Crown Lane Primary School

CROWN LANE PRIMARY SCHOOL

Dates of inspection: 7 – 9 February 2005

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CROWN LANE PRIMARY SCHOOL

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

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CROWN LANE PRIMARY SCHOOL

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

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Type of school: Primary School category: Community Age range of pupils: 3 – 11 Gender of pupils: Mixed Number on roll: 382

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

School address: Crown Lane Streatham London Postcode: SW16 3HX

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Telephone number: 020 8670 4713 Fax number: 020 8670 6094 Email: ysteel@crownlane.lambeth.sch.uk Appropriate authority: Governing body Name of chair of governors: Mr Jeremy Colwill

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Date of previous inspection: 20 May 1996

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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SCHOOL

Since the last inspection the school has been through a period of significant change and severe challenges. At the time of the last inspection, the school was a one-form entry school serving pupils who came from broadly average socially and economically advantaged homes. The buildings were, however, inadequate and the decision was made to rebuild them. To enable this to happen, the school moved to much older, and in most ways inadequate, buildings twenty-five minutes walk away. In this process, the school took over the school that was in these buildings and that was closing. This school served a very deprived area. There were serious challenges posed by bringing the two schools together and the two parental bodies. Some parents from the original location removed their children and sent them to other schools; they tended to be the more able pupils. Initially the move was to be for one year but planning problems made the interim stage over two

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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SCHOOL

years. The current headteacher had been appointed to lead the school through the transition and had appointed new staff. She needed, however, to work with staff and pupils in inadequate accommodation during this interim period. The pupils moved to the newly built school at the end of November 2004, although not all buildings works were finished. It is important to recognise that at the time of this current inspection, the ‘fresh and reborn’ school was only two months old. It is now a larger than average primary school with pupils from 3 years old to 11. The proportion of current pupils eligible for free school meals is very high, as are those with special educational needs or speaking other languages than English; the latter pupils are often at an early stage of English acquisition. There are many cultural heritages represented in the school, although the predominant group is of British black-Caribbean heritage. Over and above the challenges described earlier, the

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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SCHOOL

major challenge was and is very high mobility, that is pupils joining or leaving the school other than at reception or Year 6. Those leaving tend to be the higher achievers and those joining tend to come with very low attainment or are often unable to speak English. This situation is beginning to settle down, but is still a major challenge facing the school. The school is part of an Education Action Zone. Crown Lane Primary School - 4

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Members of the inspection team Subject responsibilities

12487 John Lilly Lead inspector The Foundation Stage English as an additional language 11041 Marvyn Moore Lay inspector 15064 Paul Bamber Team inspector Personal and social education (PSHE) Geography History Physical education 32197 Mike Dukes Team inspector English Music 22180 Shree Lekha Mistry Team inspector Science Art and design Design and technology 3574 Kanwaljit Singh Team inspector Mathematics Information and communication technology (ICT) Religious education

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Members of the inspection team Subject responsibilities

6 East Point High Street, Seal Sevenoaks Kent TN15 0EG

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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). Crown Lane Primary School - 5

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PART B: COMMENTARY ON THE MAIN INSPECTION FINDINGS

Standards achieved in areas of learning, subjects and courses

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PART B: COMMENTARY ON THE MAIN INSPECTION FINDINGS

Pupils’ attitudes, values and other personal qualities

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PART B: COMMENTARY ON THE MAIN INSPECTION FINDINGS

QUALITY OF EDUCATION PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL 12-18

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PART B: COMMENTARY ON THE MAIN INSPECTION FINDINGS

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

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SUBJECTS IN KEY STAGES ONE AND TWO

PART D: SUMMARY OF THE MAIN INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS 36 Crown Lane Primary School - 6

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OVERALL EVALUATION

Crown Lane offers a sound quality of education ; standards of attainment are rising and the foundations are in place for further improvement. The school is succeeding, despite the many challenges that could have held it back. After a period of considerable disruption, the school has made a good start to life and work in the very attractive new buildings. Standards of work and the quality of provision are satisfactory and improving, although currently too slowly; attainment by Year 6 is still well below average. Underpinning the present and future improvement is the school’s very strong commitment to help all pupils to achieve success and eventually to be a significant resource for the community as a whole. Currently, however, poor behaviour sometimes overwhelms the learning and there are weaknesses in the curriculum and in assessment. Consequently, standards of teaching and learning vary from very good to unsatisfactory and, overall, are only satisfactory.

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OVERALL EVALUATION

They need to be very good to achieve what the school is determined to do, that is to make ‘ a real difference’ and ‘ do good learning’ . The school offers satisfactory value for money.

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OVERALL EVALUATION

The school’s main strengths and weaknesses are:

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OVERALL EVALUATION

• The headteacher provides strong leadership and, consequently, staff have a determined and well understood commitment to helping all pupils to achieve their potential. • The school lacks a whole school strategy to improve behaviour which would bring the many good initiatives together. • Assessment and its interpretation are under-developed and, therefore, the school does not have an effective way to test the effectiveness of the curriculum or of teaching, identifying where improvements are needed. • The leadership and management overall of the inclusion team of support staff are very good and this team is making a significant contribution to raising the achievement of all pupils. • Provision in the nursery and reception classes is good, with many very good features. • The potential of subject leaders is not yet developed well enough and this leads to weaknesses in curriculum, teaching and learning.

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OVERALL EVALUATION

• The partnership with parents is not strong enough. • The school has a well thought-through and implemented support system for staff development. • Strategies for improving attendance and punctuality are not effective enough.

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OVERALL EVALUATION

The school was last inspected in 1996. At that time, the school was very different and served very different types of pupils. To refer to standards at the time of that report would be meaningless. This current report, therefore, judges the current rate of improvement and the school’s capacity to sustain improvement.

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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

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED

English E E E* E mathematics C E E* E* science E* E E* E* Key: A - well above average; B – above average; C – average; D – below average; E – well below average E* – extremely low Similar schools are those whose pupils attained similarly at the end of Year 2.

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED

Achievement is satisfactory and often good, even though attainment is low by Year 6 . Children join the nursery with very low attainment and rapidly make good progress. By the end of Crown Lane Primary School - 7 the reception year, most will have reached the levels expected at that age and a significant number will have exceeded them. In the past, this good progress continued in Years 1 and 2, and the results in national tests and assessments in 2004 at the end of Year 2 were well above the average for similar schools for reading and writing, and above average in mathematics. This trend of improvement is likely to continue, but currently is threatened by weaknesses in teaching.

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STANDARDS ACHIEVED

Although attainment results in national tests at the end of Year 6 in 2004 were very low and standards have declined significantly over recent years, this negative picture can be largely explained by the very high number of pupils who joined the school after Year 3 with very low attainment. Although attainment is still low by Year 6, there is now an improving trend. The spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils is good overall and, consequently, pupils have good attitudes to their work and towards other people. Some, however, find it very difficult to behave well, despite the strong support of staff. Behaviour overall, therefore, is only satisfactory. Attendance is poor and punctuality unsatisfactory, although this tends to refer to a significant minority rather than the majority of pupils who attend well and are punctual.

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION

The school provides satisfactory quality of education, and the quality is improving. Teaching is satisfactory but the benefits of the good and very good teaching seen is held back by teaching that is less effective and in some cases unsatisfactory. Consequently, learning is satisfactory rather than good. Even so, pupils’ achievement is good over time, with the team of specialist support staff making a very significant contribution to this good picture. Provision in nursery and reception classes is good and in many ways very good. The curriculum is satisfactory, although there is some imbalance and lack of breadth. There are good links with the community and other schools that enrich the pupils’ learning. While there is a satisfactory partnership with parents , this is an area for urgent and further improvement.

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LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

Leadership and management overall are satisfactory . The headteacher provides good leadership; it is strong, determined and visionary and is shared by senior managers. However, the potential of middle managers is held back because they are not given enough accountability, responsibility and influence. Governance is good, with an experienced and very committed governing body which has made a major contribution to overcoming the challenges of recent years.

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PARENTS’ AND PUPILS’ VIEWS OF THE SCHOOL

Most parents value the school but some have legitimate concerns over pupils’ behaviour and parents’ partnership with the school. Pupils are proud of their school and the part they play in its growing success.

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IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED

The most important things the school should do to improve, especially standards of attainment by Year 6, are:

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IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED

• Implement whole school strategies for helping all pupils to behave well. • Develop better assessment procedures to test the effectiveness of the curriculum and of teaching and so identify ways to improve. • Develop the skills and influence of subject leaders so that the quality of provision becomes more consistent. • Make building partnership with parents an even higher priority. • Develop more effective strategies to improve attendance and punctuality. Crown Lane Primary School - 8

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Standards achieved in areas of learning, subjects and courses

Although attainment throughout the school is low, there is now an upward trend. All pupils make reasonable progress and many make good progress. Achievement is currently satisfactory and often good.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Achievement in the nursery and reception classes is very good. • Pupils make good progress in literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology. • The progress in the above subjects is not reflected in other subjects, and this harms the achievement overall of pupils. • Pupils who have the greatest barriers in their learning to overcome achieve well, sometimes better than peers.

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Commentary

1. Results in national tests and assessments at the end of Years 2 and 6 in 2004 showed that attainment overall was well below nationally average standards. By the end of Year 2, attainment was below average in reading and writing and well below in mathematics and science. However, when compared with results in schools facing similar challenges, attainment was well above average in reading and writing, above average in mathematics and average in science. These results showed a strong improving trend over recent years. Although a below average proportion of pupils attained the higher level 3, detailed analysis shows that the achievement of more able pupils was good.

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Standards in national tests at the end of Year 2 – average point scores in 2004

Standards in: School results National results Reading 14.9 (13.2) 15.8 (15.7) Writing 14.1 (12.6) 14.6 (14.6) Mathematics 15.0 (14.3) 16.2 (16.3) There were 45 pupils in the year group. Figures in brackets are for the previous year

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Standards in national tests at the end of Year 2 – average point scores in 2004

2. By the end of Year 6, attainment overall was well below the national average and especially low in mathematics. Compared with results in similar schools, attainment was also very low. Unlike results at the end of Year 2, results at the end of Year 6 have seriously declined over recent years. This decline can be largely, but not completely, explained by the very high number of pupils who joined the school after Year 3 with very low attainment and complex problems with their learning.

