Brockwell Junior School

BROCKWELL JUNIOR SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 29 November – 1 December 2004

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BROCKWELL JUNIOR SCHOOL

Inspection carried out under section 10 of the School Inspections Act 1996 Brockwell Junior School Page 2 November 2004 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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BROCKWELL JUNIOR SCHOOL

Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the School Inspections Act 1996, the school must provide a copy of this report and/or its summary free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. Brockwell Junior School Page 3 November 2004

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Type of school: Junior School category: Community Age range of pupils: 7 – 11 Gender of pupils: Mixed Number on roll: 254

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Purbeck Avenue Loundsley Green Chesterfield Derbyshire Postcode: S40 4NP

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Telephone number: 01246 278542 Fax number: 01246 278542

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Appropriate authority: Governing body Name of chair of governors: Mr C Johnson

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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SCHOOL

This average sized community Junior School, with 254 pupils on roll, is situated in the suburbs of Chesterfield. The school is surrounded by a mixture of privately owned and local authority housing. Pupils are from a wide range of backgrounds, around 30 per cent of whom come from outside the school’s immediate catchment area. Very few pupils have any language other than English as their mother tongue and the vast majority of pupils are of white British heritage. Fifteen per cent of pupils, broadly average,) have a special educational need but a slightly higher than average proportion have a statement. There is very little pupil mobility. The school is very popular and is consistently over-subscribed. Attainment on entry is consistently well above average in reading and in recent years has been above average overall. This year’s Year 3 pupils entered with well above average standards in reading, writing and mathematics.

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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SCHOOL

The school was offered Beacon Status in 2001. Since that time it has been awarded a Department of Education and Skills Schools Achievement Award, Investors in People Status, the Basic Skills Quality Mark, Healthy Schools Award and Eco-Zone Status. It is also currently involved in the local education authority’s Sports Co-ordinator Scheme in order to promote higher standards in aspects of physical education. Brockwell Junior School Page 4 November 2004

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Members of the inspection team Subject responsibilities

15064 P Bamber Lead inspector Mathematics Geography Physical education 1329 K Oliver Lay inspector 30243 A Heakin Team inspector English Art and design History Religious education Special educational needs English as an additional language 18344 D Earley Team inspector Science Information and communication technology Design and technology Music

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Members of the inspection team Subject responsibilities

Nord Anglia School Inspection Services Anglia House Carrs Road Cheadle Stockport SK8 2LA

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Members of the inspection team Subject responsibilities

Any concerns or complaints about the inspection or the report should be made initially to the inspection contractor. The procedures are set out in the leaflet ‘Complaining about Ofsted Inspections’, which is available from Ofsted Publications Centre (telephone 07002 637833) or Ofsted’s website (www.ofsted.gov.uk). Brockwell Junior School Page 5 November 2004

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED BY PUPILS 8

Standards achieved in areas of learning and subjects

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED BY PUPILS 8

Pupils’ attitudes, values and other personal qualities

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL 10

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

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS 28

Brockwell Junior School Page 6 November 2004

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PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT

This is an extremely effective school in which dynamic leadership and very good governance ensure high standards and achievement and a very good quality of education. There is a very positive ethos in which staff and pupils thrive and develop. Value for money is excellent .

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The school’s main strengths and weaknesses are:

• The leadership of the headteacher is outstanding and he is very ably supported by key staff. • Pupils achieve very well, attaining high standards. • The quality of teaching and support is very good. • Pupils have excellent attitudes to learning, relate extremely well to each other and behave very maturely. • The curriculum is very good and offers considerable enrichment for pupils. • Pupils are very well cared for and fully included in all aspects of school life. • The provision for pupils with special educational needs is excellent. • The quality of pupils’ handwriting does not match the high standards they attain in the rest of their work. • Governors ensure that high standards are maintained and make a significant contribution to the success of the school.

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The school’s main strengths and weaknesses are:

Improvement since the last inspection has been very good. The provision for information and communication technology (ICT), which was unsatisfactory at that time, has been transformed and is now very good. Pupils now take much more care over their work, demonstrating pride in presenting work well. Standards in many subjects have improved. Much more of the teaching is very good and none is less than good, throughout the school.

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED

all schools similar schools Results in National Curriculum tests at the end of Year 6, compared with: 2002 2003 2004 2004 English A A* A B mathematics A A A C science A A A B Key: A - well above average; B – above average; C – average; D – below average; E – well below average Similar schools are those whose pupils attained similarly at the end of Year 2.

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED

Pupils’ achievement is very good . For the years represented in the table, Year 6 entered the school with well above average standards in reading, writing and above average standards in mathematics. The table above shows that pupils have either maintained those high standards or improved on them by the time they take the Year 6 national tests. Currently, standards in English, mathematics, science and art and design are well above expectations. In all other subjects, fully inspected, standards are above the expectation. It was not possible to make a secure judgement about standards in geography, design and technology, history or music. Brockwell Junior School Page 7 November 2004 All pupils achieve very well. Pupils with special educational needs are extremely well supported and as a result, most often reach the expected level in national tests. Pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds are often amongst the highest achievers and pupils who enter

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED

the school with little or no English make rapid progress as a result of very well targeted support. Pupils who have particular gifts or talents are also enabled to flourish and achieve very well. The very good achievement of these pupils is testament to the school’s wholehearted commitment to inclusion. The one area in which pupils’ achievement is less good is in their handwriting. Pupils continue to print their letters for too long, rather than to write cursively.

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED

Pupils’ personal qualities including their attitudes and values are excellent. Their social, moral, spiritual and cultural development is very good . Pupils behave very well and their attendance and punctuality are very good.

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION

The quality of education is very good . Teaching and learning are very good and teachers assess pupils’ work thoroughly. Pupils very much enjoy learning, try very hard to do their best and work very well together, responding very positively to rigorous and creative teaching. The curriculum is very good and offers pupils considerable enrichment. The quality of care, guidance and support is very good. Very good links have been established with parents, other schools and the community, all of which enhance pupils’ provision considerably.

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LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

The quality of leadership and management is excellent . The headteacher provides inspirational leadership and is very ably supported by the deputy headteacher and key staff. Self-evaluation is rigorous and the management of staff development and performance is exemplary. The school constantly seeks ways of improving its provision and very good governance plays a key role in ensuring that high standards are maintained.

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PARENTS’ AND PUPILS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

Parents and pupils are overwhelmingly positive about what the school provides. A very high proportion of parents provided a ringing endorsement of the school’s excellent provision, in both the pre-inspection questionnaire and at the inspectors’ meeting with parents. Discussions with pupils and the results of the questionnaire they completed revealed how much they enjoyed lessons and all that the school offered.

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IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED

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

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IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED

• To ensure pupils’ handwriting improves. Brockwell Junior School Page 8 November 2004

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Standards achieved in subjects

Standards in the core subjects of English, mathematics and science are well above average. Pupils achieve very well overall.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Pupils achieve very well in national tests and in their everyday work. • Standards in all subjects inspected are at least above expectations. • The achievement of pupils with special educational needs is particularly good. • The quality of pupils’ handwriting does not match the high standards they otherwise attain.

