school’s procedures for dealing with any issues related to bullying are effective.

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Commentary

15. Impressively supportive relationships are at the heart of the school. Pupils take their lead from the adults who go to considerable lengths to make sure everyone feels welcome and valued. A variety of support staff ensure that all new children who arrive at the school, often from very difficult backgrounds, are made to feel safe and free from distractions which may stop them from learning.

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Commentary

16. Children in the Foundation Stage are very keen to come to school. They feel secure and are self-assured and confident. They have trusting relationships with adults, listen attentively and work well together, taking turns and sharing.

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Commentary

17. There is an effective approach to pupils’ spiritual development by staff. Examples of pupils’ good work are carefully displayed in classrooms and music plays around the school to create a warm ambience. Acts of worship contain core values common to many faiths and it is a compliment to the sensitivity of staff that no children have been withdrawn from collective worship over the last four years. For example, the headteacher ensures that Blenheim Primary School - 7 specific references to religious icons are replaced with the generic term God and this allows most pupils to participate in whole school worship.

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Commentary

18. Staff take care to ensure pupils follow a strong moral code in all they do. The school takes the issue of race equality very seriously and has run training sessions for staff. They set good examples about how to behave and encourage pupils to think clearly about those less fortunate that themselves. Pupils draw up the four basic school rules and enjoy working towards maximum ‘Golden Time’ each week. Similarly, pupils experience a full range of social experiences through the extensive extra-curricular programme of activities and the residential trips they participate in during their time in school. These help them to develop skills of leadership and co-operation. There is an established school council and children delight in effecting changes in school, such as improving the outdoor area and improving some of the lunchtime organisation. However, pupils do not yet fully run the council because they take their lead from staff. Similarly, pupils undertake little independent research in

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Commentary

lessons or at home to supplement their learning. Sometimes, staff do not persevere for long enough with new initiatives and this limits the progress pupils make in taking increasing responsibility around school. For example, when the Fruit Tuck Shop began, some pupils helped to run it. They proved argumentative and the scheme is now run by staff instead. This is arguably an easier option, rather than insisting on the very self-disciplined behaviour exhibited by dining hall and door monitors.

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Commentary

19. There is impressive provision to extend pupils’ multicultural knowledge and understanding, led by a very effective multicultural co-ordinator. The strong ethnic mix among staff ensures that pupils learn to respect the many different cultural backgrounds in school and to see this as an enriching experience. There is a wealth of resources such as dual script books and dictionaries, bilingual books and tapes and plentiful artefacts. Staff use the co-ordinator’s expertise wisely and this helps pupils to absorb fascinating insights throughout the school day. For example, different types of music can be used to beat out a rhythm in lessons and staff draw on personal experiences to bring alive assemblies. During periods of fasting, pupils are provided with an area for prayer and quiet reflection. The nurture group helps pupils to learn from each other and to value individuals’ backgrounds. All pupils see at first-

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Commentary

hand what it means to live in a modern, diverse British society and this prepares them well for future life experiences.

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Attendance

Attendance in the latest complete reporting year (%)

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Attendance

Authorised absence Unauthorised absence School data 7.5 School data 0.3 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. Blenheim Primary School - 8

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Exclusions

Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

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Exclusions

Categories used in the Annual School Census No of pupils on roll Number of fixed period exclusions Number of permanent exclusions White – British 40 0 0 White – any other White background 8 0 0 Mixed – White and Black Caribbean 12 0 0 Mixed – White and Asian 5 0 0 Mixed – any other mixed background 13 0 0 Asian or Asian British – Indian 5 0 0 Asian or Asian British – Pakistani 13 0 0 Asian or Asian British – any other Asian background 18 0 0 Black or Black British – Caribbean 15 3 0 Black or Black British – African 24 0 0 Black or Black British – any other Black background 3 0 0 Chinese 13 0 0 Any other ethnic group 21 0 0 No ethnic group recorded 1 0 0 The table gives the number of exclusions, which may be different from the number of pupils excluded.

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL

The quality of education provided by the school is satisfactory. There are satisfactory links with other schools and colleges and good links with the parents and local community. The school provides good levels of care for the children.

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Teaching and learning

The quality of teaching is satisfactory overall. It is successful in supporting the learning of all groups other than those identified as higher attainers.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Higher attainers need more challenging work in some lessons; • There is very effective teamwork between teachers and the support staff; • Teaching in reception is of a consistently good quality; • Relationships between teachers and pupils are very good; • Teachers do not always help children to understand clearly enough what they are learning and why, or how well they are doing; • All staff are good at preventing the minority of pupils who exhibit poor behaviour from disrupting the learning of others; • The teaching of communication and language skills is good, but handwriting is not taught well. Blenheim Primary School - 9 Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 37 lessons

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Main strengths and weaknesses

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactor y Poor Very Poor

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Main strengths and weaknesses

0 (0) 5 (14) 17 (46) 14 (38) 1 (3) 0 (0) 0 (0)

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Main strengths and weaknesses

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

20. Whilst it rarely dips below satisfactory, and over half of lessons are good, the quality of teaching is more successful for some groups than others.

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Commentary

21. In the Foundation Stage, pupils learn at a faster rate in the reception class than in the nursery. Teaching is better in the reception class; work is better matched to pupils’ needs because teachers keep careful assessments of children’s progress and know exactly where they are up to. Little time is wasted and activities are well organised. In the nursery, some learning opportunities are missed because assessments are not as well used to gauge the right level of work and children sometimes have to wait too long before starting work. The strong emphasis given to developing children’s speaking skills pays off, as pupils who start school with little or no English quickly learn to communicate.

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Commentary

22. This good start in language work is built upon throughout the rest of the school and teachers are particularly skilled at organising activities that enable children to develop communication skills. In this aspect most children make good or better progress throughout the school.

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Commentary

23. The quality of teaching of pupils learning EAL is good and, consequently, these pupils achieve well. In many lessons, careful planning identifies activities to help these pupils gain the relevant vocabulary. They are regularly encouraged to take part in class or group discussions, where they have good opportunities to practise their conversation skills. Younger pupils are expected to develop their use of sentences in both speaking and writing through the use of puppetry. Here adults are good listeners and engage with children to develop their language through questioning and visual stimulation. However, not enough use is made of role play in the Foundation Stage to give children further opportunities to practise these skills. Many young children who are beginning to learn English confidently speak to adults in their first language and because the teachers encourage and praise them, they start to include English words and phrases in their conversation. More advanced children

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Commentary

begin to write simple phrases and sentences before they move into the infant classes.

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Commentary

24. Pupils who find learning difficult receive very good support from teaching assistants and other adults. Teachers are good at organising their classes so that different groups can receive intensive attention at different times. The teamwork between class teachers and the teaching assistants is a strength of the school and has a significant impact on pupils’ learning. All adults are well briefed and know exactly what they are doing. In most small group sessions operating outside of the classrooms, the quality of teaching is good or better. Adults take every opportunity to use praise and rewards to boost children’s self-esteem and help them gain confidence in their work and social interactions.

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Commentary

25. Some pupils face additional barriers to learning in that their behaviour can be particularly challenging and they find it hard to concentrate and not to distract others. Teachers and support staff help these children to manage their behaviour, so that for the most part, they remain included in lessons and make good and at times better progress. Blenheim Primary School - 10 26. The teaching of literacy is sound or better throughout the school. Teachers have secure subject knowledge and in lessons children develop reading and writing skills at a steady pace. There are, however, inconsistencies in teachers’ expectations and as a result, handwriting is not taught as well as it should be and standards are not high enough.

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Commentary

27. In mathematics, the teaching of number and place value is strong but it is not as successful in helping children to use and apply their knowledge, for example, in problem solving and this is a similar picture in the teaching of science where investigative work is not tackled as well as it could be.