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

Standards in: School results National results English 23.3 (24.8) 26.9 (26.8) mathematics 21.3 (22.4) 27.0 (26.8) Science 23.6 (26.6) 28.6 (28.6) There were 41 pupils in the year group. Figures in brackets are for the previous year Crown Lane Primary School - 9 3. The attainment, progress and achievement of current pupils show that where attainment was improving this is still the case, and where it was declining the trend is now upwards. By Year 6, attainment in English is now just below average, and in mathematics, although still well below average, attainment is much closer to being judged better. Attainment in science has not improved, however, either by the end of Year 2 or 6.

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

4. The school is becoming more effective, although staff have yet to achieve the considerable improvement in attainment that is needed. This has clear reasons:

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

• The key barrier to learning for most pupils is their low level speaking and listening skills, and this restricts their ability to think, understand and solve problems. The school does not have a clear policy and strategy for rectifying these weaknesses and these are necessary.

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

• Teaching varies in quality. When it is good or better, the achievement of all pupils rises considerably. This is because when taught well the pupils naturally concentrate and have very good attitudes to learning, but when teaching is less effective poor behaviour overwhelms the teaching and learning.

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

• The school has made literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology a priority and this has raised achievement in these subjects significantly. However, achievement and learning in other subjects tends to be only just satisfactory or worse. There is a need to improve a) the curriculum as a whole, b) leadership and management in all not just some subjects, c) assessment in all not just some subjects and d) teaching in all not just some subjects and classes – as components within a single strategy with measurable targets to meet. The current more patchy management approach means that what is achieved in some subjects is either lost or damaged by weaker performance in others for example, hindering the development of speaking, listening and thinking skills, and the development of good attitudes to learning.

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

• Assessment is underdeveloped except in literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology and at the Foundation Stage. At an individual level, assessment is good when managed by the inclusion team. Even so, concerning the curriculum as a whole, managers are not well placed to evaluate the improvements made and to see clearly where improvements are still needed. Similarly, senior managers recognise that they do not yet have the full skills to analyse, interpret and understand clearly what assessment data might tell them. Overall, this means that the improvement plans for achievement are ‘running blind’, and managers are uncertain as to what is working and what is not, and how much progress is or is not being achieved - and why.

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

5. A very good example of where a coherent and comprehensive approach is already working very well is at the Foundation Stage. Children join the nursery with very low attainment, especially in speaking and listening skills. By the time they join the reception classes their attainment is better but still low, and by the time they move onto Year 1, most have attained the goals set for that age and a significant number have exceeded them, especially in reading. This is because leadership and management are strong, creating a team that is always sharing ideas on how to improve; the curriculum is very broad and balanced, each part supporting the others, and consequently, teaching and learning are consistently good. These aspects of the improvement plan are supported by a positive relationship with parents that ensures that they feel involved and, therefore, that they support the efforts of the staff. This comprehensive and

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

‘joined up’ approach has enabled very good achievement by all children. Further up the school, good improvements in literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology tend to have their impact watered down by less improvement elsewhere. It is worth remembering that teams that play as a team win, and teams with just a few stars usually lose.

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

6. The major block to raising achievement is the great complexity in the barriers to learning facing the pupils – they have many and different mountains to climb. The ‘inclusion’ team of Crown Lane Primary School - 10 specialist support staff, as with the Foundation Stage staff, are very effectively led and managed, effectively deployed and guided by comprehensive and well analysed assessment data. Each part of the whole for example, learning mentors building bridges with parents and others helping pupils learn English, are clear as to the part they play and how they depend on the part played by others. This is having a significant affect on raising the achievement of the most vulnerable pupils.

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Pupils’ attitudes, values and other personal qualities

The personal development of pupils is good, although behaviour is only satisfactory because many pupils have yet to learn to manage their behaviour maturely. The high expectations of the school for behaviour are, however, enabling improvement.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Pupils are willing to be enterprising and take responsibility. • Pupils’ display good attitudes to their work. • Behaviour of most pupils is satisfactory. • Attendance is poor. • Some parents feel that there are parents and carers who do not ensure that their children attend school regularly.

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Commentary

7. Children join the nursery with low personal and social skills, but develop these skills very well in the nursery and reception classes. Throughout the school, a large number of pupils join the school with significant problems with their behaviour. The learning mentors and other members of the inclusion team pick this up quickly and begin to give these pupils the support they need. The situation is, therefore, complicated. Although pupils’ behaviour is satisfactory overall, pupils’ conduct in lessons is variable. When teaching lacks pace, a sense of clear purpose and strong expectations of behaviour, the pupils’ concentration wanders and their unsatisfactory behaviour overwhelms the teaching; consequently, they do not learn well. The support for pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties is good but, improvement in their behaviour is understandably slow.

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Commentary

8. The majority of pupils, however, enjoy their learning and show interest in school life. Pupils interviewed during the inspection week were polite, behaved well and spoke of their school with pride. At lunch and break times pupils mixed well together with minimal supervision. In the playground pupils related well, with Year 6 pupils selected as play-leaders helping and mentoring reception and Year 1 pupils. There are also Year 5 and 6 pupils who are ‘peer mediators’ for younger pupils. (meaning – ‘trusted advisors or guides and people who show the way’).

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Commentary

9. The school gives some responsibility to pupils to be enterprising and take responsibility and they respond well when given the opportunity. However, sufficient opportunities are not made available to them to contribute for example, the school council has not been re-formed since moving to the new site and pupils are given too few opportunities to express their views and opinions on the school as a whole.

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Commentary

10. Although the school sets satisfactory expectations for pupils’ conduct and works hard to achieve them, this is an area of the school’s work that needs to be further developed. Specialist support teachers and assistants make a very good contribution to the learning of pupils and to their behaviour management but sometimes their expertise is not used to the full. Each class has its own set of rules but a whole school strategy for improving behaviour is not in place, this means that sanctions are sometimes applied inconsistently and not all staff are aware of effective behaviour management techniques. Crown Lane Primary School - 11 11. Pupils of different cultural backgrounds relate well with each other because the school makes the promotion of these good relationships a top priority. Pupils of all races and ethnic origins integrate well together and there was no racism seen during the inspection and little bullying or

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Commentary

harassment. The school is a happy, safe and secure community.

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Commentary

12. The pupils’ personal development is good, and this reflects the school’s good provision for their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. This is becoming a strong foundation for better learning and achievement. Pupils show interest and a willingness to form their own beliefs and ways of living through thinking and reflecting in themed assemblies and by celebrating a range of inter-faith festivals including Diwali, Jewish Festival of Light (Chanukah) and Eid at the end of Ramadan. Visits are arranged to places of worship such as local churches and a synagogue and pupils begin to develop their spiritual awareness; these visits enrich and are enriched by learning in religious education, music and ‘circle time’.

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Commentary

13. Pupils gain good moral understanding, again reflecting the clear values of the school. Staff are good role models and pupils are keen to follow their example. Pupils learn and discuss maturely the consequences of poor behaviour or ‘fairness’, and older pupils are given opportunities to live this in practice as peer mediators and supervising younger pupils. Pupils gain an awareness of the wider application of this awareness, including the safety of themselves and others, through visits from the police, fire brigade and the nurse.

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Commentary

14. Pupils learn how to play their part in building a caring and orderly community and are eager to do so. Many visits are arranged to places of local interest for example, a science museum, local restaurants and theatres, and Year 6 pupils attend the Fairthorne Manor Activity Centre under canvas for an annual residential visit.

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Commentary

15. The school successfully promotes pupils’ cultural development and multi-cultural awareness. In art pupils study the work of Van Gough, Cézanne and Matisse and visitors to the school include artists in residence, story-tellers, poets and, amongst others, Nigerian church leaders. Parents from differing cultures come into school to talk about their life experiences and through the teaching of geography, art, history and literacy, pupils learn to respect and value the cultures of other countries and communities. The pupils’ personal development is helping them gain mature attitudes to learning and, consequently, how to take more independent responsibility for their own progress.

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Commentary

16. Attendance, currently at 88.96 per cent is poor. Although the school has appointed an attendance officer and attempts to contact parents on the first day of absence, not enough is done to effectively promote attendance. The attendance officer does not carry out home visits and the purchase by the school of the services of the local education authority education welfare officer (EWO) for one day per fortnight is insufficient to make a significant impact upon attendance. Letters to parents requesting reasons for absence are not produced promptly and some parents have little knowledge of the harm poor attendance does to their children’s education. The determined work of the learning mentors is, however, beginning to rectify some of these deficiencies.

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Attendance in the latest complete reporting year (%)

Authorised absence Unauthorised absence School data 6.7 School data 1.6 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 (%)

17. There have been 29 exclusions during the previous year, 21 boys and 8 girls. This number is too high, even though all exclusions were given for good reason and were correctly recorded. The school has a significant number of pupils with emotional, behavioural and social problems or other reasons why they find it difficult to relate with others. The school does not yet have a strong enough strategy to avoid their poor behaviour leading to exclusion. Consequently, the personal development of these pupils whilst improving is too slow, despite good example of Crown Lane Primary School - 12 support. Although the figures could suggest that Black Caribbean pupils are more likely to be excluded than other cultures, this is not the case. Pupils are excluded for unacceptable behaviour, irrelevant of their culture. Excluded pupils are set work to do at home, and parents are encouraged to use facilities provided at the local library, provision that is funded by the

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Attendance in the latest complete reporting year (%)

local authority’s ‘Behaviour Improvement Plan’.

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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 White – British 68 7 0 White – Irish 1 0 0 White – any other White background 13 0 0 Mixed – White and Black Caribbean 23 3 0 Mixed – White and Black African 1 0 0 Mixed – White and Asian 1 0 0 Mixed – any other mixed background 18 0 0 Asian or Asian British – Indian 2 0 0 Asian or Asian British – Pakistani 1 0 0 Asian or Asian British – Bangladeshi 2 0 0 Asian or Asian British – any other Asian background 5 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Black or Black British – Caribbean 104 44 1 Black or Black British – African 65 1 0 Black or Black British – any other Black background 7 0 0

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Ethnic background of pupils Exclusions in the last school year

Chinese 3 0 0 Any other ethnic group 18 0 0 No ethnic group recorded 8 3 0 The table gives the number of exclusions, which may be different from the number of pupils excluded.