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Commentary

Standards in national tests at the end of Year 6 – average point scores in 2004

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Commentary

Standards in: School results National results English 29.1 (30.0) 26.9 (26.8) Mathematics 28.7 (29.5) 27.0 (26.8) Science 30.8 (31.1) 28.6 (28.6) There were 67 pupils in the year group. Figures in brackets are for the previous year

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Commentary

1. The results of the Year 6 national tests have been very good over the last five years, with standards in all three subjects consistently well above the national average. When compared with similar schools, standards have likewise been very favourable, with pupils consistently outperforming their peers, especially in science. Since 2002, the school has generally added considerable value to pupils’ attainment, a good achievement given the above, to well above average standards with which the pupils enter the school. The excellent leadership of the headteacher and the very effective management of key staff, in constantly seeking ways of maintaining and improving pupils’ standards and achievement, have contributed significantly to this excellent provision. The school has consistently met or exceeded the targets set for overall performance in national tests, over the last five years.

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Commentary

2. Currently, standards are well above expectations in English, mathematics and science. In those other subjects fully inspected, standards are well above expectations in art and design. They are above expectations in information and communication technology (ICT) religious education and in physical education. Pupils are very confident when speaking to an audience, read very fluently and write very well for a variety of purposes. However, the quality of their handwriting, especially that of the younger pupils, does not match the high standards they attain in the rest of their work. A notable feature of pupils’ achievements in mathematics and science is their ability to use and apply their knowledge to solve problems. Pupils have been taught these skills very well. Brockwell Junior School Page 9 November 2004 3. Significant improvements have been made in standards and achievement since the last inspection. Standards have improved the most in ICT, rising to above

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Commentary

expectations from below expectations. Once again very effective action has been taken by the headteacher, key staff and governors to bring about this excellent improvement. In many other subjects, standards have improved and in those in which standards were already high, they have been maintained.

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Commentary

4. All pupils, including those who are gifted and talented and those who are at an early stage of acquiring English, achieve very well as a result of the support they receive, the very careful planning of their work and the very rigorous systems for tracking their progress. Those pupils with special educational needs, whether they find learning difficult, have physical impairments or have emotional difficulties are particularly well served as a result of the intensive and high quality support they are given. Staff have very high expectations of them and there is compelling evidence that by the time they leave the school, they have often exceeded the challenging targets set for them.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and other personal qualities

Pupils’ attitudes are excellent. Their behaviour, attendance and punctuality are very good . Their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is very good .

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and other personal qualities

• Pupils have extremely positive attitudes to school life and are eager to learn. • There is a very strong sense of community, which is based on mutual trust, respect, care for others and a clear understanding of what is right and wrong. • Pupils relish responsibility and are very keen to contribute to school life. • The school has excellent systems to ensure that pupils attend school and arrive on time. • Very good opportunities are provided for pupils to reflect and share their experiences, thoughts and feelings with others. • Although pupils’ cultural development is good overall, opportunities for them to experience first hand aspects of the values and customs of other cultures other than their own, are limited.

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Commentary

5. Pupils are really proud to belong to the school community. They like coming to school and seize every opportunity they can to experience all aspects of school life. They know the school is a safe, secure place, and that they are surrounded by adults who have their very best interests at heart. Pupils’ relationships with their teachers, their helpers and each other, are very good. They are polite and welcome visitors warmly.

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Commentary

6. Pupils behave very well in class and, whatever their abilities, get on with their work. Pupils thrive on stimulating and challenging teaching. They have a real thirst for knowledge and new experiences. They self-critically reflect on their achievements and what they have to do next in order to improve. Several instances were observed of pupils, on their own initiative, working through playtime in order to complete tasks they were keen to finish. Brockwell Junior School Page 10 November 2004 7. Everyone in Brockwell makes a contribution to school life. Pupils eagerly take responsibilities, for example, for looking after the library and playtime equipment. At lunchtime some pupils voluntarily help their teachers prepare for the afternoon’s lessons whilst others seek out jobs that need to be done. The elected school council takes its role and responsibilities very seriously. Members know that they are

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Commentary

contributing, on behalf of everyone else, to the running and improvement of the school.

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Commentary

8. Behaviour, in and around the school, is very good. Playtimes are happy times as pupils mix very comfortably together. Tolerance and acceptance of each other, whatever pupils’ race and abilities, are the norm reflecting the success of the school’s racial equality policy. No unacceptable behaviour or bullying was observed or reported to the inspection team. This finding is confirmed by pupils’ and parents’ feedback to the inspection team.

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Commentary

9. Pupils’ spiritual development has improved significantly since the last inspection and is now very good. During events, such as the weekly work assembly and religious education lessons, pupils have, and take, the time and opportunity to explore their own and others ideas, and feelings. They also enjoy and generously celebrate others’ successes. They have a very good sense of right and wrong and how to live successfully in a mutually supportive community. Their knowledge and understanding of their own and other cultures already is good. Pupils participate in a variety of festivals and cover a wide range of art and music. The school is, however, well aware of the need to extend further its coverage of other lands, faiths and cultures. Plans for this are well advanced.

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Attendance in the latest complete reporting year (%)

Authorised absence Unauthorised absence School data 3.7 School data 0.1 National data 5.1 National data 0.4 The table gives the percentage of half days (sessions) missed through absence for the latest complete reporting year.

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Attendance in the latest complete reporting year (%)

10. Attendance and punctuality are very good. The school and parents work together to ensure that the pupils attend school regularly and are punctual.

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Categories used in the Annual School Census No of pupils on roll Number of fixed period exclusions Number of permanent exclusions

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

White – British 244 1 0 White – any other White background 1 0 0 Mixed – White and Black Caribbean 3 0 0 Mixed – White and Black African 1 0 0 Mixed – White and Asian 3 0 0 Brockwell Junior School Page 11 November 2004 Mixed – any other mixed background 1 0 0 Asian or Asian British – any other Asian background 1 0 0 The table gives the number of exclusions, which may be different from the number of pupils excluded.

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

11. The exclusion was the result of the school successfully using its well-established behaviour management procedures to deal with a particular, behaviour related problem.

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL

The quality of education is very good . The quality of teaching is very good and teachers use assessment well. Pupils enjoy an enriched, high quality curriculum. The quality of care, guidance and support is very good. The school’s accommodation is satisfactory. Very good quality resources considerably enhance pupils’ learning. The very good links with parents and other schools and colleges contribute very well to pupils’ high standards and very good achievements.

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Teaching and learning

Teaching and learning are very good . Assessment is good.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Lessons are very well planned and conducted with much good humour. • Teachers have high expectations of pupils’ commitment to work hard and behave very well, which results in very effective learning. • Teachers use ICT very well to enhance learning. • Pupils learn very well from each other. • Support staff make a considerable contribution to pupils’ learning.

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 32 lessons

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Poor Very Poor

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 32 lessons

1 (3%) 25 (78%) 6 (19%) 0 0 0 0 The table gives the number of lessons observed in each of the seven categories used to make judgements about lessons; figures in brackets show percentages where 30 or more lessons are seen.

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 32 lessons

12. The quality of teaching for all pupils is very good. Very good lessons were observed in each year group. Teachers meticulously plan lessons, which accurately match pupils’ needs and enable them to achieve very well. Lessons are conducted with much good humour. In both the questionnaire they completed prior to the inspection and in discussions with inspectors, many pupils commented upon how much fun lessons were. There is no doubt that the excellent relationships between adults and pupils and between pupils, together with the mutual respect in which all members of the school community hold each other, contribute to the extremely positive atmosphere within which learning takes place. Brockwell Junior School Page 12 November 2004 13. The good humour, which pervades lessons, in no way detracts from the rigorous expectations which adults have of pupils’ commitment to work hard and behave very well. Pupils respond to this extremely well, listening intently to instructions, acting

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 32 lessons

promptly to carry out tasks and concentrating hard upon finishing their work to the best of their ability. They respond extremely enthusiastically in question and answer sessions and volunteer willingly to contribute to presentations or to work collaboratively with fellow pupils. As a result, the quality of their learning is considerably enhanced, particularly their speaking and listening skills.