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Commentary

28. Amongst the notable strengths in the teaching is the quality of the relationships between teachers and pupils. Children’s interest and attention is often maintained through good humour and teachers’ willingness to take on pupils’ points of view.

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Commentary

29. Teaching is not always as successful as it might be for higher attainers and in some lessons their rate of learning is not as fast as it could be. Where this is the case, teachers are not clear enough about what they expect children to gain from a lesson. In some lessons, their expectations are the same for all pupils. Consequently, they set work which is too similar for all groups of pupils in the class. Where this is the case, more able pupils find the work too easy.

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Commentary

30. Although teachers identify in their planning what children are expected to learn, they do not always communicate this clearly enough to the children in simple child friendly language. During lessons, children are not reminded of the Learning Goals frequently enough and nor is a good enough recap made at the end of the lesson to see who has made the necessary progress or needs more help. When work is marked, too little reference is made as to how the pupil has achieved against the Learning Goals for the lesson. It is difficult, therefore, for children to understand how well they have done or how they might improve their work.

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Commentary

31. The quality of teaching overall is similar to that seen at the time of the last inspection. Whilst the proportion of good and very good teaching has increased, much of the teaching remains satisfactory. Some of the shortcomings identified at the last inspection, such as the level of challenge for higher attainers, are still evident. The Foundation Stage teaching has improved and particularly in the reception class where it is now consistently good or better.

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Commentary

32. Teaching in religious education and design and technology is good and as a result, the children’s rate of progress is good across all aspects of these subjects and they achieve well. ICT skills are taught well in the computer suite but teachers do not use ICT effectively in the classroom.

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Commentary

33. Overall, the procedures for assessing children’s progress are satisfactory. The best assessments of children’s progress are found in the reception class. Whilst the assessments of children’s progress in English, mathematics and science are used well most of the time to plan work for most groups, they are not always used as effectively to ensure higher attainers are well challenged. In some subjects such as art and design, history and music, assessment is not as well developed and this makes it more difficult to plan the next stages of work to ensure that children develop and build on their skills.

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The curriculum

The curriculum meets the needs of most pupils well, but is not successful enough in meeting the needs of higher attainers. Opportunities to enrich the curriculum through after school clubs and activities are very good. Accommodation and resources are adequate. Blenheim Primary School - 11

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• The curriculum for the Foundation Stage is good; • The school promotes children’s moral, social and cultural development very well; • The provision for pupils learning EAL is good; • The provision for pupils with learning difficulties is good; • There is a very good range of after school clubs and activities; • More emphasis needs to be given to developing children’s skills as well as their knowledge in some of the non core subjects; • Pupils do not have enough opportunities to use ICT across the curriculum.

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Commentary

34. Since the last inspection, there have been a number of improvements to the school’s curriculum. The provision for extra-curricular activities has significantly improved and there is now a very good range of after school activities. These include opportunities to participate in residential visits and outdoor pursuits. After school clubs take place on five evenings per week and include activities that enable children to improve, for example, their sporting, creative and reading skills. The school makes good use of a range of personnel, including their own staff and specialist coaches to give the children these opportunities, which they thoroughly enjoy and derive much benefit from.

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Commentary

35. The curriculum for the Foundation Stage is much improved since the last inspection and is now good. The adaptation to the existing outdoor quadrangle in the centre of the school’s building has ensured that children in reception class have daily access to good quality outdoor play activities. There is now a better balance of child and adult initiated opportunities although there are times in the nursery when opportunities to extend and develop children’s learning are missed.

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Commentary

36. The provision for pupils learning the English language is good. The curriculum is planned well to include the cultural norms and religious beliefs of the major ethnic groups who are represented. All pupils have full access to all the planned programmes of work and activities. Group activities and individual work away from the classroom usually takes place following a whole class introduction, and is completed in time for these pupils to take part in plenary sessions. This ensures that these pupils are fully included in all that happens in the school and their self-worth is enriched. Budget cuts have recently resulted in the loss of one of the second language interpreters. Although the school has access to similarly skilled volunteers, the absence of permanent members of staff occasionally makes it difficult to respond to some individual children’s language needs.

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Commentary

37. The provision for children with SEN is good. Effective use is made of teaching assistants and other adults to support these children when working in class or as part of a small group outside of their class. Good use is made of national strategies and other booster programmes to help children with their studies.

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Commentary

38. Good use is made of visits to extend children’s learning and provide them with first-hand experiences that enable them to gain a better understanding of the topics they are studying. The provision for swimming is good and better than seen in most schools, with children having the opportunities to take part in lessons during Years 4, 5 and 6.

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Commentary

39. The curriculum is less successful in meeting the needs of some of the higher attainers in some subjects. There are also aspects of some subjects which are not covered as well, such as investigative work in science and problem solving in mathematics, and as a result, some children do not achieve as much as they might in these areas. Overall, the curriculum does not provide children with enough opportunities to develop and show their initiative. Blenheim Primary School - 12 40. In history, a strong emphasis is given to children developing their knowledge and understanding of facts, but insufficient attention is given developing children’s skills in both this subject and in art and design.

p.16

Commentary

41. There is sufficient accommodation and enough resources to support children’s learning in most subjects. In English, whilst the library is new, the reference books in Year 6 are in poor condition. The school is well staffed and makes very good use of the classroom assistants and other adults to ensure that all children have equal access to the curriculum. Multicultural resources are very good and the school makes good use of these to support children’s cultural development and understanding of different faiths, festivals and traditions.

p.17

Care, guidance and support

The school makes good provision for pupils’ care, welfare, health and safety. Staff offer satisfactory support, advice and guidance to pupils. There are good opportunities for pupils to be involved in the work and development of the school.

p.17

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Specialist support staff make sure new pupils settle quickly into school routines; • The school makes sure that there is a safe learning environment; • Pupils’ voices are heard loud and clear through regular school council meetings.

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Commentary

42. An unusually diverse set of support staff work closely with the teachers to help pupils who join the school suddenly and who present particular SEN. The learning mentor liaises with parents about attendance and punctuality issues and also supports a number of children each week. Her input depends on their individual needs and is planned with the appropriate class teacher. A Key Skills Officer provides very good support for individual children or small groups of pupils who arrive in school with no English at all; she follows this up with ongoing assistance for those who need continued help. The Curriculum Parental Support Assistant supports a number of classes in the week. She provides specialist help for children who have just arrived or who have come back to school after a long absence. She devises support programmes with the class teacher’s help and liaises closely with parents so that they can offer appropriate help at home. She recognises that cultural variations may lead to

p.17

Commentary

some children missing out on certain daily experiences that others take for granted, such as shopping, and tries to redress the balance.

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Commentary

43. Staff know the pupils well and respect their cultural traditions and values; pupils state categorically that they could approach an adult with any concerns they may have. Whilst some assessment of pupils’ progress takes place, as yet, the systems are not rigorous enough to meet the needs of all pupils and this can be seen, for example, in the slower rate of progress of higher attaining pupils.

p.17

Commentary

44. There are good procedures in place to ensure pupils’ welfare, health and safety. The superintendent ensures that the site is tidy each morning before pupils arrive and there are effective systems in place, known to all staff and pupils, to make certain that the school can be quickly and safely evacuated in an emergency. Although there is a governor with responsibility for health and safety, any issues and risk assessments are usually addressed by the headteacher and superintendent. Sensible first aid arrangements are in place and well publicised. Lunchtime supervisors are trained to ensure they follow the same procedures. Blenheim Primary School - 13 45. The headteacher is temporarily designated as the adult responsible for child protection. Staff are aware of the systems in place to support vulnerable children and the school works closely with outside agencies whenever necessary.