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QUALITY OF EDUCATION PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL

The school provides satisfactory quality of education and this quality is improving. The curriculum is satisfactory as is teaching. The school provides sound care for the pupils’ guidance and welfare and is building an improving partnership with parents.

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Teaching and learning

Teaching and learning are currently satisfactory, and both are improving.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• Teachers are highly committed to helping all pupils to learn. Crown Lane Primary School - 13 • The quality of teaching varies too much between subjects and classes, and this variation means pupils do not receive the consistently good teaching they need to make good progress. • Some teachers have weak behaviour management skills. • Support teachers and assistants make a significant contribution to the learning, but sometimes this resource is not used to the full. • Learning objectives too often describe tasks rather than what is to be learned and this relates to underdeveloped assessment in many subjects. • Teachers do not give pupils enough feedback on how to improve their own work.

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 63 lessons

Excellent Very good Good Satisfactor y Unsatisfacto ry Poor Very Poor

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 63 lessons

0 (0 %) 13 (21 %) 27 (43 %) 19 (30 %) 4 (6 %) 0 (0 %) 0 (0 %)

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 63 lessons

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 63 lessons

18. All the teachers face the demands of challenging behaviour, a wide range of special educational needs and pupils who are learning English as an additional language. In addition, they often need to help pupils who have recently joined the school with very low attainment or needing to learn English. Despite these challenges, teachers remain highly committed to the success of all pupils in their care. This challenge and commitment, however, demands very good teaching. When this is not the case, the learning slows significantly and when teaching is weak, challenging behaviour overwhelms the learning. Whilst teaching is satisfactory overall, with more than half good or better, lack of consistency and too little outstanding teaching means it is not yet strong enough to create the significant improvement in attainment that is needed and the school wants. When the teaching is this good for example, at the Foundation

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 63 lessons

Stage, the pupils’ achievement is also very good and attainment often exceeds national expectations. About a fifth of teaching observed was very good, and this offers an opportunity for others to learn from these role models.

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 63 lessons

19. The school has rightly invested in a high number of teaching assistants, and a very well staffed inclusion team of specialist teachers and assistants. Because these staff are very well led and managed, they make a considerable contribution to the learning. Even so, this resource is sometimes wasted, because teaching assistants sit behind the pupils when being taught as a class and consequently these support staff are not in a position to support the learning. In a few cases, support teachers and assistants sat at the front with the class teacher or within the circle when on the carpet. In these cases the learning improved dramatically. Similarly, in the higher years, classes of similar ability are created for literacy and numeracy. These arrangements improve learning, although full advantage is lost because the lowest ability group who face the greatest challenges, work in the least well-resourced room.

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 63 lessons

20. All teachers write learning objectives on the board but sometimes they are simply a description of tasks, rather than a clear challenge as to what skills are to be learned and demonstrated, or knowledge to be understood and used successfully. Consequently, pupils do not know what the teacher will look for in their work, and full-class sessions at the end of lessons cannot easily check at what level the pupils have succeeded in meeting the objectives. It is only in the very good teaching that inspectors saw teachers helping pupils articulate where and why they succeeded, where and why they met problems and what they needed to learn next. In these lessons, all pupils really ‘flew’ and, consequently, their attainment sometimes exceeded national expectations. This feedback to pupils is called ‘assessment for learning’, and helps develop independent learning by helping pupils gain the speaking and listening skills that help

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 63 lessons

them think about and solve problems for themselves. In the best lessons, teachers and assistants model the structured language the pupils need and expect the pupils to respond in Crown Lane Primary School - 14 the same way. This effectively develops the pupils’ thinking and their ability to articulate their ideas.

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 63 lessons

21. When well taught, pupils are keen to learn and stick at a task even if difficult. They show pride in their achievements and take care to do their best. They are cooperative and collaborate with others. When listening, they do not just look attentive but think through what they hear and contribute orally in a well-structured and extended way. When well taught, it does not occur to them to behave badly. Teachers use homework well to extend the learning, and pupils say they enjoy the work and find it interesting.

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 63 lessons

22. The specialist inclusion team make a very significant contribution to raising achievement. They are special educational needs assistants, support staff for pupils learning English or from a minority ethnic culture, and learning mentors who support pupils with particular problems, often forming a better link between home and school. This support covers the whole range of attainment, including the very able. This team was seen to teach on many occasions both within class and also in separate groups. The teaching was always good and often very good, and so, consequently, was the pupils’ learning and achievement.

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Summary of teaching observed during the inspection in 63 lessons

23. Teachers assess work well in numeracy and literacy, and can, therefore, track progress and act when it slows. Assessment is weak in most other subjects and, therefore, there is no way of staff understanding how well the pupils are learning or whether their teaching was successful or not. Similarly, there is little way of telling whether the curriculum aided or hindered learning. Marking is conscientious but too rarely highlights where the pupil has succeeded, why they have met problems and what they need to learn next.

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The curriculum

Overall, the curriculum is satisfactory. It is very inclusive. Pupils with special educational needs and those who are learning English as an additional language are well provided for and provision for pupils’ personal, social and health education is good. There is an imbalance in the curriculum and currently the school is providing less than it might do to involve pupils outside the school day.

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Main strengths and weaknesses

• The school succeeds very well in its aim to include all pupils in its current provision. • Imbalances in the curriculum contribute to pupils’ low standards in science and there are too large gaps between sessions of teaching in religious education, design and technology and geography. • Pupils’ personal, social, cultural and health education are well provided for. • All pupils can access the curriculum because the school’s arrangements for supporting and tracking the progress of pupils with special educational needs, those with gifts and talents and those learning English as an additional language are good. • The lack of assessment systems in all subjects other than English, mathematics and ICT make it difficult for teachers to match the curriculum to pupils’ specific needs or to test its effectiveness. • Given the needs of pupils, the current provision for activities outside the classroom are unsatisfactory.

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Commentary

24. A considerable strength is the school’s success in including all pupils in its current provision. The very effective leadership and management of this area of its work ensures that each pupil has access to the current curriculum. Particular attention is paid to the needs of more vulnerable pupils to make sure that they are provided with the support necessary to enable them to participate fully in all the school offers. This is not to say that the most-able pupils are forgotten; they have effective sessions and activities to meet their needs for instance, small group teaching within the school, and seminars and workshops that are provided externally. Crown Lane Primary School - 15 25. A weakness in the curriculum is its imbalance. Subjects other than English, mathematics, ICT and physical education are taught thematically and cyclically. In some subjects, notably science, design and technology and geography, there is not enough consistent coverage to

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Commentary

ensure that the pupils build on their knowledge and skills coherently and progressively. As a result, pupils’ achievement is too low. The lack of assessment systems within all but English, mathematics and ICT exacerbates this lack of achievement. This is because teachers have no benchmarks upon which to match the tasks they set to the pupils’ needs or against which to test the appropriateness of the curriculum.

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Commentary

26. Pupils’ personal, social and health education are well provided for. The school’s coherent and relevant teaching programme, taught predominantly through discrete lessons, enables pupils to discuss matters that are important to them and these often touch upon difficult and sensitive issues within a positive, caring and civilised setting. Pupils’ sex and relationship education is enhanced by the input of health professionals who visit the school.

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Commentary

27. The school fully meets its statutory duties. A particular success is its strategy for promoting racial harmony and for celebrating the varied cultures represented by the pupils. During the inspection there was notable racial harmony, reinforced by many displays and themes for learning. Pupils found the recent Black History week to be a fascinating insight into the richness of African and Caribbean heritage. This provision for the pupils’ cultural development is good, as is the provision for moral and social development. Provision for spiritual development, whilst satisfactory, could be usefully developed. For example: assemblies could offer more opportunities for quiet reflection.

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Commentary

28. Currently, the range of activities provided outside the classroom is unsatisfactory. Up to the time when the school relocated, pupils had opportunities to participate in a breakfast club, after-school club and the school council. The range of other after-school clubs encompassing sporting and aesthetic pursuits, was also wider. Many of these have yet to be revived; their reinstatement is planned for the near future and this is needed urgently. Clubs for boys’ and girls’ football are run, however, and there is a ‘steel band’. Violin lessons are available and Year 5 pupils learn the bassoon. Even so, the present provision is too limited. The curriculum is enriched by a range of visits out of school, to support history and religious education particularly, and a wide variety of visitors work with the pupils in school to enhance their knowledge and skills in subjects such as English, art and design and history. For instance,

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Commentary

Year 6 pupils very recently had the opportunity to talk with someone who had lived through World War 2, about their first-hand experiences; this added considerably to their interest in and knowledge of those times. Links with other schools enrich the learning, for example, secondary students from other schools come in to help younger pupils. Year 6 pupils also enjoy a five day residential visit to a YMCA camp in order to team-build and to experience a range of outdoor pursuits. This event promotes their personal, social and cultural development very well.

p.15

Accommodation

29. The new buildings are beautiful to look at and provide a good environment for learning. The rooms sparkle with exciting displays and pupils’ work. Although on a very restricted site, the outside areas have been well planned to provide a wide range of learning opportunities. Although lacking green play areas, the school does make use of the fields of a local secondary school. The buildings, however, do have shortcomings. The acoustics in the main hall are poor, and this detracts considerably from the quality of assemblies, and teaching such as physical education. These problems are being addressed by the architects and building contractors. Overall, however, the accommodation provides a safe, healthy and stimulating place in which to learn.

p.15

Staffing

30. There are enough qualified staff to meet the requirements of the curriculum. The school has invested heavily in support staff and this is bringing significant benefits. Administration staff are led by a highly qualified Finance and Facilities Administration Manager and this expertise Crown Lane Primary School - 16 underpins the efficiency of the school. In the main, staff are deployed well, and very well within the inclusion team of specialists, but there are instances where problems with staffing are holding back the achievement of some pupils. This situation is damaging to their longer-term progress.

p.15

Resources for learning

31. Resources are of good range and quality; they are at least satisfactory in all subjects and many subjects good. They are very good in the nursery and reception classes. However, the library is insufficiently developed as a centre for learning and research.

p.16

Care, guidance and support

The school make satisfactory provision for the pupils’ care, welfare, health and safety. Standards are satisfactory overall, with several good features.

p.16

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Provision of support, advice and guidance based on monitoring is good. • Pupils have a good and trusting relationship with adults in the school. • Induction arrangements for pupils are good.