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 32 lessons

14. A very positive feature of most lessons observed, was teachers’ use of ICT, especially the interactive whiteboard (IWB) to enhance pupils’ learning. The very good use of this resource meant that lesson objectives were made very clear at the beginning of the lesson and as a reminder to pupils at the end of a lesson to reflect upon whether they had achieved those objectives and the quality of their learning. Ideas and concepts were presented in a clear and attractive way, especially enhancing learning in mathematics, science and ICT. In a very good Year 6, science lesson, for example, pupils gained considerable knowledge of the digestive system as a result of the computer graphics used. Many mathematical concepts and facts, especially concerned with shape, measurement and data handling were taught very well with the aid of computer programs. Pupils also showed themselves adept at manipulating

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 32 lessons

software to promote their own learning, with many examples of individual pupils demonstrating their knowledge, through the medium of the IWB, to the whole class. In a very good geography lesson, pupils’ learning about changes in land use was considerably enhanced through their use of the Internet and digital photographs.

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 32 lessons

15. The quality of the support staff is very good. As part of the school’s extensive commitment to continuing professional development, support staff have been included in all training designed to improve classroom teaching. As a result, support staff have developed considerable expertise and further qualifications, which have enabled them to become more effective in helping pupils, especially those with special educational needs, to make very good progress in their learning. Working in very close harmony with classroom teachers, both in planning pupils’ work and assessing their progress, support teachers closely supervise and promote learning either in-class or with small groups in an out-of-class setting. The systematic way in which these pupils curriculum is planned and delivered helps them to achieve very well.

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 32 lessons

16. Overall, teachers use assessment well to help pupils improve their work and to plan well-matched tasks. They mark work regularly and assiduously, making pertinent comments, which encourage pupils to persevere and which help them improve. Very effective systems for assessing pupils’ work in the core subjects are very comprehensively used and ensure pupils make very good progress. Pupils are involved in setting their own targets for improvement and are regularly involved in assessing their success in achieving them. Pupils with individual education plans (IEPs) are fully involved in setting and reviewing targets and the progress they have made towards achieving them.

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The curriculum

Brockwell Junior School Page 13 November 2004 The quality of the curriculum is very good . Opportunities for enrichment are very good . The school’s resources are very good and the accommodation is satisfactory.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Provision for pupils’ personal development is excellent and this enhances pupils' confidence and self-esteem. • Provision for pupils with special educational needs is excellent so that these pupils achieve very well. • A wide range of extra-curricular activities is provided, visitors to the school and visits by pupils out of school, that contribute significantly to pupils’ quality of education. • Teachers and teaching assistants are deployed very well so that they support learning and ensure that all pupils have equal access to the curriculum. • Pupils are very well prepared for the next stage of their education.

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Commentary

17. Curricular provision has improved significantly since the last inspection. Resources in mathematics are now very good. Provision in ICT was unsatisfactory at the time of the last inspection, but it is now very good. This is because resources, teaching and leadership and management are now very good, leading to above average standards. In all subjects, teaching programmes and teachers’ plans are systematically checked to ensure that pupils build securely on previous work and are fully included in all aspects of the school’s provision.

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Commentary

18. Improvements in the curriculum are further enhanced by the school's regular and thorough evaluation of its provision in order to help to raise standards. The school is particularly successful in ensuring that the curriculum is both rigorous and interesting, so that work is challenging and stimulating. For example, the school has introduced the use of IWB in all classrooms and this helps to motivate pupils and to extend their learning in most subjects. The school ensures, as part of its evaluation, that its very good resources are used efficiently to support learning. Pupils visit many places of educational interest such as the National Stone Centre, Loundsley Green Church and Eyam in order to extend their skills and provide relevance in their work. Older pupils have opportunities to experience residential visits, where they participate in outdoor adventurous activities and learn to live and work together. The

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Commentary

many visitors to school help to bring further enjoyment and excitement to learning and help to deepen understanding and increase pupils’ knowledge. For example, the Tudor and Viking periods are brought to life when visiting experts and musicians lead pupils in role-play. Pupils are highly motivated and extend their skills when they work with visiting artists, environmentalists and theatre groups. In a similar way, the wide range of very popular and often over subscribed out-of-class activities offered by the school complements work in class. These include sports, chess, dance, choir, guitar, and clubs involving ICT and the environment.

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Commentary

19. The excellent provision for pupils’ personal development makes a significant contribution to the excellent ethos of the school and to the very high achievement of the pupils. This is because everyone in school is very highly valued and encouraged to give of their best. The school's extremely caring, challenging ethos encourages pupils to care for one another and this helps raise confidence and self-esteem. The Brockwell Junior School Page 14 November 2004 school has a very effective sex and relationships education programme and teaches pupils about the uses and misuses of drugs. Pupils have many opportunities to accept responsibility and show initiative. They help in a variety of ways with the smooth running of the school and plan, organise and run fund raising events for charities. The school council enables pupils to make a real contribution to the life of the school. Pupils’ views are seriously considered by staff and governors and aspects

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Commentary

of the school’s provision have changed as a result of suggestions and lobbying by the school council.

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Commentary

20. Provision for pupils with special educational needs is excellent and a strength of the school. The school is totally committed to providing for pupils who have special educational needs. The staff are well informed and plan lessons effectively to ensure pupils achieve very well across the full curriculum. The input of the support staff is fundamental to the very good progress made by these pupils. Their IEPs are well- structured with specific short-term targets. Pupils with statements are involved in the preparation for their annual review meetings and are encouraged to participate in these meetings. Provision is reviewed regularly and teaching strategies amended to accommodate changing needs. The excellent attitudes within the school mean that pupils support each other. All pupils benefit tremendously, their self-esteem and confidence is boosted and they are happy to meet the challenges of the curriculum.

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Commentary

21. The school has very good relationships with the local infant and secondary schools. This means that when pupils move from one stage of their education to another, the transition is usually very smooth. For example, initiatives such as, exchanges of staff, pupil and staff visits, curricular links and shared training, all help to ensure continuity in pupils’ learning. The school makes very good use of the experience and expertise of its committed and dedicated staff in helping to raise standards. Their work is enhanced by a very focused training programme. Teaching assistants provide very good support for pupils and teachers, particularly in the provision for pupils with special educational needs and for ICT. The school has rightly identified the need to extend its accommodation and plans to make more space available for teaching and learning in order to further raise achievement, particularly in practical

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Commentary

subjects and in ICT. Existing accommodation is used very well. The interior of the school is attractive with many examples of pupils' work on display and it is well cared for and welcoming. This is a considerable improvement since the last inspection.

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Care, guidance and support

The school has very good arrangements for pupils’ care, welfare, health and safety. The monitoring of pupils’ achievements and personal development is very good . There are very good arrangements to involve pupils through seeking, valuing and acting upon their views.

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Care, guidance and support

• The school ensures a very secure, safe and healthy environment for all pupils. • The school values pupils’ views and ideas highly. • Pupils trust and like the adults who work with them. • Systems, to ensure that pupils make very good progress, are very effective. • There are very good arrangements to ensure that new pupils settle quickly and happily into school. Brockwell Junior School Page 15 November 2004

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Commentary

22. Everyone in Brockwell Junior School is committed to ensuring that it is a clean, safe and secure place. All the staff, for example, are trained in first aid. Regular and rigorous safety surveys, of the whole premises, are carried out. Emergency procedures, risk assessment systems and child protection arrangements, which have been properly updated, to comply with recent changes in requirements, are very good.