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Commentary

46. Pupils are delighted that they are able to influence school routines through the regular school council meetings. They describe with pride how they have introduced a dinner rota, improved outdoor play equipment and supported the new fruit tuck shop. The school councillors are given time to gather the views of their peers and to report back on council deliberations. They justifiably feel part of democracy in action. So far, a teacher has taken the role of Chair of the council. The next step in increasing the impact of the council on pupils’ personal development would be to give full control over the meetings to the pupils.

p.18

Commentary

47. The school effectively follows national guidance in classifying pupils into three categories, ranging from those who are silent to those who have become largely independent speakers of English. These categories are listed for each class. When a pupil reaches the independent stages, he is removed from the listings. This informs class teachers in respect of the various stages of development in English these pupils are achieving. Overall, the school has sound systems to ensure that these pupils receive appropriate support and guidance.

p.18

Partnership with parents, other schools and the community

The school maintains good links with parents and the community. There is satisfactory liaison with other schools and colleges.

p.18

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Parents speak highly of the school; • Staff are outward looking and seek productive partnerships with colleges; • Community members enliven pupils’ experiences in and out of school; • Pupils transfer to too many secondary schools for links to be as strong as they should be.

p.18

Commentary

48. Parents like school and express positive views about it. They feel that staff take care to make their children happy and they know that any concerns they have will be speedily addressed.

p.18

Commentary

49. Staff capitalise on the vast ethnic diversity among parents that offers the school an opportunity to highlight distinctly the advantages of living in a community with such a rich cultural mix. Parents are very happy to be used as one of the school’s best resources and, when possible, they come in to talk about their customs and faiths or to cook food for pupils. The ‘international food fair’ during last summer was especially successful, for example. Some parents specifically move their children to Blenheim so that they can experience the wide ethnic mix and the very positive, racially harmonious atmosphere.

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Commentary

50. For its part, the school makes every effort to ensure parents receive detailed information about its expectations and routines. The majority of parents feel well informed about their children’s progress although some would welcome even more communication. Most families have one member who understands written and spoken English and for those that do not, the school provides the appropriate translated documents or calls on other parents to interpret for them. In this way, all parents know what the school’s priorities are and also have a clear picture of what their children achieve. The annual written reports to parents are evaluative and give clear indications about what children can do and set clear targets. Comments in English, mathematics and science are detailed, but some of the other subjects merely outline what pupils have studied and whether they have enjoyed them. Blenheim Primary School - 14

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Commentary

51. As many parents either work or are studying, few are able to make regular commitments to help in school. Nonetheless, they support school events and help out on visits. They are very generous and after trips abroad bring back a wealth of multicultural artefacts that are used to very good effect in lessons and displays around the school. Parents support the school’s efforts to improve behavioural issues. Some come in to monitor their own child’s behaviour and this has proved effective. In some extreme cases, where parents will not accept that their child is the cause of persistent disruption, the school provides videotaped evidence of poor behaviour and parental support is usually swift to follow. The headteacher takes care to canvass the views of parents on issues important to them and their children and they feel he and the staff are very approachable.

p.19

Commentary

52. There are good links between the school and the various ethnic groups it serves. It can call on many volunteers from these groups to translate letters, act as interpreters and generally help and support the school in its work.

p.19

Commentary

53. The school is held in high regard among local community members. They offer support with a number of initiatives and extend pupils’ skills, particularly in sports such as basketball and football. Close links with local community leaders are forged and one minister leads special assemblies and takes some classes for parts of their lessons. The ‘Read It’ initiative involves the wider community in pupils’ learning and older and younger community members are keen to be involved in this aspect of the school’s work. The children really enjoy working with them. The headteacher is committed to inviting the community into school whenever possible and several clubs use the school for ‘out of hours’ lettings. A holiday play scheme was held in the school during the summer. Sponsorship from local businesses and individuals helps pupils to participate in sports teams and there are several other links that support different curriculum areas. A local authority worker runs weekly steel pan workshops

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Commentary

that are eagerly anticipated by pupils. Their concentration is absolute during these sessions as they learn their parts and then perform in front of an audience.

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Commentary

54. The school faces difficulties in establishing a strong transfer system for Year 6 pupils. Last year, 11 pupils left and went to 7 different secondary schools. This issue is currently under review by the local ‘Family of Schools’ as staff try to find a more structured approach for such small numbers of pupils. Pupils are able to visit their next schools to gain some idea of what life there will be like. At present, there are no curricular links with the secondary schools.

p.19

Commentary

55. Some innovative links with colleges of further education bring positive benefits to pupils. Students from the University of Leeds participate in the ‘Campus Connect’ scheme that provides volunteers to come in each week and work with some pupils. This is a very productive relationship that brings benefits for pupils’ social development. Co-ordinated by the Learning Mentor, almost twenty community members, mainly students, come in each week to work with pupils either as mentors for art or reading, for example, or as tutors working as classroom assistants. All these volunteers establish supportive relationships with the children. A good number of students complete work placements at the school and they too, bring fresh ideas to share with pupils and staff.

p.19

LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

Leadership and management of the headteacher are sound. Governance is satisfactory. The governing body is a relatively newly formed group and is just getting into its stride. Whilst some key staff are doing a good job there are some who are not effective enough. Blenheim Primary School - 15

p.19

Main strengths and weaknesses

• The headteacher, staff and governors have established a very positive ethos and a climate where racial harmony is successfully achieved; • The systems for checking on teaching and learning are not as successful as they need to be and whilst some key staff are doing a good job others need to do better; • The systems for analysing and checking on the performance of different pupil groups is improving but more needs to be done; • Good use has been made of additional funds and grants to support children’s learning.

p.20

Commentary

56. Governance has improved since the last inspection, when the effectiveness of the governing body was heavily criticised. They are now doing a sound job and meeting all of their legal duties. The membership of the governing body has changed significantly since the last inspection. Most of the present group have joined recently and at this stage it is not possible to judge their overall impact. The membership is very representative of the whole school community and because of this they have a good understanding of the needs and aspirations of the very diverse intake that is represented in the school. There is a good range of expertise and knowledge among governors and they are very committed to building on the children’s own cultural heritage and promoting racial harmony. They have played an active role in establishing the policy for race equality and have set up a committee with the specific brief of evaluating the impact of this policy and supporting the school to maintain the high

p.20

Commentary

quality work it does in this area. Whilst they are supportive of the head and his staff they need to focus more sharply on their role as critical friend; they now need to ensure that issues identified through the school’s performance analysis and monitoring procedures are successfully followed through.

p.20

Commentary

57. In just over a year the headteacher has successfully led the school to achieve the ‘Investors in People’ and ‘Healthy Schools’ awards. He has quickly gained the confidence of parents, with the majority of them feeling that the school is well led and managed. He has actively promoted and established a successful school ethos where racial harmony is the norm and pupils with significant barriers to learning are able to achieve at a satisfactory and at times better rate. He has led the development of the extra-curricular programme to the point where it is now a strength of the school; it is much appreciated by the children and their families.

p.20

Commentary

58. Whilst he has initiated systems for monitoring and evaluating the work of the school, there is still much to be done. Although lessons are observed, not enough attention is given to pupil outcomes and learning and, as a result, some weaknesses in teaching and learning are not picked up; for example, lack of challenge for higher attainers or the quality and effectiveness of the marking of work. Suggestions made to staff to ensure appropriate levels of challenge for all pupils are not yet followed through with enough vigour to ensure the required improvements are made. The delegation of responsibilities is not wholly effective, for example, the teacher with responsibility for the Foundation Stage has little opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of the provision because of her other major responsibilities and lack of daily contact with the staff or children in this stage.