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Commentary

32. The child protection practice is satisfactory and meets statutory requirements. The policy, however, is in draft form only and has not yet been ratified by the governing body. The school has two child protection officers, one of whom has attended recent training but the other has yet to receive training on recent up-dates. Although children on the ‘at risk’ register are monitored by the child protection officers, ‘looked after’ children are monitored separately. The school has an appropriate number of qualified ‘first-aiders’ but first-aid is administered to pupils by staff irrespective of whether or not they are qualified to do so. The omissions were pointed out to school management who has given assurance that they will be rectified. Accidents are correctly recorded and risk assessment is in place in all departments and for school visits. The fire alarm is regularly tested with regular fire drills taking place at appropriate intervals.

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Commentary

33. Pupils say that they feel cared for by staff and are aware of whom to go to for advice, help and guidance. Pupils with special educational needs are well provided for, as are pupils learning English and those joining the school other than at reception. Individual education plans are well designed, and parents are involved in annual reviews and contribute to practical target- setting.

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Commentary

34. The school makes good provision for the support, advice and guidance to its pupils, based on good monitoring of personal development. Each teacher keeps comprehensive records of pupils’ personal development or any learning or behaviour difficulties. Each week, regular meetings are held of the ‘inclusion team’ comprising the specialist teachers for pupils from an minority ethnic background, the senior manager for inclusion, and the coordinator of special educational needs (SENCO); pupils and the problems they may present are discussed in depth and support programmes drawn up. Termly review meetings are held to review every pupil’s progress and learning mentors are available to counsel pupils with particular problems or difficulties. The SENCO readily helps pupils presenting learning problems and supports them well.

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Commentary

35. The school satisfactorily involves pupils through seeking, valuing and acting on their views though this is an area of the school’s work that needs to be developed further. A school council has not yet been formed but pupils’ views are obtained in ‘circle-time’ (times when pupils can share and discuss concerns) and class assemblies. Pupils confirm that staff listen to them but want more structured time to give their views. Crown Lane Primary School - 17 36. Induction arrangements are good. Parents of nursery children are given an opportunity to visit the school and receive a prospectus and specially produced nursery booklet. Parents are invited to stay with their children as long as necessary when they start school. Parents of children joining the school in reception class are allowed to stay with their children if necessary and reception children start school in small groups. A separate and useful information booklet

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Commentary

is provided for parents and a special parents’ meeting is arranged four weeks after pupils have started to see how their children are getting on. There are similar arrangements for pupils joining further up the school and these pupils are given a very good starter pack. The welcome pack is available in many languages.

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Commentary

37. Pupils on the special educational needs register are well integrated into school life. They are well provided for and given a high level of care and support.

p.17

Partnership with parents, other schools and the community

Partnership with other schools and the community are good, and with parents satisfactory.

p.17

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Links with parents are only satisfactory and need to be better. • Links with the community are good. • Links with other schools and colleges are good. • Although the school has satisfactory procedures to involve parents through seeking, valuing and acting on their views, this is an area of the school’s work that requires further development.

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Commentary

38. The overwhelming majority of parents who responded to the pre-inspection questionnaire thought that their children liked school, their children were making good progress, teaching is good, and staff expect their children to work hard and to do their best. They also thought that staff treat their children fairly and that the school is well led and managed. A significant minority of parents, however, thought that the children did not behave well, that parents did not feel comfortable about approaching the school with questions, a problem or complaint and that the school does not seek the views of parents or take into account their suggestions or concerns. The inspection findings agree with the positive views. These findings also suggest that the school needs to rectify some of the weaknesses identified by the negative views expressed.

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Commentary

39. The school offers satisfactory information to parents on their children’s progress. Three parent evenings are held each year at the start of every term. These are used for staff to set targets with parents for their children’s progress. Annual reports, which are sent to parents in July, are of good quality and provide information on a subject-by-subject basis on what pupils have achieved and targets for improvement. If staff have any concerns, class teachers contact parents on a regular basis. Special assemblies are held to celebrate pupils’ achievements to which parents are invited – although too few take up this offer.

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Commentary

40. The school prospectus is a well produced document giving a good deal of information about the school’s policies and procedures. A fortnightly newsletter is produced, which informs parents and the community about up-to-date events, views and news about the school. Class teachers write to parents every half-term to inform them about the way the curriculum will be delivered and to remind them what their children will need for example, for physical education. The annual governors’ report to parents is brief but contains all the necessary and statutory information.

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Commentary

41. The school does not regularly consult parents by asking for their opinions on school issues. As each communication including reports and newsletters are sent home in English only, many Crown Lane Primary School - 18 parents belonging to minority ethnic groups feel excluded from the information provided by the school; as a result they are unable to contribute in a meaningful way to their children’s education. The school is rectifying these weaknesses for example, the attractive ‘welcome’ booklet is now available in many languages and the school has built a network of translators to help both pupils and their parents and carers.

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Commentary

42. The school does not have a parent-teacher association and very few parents come in to school to help. The learning mentors and parent governors, however, are arranging coffee mornings when parents can meet with other parents and staff. Although the school wishes parents to be involved in their children’s learning, classes for supporting children in numeracy and literacy were last arranged in 2003. The school does intend to provide this type of support for parents again but no dates have been fixed.

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Commentary

43. Satisfactory arrangements are in place for the transfer of pupils. Secondary staff come in to school to speak to pupils and meet with the inclusion manager, class teachers and the SENCO. The learning mentors make positive transfer a priority. All pupils attend ‘taster days’ at their receiving secondary schools in July and all primary schools in the borough join in a transition unit project for numeracy and literacy that bridges between Years 6 and 7. Learning Mentors monitor transition forms and help parents complete transfer forms if necessary. They also visit schools with parents if required.

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Commentary

44. There are good links with the local community including schools within the education action zone and other schools both maintained and independent. Pupils perform concerts with the adjoining local residential home and visitors from the local community include the police, the ‘Healthy Mind’ community group, the fire brigade and the local nurse. Male students from an independent school come to help the pupils with their reading, as well as students from a local comprehensive when on their ‘work experience’. Local businesses provide new resources for the ‘school fayre’ and business people from the local community sometimes come in to talk to pupils about their work.

p.18

LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

The governance of the school is good, positively supporting the visionary, strong and good leadership of the headteacher. Leadership and management is satisfactory overall, creating an orderly and purposeful community. The effectiveness of management, however, varies and this leads to inconsistency in performance and quality of provision.

p.18

Main strengths and weaknesses

• The headteacher provides strong and determined vision that is shared by others, and that inspires staff and pupils alike. • The commitment of governors has been a major factor in enabling the school to come through the challenges of the recent years. • The senior management team is very experienced and committed. • Whole school strategies are not developed enough to draw together and then gain maximum benefit from the many very good initiatives already implemented • Middle managers have considerable potential but are not currently given sufficient accountability, responsibility and influence. • The data on pupils’ achievement and the skills to interpret these data are insufficient for managers and governors to identify as part of self-evaluation where things need to improve. • The school has very good systems for staff development, although their operation lacks the precision to make them fully effective.

p.18

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Leadership and management of the inclusion team are outstanding. • Leadership and management of the Foundation Stage are very good.

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Commentary

Crown Lane Primary School - 19 45. Although Crown Lane has existed for some time under the current leadership, it has gone through many changes and challenges. It would be sensible to date the beginning of its future from just two months ago, when the school moved to its new site and buildings. Many of the things you see in school have been developed previously and over time, but now they have a new context in which to operate.

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Commentary

46. At the heart of the school’s good start and exciting future, is the vision of a highly inclusive school that will make a wider contribution to its community. This vision is shared by all staff and this gives them a stubborn and resilient determination when facing the many challenges still facing the school.

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Commentary

47. The governing body has a wide range of experience and talents, including the dynamic contribution of parent governors. It works efficiently and effectively, supporting and questioning the school managers when necessary. As one result, tight financial control and very prudent financial management means the school has considerable financial reserves to fund development. This aspect of management is strongly and expertly supported by the school’s Finance and Facilities Administration Manager and administration staff. Governors have a good intuitive understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the school, but this is not backed up by sufficiently first-hand observation or assessment.

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Commentary

48. The senior management team is very experienced. They have needed to expend considerable time and energy in maintaining an ethos in which staff can teach and pupils learn, however, and consequently, they have yet to implement or find out from others the whole school strategies that will bring together the many good initiatives they have already implemented. One aspect of the necessity to give strong leadership from the top is that middle managers are not yet given enough autonomy, linked to accountabilities, responsibilities and competencies to exhibit. The competencies needed by these managers have not been defined, and this means that their development is insufficiently focussed and their colleagues do not know what to expect from them. There are good systems for staff development, but their implementation is not effective enough. This is because performance is not levelled or moderated, and advice is

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Commentary

not linked tightly enough to whole school strategies, and to how to improve the learning and, therefore, achievement overall of the pupils. This is a key reason why attainment is not improving as quickly as it needs to.

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Commentary

49. The school’s improvement plan is satisfactory but unlikely to prove a powerful improvement tool. This is because it lacks the structure that key whole school strategies would bring for example, a policy on behaviour improvement. Similarly, it is not easy to see how the various parts support the others for example, partnership with parents that supports improved attendance. It lacks tight linkage to quantifiable objectives that are both challenging and measurable. Even if this were the case, weaknesses in assessment and monitoring of progress means that information is unclear when measuring and evaluating progress towards targets. For example: the school curriculum is unlike that of many other schools but there is insufficient information to test its effectiveness.

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Commentary

50. The leadership of the inclusion team is outstanding and, consequently, this team is making a considerable contribution to the achievement of all pupils. Everyone knows the part they need to play and the part others play; they understand how the various parts fit together. This is backed by timely training and guidance, and a clear structure of team leadership linked to autonomy, but also tightly monitored accountability for delivery. The senior manager concerned, as well as team members, is clear as to what works and what does not, because she can interpret assessment information that is reliable, comprehensive and ongoing. This creates an ethos of thinking everyday about ways to improve continuously – ‘ seeking everyday a better way’ .