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Commentary

23. The school firmly believes that pupils, whatever their age and ability, have valuable ideas and opinions about how to make the school an even better place, in which they can learn, grow up and have fun. Staff respect and listen to pupils’ views, whether they be casual comments in the playground or more formal reflection during, for example, religious education lessons or aspects of lessons that touch upon personal, social, health and citizenship issues.

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Commentary

24. The systems to ensure pupils make very good progress are very effective. Each pupil has individual targets for achievement set at regular intervals. There is a high expectation of the progress pupils will make annually, related to National Curriculum levels. Each class teacher regularly checks to ensure that all pupils are on track to achieve the targets set. Further short term targets, in particular subjects, are also set for individuals, or groups of pupils and discussion takes place between teachers and pupils about what targets will be set and subsequently, how well pupils have progressed towards meeting them. The school uses a very clear, computer generated display of pupils’ progress which makes it easy for staff to identify which pupils might need extra support. This support is very well targeted and includes extra tuition, one-to-one teaching and small group instruction for pupils, regardless

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Commentary

of their ability. The school ensures that provision outlined in pupils’ statements of special educational need is rigorously implemented. Where appropriate the school links with outside agencies to ensure additional specialist support is in place and effective.

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Commentary

25. The recently reformed school council is already having a positive impact on the quality of school life. It is a well organised forum in which the staff consults with pupils and pupils express their ideas and opinions. Current topics include the banning of electronic games, which the school council members support, school uniform and new playground equipment. Staff provide excellent male and female role models for pupils who, in turn, show respect and trust.

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Commentary

26. The school makes sure that new pupils are part of the school family from the moment that they arrive in school. Pupils and parents from the feeder infant schools enjoy a series of visits, taster and briefing sessions in the run up to transfer. The result is that by the time they start at Brockwell they are already familiar with their surroundings, other pupils and those adults who will look after them.

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Partnership with parents, other schools and the community

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

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Partnership with parents, other schools and the community

Main strengths and weaknesses Brockwell Junior School Page 16 November 2004 • Parents and carers rightly believe that the school looks after and educates their children very well. • The information the school provides about the curriculum and the progress pupils make, is very good. • The school values parents’ and carers’ ideas and opinions and welcomes their involvement in their children’s education. • Pupils’ learning and development benefit from the very good links with the local community other schools and colleges in the area. • There are very good arrangements to ensure that Year 6 pupils have a smooth and happy transfer to their secondary schools.

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Partnership with parents, other schools and the community

27. Parents and carers feel that this is a very good and caring school. They respect, and have a great deal of confidence in, the headteacher and the staff. They are confident that their children spend their days in a happy and safe place that is totally committed to helping them learn and mature.

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Partnership with parents, other schools and the community

28. The school works closely and productively with parents and carers. There is always a warm welcome for anyone who needs to talk to the headteacher or other staff. An annual questionnaire helps the school to gather parent’s views and ideas, which are, when appropriate, acted upon. Good examples of the school responding to parents’ concerns are the school’s recent action to improve pupils’ changing facilities and to provide more out-of- school activities for younger pupils.

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Partnership with parents, other schools and the community

29. The school ensures that the parents and carers of pupils who have special educational needs are kept fully informed about developments in their children’s learning. This includes formal meetings and less formal discussions, where parents and staff update each other on the progress made. Transition arrangements are carefully considered and, where necessary, extra arrangements are put in place to support these pupils when they transfer to the next school. One-to-one consultation evenings and an innovative end-of-year report provide parents with very good, formal information about how their children are getting on. The prospectus, governors’ annual report, newsletters and curriculum information keep parents closely in touch with what’s going on in class and in school.

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Partnership with parents, other schools and the community

30. The vast majority of parents and carers support their children’s homework. Homework timetables are sent home so that they can check when and what their children are asked to do. Some volunteers come regularly into school to help in class. There is overwhelming support for major events such as the Christmas celebrations. The Friends Association is very active and very successfully runs fund-raising and social events for pupils, parents and carers throughout the school year.

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Partnership with parents, other schools and the community

31. The school works closely with other local primary and secondary schools. As a result, pupils’ education benefits from teachers’ sharing of ideas and expertise with colleagues in other schools. Brockwell’s reputation is such that its teachers are much in demand to provide training and to act as mentors to colleagues in other schools. Work experience students from secondary schools and local colleges are welcome and there are formal links with Sheffield Hallam University’s to provide facilities for teacher training. The school takes part in local sporting and cultural events and makes good use of contacts in the local community for activities such as the Year 5 project on the development of local shopping facilities.

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Partnership with parents, other schools and the community

32. Arrangements for the transfer of Year 6 pupils and parents to secondary schools are very good. There are visits, taster sessions and meetings with new teachers. Pupils from Year 13 from the local Secondary School organise and run the dance club sessions and this helps to Brockwell Junior School Page 17 November 2004 prepare pupils for the next stage of their education and enhances well their physical development.

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LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

The quality of leadership and management is excellent . Governance is very good. The highly effective way in which the school is run contributes very significantly to the high standards pupils achieve and the very good quality of education they receive.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• The headteacher provides inspirational leadership. • The deputy headteacher and other key staff carry out their responsibilities very well, forming a very strong team, which promotes high standards amongst staff and pupils. • Highly effective strategic planning based on rigorous self-evaluation, ensures continuing improvement. • The school is very successful in meeting its aim to provide very good quality professional development linked to open and honest performance management. • Governors perform their duties very well.

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Commentary

33. At the time of the last inspection, leadership and management were very good. This has now improved and is currently excellent. The headteacher provides inspirational leadership. Pupils, parents, staff and governors hold him in the highest regard, acknowledging his tremendous energy and the way in which he highly motivates all who work directly or indirectly for the pupils. His leadership of assemblies, presence around the school, high expectations of standards, constant positive reinforcement of individuals’ contributions and good humour, is a driving force in establishing the school’s excellent ethos. The headteacher sets very high benchmarks to which all who work in the school should aspire and through rigorous management systems, ensures that they are met. He leaves no-one in any doubt of the school’s most important aim, which is that every pupil should be fully included in its high quality

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Commentary

provision. In this, the school is highly successful. Other senior staff, including the deputy headteacher, play a key role in very effectively implementing the school’s vision and aims. The deputy headteacher makes a very significant contribution to ensuring that pupils’ progress is rigorously tracked and that any pupils who might temporarily fall behind are provided with the support they need in order to improve their achievement. In addition, his leadership and management of ICT are excellent. The co-ordinator of the provision for pupils with special educational needs provides excellent leadership and management which results in the very good achievements of those pupils. The quality of subject leadership and management is very good overall. The very good provision in English, mathematics, science and art and design is closely linked to very effective leadership and management in these subjects.

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Commentary

34. The strategic improvement plan is detailed, clear and astutely identifies those areas of the school’s provision that need further improvement. Highly effective self- evaluation enables the governors and senior management team to accurately judge the quality of the school’s work. The school’s evaluation of its effectiveness, completed prior to the inspection, matched inspectors’ findings very closely. Such Brockwell Junior School Page 18 November 2004 rigorous practice promotes high standards and very good improvement. For example, despite excellent improvements in the provision for ICT since the last inspection, governors and senior staff acknowledge that the current ICT room is too small. Although pupils achieve well in the subject, the school recognises they could do even better if individual pupils had more time using the keyboard and mouse controller. As a result, plans are at an advanced stage to build a new, better-

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Commentary

35. There is a clear link between the highly effective systems for managing performance and the excellent professional development and training of staff. The school has gained Investors in People Status as a result of it wholehearted commitment to staff development. Evidence analysed during the inspection, confirms that the training provided for both the teaching and support staff is effective in making staff more skilled and knowledgeable, which in turn has improved provision for pupils. This is particularly evident in improvements in ICT and in the quality of the work of support staff.