p.20

Commentary

59. There has been some improvement in the effectiveness of key staff since the last inspection but more remains to be done. Most subject leaders are providing sound leadership and management in their areas. There is good leadership in religious education but there are weaknesses in mathematics and science, where it is unsatisfactory. The assessment co- ordinator is having a positive impact on the development of the school’s procedures for tracking pupils’ achievement and progress, but it will be sometime before the full benefit of this is realised. Blenheim Primary School - 16 60. The management of finances is good. Very effective use is made of additional grants to support children who have barriers to their learning and those with SEN and behavioural problems. The learning mentor and key skills worker, both funded through grants, are well deployed and having a significant impact, for example, on pupils’ social development, self-

p.20

Commentary

61. The leadership of the school’s provision for EAL is good overall. There are informal systems in place to ensure that these pupils achieve well. The headteacher has compiled reliable information about the progress these pupils make and the local authority actively monitors and evaluates the various ethnic groups of pupils who attend the school. Good links have been made with the local authority team who support pupils whose mother tongue is not English; they visit the school to continually assess pupils’ progress and advise staff.

p.21

Financial information

Financial information for the year April 2002 to March 2003

p.21

Financial information

Income and expenditure (£) Balances (£) Total income 607875 Balance from previous year 24010 Total expenditure 573125 Balance carried forward to the next 34750 Expenditure per pupil 2954 Blenheim Primary School - 17

p.21

AREAS OF LEARNING IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

Provision for children in the Foundation Stage is good and has improved since the last inspection. Children are admitted to the nursery after their third birthday and enter reception in the September before they are 5. The nursery opens for the morning session only. Children achieve steadily in the nursery and well in reception. Whilst teaching overall is good throughout the Foundation Stage, some of the teaching observed in the nursery has weaknesses because time was not always used effectively, or opportunities were missed to involve the children in activities that further developed their speaking and listening skills.

p.22

AREAS OF LEARNING IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

The curriculum is appropriately planned to provide a wide range of interesting and relevant activities, which are well matched to the children’s needs. All adults set very good role models for the children and manage them well. There is a good ratio of adults to children, ensuring that the needs of all are well met. All staff work well as a team and, although children’s progress is carefully monitored throughout, the systems for recording what they accomplish are more advanced in the reception class. The accommodation inside is satisfactory and outside facilities are good.

p.22

PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Provision in personal, social and emotional development is good.

p.22

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Children achieve well because of the generally good teaching and the high expectations set by the staff; • Many opportunities are taken to enhance children’s development and many children are in line to reach the expected goals by the end of the year; • Occasionally, some younger children are left waiting for lessons to begin; this loses them valuable time and they lose their curiosity; • Supportive relationships are being established so that children feel confident and happy.

p.22

Commentary

62. The personal, social and emotional development of the current intake of children is better than it was at the previous inspection and is close to what is generally expected for their age. A large proportion of children have under developed English speaking skills because they are at the early stages of learning EAL. The younger children quickly learn the general routines by watching others who have spent a longer time in the nursery. They settle to tasks with the minimum of fuss and behave sensibly. They play alongside, but not with each other. The good or very good teamwork of the staff in the nursery and reception classes gives children appropriate role models and shows them the importance of being co-operative and working together in a calm and orderly atmosphere. The majority of younger children show interest in the activities available for them are able to make choices and concentrate well when they are

p.22

Commentary

not directly supervised. They are eager to learn. The older nursery children have made friendships with classmates and most are prepared to share equipment and to take turns.

p.22

Commentary

63. Children in reception are continually encouraged to feel confident about what they achieve and are reminded of the high standards that adults expect. They are friendly and take pride in their work. For instance, a child learning EAL brought his reading and writing book to show the inspector, so proud was he of the progress he was making. All children are encouraged to put up their hands when answering a question. When older children do not conform, they are dealt with firmly but fairly so they learn how to appreciate the needs of others within the group. Children are expected to clear up after themselves, which they do without much Blenheim Primary School - 18 prompting, and they feel secure and confident to seek help when required. The gains in learning evident in this area are because of the continual reinforcement of rules by adults and through treating each other and the children with courtesy and respect. This has led to

p.22

Commentary

trusting relationships and helps the children to succeed.

p.23

COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Provision in communication, language and literacy is good.

p.23

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Teachers and support staff take every opportunity to develop the children’s language skills and teaching is generally good; • Teaching is consistently good in the reception class.

p.23

Commentary

64. Although there are only 18 children registered in the nursery, two-thirds are at the earliest stage of learning EAL and are usually silent when they join the nursery class. These children make rapid progress, learning new vocabulary by watching, listening and copying the words that adults and other children speak. They quickly learn by association and will follow instructions to sit in front of the puppet theatre or go to the painting table, for example. The staff effectively organise opportunities for the children to listen and engage with them in conversation, asking them to repeat words, for example, as they make cakes and follow instructions. One child, having recently joined the nursery, confidently engaged adults in conversation using her own language yet including English words and phrases in her talk. Other children point to objects and utter one or two English words and adults quickly

p.23

Commentary

intervene to develop their conversation further. Children’s language is developed effectively in all other areas of learning. However, opportunities to extend role play to encourage further conversations are not always followed through.

p.23

Commentary

65. Most of the children make marks with pencils and the more advanced draw intricate figures and talk about these figures who are members of their family. They write their names and speak in basic sentences, such as ‘My mummy goes work’. Children watch and listen to puppet shows dramatising successful stories and some more confident children work the glove puppets and retell the narrative. The nursery children achieve well in this area, enjoying looking at picture books and pretending to hold conversations on the phone.

p.23

Commentary

66. Children in the reception class continue to develop their interest in books and they often choose a quiet time scanning reference books.

p.23

Commentary

67. The teacher regularly uses an adapted version of the literacy strategy to develop children’s linguistic skills and much of the work done is related to the development of initial sounds. Group activities are designed to extend children’s vocabulary and include pizza making, phonic games, writing menus and drama where children act out the plots in story books recently read to them. Good use is made of ICT to introduce the children to new vocabulary. Through clear explanations and careful questioning, children are taught to listen and to answer using sentences. Learning support staff are fully aware of their tasks and are instrumental in keeping the activities moving by helping and supporting the children.

p.23

Commentary

68. By the end of the year, most children write their own name and their emergent writing includes recognisable words and letters. More advanced children are beginning to write up to two sentences. Many children know how to hold a reading book and talk about the pictures. The more advanced children have achieved the expectations in this area of learning and are beginning to read the sentences under the pictures in their reading books. They are developing a visual memory and recognise words out of their usual context. Although these children make good progress through the Foundation Stage in this area of learning, a large Blenheim Primary School - 19 proportion of them will still not achieve the expected level because of the low starting point. Nevertheless, there has been good improvement when compared with the findings of the previous inspection.

p.23

MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Provision in mathematical development is good.

p.24

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Teachers plan a wide range of activities to support learning, which ensures that children achieve well; • Higher attaining children and those learning EAL make better than expected progress and achieve well; • Occasionally, the opportunities to include mathematical activities in other areas of learning are not sufficiently planned.

p.24

Commentary

69. Teaching and learning is sound in the nursery and good in the reception class. Children in the nursery recognise number digits and identify the number 1 to 4 when they play, for example, an aiming game, throwing a beanbag into a circle that includes that number. More advanced children confidently work with numbers to 9. All children enthusiastically join in number songs, where they practise their skills of counting backwards to gain an early understanding of the process of subtraction. When they bake gingerbread men, they count out quantities of ingredients to gain a good understanding of such language as ‘heavy’ and ‘light’. Their application of number to the development of an understanding of money values is underdeveloped. Children do not involve themselves in play transactions in the shop. Toys for sale are not priced up, so children do not have opportunities to discriminate between a higher priced toy at 5p and a lower priced item at 3p. Such activities would enable adults to

p.24

Commentary

engage the children in mathematical conversations. Children can recognise some two- dimensional shapes.