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Commentary

51. The leadership of the Foundation Stage is already very good. This is because ideas are shared, performance openly evaluated and then improved, and team members find their individual ways to achieve shared purposes. They know how well this works because assessment data is reliable and continually updated. Crown Lane Primary School - 20 52. The school is already efficient but not as yet as effective as it needs and wants to be. This is in part because the school is at an early stage, but it is also because the processes implied by ‘best value’ principles are known but not as yet fully understood or embedded. Even so, the school already offers satisfactory value for money.

p.19

Financial information for the year April 2003 to March 2004

Income and expenditure (£) Balances (£) Total income 1658843 Balance from previous year 151816 Total expenditure 1579885 Balance carried forward to the next Expenditure per pupil 4082

p.20

Financial information for the year April 2003 to March 2004

53. The very high balance brought forward into 2004 was in line with the governors’ policy to set aside adequate funds to meet any contingency and to fund the costs of the new school. In line with this policy, it will reduce considerably by the end of the financial year 2004-2005.

p.20

Provision for and achievement of pupils learning English as an additional language and

Provision for pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds and those learning English as an additional language is very good and the achievement of these pupils is as good as and sometimes better than all the other pupils. Overall, the achievement of these pupils is good.

p.20

Main strengths and weaknesses

• The leadership and management of the provision overall provided by the inclusion team for pupils learning English as an additional language and for those from minority ethnic backgrounds are very good. • Assessment is very thorough and continuous, and used very effectively to track progress and improve provision. • Teaching in discrete groups is very good, and so, consequently is the learning. • The work of the inclusion team is not integrated sufficiently with the school’s efforts to improve attendance. • The work of the inclusion team with pupils with emotional, behavioural and social difficulties is not supported enough by whole-school strategies. • Sometimes, the potential help, offered by teaching assistants and specialist teachers is, wasted by class teachers when they are teaching a class as a whole.

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Commentary

54. The inclusion manager, who is a member of the senior management team, is very experienced and expert. Her expertise and very good management supports calm but excellent leadership. This creates a team of general and specialist teaching assistants, learning mentors and specialist teachers, all of whom are clear as to their role and as to how their work is carried out in partnership with others. This team sometimes works within classes and sometimes in small groups in well resourced rooms. The progress of pupils in personal and academic terms is continuously tracked through accurate assessment, reviewed as a team and changes are made to make better progress possible. As a result, any problem a pupil has is identified early and appropriate help given. This assessment ensures that learning needs are not confused for example, needing to learn English and having special educational needs. Pupils may have

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Commentary

complex problems for example, they may be learning English but also have special educational needs and behavioural difficulties. Similarly, they may just have arrived in school with low attainment but actually have many gifts and talents. The way the team is managed Crown Lane Primary School - 21 means the pupils’ needs are met seamlessly but specifically, sometimes by several members of the team working together on different challenges that need to be overcome. The teaching of these specialists when seen was always good or very good. Consequently, the pupils in their care, whatever their cultural heritage, language, learning or personal needs quickly settle to making good progress; they achieve well and gain confidence, becoming keen learners.

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Commentary

55. The school, however, does not gain full benefit from this resource because 1) class teachers do not always make it possible for these specialists to give support when the teacher is teaching the class as a whole and 2) the school does not have a clear policy within which this team can work for example, for improving the pupils’ ability to manage their own behaviour, for building a dynamic partnership with parents or for improving the pupils’ speaking, listening and thinking skills. A similar aspect within which there is fragmented management is the improvement of attendance and punctuality. The school could consider making more use of the assessment of English acquisition tool recommended nationally (QCA).

p.21

mobility, many languages and a rich cultural mix. The predominant group, however,

are of British black-Caribbean heritage. The key strength is that the manager of the team is a member of senior management; she is very experienced and expert. Her leadership is excellent and management highly effective. She acts as a consultant to the team but is also a firm manager, delegating tasks clearly with full accountability and considerable autonomy, supporting this with timely and appropriate staff development. Consequently, the team work as a team, clear as to the part each has to play. These parts include specialists covering learning problems, those pupils who have recently joined the school, those learning English, those with behavioural and personal difficulties and those from different cultures. Learning mentors, who among other tasks build links with parents and oversee progression to secondary school, support these roles. A specialist teacher also provides effective and focused lessons for the gifted and

p.21

mobility, many languages and a rich cultural mix. The predominant group, however,

talented, and a school counsellor is available when needed. The team as a whole have a suite of adjacent offices, enabling good communication, and several small group rooms that have been well resourced to meet particular needs. Progress is regularly assessed and evaluated, and reviewed as a team. Teaching is always good or very good, and consequently the pupils become confident and keen learners. Their achievement is high, and this team makes a considerable contribution to raising attainment in the school as a whole. This practice is an exemplar as to how to address multi-facetted problems with multi-facetted solutions. Crown Lane Primary School - 22

p.21

AREAS OF LEARNING IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

Children learn through a balance of teaching and structured play activities, in six areas of learning. There are early learning goals set nationally for attainment by the time the children join Year 1.

p.22

AREAS OF LEARNING IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

56. The quality of provision is good with many very good features. The new school provides very good accommodation, which is well designed to meet the needs of the children and the staff who support them. Resources are of good quality, good range, accessible and appropriate to meet all the learning needs of the children. Teachers and teaching assistants are well qualified, expert and highly committed to helping every child succeed in a safe and caring environment. Teaching and learning are almost always at least good, and very often very good. Consequently, learning is good and the achievement of all pupils very good over time. There are many children learning English and a few with severe behaviour and relationship problems; both types of pupils are well supported.

p.22

AREAS OF LEARNING IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

57. The provision is very well led and managed, creating a team that knows what they need to achieve and how. They continually share ideas and help each other solve problems, and, consequently, provision is continuously improving. The suite of rooms and outside accommodation sparkles with celebration of children’s work, and the setting as a whole is of very high quality. Parents are fully involved and consulted, despite the problems that sometimes arise. The induction of children is especially good.

p.22

AREAS OF LEARNING IN THE FOUNDATION STAGE

58. Children join the nursery with very low attainment, especially in their speaking and listening skills. By the end of the nursery stage, their attainment overall is low rather than very low, and by the end of the reception year, most will have reached the standards expected at that age and a significant number will have exceeded them. This witnesses the benefits of good provision. What holds it back from being very good is that the skills the pupils have gained are not sufficiently strong and embedded to guarantee they can carry them over into Year 1, despite good transition arrangements at this stage. A factor in this situation is that local policy means that pupils may in some cases not progress from the nursery into the reception, and others may join reception from outside, needing to learn the ways of learning and behaving that others had learned in the nursery. This policy seriously disrupts the children’s learning

p.22

PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Provision in personal, social and emotional development is good .

p.22

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Staff have high expectations and make children firmly accountable for meeting them.

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Commentary

59. Pupils join the nursery with low social and personal skills, often able to see the world only from their point of view. While most are very confident, some are very anxious and withdrawn – these receive very perceptive and caring support. Skilled teaching and very firm yet loving expectations that are constantly reinforced, soon help children learn and use routines for work and play. This is enriched through expert ‘circle times’ when children can discuss their feelings and learn to understand the feelings of others. Even young children are given responsibilities and expected to meet them. Children are well placed to meet their goals but few will exceed them. This is, in part, due to local policy concerning joining the Foundation Stage. They will still need firm teaching in Year 1, unless they are to regress to more self-centred behaviour. Crown Lane Primary School - 23

p.22

COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Provision in communication, language and literacy is good .

p.23

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Adults model the structured language the children need and expect them to use these new skills in their talk, learning and thinking. • Achievement is especially good in reading because teaching is highly focused and structured.

p.23

Commentary

60. Pupils join the nursery with very low speaking skills, and many do not speak English. Because they are well taught these skills develop rapidly. Teaching is good in nursery and reception classes, with teachers, the nursery nurse and teaching assistants modelling structured and purposeful language, and expecting the children to learn to speak in these ways. Children are expected to listen not only attentively but for meaning. Staff test this listening by asking children what was the meaning of what they hear and how they can use the new ideas. This prepares children well to enjoy books, stories and eventually to read. In the reception classes, teachers build on the way pupils already know the sounds of letters and that text contains meaning, teaching in a very structured and challenging way. Consequently, almost all pupils will be able to read simple and familiar text by the end of the reception year. Skills needed to

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Commentary

write are developed steadily and from the start, and in reception classes many are able to write clearly, some creating sentences of their own. Most pupils are well placed to meet their goals, and a significant number are likely to exceed them.

p.23

MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Provision in mathematical development is good .

p.23

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Pupils have practical opportunities to use the skills and ideas they learn.

p.23

Commentary

61. Again children join the nursery with very low awareness of number, shape, quantity, size and weight. Teaching is good and uses a wide range of teaching and structured play activities to build these skills and understandings. Children enjoy and are very proud of their achievements, talking eagerly of the way they use mathematical skills in their play. Teaching in reception classes is even more structured, while maintaining a good balance between formal teaching and helping children learn through and within well structured play activities. Consequently, most children are likely to meet the goals set for the end of this year, and some will exceed them.

p.23

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Provision in knowledge and understanding of the world is good .

p.23

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Play activities provide innovative ways to develop learning.

p.23

Commentary

62. Most children join the nursery or reception classes with a very narrow awareness of the world around them. They quickly learn more about the wider world through teaching and well Crown Lane Primary School - 24 designed but structured play activities. They learn to make models, use computers, understand why different parts of the world lead to different lives and the importance of past and present. Staff continually use these learning activities to develop the children’s speaking and listening. During the inspection, children investigated farming, and then went to experiment how you milk cows by using rubber gloves with holes in the fingers! Overall, all learning is a good balance between structured and good teaching and the purposeful play that builds independence and a willingness to be curious. Most children are well placed to exceed their goals by the end of reception year but few are likely to exceed them.

p.23

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Provision in physical development is good .

p.24

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Staff lead the learning without overwhelming it.

p.24

Commentary

63. Most children join with average control of their bodies but low development of the way they manipulate things with their fingers. They make good progress because teaching is good and there are many opportunities to practise the skills they learn. During the inspection, the nursery teacher led a dance and adventure, as the children acted out a story. Similarly, a support teacher enriched learning through helping children paint. Adults and children enjoyed the fun of learning! Most pupils are well placed to meet their goals, although some may still have problems manipulating small objects.

p.24

CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Provision in creative development is good .

p.24

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Staff develop the creative imagination of children innovatively, giving this aspect of learning appropriate priority.

p.24

Commentary

64. Staff give children many opportunities to be creative and use their imagination. Again with a good balance between good teaching and well designed play activities, children learn to use paint and modelling clay and to make and enjoy music. In the make-believe vet’s practice, they not only practise different roles but use their imagination to create roles and stories that they act out. During the inspection, there was a very good example of a teaching assistant playing with children with a puppet theatre; she enriched the learning without overwhelming it, while developing their spoken language. Most pupils are likely to meet their early learning goals. Crown Lane Primary School - 25

p.24

Main strengths and weaknesses

• High quality teaching in the best lessons helps pupils achieve well, but when teaching is not of this standard learning is too slow. • Teachers use interactive whiteboards well to capture the interest of pupils in lessons. • The school uses assessment well to track the progress of pupils, but this information is not used effectively to improve the quality and consistency of teaching and learning. • The school does not yet have a clear strategy for improving the main weaknesses in English.