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Commentary

36. Governors carry out their duties very well. They are very knowledgeable about the school’s strengths and weaknesses and rigorous in holding it to account for its standards and provision. Their full involvement in improvement planning and in analysing test data enables them to help shape the work of the school. They provide very good support to individual staff as a result of being linked to certain subjects and have regular updates from staff about new initiatives and current practice. Governors plan and monitor the school’s budget very well, ensuring that spending is on the most important improvements in pupils’ quality of education. Currently, these centre upon enhancing the quality of accommodation, particularly for ICT. The information governors provide for parents, is of very good quality. They regularly canvass the opinions of parents and pupils and positively act upon their views and

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Financial information for the year April 2003 to March 2004

Income and expenditure (£) Balances (£) Total income 660,515 Balance from previous year 18,674 Total expenditure 580,283 Balance carried forward to the next 98,906 Expenditure per pupil 1,678

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Financial information for the year April 2003 to March 2004

37. The much larger than recommended carry forward represents the school’s savings towards funding the building of a new classroom. However, costs have risen to such an extent that alternative funding is now likely for the project. Instead, around three-quarters of the present underspend will be used to fund a new ICT suite, improve physical education changing facilities for older pupils and improvements to the library and available storage. Governors envisage next year’s carry forward to be well within the recommended range. Brockwell Junior School Page 19 November 2004 Brockwell Junior School Page 20 November 2004

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Pupils achieve very well by the end of Year 6. • A high proportion of pupils attains well above the expected levels in national tests. • Pupils with special educational needs are supported very well. • The broad range of purposes for pupils to write and literacy skills are used very well across the curriculum. • Pupils have excellent attitudes to learning. • Leadership is very good. • Handwriting requires more consistent emphasis for the younger pupils.

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Commentary

38. By the end of Year 6, pupils reach standards that are well above the expectation for their age. The school works diligently to maintain the high standards attained by pupils before joining the school in Year 3 and a high proportion of pupils attain higher than average levels in national tests at the end of Year 6. Pupils achieve very well. The high quality of teaching observed at the time of the last inspection has been maintained and the school has successfully improved boys’ achievement in literacy. Boys and girls now achieve equally well. Improvement since the last inspection is very good because the very high standards and very high levels of achievement have been maintained.

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Commentary

39. The quality of teaching and learning is very good. Teachers are very confident and flexible in their teaching of the National Literacy Strategy. They often use literacy lessons as a medium to teach other subjects such as art and design, geography or religious education. The best features of teaching are very good assessment procedures, which guide planning to cater for pupils’ needs, aptitudes and interests. Pupils’ own knowledge of their individual targets in English motivates them to achieve and move on to the next challenge. In lessons, teachers provide a very good range of stimulating well-matched activities, which rarely leave pupils with any time to spare. The very good use of IWB provides fascinating and exciting stimuli for lessons. Pupils learn very well. They are eager to listen closely and become involved in the opportunities presented by their teachers. Pupils in Years 5 and 6, for instance,

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Commentary

showed high levels of concentration and very good collaborative skills when they worked on the annotation of play scripts, discussed the plot of Macbeth and wrote individual play scripts. In all lessons, teachers are meticulous in ensuring that pupils of all abilities are appropriately challenged. The teaching assistants, working in classrooms and with individual pupils, support teachers very well enabling pupils to do their best. Brockwell Junior School Page 21 November 2004 40. Throughout the school day, pupils have a wide range of opportunities to talk about their work, perform to an audience and listen to others. Standards are very high. Pupils speak clearly and confidently and all enter into class discussion. Pupil’s excellent attitudes result in them being mature, courteous and prepared to listen attentively to each other. This has a significant impact on their overall attainment. They happily take part in full school assemblies, as well as class discussions, re-

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Commentary

enactments and self-evaluations. A more formal opportunity to extend speaking and listening skills is offered by the school council where in after-class discussion, council members present the views of their classmates on topical school issues in a clear and concise manner, using a wide range of interesting vocabulary. Council members are reported to present their views to the school governors with confidence and clarity.

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Commentary

41. Standards in reading are very high. Pupils of all abilities read with great enjoyment and very good understanding. They read for pleasure and extract information from books, CD-ROM and the Internet. The school library is small, but teachers have compensated by ensuring sufficient resources are available in classrooms to enable pupils to make best use of their reading skills. Pupils have good skills in skimming and scanning for information. Very effective questioning by teachers and assistants helps pupils’ understanding of unfamiliar words.

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Commentary

42. Standards in writing are very high. This is due to the wide range of challenging activities, which interest and motivate pupils of all abilities. Pupils master a wide range of writing styles. There are many different texts used as a basis for research into fact and fiction, to make comparisons between biographies and autobiographies and for grammatical work and expressive writing. The school’s marking system is used very effectively, so that pupils know when they have been successful and in what way they need to improve an aspect of their writing. The school has quite rightly identified handwriting as an area for development. In comparison with overall standards in English, handwriting, especially for the younger pupils is underdeveloped, with pupils continuing to use print for longer than is normally expected.

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Commentary

43. Leadership and management are very good. Standards are regularly monitored and findings are quickly acted upon. This has resulted in literacy being integral to all teaching and accounts for the very high standards achieved by the school. The two subject managers are good role models, well organised and enthusiastic and this is evident in their teaching. World Book Day is enthusiastically celebrated, visits from theatre groups and authors are arranged regularly and the impact is evident from the high quality work inspired by these visits.

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Language and literacy across the curriculum

44. Teachers make very good use of literacy skills in other subjects and this is a strength of provision. In all subjects, pupils have many opportunities for discussion to help clarify their understanding and develop ideas and evaluate their work. Pupils often practise their reading whilst researching in books and on computers. They write regularly to communicate their findings and have plenty of choice about the way they present their written work in different subjects.

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MATHEMATICS

Brockwell Junior School Page 22 November 2004 Provision in mathematics is very good .

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Many pupils have a very good understanding of all aspects of the curriculum. • Teachers use ICT very effectively to explain mathematical ideas and facts to make lessons interesting. • Staff ensure that lessons are relevant to pupils’ experiences. • Pupils who find mathematics more difficult have very good support that enables them to achieve very well. • Leadership and management are very good.

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Commentary

45. In the Year 6, national tests over the last five years, pupils have attained well above average standards when compared with all schools. Comparisons of standards with schools of similar type have also been overwhelmingly positive, as has the value added to pupils’ learning between Year 3 and Year 6. This has been achieved as a result of very good leadership and management, high quality teaching and the excellent attitudes the pupils have to their learning. Currently, throughout the school, standards are well above expectations and pupils achieve very well.

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Commentary

46. Many pupils have very good knowledge and understanding of all aspects of their learning. They have a particularly good appreciation of place value and of which operation to use when posed a mathematical problem. The most-able pupils are very adept at using a wide range of alternative strategies to calculate and they articulate these clearly. As a result, they calculate rapidly and help their fellow pupils to understand more clearly how they might simplify their own calculations. Most pupils compile graphs and tables in a clear and readable form, accurately interpreting the information they show. This was very evident in both Year 6 lessons observed, in which most pupils used quite complex scales with confidence and interrogated data rigorously, setting fellow pupils challenging tasks to which they responded very positively. Pupils’ use of mathematical vocabulary is very good and this enables them

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Commentary

to cope very well with problems that are worded in different ways.