p.24

Commentary

70. Reception children continue to extend their knowledge of two-dimensional shapes. They are beginning to recognise sets of objects according to their colour or shape. However, they cannot collect sets of, for example, ‘blue triangles’ or ‘red squares’. More advanced children are beginning to work with numbers above 10 and can recognise patterns of two when they order pairs of shoes during a mathematical investigation. Children organise recurring patterns, threading shapes according to colour and shape to construct a necklace of ‘red triangles’ and ‘yellow circles’. Children are confident in using positional language, such as ‘under’, ‘above’ and ‘forward’. They carefully describe their following of a route marked by bricks in the outside play area, moving 5 squares forward, turning, 3 squares to the side, 4 squares back, as they complete the route. Children continue the work related to capacity that

p.24

Commentary

begins in the reception class. They recognise that ingredients for making pizzas include variable quantities and begin to understand such language as ‘more than’ and ‘less than’. All these practical activities prepare the way well for future learning and are very appropriate for this stage of development, ensuring that children sustain interest and do not become bored. Achievement is good and many children are achieving standards that are close to the expected levels for their age. Blenheim Primary School - 20

p.24

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Provision in knowledge and understanding of the world is good.

p.25

Main strengths and weaknesses

• A range of interesting activities is planned to promote learning in this area; • Staff use questioning effectively to enhance children’s knowledge and understanding of the world about them; • ICT is used effectively to help children to develop their language.

p.25

Commentary

71. Teaching and learning are good and children achieve well. However, because of the large numbers of children learning EAL, fewer than usual numbers are in line to achieve levels expected for children of this age. Teachers plan a good variety of interesting activities to stimulate children’s curiosity and enhance their understanding. A particular strength of this area of learning is the celebration of cultural and religious festivals, such as Eid, Diwali, the Chinese New Year and Christmas. This gives children very good insights into the customs and beliefs of their classmates, is instrumental in preparing them for the multicultural environment of the 21 st Century and creates a positive atmosphere of racial harmony. Children sketch the spring flowers they see in the school grounds, they examine and plant seeds and know what compost is and how it feels. They are beginning to understand what a seed requires to make it grow and flourish, although they do not use magnifiers to make

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Commentary

more exact observations. Children pore over reference books to become aware of the great variety of life about them. They work with dry and wet sand and involve themselves in water play. Adults intervene well to question them about what they are doing and what they are finding out. This challenges children to talk about the tasks and activities they have chosen. They see that ingredients change when they have been cooked. A good programme of fieldwork visits within the close locality gives valuable insights into the nature of their immediate world, changes in seasons and weather patterns. Computers are used effectively to support the children’s learning. The least developed aspect of this area of learning is an introduction of a sense of the past.

p.25

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Provision in physical development is good.

p.25

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Children are energetic and confident when using outside equipment; • Older children are beginning to create their own repertoire of movements in gymnastics and dance lessons; • Insufficient opportunities are provided to extend nursery children’s activities in the outside play area into other areas of learning.

p.25

Commentary

72. Indications are that children are in line to meet the expected goals by the end of the year. There is good access to the outdoor play area with provision extended to an outdoor quadrangle (reception) and a designated play area (nursery), together with a natural environment area. Children in the nursery ride their tricycles energetically and are mindful of others. They share these resources responsibly and respond to the directions of adults. However, opportunities to include role-play alongside these activities are missed and, consequently, children do not develop conversational skills or take on roles such as, petrol pump attendant or traffic policeman. Older children benefit from good teaching in gymnastics Blenheim Primary School - 21 and dance. They respond well to music, creating their own dance routines and they learn to climb, jump and land safely when using climbing equipment. Children roll, twist, stretch, curl

p.25

Commentary

and balance as they travel around the equipment. Children achieve well in their development of fine manipulative skills. They use pencils, crayons and paintbrushes with increasing confidence and accuracy as they move through the Foundation Stage. Their use of scissors is accurate and safe and they gain the relevant skills of threading and handling components of construction kits when they construct necklaces or assemble models.

p.26

CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Provision in creative development is satisfactory.

p.26

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Learning support assistants contribute well to this area of learning; • Role play is insufficiently developed.

p.26

Commentary

73. Children in the nursery confidently use the computer to create their own musical rhythms. They sketch and paint with flair, forming images of themselves, their classmates, members of their families and spring flowers. They use recyclable materials well to form models of buildings, applying glues and adhesive tape to ensure their products are well joined. There are good opportunities for children to be involved in imaginative play, but role play is not extended to enable them to experiment with language and develop their conversational skills. All children have opportunities to work with paint and develop skills such as colour mixing. These activities are built on well and taken further in the reception class.

p.26

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Pupils who arrive at school speaking no English make very good progress because they are keen to learn and they receive skilled teaching; • Pupils with SEN achieve well; • All pupils achieve well in their speaking skills; • Standards are below average and pupils do not achieve well enough in handwriting.

p.26

Commentary

74. As an indicator of standards, test results are an unreliable picture. At best, in some years at the ages of 7 and 11, pupils’ test scores are in line with national figures and well above those of schools with pupils from similar backgrounds; in other years, they are well below the national average and below those of similar schools. Given the proportion of the pupils who arrive or leave at different stages in the infant and junior classes, the data is not reliable enough to pinpoint any significant trends. Teachers’ assessments of pupils’ attainment have proved to be accurate, and with inspection findings they show that, of the current pupils in Years 2 and 6, about 50 per cent are on course to reach the average or higher levels.

p.26

Commentary

75. Achievement for most pupils is at least satisfactory, and for some it is much better. Pupils who arrive at school speaking only their mother tongue, with no English, make rapid progress and achieve really well in a short space of time. They show determination and Blenheim Primary School - 22 excellent attitudes to their work. Across all ethnic groups, higher attainers could achieve more and the school has fewer pupils reaching higher levels than could be expected, particularly in writing at the age of 11.

p.26

Commentary

76. Pupils with SEN make good progress in relation to their difficulties in reading and writing because they are well supported in each class. The school makes good use of extra funding and national initiatives to boost the achievement of these pupils, and they gain a great deal from working with teaching assistants in small groups. During lessons, for example, assistants will often sit with them and prompt them with work or help them to maintain their concentration when the teacher is giving instructions.

p.27

Commentary

77. Extra help is also given to pupils learning EAL. They too are often taken to one side in a small group to work on developing language skills so that they can access the same lessons as everyone else. Two pupils from a Year 4 class, for example, worked in a small bay outside their classroom and learned about the names of different seasons and their characteristics. This enabled them to have a better grasp of the work done by the rest of the class in classifying information about the weather. The teaching input during these sessions is of high quality throughout the school.

p.27

Commentary

78. The most marked achievement of both infant and junior pupils is in speaking and listening. This is the consequence of the school’s determined efforts to improve pupils’ literacy skills through raising their achievement in oral communication. Most lessons are characterised by opportunities for pupils to discuss their ideas about particular points; even the youngest pupils do this sensibly and productively. In a Year 2 class for instance, when they were writing dictionary definitions for different animals, the teacher built in time for pupils to discuss their ideas with each other. This resulted in them arriving speedily at an accurate definition. At other times, good use is made of role play and drama to engage pupils’ interest and to provide a stimulus for work.

p.27

Commentary

79. Reading skills are promoted satisfactorily; pupils achieve well in developing an interest and enjoyment of books. Teachers set a good example by reading enthusiastically when sharing books with the whole class. Pupils are encouraged to read at home and the school provides a good range of books reflecting different cultures and languages, so that parents can help. There are a good number of voluntary helpers who come into school and share books with children. Pupils’ skills in using books to find information are not as well advanced as they should be in the older classes. This has much to do with the schools under developed library provision, which was noted at the time of the last inspection and has only recently been addressed. Some reference resources are still in need of replacement; in Year 6, for example, the quality and quantity of dictionaries and thesauruses is unsatisfactory. Pupils do

p.27

Commentary

not keep them to hand or use them habitually as an aid to writing, as there are too few to go round.