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Commentary

65. Standards in Years 2 and 6 are below average. This is because pupils generally join the school with very low levels of English and have a lot of ground to catch up. In addition, the disruptions of the school moving and the high numbers of pupils leaving and joining have prevented standards improving as they should. The results for national tests in 2004 showed that in Year 2 the proportion of pupils reaching expected levels was below the national average but well above the average of similar schools. The results for Year 6 showed the proportion of pupils reaching the expected levels was well below the national average and below the average of similar schools. The school’s circumstances have changed substantially since the last inspection, making comparisons with that time meaningless. Standards are now improving and this trend is well placed to continue.

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Commentary

66. All pupils, including the more able and those for whom English is an additional language, achieve as well as those in similar schools and make satisfactory progress. Pupils with special educational needs achieve at least as well as their classmates and sometimes better. There is no significant difference between the progress of boys and girls. Pupils’ achievement is high in many lessons, but they do not achieve well across the school as a whole because of inconsistencies in the quality of teaching. There are signs that the progress of pupils is improving, however, although the rate of improvement is not yet as fast as it could be. Inspection evidence shows that pupils are achieving well in Year 2, but there is likely to be a decline in the 2005 results for the 7 year olds due to a large movement of pupils in and out of the year group. However, Year 6 pupils are likely to reach or exceed their target of 57 per cent

p.25

Commentary

reaching the expected level 4 standard and 6 per cent achieving the higher level 5. These are challenging targets.

p.25

Commentary

67. Standards in speaking and listening are below average across the school. In the best lessons, teachers model the structured language the pupils need at school, and expect them to use this language when replying. Many pupils have a restricted vocabulary and they are not as confident or clear in their speaking as is normally the case for their age group. Also, a large proportion of pupils are learning English as an additional language, many of whom have had less experience of the language than others. However, most pupils listen carefully for sustained periods, showing respect for those speaking, particularly when teaching is interesting and teachers manage behaviour well. Reading standards are below average in all year groups. Pupils enjoy reading and they are keen to take books home, but many read alone and consequently miss the full benefits that come from the encouragement of an adult at home. The school might usefully find ways to make up for this in school, perhaps by using

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Commentary

volunteers. Standards in writing are below average throughout the school, but there are clear signs that they are beginning to improve due to the good teaching. For example: pupils are often set work that captures their imagination and then teachers provide writing frames, word lists and other teaching aids to enable them to progress independently. Crown Lane Primary School - 26 68. The quality of teaching is satisfactory overall across the school. In the lessons seen, however, teaching ranged from unsatisfactory to very good. This inconsistency is a significant weakness and the main reason why the pupils are not learning as well as they could across the school as a whole. In the best lessons the teaching is lively and interesting. Teachers modify their work to match the abilities in their class and deal swiftly and effectively with bad behaviour. As a result, the lessons capture the interest of pupils and they work hard on challenging tasks;

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Commentary

behaviour ceases to be an issue and their learning is good or better. In the less successful lessons teachers fail to interest the pupils or to manage bad behaviour successfully, sometimes because they talk to the pupils for too long. In these lessons, pupils get distracted and restless and the teacher spends too much time trying to deal with bad behaviour. As a result, the pupils do not learn enough by the end of the lesson. Teachers use interactive white- boards well to interest pupils and focus their attention. Computers are generally underused in lessons, however, and this is a missed opportunity. Lessons are normally successful for the pupils with English as an additional language and for those with special educational needs, all of whom are well supported by specialist staff. As a result, these pupils learn at least as well as their classmates.

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Commentary

69. The leadership and management of the subject are satisfactory. Good systems are in place to track the progress of individuals and groups of pupils, enabling the school to judge how well pupils are doing. However, assessment data is not yet used effectively to identify how teachers can close the gaps in pupils’ learning and improve achievement. Teaching is monitored, leading to some feedback to teachers on how they can improve, but this is not sufficiently rigorous to tackle the weaknesses and inconsistencies in teaching. At present the school does not have a clear strategy for remedying the main weaknesses in the subject and this is limiting the school’s ability to improve. Resources for English are satisfactory overall, but the underdeveloped school library is a significant area for improvement.

p.26

Language and literacy across the curriculum

70. Pupils have satisfactory opportunities to develop their reading, writing and speaking skills as part of their work in other subjects. The ‘ good listening’ reminders are helping them become thoughtful listeners. However, these links occur on an informal basis as there is no agreed practice in the school. Pupils practise and consolidate their use of information books when undertaking research in history and religious education. Teachers help pupils to use the correct technical terms in subjects such as geography. Pupils have regular opportunities to use their writing skills in most other subjects, although they are under-used in religious education.

p.26

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Pupils’ achievement is good because of good teaching. • Leadership and management of the subject are good and this is improving the pupils’ achievements. • Analysis of assessment data is good and information is used well to track progress and improve standards.

p.26

Commentary

71. In 2004, results in national tests at the end of Year 6 were poor when compared with national average and with those of similar schools. Results for Year 2, in 2004 were well below the national average but above with those of similar schools.

p.26

Commentary

72. The standards of current Year 2 are well below the national average, a similar position to the previous year’s results. The standards by Year 6, however, show great improvement, although Crown Lane Primary School - 27 they are still well below the national average. This is because older pupils, in particular, are well taught and work in ability sets; this benefits in particular the more able pupils. Standards of a large proportion of pupils are low and this brings the overall standards well below the national average. The number of pupils who have special educational needs, combined with pupils who are on the early stages of learning English tends to depress results overall, but the major negative pressure on results is the high proportion of pupils who leave or join during the school year. Many of these pupils who join the school late have extremely low attainment.

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Commentary

73. Pupils with special educational needs are well supported and they achieve well in relation to their targets set for learning. Boys and girls are currently making similar progress. Pupils who speak English as an additional language come from a wide range of minority ethnic communities. They make good progress and achieve well. The specialised support from the ‘inclusion’ team is making a major contribution to helping all pupils achieve, however low their starting point.

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Commentary

74. By Year 2, most pupils can count, order, add and subtract numbers to 10. They are learning the value of tens in a two-digit number. More capable pupils can count in 2s, 5s, and 10s and know the place value of, tens and units. Mathematical skills of a large number of pupils who speak English as an additional language are hindered because of lack of English vocabulary and ways to express mathematical ideas and strategies; these are often pupils who have joined the school other than at the reception stage. By Year 6, most pupils are familiar with the four basic rules of number and apply what they know. However, a large proportion of pupils’ skills in problem-solving, times-tables and mental calculations are under developed and this hinders attainment. The staff are aware of this and appropriate focus is being given to developing these skills through praise, encouragement and reward systems. This approach is

p.27

Commentary

raising achievement but staff could usefully consider further ways to help pupils talk about mathematics.

p.27

Commentary

75. Overall, the quality of teaching and learning is good, but it ranges from unsatisfactory to very good. This range disrupts learning and achievement over time. When the teaching is good, it stimulates enthusiasm with lively introductions that challenge pupils to think hard. The setting in Years 2 and Year 6 helps teachers to match tasks appropriately to their pupils’ ability. Pupils’ achievement is good, because the work is consistently linked to previous learning. Teachers use probing questions well to find out what pupils know and then they focus in on any problems by adapting skilfully the teaching to meet these needs. Teaching assistants play a very positive role in this process. Teachers use interactive boards well to demonstrate and explain work and this visual content of lessons has a positive impact on learning. In two very good lessons, teachers’ expectations of pupils’ work and behaviour were very high, the pace

p.27

Commentary

was very good, and appropriate praise motivated pupils in their learning. However, in an unsatisfactory lesson, the inappropriately challenging work resulted in bad behaviour and the slow pace hindered learning because pupils lost concentration.

p.27

Commentary

76. Marking of pupils’ work is good. Teachers record pupils’ strengths and give pointers for further improvement. Pupils’ progress is assessed, monitored and tracked thoroughly, and this information is used well to adapt teaching so that standards improve. The subject is well managed and led by an experienced teacher. This leadership is raising standards because improvement is a key purpose. The co-ordinator has improved the range of resources to ensure that all aspects of the national curriculum are taught. Equally appropriate and high priority is given to improving teaching in all classes and, as a result, the majority of teaching is at least good. Crown Lane Primary School - 28

p.27

Mathematics across the curriculum

77. Numeracy skills are developed satisfactorily in other subjects. In literacy lessons, mathematical vocabulary is explained well. In science, pupils use line and pie charts to measure and record results. In information and communication technology, pupils communicate findings in graphic, tabular forms and use spreadsheets when they find out the cost of shopping. In art and design, pupils use a ‘colour magic’ programme to draw shapes and patterns to emulate famous artists such as Mondrian. Pupils use numeracy skills in other subjects but this approach would be more beneficial if it were to be systematically planned.

p.28

SCIENCE

Provision in science is unsatisfactory .

p.28

Main strengths and weaknesses

• There is not enough time allocated for the subject to enable learning of sufficient depth. • There are too few opportunities for the co-ordinator to monitor teaching and learning to ensure that practice is consistently good. • Teachers use information and communication technology well to support the pupils’ learning.

p.28

Commentary

78. Current standards in both Years 2 and 6 are well below the national expectations. The majority of pupils are not achieving as well as they should because not enough priority is given the subject, in terms of time and its unique requirements. The science curriculum is not covered in sufficient depth, in part because it is not taught as a discreet subject with enough time and frequency to cover the curriculum appropriately. Consequently, skills and understandings cannot be built steadily.

p.28

Commentary

79. The quality of teaching and learning was satisfactory in the two lessons seen in Year 5; these were the only lessons available during the inspection. The lessons were well-planned with clear objectives, encouraging pupils to learn and to understand, and to use newly learnt scientific vocabulary correctly. Teachers introduced activities in simple language so that all pupils could understand. Teachers asked simple questions to check understanding and managed pupils well. There were good relationships amongst pupils and between pupils and all adults. Even so, the lessons lacked pace and did not challenge the more able pupils. Pupils with special educational needs and those learning English were given good support and achieved well when supported by teaching assistants. Teachers used information and communication technology well to enhance the pupils’ learning. One girl in Year 6 said she enjoyed giving a power point presentation on ‘forces’ for the benefit of the whole class.