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Commentary

47. The quality of teaching and learning is very good. A very positive feature is the way in which teachers and pupils use ICT to enhance learning. In all lessons observed, the use of IWB, linked to a laptop computer, brought learning to life, significantly contributing to the very good mathematical understanding. In a very good Year 5 lesson, the teacher’s own explanations about diagonals in regular and irregular two- dimensional shapes were greatly enhanced through the use of computer graphics. Pupils were also highly motivated to learn very well when they had opportunities to control the program themselves. Teachers have a very good subject knowledge that enables them to respond flexibly to pupils’ difficulties and questions, especially promoting very good learning amongst higher attaining pupils.

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Commentary

48. Pupils’ interest and commitment is very well promoted as a result of the relevance of the subject matter used. In lessons observed, teachers used examples and settings to interest and enthuse pupils to work with purpose and pace. In a very good, Year Brockwell Junior School Page 23 November 2004 6 lesson, for example, pupils had the option of choosing from a range of data upon which to work. As a result of this choice, their commitment to the task was greatly enhanced because they were genuinely interested in interpreting the data they selected.

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Commentary

49. The high quality support provided for pupils who have more difficulty, for whatever reason, in understanding more complex mathematical ideas and concepts, makes a very good contribution to their high achievements. Classroom teachers and support staff work extremely well together to ensure high quality provision for pupils with special educational needs or who are at an early stage of acquiring English. Many pupils receive very well planned and effective one-to-one tuition or extra explanations, to enable them to overcome initial difficulties. Analysis of the school’s detailed tracking data shows that most pupils, who have extra support, achieve at least expected standards in national tests.

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Commentary

50. The quality of leadership and management is very good. Improvement in provision since the last inspection is very good. The detailed action plan indicates a constant, rigorous review of provision and very relevant priorities are identified for improvement. Test data is analysed in great detail and challenging targets set for pupils’ attainment in national tests. The very effective systems for setting targets for individual pupils’ expected progress and for tracking whether they are meeting those targets, enables teachers to identify any extra help that pupils, who seem to be falling behind, might need.

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Mathematics across the curriculum

51. Pupils use mathematics very well to enhance their learning in other subjects and to understand its wider applications. They use and practise their measuring skills in science, art and design and in design and technology. Learning in science, geography and history is very well enhanced as a result of their accurate compiling and interpretation of graphs and tables. In art and design they use their knowledge of shape and symmetry well to enhance their designs in paintings and in textiles.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• The quality of teaching is very good leading to very high achievement. • The skills of scientific investigation are taught very thoroughly so that most pupils make very good progress. • Leadership and management are very good giving the school a clear understanding of its priorities in order to raise standards.

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Commentary

52. By the end of Year 6 standards are well above average and pupils achieve very highly. This is an improvement on the findings of the last inspection. Attainment and achievement are very high because teaching is very good and pupils are keen Brockwell Junior School Page 24 November 2004 and eager to learn. Teachers have very good subject knowledge and explain tasks clearly so that pupils know what to do. For example, in Year 6, pupils' knowledge and understanding of the human digestive system was increased because the teacher carefully outlined what she wanted pupils to learn. By the end of the lesson, most pupils, including those with special educational needs, had made very good progress. The school makes very good use of ICT, in science, in order to make the work interesting and enhance learning. In Year 5, for example, pupils deepened their understanding of the planets and the solar system as a result of researching

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Commentary

53. Teachers manage pupils’ behaviour very well and present work in interesting ways so that they are engrossed in their work and want to do well. In Year 3, pupils eagerly investigated a range of materials to determine if they were good conductors of electricity. Because the teacher had high expectations of their behaviour and organised materials and equipment efficiently and pupils were enabled to make substantial increases in their knowledge. Because relationships are very good, pupils are very confident to ask and answer questions in order to deepen their understanding. Their learning and motivation are further enhanced when, as in Year 6 work on organs of the body, they shared good-natured humour with each other and the teacher, whilst still maintaining their rigour and enthusiasm in their tasks.

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Commentary

54. Since the last inspection, as a result of well focussed training for staff, the teaching of investigative science has improved well. This has resulted in pupils’ achievements in this area being very good. They apply their existing knowledge very well to form sensible hypotheses and make well based predictions about the outcomes of their investigations. Because teachers carefully assess pupils' work they ensure that they build securely on what has gone before. In Year 4, pupils conducted very effective investigations into gravity, using model parachutes. They made detailed observations and carefully recorded what needed to remain the same and what had to be changed. By Year 6, pupils organise their own investigations, ensuring that tests are fair. In investigations into the functions of the heart and circulation pupils produced clear explanations and recorded their results of work, on the pulse rate, in

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Commentary

well-presented charts. More-able pupils reached very detailed and well-considered conclusions in their work about forces. Pupils with special educational needs generally achieve very highly. This is because they receive very good support from teaching assistants and they are presented with tasks which are well suited to their abilities.

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Commentary

55. Leadership and management are very good. The co-ordinator has very good subject knowledge and evaluates teaching and learning very effectively in order to make improvements. Colleagues are supported very well and there is a clear understanding of the way ahead in order to support very high achievement.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

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

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Main strengths and weaknesses

Brockwell Junior School Page 25 November 2004 • Leadership and management are excellent and this is a significant factor in the very substantial improvements made since the last inspection. • The quality of teaching is very good and this leads to good achievement. • Resources are very good and very clear planning ensures that pupils build securely on previous work. • ICT is very well used in the other subjects to enhance learning.

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Commentary

56. By the end of Year 6 standards are above expectations and achievement is good. This is a considerable improvement on the findings of the previous inspection, which indicated that provision did not meet statutory requirements and that standards were below expectations. Provision is now very good. This is because substantial improvements have been made in the leadership and management, the quality of teaching, in resources and in curricular planning. Training for staff has increased their confidence and proficiency in the teaching of ICT. Resources have been augmented and improved, including the provision of IWBs, a computer suite and lap top computers. The school has a comprehensive teaching programme to ensure continuity of education for all pupils. Teachers' plans are focused and detailed.

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Commentary

57. Because teachers have very good subject knowledge, they use clear explanations, very often enhanced by use of the IWB, to help pupils to make good progress and achieve well. In Year 6, during work on the animation of a Christmas scene using features from a computer programme and images from the Internet, the teacher used the IWB very skilfully to review previous work and outline learning objectives. When pupils followed this up in the computer suite, they produced work of above average standard because they knew clearly what was expected and because the teacher and teaching assistant were on hand to provide support and challenge when needed. This support was very useful to less-able pupils who were less confident in sequencing instructions. More-able pupils responded well to the challenges set and produced work of a very high standard, reflecting fertile imagination and considerable skill. Because relationships are very good throughout the school and teachers

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Commentary

manage pupils very well, equipment is used sensibly and staff and pupils confidently engage in ongoing discussions about how they might improve. This helps to raise standards in both ICT and English.