p.27

Commentary

80. In the infant classes, writing is taught well and pupils make good progress in learning how to use correct punctuation and spelling. Teachers make good links between pupils’ reading and writing skills, for example, in helping them to break down new words for spelling. Most pupils are confident to write and some produce a good volume of work.

p.27

Commentary

81. Whilst teaching is never less than satisfactory, some lessons in the junior classes need to take pupils’ learning on further and stretch higher attainers more; they are not always challenged with hard enough work or pushed to produce better quality writing than others. The learning needs of different pupils also require greater recognition. For example, having made good use of whiteboards to record important points, teachers wipe them clean as the lesson moves on. This means that pupils who rely on visual clues to learn have less chance of recalling new vocabulary or ideas for writing at a later stage. The weakest achievement for pupils in the junior classes is in handwriting. Not enough attention is paid to ensuring that pupils quickly develop a joined, cursive style or that they write neatly enough. 82. Some teachers evaluate their teaching methods thoughtfully and have altered their methods

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Commentary

in response to pupils’ needs. In one case, the teacher of a junior class was not happy that Blenheim Primary School - 23 pupils’ reading skills were progressing fast enough; she reorganised her day so that it provided a more concentrated spell of time outside the designated ‘literacy hour’, for the coaching reading skills with small groups. Others are not so adventurous and press on with teaching methods that do not offer as much scope for increasing the pace of learning.

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Commentary

83. Leadership and management of the subject are satisfactory. The subject leader has an accurate picture of standards across the school but more attention needs to be given to checking on the teaching and learning to identify strengths or areas of weakness. Staff have received good guidance on how to improve children’s writing and the assessment of children’s progress in writing is developing well under her guidance.

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Language and literacy across the curriculum

84. This is satisfactory. The school has given this due consideration and teachers ensure that pupils have opportunities to practise their writing in different forms; however, the quality and quantity of their work varies between subjects. In history, for example, a good volume of written work is produced in the form of reports or the retelling of events; pupils in Year 4 record their work in religious education in the form of a diary. Whilst these links are made, the extent to which they reinforce the skills that pupils are learning in their literacy lessons is random. For instance, pupils may be learning the main features of diary writing at a different time to when they are using this form in another subject; this is not making the most of opportunities to reinforce skills in a relevant way. Pupils have ample opportunities to develop speaking and listening skills. In almost all lessons the teachers build in a time when pupils

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Language and literacy across the curriculum

can discuss and listen to the views of others. The use of drama and role play in different subjects gives a boost to those pupils at the early stages of learning English, as they can follow a story line and communicate ideas through the action.

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MATHEMATICS

Provision in mathematics is satisfactory.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Standards are below average; • The school is not as successful in supporting the learning of higher attainers as it is with the other groups; • Children achieve best in their understanding of number work and place value; • Children need more opportunities to participate in problem solving and mathematical investigations and learning about shapes and measures; • Weaknesses identified at the time of the last inspection have not been addressed.

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Commentary

85. The national test results at the ages of 7 and 11 do not provide a reliable picture. They fluctuate considerably. For example, in 2001 at the age of 11 they were well above average but in 2003 they were in the lowest 5 per cent of the country. In the same two years for pupils aged 7, the results swung from average to well below average. When compared with similar schools at the age of 11 for the same years, they moved from being in the top 5 per cent to being well below average. A lot of children arrive or leave the school at different times in both the infant and junior classes and therefore the data needs to be treated with great caution. Based on the teachers’ assessments and the inspection findings, about 70 per cent of the pupils in the current Year 2 and 50 per cent of the current Year 6 are on course to reach the average or higher levels. Standards are similar to those found at the time of the last

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Commentary

inspection. 86. Most pupils achieve at a satisfactory or better rate, but higher attainers across all ethnic groups could achieve more. The school has identified a number of children as gifted and Blenheim Primary School - 24 talented in mathematics. They have made effective use of additional funding to enable these children to be taught together one day per week. This is having a positive impact on these children but too often, in their other lessons, they are doing work that is the same as for other children. When this is the case they tend to mark time rather than make new gains in their learning. The best achievement is made in children’s understanding of number work and place value. They do not do as well in problem solving, investigations or data handling because not enough emphasis is given to these aspects.

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Commentary

87. The quality of teaching is satisfactory overall. The school relies heavily on the use of a commercial scheme. Whilst it is well used to help a lot of children and particularly those with little English and those with SEN to make satisfactory progress, it is not always used effectively enough to support higher attainers. Teaching is not always as successful as it might be for this group and in some lessons, their rate of learning is not as fast it could be. Where this is the case, teachers are not clear enough about what they expect children to gain from a lesson; in some lessons their expectations are the same for all pupils. Consequently, they set work which is too similar for all groups of pupils in the class. Where this is the case, more able pupils find the work too easy. Too often the teaching is driven by the scheme and all the children work at a similar level. For example, in a Year 1 lesson all

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Commentary

the children were working on recognising 1p, 2p and 5p coins when some of the higher attainers could already identify all the coins up to and including £2.

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Commentary

88. Children with SEN and those for whom EAL are well supported in lessons because the teachers make effective use of their classroom assistants. They help these children to overcome barriers to the learning and give them the confidence to have a go and experience success. In the best lesson seen, all the different groups in the Year 6 class achieved well and higher attainers were particularly well challenged by the activities they were given. Both the adult helpers provided well focused support for the children they worked with and this enabled one child who had little English to be fully included in the lesson and two boys with behaviour problems to maintain concentration and make gains in their learning. Teachers have very good relationships with their pupils and as a result, children enjoy their mathematics lessons. They regularly receive praise and encouragement, which gives them the confidence to have a go even when difficulties arise.

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Commentary

89. The leadership and management of the subject are unsatisfactory. There are two reasons why this is so: firstly some of the important issues identified for improvement in the last inspection have not been addressed. More still needs to be done to ensure that higher attainers are well challenged, that children have sufficient opportunities to complete investigations and use ICT to support their learning in lessons. Secondly, whilst there is some evidence of monitoring and evaluation of teaching and pupils’ work, it is not having a positive impact because it lacks rigour and does not focus sharply enough on pupil outcomes.

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Mathematics across the curriculum

90. Whilst it is satisfactory, children could use mathematics much more in other subjects. They are given opportunities to measure and calculate during science and design and technology lessons. They use negative numbers in context, for example, when measuring temperature and handle data in science and ICT lessons. Blenheim Primary School - 25

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Pupils learning EAL achieve well because of the practical nature of much of the work; • Many lessons include the introduction of investigations; • Planning does not take into account the more advanced National Curriculum levels; • Too little use is made of ICT to support science; • There is a lack of a rigorous tracking system to ensure pupils progress from year-to-year; • Whilst individual teachers manage the subject well and have good subject knowledge, there is an overall lack of effective leadership.

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Commentary

91. Standards are below average for pupils aged 7 and 11. This is because these classes have more children with SEN. The progress of the present Year 6 class has been affected by a lack of consistency in the teaching, caused by illness and the use of temporary teachers. The current arrangements for the teaching of this class are effective and pupils are beginning to make acceptable progress.

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Commentary

92. Teacher assessments for Year 2 pupils in 2003 indicated that, whilst few of them achieved the national standards when compared with all schools, average numbers achieved the higher level. When comparisons were made with similar schools, greater than average numbers of pupils achieved the national standard with very high numbers achieving the higher level. In the national tests for Year 6 pupils, standards were well below the expected levels when compared with the national standard and with similar schools. The standards achieved by pupils vary from year-to-year and are adversely affected by the continual movement of pupils in and out of the school. This makes it difficult for class teachers to plan their work to meet the continuing changes in the make up of their classes and to build on previous learning. No differences were observed between the achievement of boys and girls and all achieve satisfactorily. Pupils with SEN achieve well in relation to their capabilities.