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Commentary

80. The leadership and management of the subject are sound, and the subject leader is knowledgeable and enthusiastic. There is a need for her role to be further developed so that she can monitor planning, teaching and learning to ensure that practice is consistently good and to gain a clearer overview of how the subject can develop. Resources are sufficient, of good quality and easily accessible to all.

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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

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

p.28

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Standards are improving throughout the school. • Pupils’ achievement is good because of the good teaching they receive. Crown Lane Primary School - 29 • The computer suite and the interactive boards are well used. • The leadership and management of the subject are good.

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Commentary

81. Standards of attainment of Year 6 pupils are lower than the national expectations. In part this is because there had been problems with the school’s hardware. Standards are rising now that these problems have been resolved; the computer suite is now established and well used. The attainment of pupils in Year 2 is in line with the national expectations; their achievement is good because they are well taught. There is no difference in the attainment of boys and girls. Achievement of pupils with special educational needs and those who speak English as an additional language is similar to their peers.

p.29

Commentary

82. All classes regularly use the computer suite and there are a sufficient number of computers for class lessons. In addition to the suite, each class from Years 2 to 6 has an interactive whiteboard, which is well used to extend pupils’ ICT skills. Every class has its own computer and additional laptops are brought in when available to use ICT skills in other subjects. This means that Year 1 pupils do not have sufficient access. It is also worth the school recognising that lower ability sets in numeracy work in the ‘community room’ that does not have an interactive white board. The pupils with the greatest difficulties with their learning, therefore, have the least good resources, and this hinders their progress.

p.29

Commentary

83. In one very good lesson, Year 2 pupils were using roamers to understand that control devices must be programmed. They were able to give commands to go forward, backward and do a ninety-degree turn. They achieved well in their ICT skills and attained the expected levels of attainment. The digital camera is used well to record work and show how well the pupils are learning. Most Year 6 pupils can mix text and graphics for ‘power point’ presentations and competently import graphics from the Internet. They use spreadsheets skilfully and competently write formulae to add and subtract money. They investigate ‘if some one with a longer arm could throw the ball further’ and communicate their findings in a line graph. However, control technology has not received appropriate emphasis in Year 3 to Year 6 classes in the past, and pupils’ skills are underdeveloped. This work is planned for next term.

p.29

Commentary

84. Teachers have a good understanding of pupils’ previous learning and they build on this effectively. They plan lessons well and pupils know exactly what they need to learn. Teaching assistants are used well to support work and help pupils to concentrate on their tasks. Staff use the interactive whiteboards well to demonstrate and explain work and this has a positive impact on pupils’ learning. Pupils experience a good range of opportunities to develop their information and communication technology skills in word-processing, graphics, using e-mail, the Internet, and data handling.

p.29

Commentary

85. The co-ordinator’s leadership and management are good. All teachers have had training in ICT and those who are less confident are well supported. Assessment in the subject is good. All teachers assess work at the end of the unit and pupils also record their own assessments. This enables teachers to track progress and implement strategies to improve standards, as well as pupils taking responsibility for their own learning.

p.29

Information and communication technology across the curriculum

86. Pupils make satisfactory use of information and communication technology skills in several curriculum areas. Year 3 pupils used their word processing skills to write instructions on how to make a Roman wreath and were learning how to import graphics to illustrate their work. Year 4 designed their pictures in the style of Mondrian in their art lesson. Good use of ICT skills is made in mathematics. Year 6 pupils use spreadsheets to write formulae and communicate findings in graphic and tabular forms. The Internet is used well to find information in history and geography topics. Good use is made of ICT in music lessons. Even so, more use could be made of computers for individual learning in ordinary lessons for example, literacy. Crown Lane Primary School - 30

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Geography

Provision in geography is unsatisfactory .

p.30

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Teaching does not develop geographical skills progressively. • Pupils are given tasks of similar challenge to do and consequently, some find the work too difficult and some too easy.

p.30

Commentary

87. There was insufficient evidence to make the full range of judgements. The work analysed revealed that Year 6 pupils learn about mountains and know that these regions have different land use and economies to those in more lowland regions. They also demonstrated a satisfactory knowledge of the effect of mountains on climate. However, the narrow range of tasks in evidence suggests that pupils do not have sufficient skills to meet expectations. Year 2 pupils draw simple maps of the immediate locality and design routes to and from their homes to school. Year 1 pupils have a satisfactory knowledge of different types of housing and make rudimentary comparisons with their own houses and those of people in Mongolia. Year 4 pupils have studied India and copy maps and draw diagrams relevant to their topic.

p.30

Commentary

88. The limited sample of pupils’ work showed that all pupils in each lesson carry out the same tasks, some using the Internet to research information independently. Indications are that the curriculum and teaching are very knowledge-based and not based on providing pupils with basic geographical skills upon which to base research and to conduct fieldwork. The above suggests weaknesses in the leadership, management and assessment of the subject.

p.30

Main strengths and weaknesses

• In many lessons, teaching is good, promoting good achievement. • Relevant visits and visitors contribute well to pupils’ learning. • The lack of assessment procedures mean that pupils’ skills are not systematically built upon at a level that matches their needs.

p.30

Commentary

89. Standards throughout the school are in line with those expected nationally. Most pupils achieve satisfactorily but the lack of assessment procedures limits teachers’ effectiveness in extending pupils’ skills progressively. This particularly effects the achievement of more-able pupils who tend to be given the same tasks as all other pupils in lessons. When questioned, more-able pupils, for instance, were not able to distinguish between the relative validity of different sources of historical evidence.

p.30

Commentary

90. In many of the lessons observed, the quality of teaching and learning was good, and wider evidence suggests that teaching and learning are good overall. Pupils are clearly enthused by the content of lessons because teachers employ interesting ways of bringing topics to life. The use of interactive white-boards, which give instant access to photographs, graphs and a variety of sources, engage pupils’ interest fully, particularly those who find concentrating difficult. In the best lessons, the pupils made good progress in their knowledge and understanding of Crown Lane Primary School - 31 historical facts, particularly of the conditions and habits of people in the past. In a good Year 3 lesson, pupils thoroughly enjoyed learning about the eating habits of the Romans and greatly relished designing a Roman banquet. Year 2 pupils were totally absorbed in a video clip, which dramatised hospital conditions in the Crimean War. As a result, they wrote a coherent

p.30

Commentary

account of the contrasts with modern hospital conditions.

p.31

Commentary

91. The visits to places of interest and significance or those which contain historical artefacts greatly enrich the pupils’ learning. Year 3 pupils reported that they had learnt a great deal on their visit to the London Museum, during which they handled Roman artefacts and studied re- creations of Roman houses. Visitors to the school contribute significantly to pupils’ historical knowledge and understanding. For example, Year 6 pupils questioned a visitor about his experiences in World War 2. Theatre groups have dramatised events from the past, bringing to life those times.

p.31

Commentary

92. The leadership and management of the subject is not effective enough, in part because the coordinator has too little time and in part because the skills such roles should exhibit have not been sufficiently defined. Assessment is unsatisfactory and, consequently, it is impossible to test the effectiveness of provision, or to ensure that the challenge in teaching matches each level of attainment.

p.31

Religious education

Provision in religious education is satisfactory .

p.31

Main strengths and weaknesses

• In Years 2 and 6, standards of attainment are below the expectations of the locally agreed syllabus. This is because the curriculum is disjointed and provides insufficient time. • Satisfactory teaching overall leads to satisfactory learning and achievement by all pupils, but these are not good enough to raise standards sufficiently to meet the expectations of the locally agreed syllabus. • Good use is made of visits to support pupils’ learning.

p.31

Commentary

93. In a balance of strengths and weaknesses, strengths only just outweigh weaknesses. Consequently, pupils’ achievement is only just satisfactory. A strength is that they visit places of worship and these visits give them an insight into the ethos and practices of different religions. Year 2 pupils visited a mosque in their study about Islam and others visited a synagogue during the inspection. They learn the importance of faith, beliefs and religious practices within a religious community for example, the importance of washing for Muslims before they pray five times a day. Discussion with Year 6 pupils indicated that they have studied the major faiths required by the locally agreed syllabus and remembered some practices of Islam, Hinduism and Christianity. However, because class based teaching does not cover topics in sufficient depth and breadth, they could not recall any stories about the lives

p.31

Commentary

or teachings of the leaders of these religions. The pupils were quite sure that they needed to study other religions to know about other people’s way of life so that there is less prejudice.

p.31

Commentary

94. The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory and was good when pupils went to visit the local synagogue. In an unsatisfactory lesson, pupils’ poor behaviour resulted in interruptions, and slow pace hindered learning. The subject is taught as a block each term and this leaves a long period when pupils do not study the subject and, therefore, pupils tend to forget what they have learned. Current curriculum design means that teachers find it difficult to maintain continuity in the pupils’ learning. There is little work recorded in pupils’ books and that also hinders pupils’ progress, as they cannot remind themselves of what they have learnt so that they can build it into future learning. Pupils are not given opportunities to use their literacy skills to develop the subject fully. Crown Lane Primary School - 32 95. Leadership and management of the subject are satisfactory. The co-ordinator recognises that

p.31

Commentary

there is a need to implement assessment systems to assess pupils’ standards of attainment, and to guide teachers on how to track pupils’ progress so that they can see ways to improve standards.

p.32

Art and design

Provision in art and design is satisfactory .