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Commentary

58. The school makes very good use of its resources, so that all pupils, including those with special educational needs, achieve well. However, the school has rightly identified the need to extend the space available in the ICT suite in order to raise achievement further. Because planning is very thorough pupils make good progress as they move through the school, building on previous work systematically. In Year 3, most pupils are secure in the skills that enable them to access programs, practise sending and receiving simulated e-mail messages and navigate CD-ROM. By Year 6, pupils design their own interesting web sites, use sensors adeptly to monitor sound and temperature and confidently collect and interpret information about instances of vandalism within the community. They skilfully create spreadsheets to help in costing school uniform and discuss how the school's electronic systems for recording

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Commentary

attendance might be improved. Brockwell Junior School Page 26 November 2004 59. The co-ordinator’s excellent leadership and management have been central features in the improvements made since the last inspection and this has been instrumental in promoting the school's above average and improving standards. Subject knowledge is outstanding and very good use is made of expertise to support colleagues and organise the subject. The co-ordinator has a very clear understanding of the way ahead in order to raise standards. There is very good support from the staff and in particular the expertise of a teaching assistant, who plays an important role in supporting pupils, teachers and other teaching assistants.

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Information and communication technology across the curriculum

60. The school makes very good use of ICT across the curriculum. This helps pupils to increase their skills in ICT and the other subjects and to see a relevance to their work. The use of IWBs throughout the school has enabled pupils and teachers to access and present a wide range of information and experiences clearly and efficiently. This helps to raise standards. For example, in science in Year 6, an animated programme was used very effectively to give a clear and humorous explanation of the digestive system. In geography, in Year 5, pupils confidently used the IWB and digital photographs to illustrate their arguments when discussing different viewpoints concerning retail development. Computers are well used, for example, in journalistic styles of writing as part of the computer generated school newspaper and in work in art and design. Throughout the school, pupils frequently use their well-developed research skills to retrieve information electronically. This

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Information and communication technology across the curriculum

helps them to extend their knowledge and understanding in most subjects.

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Religious Education

Provision in religious education is very good.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Leadership is very good. • Resources are very good and support learning well. • Religious education has a high profile within the curriculum. • Teachers link skills and knowledge from other subjects when they teach religious education.

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Commentary

61. Standards exceed those expected at the end of Year 6. The school follows and meets the requirements of the locally agreed syllabus, augmented by an additional teaching programme. Pupils achieve very well. They gain a very good knowledge of Christianity and other main world faiths. Having considered places they would like to visit, pupils then learn about the special journeys made by pilgrims from different faiths, linking geographical knowledge and literacy skills to record their findings. The interactive displays in the school make very good use of artefacts to show pupils the similarities and differences between major world faiths. Imaginative accounts of a visit to Mecca and postcards home from the Ganges indicate how well literacy skills Brockwell Junior School Page 27 November 2004 are combined with learning about religious rituals. Though the lessons are broadly Christian, pupils learn to respect ‘holy’ places and objects, recognising they will be

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Commentary

significant to other people. Pupils also consider moral issues such as the lack of food in The Third World and the work of relief agencies.

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Commentary

62. The quality of teaching and learning is very good. Pupils in Year 5 show surprising maturity when they discuss the ‘bad’ news that features so regularly in the media, identifying that bad news sells more papers. Prompted by very lively teaching, pupils suggest all the things that make their parents stressed at Christmas and through good use of role-play, they work out imaginative solutions to problems. Year 6 pupils and their teacher made very good use of the IWB to access the BBC Newsround programme to examine up-to-date headlines and to show a relevant extract from the Old Testament. The focus of this lesson was to consider if they, the pupils, could do anything about the lack of peace in the world. Having initially decided they could not, they were skilfully guided by the teacher to see that their attitudes to each other, their tolerance of others, kindness and charity work, could have an impact. Using the

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Commentary

newspaper headlines and the phrase But Peace on Earth pupils created individual poems based on their discussions.

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Commentary

63. Leadership and management are very good. A very good range of resources is available and teachers’ plans are closely monitored and staff effectively updated on changes and new ideas. There is a portfolio of pupils’ work. Assemblies are planned well ahead and link well with the religious themes within the curriculum. Good improvement has been made since the last inspection.

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Geography

64. It was not possible to gather sufficient evidence to make a full judgement in the subject. One lesson in Year 5 was observed, pupils’ work analysed and discussions held with staff and pupils. From this evidence it is possible to conclude that the standards attained by Year 4 and 5 pupils are above expectations. In Year 4, pupils understand well how to research, through fieldwork, aspects of their local environment and to draw conclusions from the data they collect. In the Year 5 lesson observed, standards were well above expectations. Very good teaching resulted in pupils making very effective presentations, representing different interest groups about proposed changes in local land use. The clarity of their arguments, enhanced considerably by the use of extracts from the Internet and of digital photographs, contributed very well to the high quality of their learning. Pupils display a maturity in their understanding of and empathy with the views of local

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Geography

residents, about local facilities. Local residents’ opinions had been canvassed and recorded to add authenticity to their presentations. This lesson, together with other evidence, indicates that the geography curriculum is very good and that it is well led and managed.

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History

65. It is not possible to make a judgement about provision, because no lessons were observed. Samples of pupils’ work, observation of display and discussion with the co-ordinator indicate that teachers and pupils enjoy history and standards are very high. The subject manager is enthusiastic, leads the subject very well and is Brockwell Junior School Page 28 November 2004 committed to developing a more stringent assessment procedure. A noticeable feature is the link between history, art and design and literacy. The study of Ancient Egyptians results in careful paintings based on Egyptian figures, caricatures of Queen Victoria, emanated from a history topic and a Tudor Troubles board game, complete with penalties, which was inspired by the study of Henry VIII and his descendants. Relevant timelines are displayed in classrooms and pupils have good opportunities to gain knowledge of the past, discover the validity of information sources and

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History

appreciate that events can be interpreted in different ways.

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Art and design

Provision in art and design is very good.

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Art and design

• The links between art and design and other subjects effectively extend the variety of learning opportunities. • Very good teaching interests pupils and engages them well in creative activities. • ICT is used very well to support pupils’ learning. • Pupils are given very good opportunities to explore and investigate ideas.

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Commentary

66. Only two lessons were observed in art and design, but the quality of display and samples of pupils’ work provide sufficient evidence on which to base a judgement. Standards are well above expectations and pupils achieve very well. One noticeable feature to impact on visitors to the school is the very high quality of the display in classrooms and around corridors and central places. The stimulating and sometimes interactive displays are not only a celebration of pupils’ work, but are also used in lessons as exemplars of prior achievements. Very good use is made of ICT. Pupils’ artwork is photographed and stored on file, can be retrieved at any time and used as a teaching aid, allowing pupils to take their original work home. Throughout the school IWBs are used effectively in teaching all subjects, the technician has ‘saved’ pupils’ work as a screen saver so that pupils are constantly reminded of their very

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Commentary

67. The very high standards noted at the time of the last inspection have been maintained. A reason for this is the imaginative way in which teachers plan art and design to link with other subjects. For example, in studying the Victorians, pupils designed and painted Victorian tiles and painted miniatures in the style of the time. The use of layering techniques in collage, depicting the poem The Midnight Wood, enhanced links with literacy. The science topic relating to Earth and Space provides inspiration for pupils to use marbling inks and textured card in order to produce planet landscapes. Pupils achieve very well and progressively build on their skills to express themselves in a more sophisticated way. Pupils have very good opportunities to appreciate, analyse and emulate the styles of a wide range of artists. Brockwell Junior School Page 29 November 2004 68. The quality of teaching and learning is very good. The IWB is used very well to show

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Commentary

samples of work to interest and focus pupils in lessons. Pupils enjoy and make good use of their Visual Diaries, in which they experiment, evaluate and improve their creative efforts. In the lessons observed, Year 6 pupils concentrated very well and were totally absorbed in creating clay dragons. They carefully watched the teacher’s well structured demonstration and by the end of the lesson made models with surprisingly detailed features and learned the skills required for joining clay together. In a Year 5 lesson, the excellent attitudes resulted in very high standards of work as pupils examined and described samples of pottery, noted the geometric shapes typical of much of Clarice Cliff’s work and used their observations effectively to design a container. A particular strength of this lesson was the teacher’s constant reinforcement of technical vocabulary.