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Commentary

Those learning EAL also achieve well, especially in learning the new vocabulary associated with scientific terms. However, planning for many lessons does not always include work that is more challenging for the higher attaining pupils. All pupils do the same tasks and this restricts opportunities for these pupils to achieve at a higher level.

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Commentary

93. In the lessons seen during the inspection, teaching varied between satisfactory and very good. Overall, teaching is satisfactory in Years 2 and 4, it is good in Years 3 and 6 and very good in Year 1. Teachers’ subject knowledge is secure; their planning showed a clear focus and practical tasks were identified. Many pupils showed good levels of interest and enthusiasm for the subject and concentrated hard. In a very good lesson, the teacher’s planning provided for the various levels of ability and, consequently, all pupils were challenged by the activities. For instance, when Year 1 pupils were investigating magnetic force and its effect on various materials, those learning EAL were provided with sheets that included illustrations. This helped them to understand the nature of the task and to make very good progress, recording their predictions and the results of their investigations.

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Commentary

94. Lessons are organised efficiently and managed well with good control. Skilled and enthusiastic support staff make a good contribution to pupils’ learning and teachers’ explanations are clear and supported by precise questioning. The scheme of work has successfully identified opportunities for the development of fair testing within investigations. However, the school has not formulated a programme of investigative work that builds on previous activities to increase pupils’ skill levels as they move through each National Curriculum year. The importance of the development of scientific vocabulary is recognised, Blenheim Primary School - 26 but there is no overarching policy to, for example, introduce pupils to key scientific words and phrases at the beginning of a project. 95. The school continues to grapple with the challenges of the high mobility of its pupils and the large numbers learning EAL. Mathematics is used effectively to help pupils identify patterns

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Commentary

in their tables of results, as recorded during the last inspection, but ICT is not used systematically to support teaching and learning. The science scheme of work does ensure that there is a practical approach to the subject.

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Commentary

96. The leadership and management of the subject are very weak and lack drive or initiative. There is no official view of the current level of standards in Year 6 and the school does not have an opinion as to where the strengths and areas for development of teaching lie. Lessons are not monitored and the progress that pupils make year-on-year is not tracked effectively.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

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

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Good use is made of resources from outside the school to develop pupils’ skills; • Pupils are really enthusiastic about their work in ICT; • Too little work is undertaken other than at times allocated for each class in the computer suite.

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Commentary

97. Standards are average at the ages of 7 and 11 years, but they could be higher by Year 6 and achievement could be much better. Few pupils attain higher levels, although they have the capability to do so. Whilst there have been improvements in provision since the last inspection, pupils do not have enough opportunities to develop their skills effectively. The ratio of computers to pupils in the school has increased and each class now has a weekly lesson in the computer suite. Teachers are more confident than they were and the quality of lessons in the computer suite is good overall. In between these sessions, however, there is too little opportunity for pupils to apply the skills they have learned or to make regular use of ICT in their everyday work; computers in the classrooms are not used to their full potential.

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Commentary

98. By Year 2, most pupils are proficient at organising information, for example, as graphs. Typically, they undertake a survey of eye colours in the class, use a graphing program to store and present their data; they then identify the most common eye colours. Pupils also explore different software and computer program to present information in different ways, such as drawing.

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Commentary

99. In the junior classes, pupils’ strongest achievement is also in data handling. Their skills develop satisfactorily. By Year 6, they are able to evaluate information, check its accuracy and present it in different ways, for example, as graphs or pie charts.

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Commentary

100. The school is finding inventive ways to resolve some of the barriers to development; for example, they are part of a small consortium of schools which makes use of government funding to purchase the services of the technician for a day each fortnight. This means that technical problems are kept within reasonable bounds and machines are mostly in service. Older pupils visit a local City Learning Centre to develop their understanding and ability in controlling devices. For example, they put together a sequence using control box software to control an output device, such as traffic lights. Pupils’ achievement in this aspect is better than it was at the time of the last inspection.

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Commentary

101. Leadership and management of the subject are satisfactory. The teacher with responsibility guides and supports colleagues and manages the running of the computer suite well. The Blenheim Primary School - 27 computer suite is a useful resource but it needs to be used more effectively to provide a greater range of opportunities for pupils to develop their skills. The subject leader now needs to push developments forward at a faster pace by challenging staff to set their sights even higher.

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Information and communication technology across the curriculum

102. This is weak. Pupils make only minimal use of ICT to develop their work in other subjects. In science, for example, pupils’ knowledge in data handling is not applied in recording the findings of experiments or in researching information about the topics they study. Some good research work is undertaken in history, but pupils’ could develop their skills of historical enquiry further; for example, in using a census database to search for information and identify patterns of change.

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HUMANITIES

In humanities work, history and geography were sampled with no lessons observed in geography and only two in history. It is not possible, therefore, to make an overall judgement on provision. Based on discussions with children, key staff and an analysis of pupils’ work, standards in history are typical of those seen in most schools at the ages of 7 and 11 but are below average at the age of 11 in geography.

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HUMANITIES

Overall, children achieve at a satisfactory rate in history, but could achieve more in geography. Teachers place more emphasis on the acquisition of knowledge in history and as a result, children make better progress in their knowledge and understanding of historical facts than they do in developing the skills to research and interpret information. In a good lesson seen in Year 3, the work was well matched to the needs of the different groups and effective use was made of the classroom assistant to support children who needed additional help. By the end of the lesson, most children could identify differences in life in Tudor times compared to today. Whilst better use could be made of ICT to support children’s learning in both subjects there is some good work going on. In Year 4 pupils have produced their own newspaper,’ Blenheim Times,’ which contained accurate accounts of the jobs of a Roman emperor and soldier. In Year 2, children have good knowledge of famous

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HUMANITIES

people and events, such as Guy Fawkes and the Great Fire of London. Children enjoy their history and during the inspection Year 4 were busy preparing their questions about life during World War 2 for a member of the local community who had lived through it.

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HUMANITIES

In geography, the best progress is made in developing mapping skills. Opportunities to draw on the wide cultural diversity of the pupils to support and extend children’s understanding in the subject are missed. There was a very good example in Year 5 of children comparing Leeds with a city from their countries of origin. However, this effective use of the children’s own backgrounds to share their knowledge to extend learning for others is not used as well as it could be. In order to improve standards and children’s achievement in geography the curriculum needs to focus more on skill development.

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HUMANITIES

The subject leader has a wide range of other responsibilities and does well to keep a watchful eye on the humanities. She has a clear understanding of the strengths and weaknesses through checking pupils’ work and discussing it with them and has plans in place to bring about improvements. Blenheim Primary School - 28

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Religious education

Provision in religious education is good.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Pupils achieve well in learning about religion and in learning from it; • The school draws well on its parents, pupils and teachers as a resource for learning; • Good use is made of oral and drama work to enrich pupils’ learning.

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Commentary

103. Most pupils achieve well and reach standards that are in line with those outlined in the locally agreed syllabus. This is a similar picture to that at the time of the last inspection.

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Commentary

104. Pupils have regular opportunities to learn about the important festivals of major religions. The curriculum has been adapted to ensure that teaching successfully draws from pupils’ cultural backgrounds and different religious beliefs to develop their knowledge and understanding of other faiths. All pupils study the Christian, Muslim and Hindu religions as these reflect the main faith groups in the school; pupils are therefore able to make a strong contribution to everyone else’s learning. A good range of artefacts has been built up over time; teachers, parents and pupils all make a generous contribution and have gathered an invaluable bank of resources made up of items with religious significance to their different faiths.