p.32

Main strengths and weaknesses

• There are productive links between art and other subjects. • Teachers do not expect high enough standards from the pupils. • Some teachers do not have enough expertise in teaching this subject. • Curriculum planning does not focus on teaching a progression of art and design skills. • Teachers use information technology well to aid learning. • Gifted and talented pupils benefit greatly from specialised art teaching.

p.32

Commentary

96. Strengths only just outweigh weaknesses. Judging from pupils’ work in the classrooms, around the school, and a discussion with pupils in Year 6, standards by Year 6 are in line with national expectations. Some art activities are profitably linked to other subjects, mainly to history and information technology. For example: pupils in Year 4 study Egyptian figures and jewellery in detail. They produce beautiful, detailed designs as free-hand drawings and use computers confidently to do the same. But there is insufficient evidence on which to base secure judgement on attainment for pupils in Year 1 and 2.

p.32

Commentary

97. Only two lessons were available to be observed. They were in Key Stage 2 and both in the same year. The quality of teaching and learning was sound, and pupils made satisfactory progress. The teaching, however, did not challenge the pupils enough and the materials used and techniques developed were too limited. These relative weaknesses are because curriculum planning and, therefore, teaching pays too little attention to the development of specific art and design skills. Art and design activities are taught for a week at a time at the end of each topic. The gifted and talented pupils in Years 1 to 3 benefit from very good specialised art teaching. The use of sketch books is inconsistent and there is no evidence of three-dimensional work.

p.32

Commentary

98. Leadership and management are unsatisfactory. To be satisfactory, the role of the co- ordinator has to be further developed to include monitoring of planning, teaching and comprehensive assessment of pupils’ attainment and progress. Resources are sufficient to teach the subject. On a more positive note and a foundation on which to build, pupils say they enjoy art and would like to have an art club.

p.32

Design and technology

Provision in design and technology is unsatisfactory . Crown Lane Primary School - 33

p.32

Main strengths and weaknesses:

• There is an insufficient range of design and technology work. • Knowledge, skills and understanding are not sufficiently consolidated and developed because the curriculum is disjointed.

p.33

Commentary

99. Standards of attainment are just in line with national expectations by the end of Year 2, but there was no evidence available to suggest that the same is the case by the end of Year 6. No lessons were observed during the inspection and judgements are based, therefore, on discussion with the co-ordinator and with pupils in Year 6, analysis of planning, and the very limited amount of work on display. The classroom display in Year 2 indicates that pupils have satisfactory skills in designing, making and evaluating their glove puppets. The finished product looked attractive and was neatly made. Discussion with pupils in Year 6 suggests that although enjoy the subject they have insecure and inadequate understanding of the processes needed to design and make articles that are fit for their purpose. There was no other evidence on which to base secure judgements on the standards of teaching and learning, or on pupils’

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Commentary

attitudes to their learning in this subject.

p.33

Commentary

100. Currently leadership and management are unsatisfactory because they are not powerful enough to raise the pupils’ achievement or guarantee appropriate coverage of the required curriculum. Similarly, there is insufficient monitoring of planning, teaching and learning and the pupils’ learning is inadequately assessed. Resources are sufficient and easily accessible.

p.33

Main strengths and weaknesses

• All pupils benefit from a highly knowledgeable and enthusiastic specialist teacher. • The school has a wide range of good quality instruments and resources. • Poor behaviour slows learning and spoils some lessons. • There are too few opportunities for extra-curricular music for example, choirs and orchestras.

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Commentary

101. By Year 2 and Year 6, pupils reach standards that are below national expectations, even though all pupils achieve satisfactorily. Most start with low musical understanding but by Year 2 pupils have gained a sense of tempo and pitch and are developing some control when playing percussion instruments. By Year 6 pupils have better control and they play rhythm patterns based on words and phrases as part of group performances. They respond sensitively to music from different traditions for example, the ‘blues’ and Chinese music for the dragon dance.

p.33

Commentary

102. The quality of teaching and learning in the lessons seen was satisfactory overall. The specialist teacher has a high degree of expertise and enthusiasm, supported by a good specialist music room and extensive, good quality instruments and resources. As a result, pupils have sufficient instruments for all to play and they have high quality audio and visual equipment to listen to and watch. Even so, this leads to pupils making only satisfactory gains in their learning, because opportunities are missed to use this powerful combination of teaching expertise and resources. There is the potential for much higher quality of teaching and learning. In part, this potential is not realised because poor behaviour disrupts some lessons. However, behaviour improves when support staff are present. The teacher plans his lessons thoroughly to ensure that they reflect current national guidance and best practice, giving pupils a full breadth and

p.33

Commentary

Crown Lane Primary School - 34 richness in music lessons. He uses information and communication technology very well in lessons. For example: he records the pupils’ music, combines it with computer animated images and plays it as a performance. The pupils can then appraise their own work. This captures the interest of pupils and shows them their music is valued.

p.34

Commentary

103. Other teachers also teach the subject. For example: the teachers of the younger pupils regularly use action songs to enhance learning and lay firm musical foundations. From time-to- time teachers also teach the subject as part of assemblies or productions, which gives pupils a valuable opportunity to perform. Some instrumental tuition takes place for example, Year 4 and 5 pupils play steel pans, a Year 5 class plays bassoon and oboe and 12 pupils play violin. There is, however, overly limited enrichment of the subject through extra-curricular opportunities. Except for a popular ‘steel – band’, there are currently no choirs or other musical groups and too few opportunities for pupils to perform in the community.

p.34

Commentary

104. The leadership and management of the subject are satisfactory. The specialist teacher has ensured that the curriculum is of a high quality. However, there is no assessment and, therefore, the school cannot tell the effectiveness of teaching or how well pupils are achieving in music. Similarly, senior management has not provided sufficient ways to help the subject leader to build upon his undoubted strengths and overcome any weaknesses, for example, there is not an agreed policy in place.

p.34

Physical education

Provision in physical education is satisfactory .

p.34

Main strengths and weaknesses

• The curriculum is well organised. • The subject is well led. • Poor acoustics in the hall detract from the quality of teaching and learning. • Games are taught well in Year 3.

p.34

Commentary

105. Standards are in line with national expectations and pupils achieve satisfactorily. Because there is no formal system to assess pupils’ attainment and progress, teachers cannot always fully match the challenge in teaching to the needs of the more-able pupils. As a result, these pupils do not achieve as well as they should in lessons.

p.34

Commentary

106. The quality of teaching is satisfactory overall. In the lessons observed, the best teaching was that of games in Year 3. Well planned and organised activities, allied to focused teaching of specific skills, resulted in the pupils improving their ability to control a football well and to use feinting and dummying to evade opponents. Where teaching was only satisfactory, pupils were not encouraged to fully extend their skills or to evaluate their own performance or that of others, in order to improve. In these lessons, all pupils were given the same task, which for more-able pupils was sometimes too easy. All teachers ensure that pupils work safely.

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Commentary

107. The curriculum is well planned, managed and organised. Regular lessons in games, gymnastics and dance provide pupils with a suitable range of experiences. The variety of work enthuses pupils. It is noticeable that pupils who sometimes misbehave in other lessons are better behaved when engaged in physical activities. Swimming is taught according to national guidelines with pupils having expert tuition from qualified instructors at the local leisure centre. Currently, well attended football clubs meet weekly, attracting both boys and girls. 108. The subject is well led. Effective action has been taken to identify and address weaknesses in teaching which has resulted in better practice. Links with external agencies have enhanced teachers’ and pupils’ skills. Recent changes to teaching programmes have provided teachers with a more secure basis to teach dance and gymnastics. Crown Lane Primary School - 35

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Commentary

109. Many lessons conducted in the school hall are less effective because the very poor acoustics exaggerate extraneous noise and limit pupils’ ability to hear instructions clearly.

p.35

Main strengths and weaknesses

• The curriculum is well planned and effective. • Teaching is good and often very good. • Sensitive teaching results in positive responses from pupils and good learning. • Provision is well led and managed.

p.35

Commentary

110. The care with which the teaching programme is planned and taught contributes significantly to pupils’ good achievement and personal development generally. Taught in discrete lessons the benefits spread to other lessons. Themes are carefully chosen to help pupils cope with growing up, deal with and understand their feelings and build their sense of self-worth and identity. As a result, in lessons observed, pupils gained considerably and were encouraged to play a positive role and assume responsibilities within the school.

p.35

Commentary

111. Teachers manage the discrete lessons sensitively, creating a calm and ordered atmosphere in which pupils express their feelings, concerns and ideas without fear of derision or interruption. These are usually ‘circle-times’, a technique that helps pupils share ideas and concerns safely and in caring environment. As a result, they discuss sensitive issues maturely and evolve, often with the help of their peers, strategies for coping with problems and ways of contributing more to the school community. Most pupils successfully transfer these skills into their relationships within lessons and in the playground, but a minority is unable to maintain the high standards of behaviour and attitudes they show in ‘circle time’ when working in other contexts.

p.35

Commentary

112. The good leadership and management of this aspect of pupils’ learning contribute significantly to the pupils’ good achievements. Many pupils in this school need sensitive and skilful handling. The thoughtful way in which the provision is planned and taught, both through lessons and through the interventions of the inclusion team, means that pupils’ needs are well met. The flexibility allowed in the teaching programme allows teachers not only to be pro- active in giving pupils the skills to cope with situations that they might face in the future, but also to react to events that occur, day-to-day, in the school. As a result, pupils are better able to respond to critical events, confrontation and difficult moments. Although development is not assessed as such, these lessons help teachers know their pupils very well. Crown Lane Primary School - 36

p.35

The overall effectiveness of the school 4

How inclusive the school is 2 How the school’s effectiveness has changed since its last inspection n/a Value for money provided by the school 4

p.36

Pupils’ attitudes, values and other personal qualities 4

Attendance 6 Attitudes 3 Behaviour, including the extent of exclusions 4 Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 3

p.36

The quality of education provided by the school 4

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

p.36

The leadership and management of the school 4

The governance of the school 3 The leadership of the headteacher 3 The leadership of other key staff 4 The effectiveness of management 4

p.36

The leadership and management of the school 4

Inspectors make judgements on a scale: excellent (grade 1); very good (2); good (3); satisfactory (4); unsatisfactory (5); poor (6); very poor (7). Crown Lane Primary School - 37

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