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Commentary

69. Leadership and management are very good. The subject leaders have very good personal knowledge and enthusiasm and have realised the impact that ICT can have on pupils’ attainment and interest. Resources are very good. Despite the very high standards the co-ordinators are not complacent, but constantly look for new ideas to maintain and extend the exciting challenges and vibrant curriculum offered to pupils.

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Design and technology

70. It is not possible to make a judgement on overall provision or the quality of teaching and learning. Evidence gained from discussions with teachers and analysis of pupils' work and teachers' plans, indicates that the school meets the statutory requirements for the teaching of design and technology. As they move through the school, most pupils increase their understanding of the planning, designing, making and evaluation process. They produce some well-finished models such as tent structures, moving vehicles, marble mazes, battery-controlled models and torches. They know how to make firmly assembled joints, levers and axles and effectively use a wide range of materials, equipment, tools and techniques. Pupils in a Year 3 lesson produced an imaginative range of designs for their work on packaging. This was because the teacher had very good subject knowledge and explained the process very clearly.

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Design and technology

Because of high expectations and the good management of behaviour, pupils constantly referred to the criteria that underlined the purposes of their designs and worked enthusiastically and rigorously.

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Music

71. It is not possible to give an overall judgement about provision or the quality of teaching and learning. However, evidence from discussions with teachers and analysis of teachers' plans indicates that the school meets the statutory requirements for teaching the programmes of study. Music plays an important part in the life of the school. Pupils listen to a wide selection of music played during the school day. During assemblies they are encouraged to identify instruments and themes. Opportunities are provided for all pupils who wish to receive tuition in violin, piano and keyboard. Pupils sing very tunefully and enthusiastically in assemblies, during which they sing rounds and include syncopation in their repertoire. Older pupils have opportunities to join the choir and perform in school concerts and local festivals where they have earned a high reputation. In a Year 6 lesson, the quality of

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Music

teaching was very good. This was because the teacher had very good subject Brockwell Junior School Page 30 November 2004 knowledge, used clear explanations and asked challenging questions. As a result, most pupils confidently recognised the timbre in a range of drums from different cultures. They made very good use of appropriate musical language and because the work was lively and interesting, they worked hard, enjoyed the lesson and achieved well.

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Physical education

Provision in physical education is very good .

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Pupils enjoy their lessons very much and have very good attitudes to their learning and achieve well. • Dance is well taught. • There is a very good range of out-of-class activities on offer to which pupils respond enthusiastically. • Teachers do not always use assessment sufficiently to help pupils improve.

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Commentary

72. A significant feature of the lessons observed, which contribute well to the above expected standards pupils attain, is the enthusiasm and enjoyment pupils derived from their work. Pupils changed for lessons quickly and without fuss entered the hall and promptly assumed positions from which they could work safely. They listened intently to instructions, participated with keen commitment, enjoying their activities and trying to improve their skills. When required to handle equipment, they did so willingly and very sensibly. Pupils very much enjoyed taking responsibility for working in pairs and groups, to design dances or sequences of movements, collaborating very amicably. When asked to comment upon other pupils’ work, they did so with respect and tried hard to find positive features but also being confident enough to give constructive criticism. The commitment and enthusiasm of Year 6 pupils in the nearly one hour long circuits was a potent example of their excellent

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Commentary

attitudes to the subject and to their physical fitness.

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Commentary

73. Improvement in provision since the last inspection is very good. The school recently identified dance as an area in which the staff felt less confident in their teaching. Good leadership has ensured that effective training has been provided in order to enhance teachers’ skills and confidence in this area. As a result, dance is now well taught. In lessons observed in Years 4 and 5, pupils achieved well and attained above expected standards as a result of well planned and executed lessons. Teachers’ own demonstrations and the way in which pupils’ performance was used as a positive model to help others improve, were particularly strengths. Music was used effectively to set mood and tone. The way in which all pupils were encouraged to interpret music also enhanced their performance. The enthusiastic participation of boys in dance lessons and their lack of self consciousness about interpreting

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Commentary

emotions through the medium, reflects very positively upon the school’s provision for personal development and the success of its policy to fully include all pupils. Brockwell Junior School Page 31 November 2004 74. Pupils respond enthusiastically to the many opportunities available to them to participate in out-of-class activities. Clubs to promote their interest and skills in football and netball, include pupils from all year groups. In the summer, there are clubs for short tennis and plans are afoot to involve the local professional football club in training pupils. A session of a regular dance club was observed which significantly contributed to pupils’ expertise and provided a telling example of the school’s very good links with other schools. These sessions are run by Year 13 pupils from a local sports college, who are studying dance at Advanced level. Nearly 50 boys and girls from Years 5 and 6 thoroughly enjoyed the session and clearly made

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Commentary

significant progress in their skills as a result of the very good tuition. The annual Year 6 residential visit provides pupils with many opportunities to experience adventurous activities such as rock climbing, abseiling, canoeing and stream scrambling. All aspects of the provision described contribute positively to pupils’ good achievements.

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Commentary

75. The quality of leadership and management is good. Significant features are the constant updating of resources and the provision of effective training which enables teachers to enhance their skills and gain more confidence in teaching aspects of the subject in which they have felt less secure. The partnership with the Sports Co- ordinator Initiative, which has just been formed, is also beginning to provide better provision, especially in gymnastics.

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Commentary

76. Although assessment is satisfactory overall, especially in lessons when pupils are encouraged to evaluate their peers’ performance, there are some shortcomings. The system to record pupils’ attainment over time is very new and has yet to impact on standards. This means that there is no secure base upon which to plan lessons to challenge the very highest attaining pupils. The school has ensured that pupils who are talented in an aspect of physical education have been put in contact with organisations to provide them with expert tuition. However, day-to-day lesson plans do not consistently reflect how the highest attainers will fulfil their potential. In a school, which otherwise uses ICT so effectively, it seems an anomaly that equipment such as digital cameras or camcorders are not used to help pupils evaluate their own performance more thoroughly.

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PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND HEALTH AND CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION

77. Only one lesson was observed so no judgements can be made about overall teaching and provision. Until recently, the school incorporated personal development into aspects of other subjects; the evidence is that this was very effective. With the introduction nationally of the new element of citizenship, the school has been proactive and made an audit of the existing provision. Two newly appointed co- ordinators have made a good start in introducing a new teaching programme that is to be taught in discrete lessons as opposed to the previous practice. Through the school council pupils learn very effectively about the responsibilities and workings of democracy. The excellent ethos of the school, excellent attitudes of pupils and excellent provision for pupils’ personal, social and health education indicate that provision is very effective. Brockwell Junior School Page 32 November 2004

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

The overall effectiveness of the school 1 How inclusive the school is 1 How the school’s effectiveness has changed since its last inspection 2 Value for money provided by the school 1

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

Overall standards achieved 2 Pupils’ achievement 2

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

Pupils’ attitudes, values and other personal qualities 1 Attendance 2 Attitudes 1 Behaviour, including the extent of exclusions 2 Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

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

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PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

The leadership and management of the school 1 The governance of the school 2 The leadership of the headteacher 1 The leadership of other key staff 2 The effectiveness of management 1

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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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