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Commentary

105. The school is able to call upon pupils, parents and visitors to explain aspects of their belief or traditions. At both key stages this greatly strengthens pupils’ knowledge of the ways of belonging to a religion and what these involve. It also underpins the high degree of racial harmony, which is a notable strength of the school. Major religious festivals are celebrated, so that pupils have many opportunities throughout the infant and junior classes to gain an appreciation and understanding of festivals such as Diwali and Eid. It is not surprising therefore, that with such access to so many first-hand resources and experiences, pupils achieve well in learning about religion.

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Commentary

106. Pupils achieve equally well in learning from religion. Lessons are of good quality at both key stages and teachers make good use of discussion to help pupils reflect upon and respond to ideas and experiences of life and religion. In the infant classes, pupils begin to explore and share their own ideas and feelings on what is important to them, such as their homes and families. They learn about the main events in the life of religious figures and make connections between these and their own experiences. Year 1 pupils, for example, discussed Jesus and his friends and reflected on what it meant to be a good friend. Pupils in Year 4 took this theme further by discussing the attitude of Jesus to his friends and their response to him in the events leading up to Easter. Teachers also organise role play and drama activities, which successfully support this exploration of ideas.

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Commentary

107. The subject is led and managed well. The teacher with responsibility has determinedly taken up the challenge of shaping the curriculum in response to the very diverse cultures and religious traditions of the community. There is still room for improvement, however, in the rigour with which weaknesses in teaching and learning are identified.

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CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

In art and design , work on display was sampled, but no lessons were seen. It is therefore, not possible to make an overall judgement about the provision in this subject. The evidence of pupils’ completed work indicates that standards are below average by Year 6. Year 2 pupils have standards appropriate to their age. Observational drawings completed by Year 5 pupils show an appropriate development of skills in the use of pastel crayons, including layering and shading to represent the Blenheim Primary School - 29 appearance and colour of a range of fruits. However, there is no evidence of any further development of these skills in Year 6.

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CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

In Year 1, children show skills typical of children their age when for example they used sections of fruit to print images and form patterns. This is good development of the printing skills that the children learned during the Foundation Stage, but is not sufficiently developed in Key Stage 2.

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CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

Pupils in Year 2 have achieved well to create watercolour landscapes of Scottish islands, effectively linking art with geography and literacy. These skills are used satisfactorily to create accurate images of spring flowers. Here pupils have chosen appropriate brushes to capture the delicate detail. Other pupils have studied the styles of famous artists who have created classic landscapes.

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CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

Three-dimensional work on display is limited to a whole class weaving pattern and some paper mache Greek urns, which are of satisfactory quality. There were some effective abstract images of trees created by blowing paint through straws.

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CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

Only two music sessions were observed and none in design and technology , but samples of pupils’ work were scrutinised. In both subjects the school has adapted its curriculum to reflect the different cultures in its roll. Teachers are drawing well from pupils’ own knowledge and backgrounds to enrich everyone’s experience.

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CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

In music standards are close to average at the ages of 7 and 11 years. Pupils achieve more in listening to and appraising music than they do in composing and performing. The school offers pupils a reasonable range of opportunities to listen to music from different cultures and by Year 6 they can competently describe and evaluate music using correct musical terms. Older pupils have the opportunity to learn to play steel pans; these sessions are the highlight of the week for many pupils; they make rapid progress in a short space of time, performing by ear and accompanying each other in short rhythmic phrases. There are too few other opportunities for them to achieve well in composing music or to develop skills and knowledge in a systematic way.

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CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

In design and technology, standards are average in the oldest infant and junior classes and pupils achieve well. Samples of pupils’ work show that they make good progress in developing and planning their ideas and in making and evaluating products. Typical work in Year 2, for example, involved pupils in making puppets. Having looked at puppets from around the world and how they are used, pupils then designed their own and made templates from the design. They then investigated the best way to join the fabric and sewed pieces together, later adding decorations by gluing them on. The work was concluded by pupils reflecting on how successful they thought they had been in making their puppet; their evaluations were well considered. By Year 6, pupils have refined and extended many of these skills and work more independently. For example, they consider design purpose more thoroughly by asking key questions about the eventual function of their product; this

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CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

leads them to work out the most important considerations and from here they put together a design. As a case in point, when making slippers, the older pupils develop alternative ideas and check them out through modelling them with paper and fabric; they eventually consider a single prototype slipper. Again, as in the infant classes, the whole design process is seen through well, culminating in a sound evaluation of the final product.

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CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

In physical education , only a part of a dance lesson was observed. There was, therefore, insufficient evidence to make an overall judgement on standards, the quality of teaching and provision for this subject. Timetables were scrutinised and discussions with the children and headteacher took place.

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CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

Lessons are planned each week for physical education and all the required elements are covered. Some teachers lack confidence to teach aspects of the gymnastics programme and, to overcome this, the school makes good use of specialist coaches to work with them. The provision for swimming is very good. All the children are given the opportunity to attend swimming lessons for two years. They start midway through Year 4 and continue throughout Year 5 and half way through Year 6. As a result, children achieve really well. By Year 6, almost all pupils have met the nationally expected standard of being able to swim 25 metres. Blenheim Primary School - 30 The school places a strong emphasis on developing children’s sporting skills and there is an extensive range of after school activities to enable children to learn and develop these. The use of specialist coaches is another very positive feature of the school’s approach to ensuring children are

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CREATIVE, AESTHETIC, PRACTICAL AND PHYSICAL SUBJECTS

well challenged and given every opportunity to improve their skills. The school meets the cultural wishes of parents with regards to changing and wearing of specific clothing for their children. In the brief observation of a Year 6 dance lesson the children were developing their sequences through good guidance from the teacher and appropriate emphasis was given to developing the quality of their movements and working at different levels and speeds. All of the children were appropriately kitted for the lesson.

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PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND HEALTH EDUCATION AND CITIZENSHIP

Provision for personal, social and health education and citizenship (PSHCE) is good.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Teaching is good and allows pupils to improve their social skills; • Pupils learn to value differing points of view and different cultural codes; • The varied programme of visits and visitors, coupled with good extra-curricular options brings pupils’ learning to life; • There is good leadership of the PSHCE programme throughout the school.

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Commentary

108. In the lesson seen, pupils responded very well to the clear expectations of staff during their weekly class discussion time. This took place in the school hall, so that everyone could sit comfortably on a chair, in a circle, and participate fully in the activity. Although some pupils in the class have behavioural difficulties and had adult supporters on hand to help, it was difficult to spot these individuals as they all entered into the spirit of the session and thought carefully about different ways to keep safe during the day. Pupils showed respect for their peers as they each offered an individual and culturally diverse view and everyone demonstrated a clear understanding of the ‘Circle Time’ code of conduct.

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Commentary

109. The programme is carefully co-ordinated by the subject leader who ensures that staff have a clear understanding of what is to be taught. She makes sure that lunchtime staff are involved in aspects such as ‘Golden Time’ and healthy eating. The school has very recently achieved Level 3 of the Healthy School Standard that has involved a great deal of work by the co- ordinator for this aspect of the school’s work. Suitable attention is also paid to sex, relationships and drugs education to enable pupils to lead healthy lives. Local service providers come into school to talk about their work and to improve pupils’ understanding of aspects of fire safety, for example. Staff feel that pupils’ behaviour has improved considerably, as a result of the successful strategies introduced through the PSHCE programme. They are far better equipped to discuss their feelings and to comment on what is right and wrong.

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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 5 Pupils’ achievement 4

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

Pupils’ attitudes, values and other personal qualities 3 Attendance 6 Attitudes 3 Behaviour, including the extent of exclusions 3 Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 3

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

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