East Boldon Junior School

Age group Published Reference no. Inspection report East Boldon Junior School

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Unique Reference Number 108692 LEA South Tyneside

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Inspection number 269348 Inspection dates 10 - 12 November 2004 Reporting inspector Neil Sortwell HMI

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Inspection carried out under section 3 of the School Inspection Act 1996, and was deemed section 10 under the same act.

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Type of School Junior School address School category Community Age range of pupils 7 - 11 North Lane East Boldon Tyne and Wear NE36 0DL Gender of pupils Mixed Telephone number 0191 5362030 Number on roll 215 Fax number 0191 5362030 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair of governors Mrs Norma Robson Date of previous inspection July 1999 Headteacher Mrs Joann Buczynskyj

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7 - 11 December 2004 269348 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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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 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.

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Introduction

The inspection was a pilot of the new arrangements for inspection announced by Ofsted in its consultation paper of February 2004. It was carried out with the support and co- operation of the staff of East Boldon Junior School and of the local education authority.

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by two of Her Majesty’s Inspectors and an independent lay inspector.

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Description of the school

East Boldon is an average sized Junior School of 215 pupils located in the village of East Boldon, South Tyneside. There are 3 pupils who are eligible for free school meals. There are no pupils for whom English is not their first language. The number of pupils with special educational needs is broadly in line with the national average, and 3 pupils have statements of special educational needs. Standards on entry to the school are well above average.

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Key for inspection grades

Grade 1 Outstanding Grade 2 Good Grade 3 Satisfactory Grade 4 Inadequate

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Overall effectiveness of the school

East Boldon is a good school which is effective in providing good quality education for its pupils. The school sees itself as very good and knows its strengths and most of its weaknesses well.

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Overall effectiveness of the school

Standards are very high in English, mathematics and science. Teaching is effective with some very good features. As a result all pupils make good progress and pupils who have special educational needs make very good progress. This reflects the high quality of the help provided for those pupils who are most vulnerable or who have special educational needs. The school works very effectively with a wide range of agencies to ensure that these pupils do well. Staff know how well pupils are doing but they do not always use what they know when planning work for the more able pupils.

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Overall effectiveness of the school

The school is well led and managed. The headteacher provides very strong leadership and sets high expectations for pupils’ achievement. The school provides an environment where every pupil matters. Pupils feel very safe, very well cared for and they enjoy coming to school. The work pupils do is enriched by a wide range of activities through which pupils develop a very good understanding of themselves and of the wider world. The school provides good value for money.

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Improvement since the last inspection

The school has made good progress since the last inspection. Standards continue to rise and the good quality of teaching has been maintained. The school has addressed the key issues identified for action. The safety issues have been fully addressed and the governing body now provides good support for the school. The school actively seeks the views of parents and responds to their concerns.

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Capacity to improve

The school’s self-evaluation is largely accurate and identifies the right areas for improvement. The leadership and management are committed to further improvement. There is a willingness to test out ideas and develop new teaching approaches despite current financial constraints. The school has good capacity to improve.

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What the school should do to improve further

ƒ Improve overall leadership and management by: o focusing on the achievements of pupils when evaluating what is happening in classrooms and how effective initiatives are o clarifying the role of subject leaders for subjects other than English, mathematics and science so they can be more effective in raising standards still further. ƒ Challenge more able pupils to work independently by making greater use of information and communication technology (ICT).

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Achievement and standards

Pupils reach standards that are very good by the end of Year 6. Standards have been rising steadily over time and are now higher than they were at the last inspection, especially in science. The progress that pupils make is good and year-on-year improvement is a consistent feature of their success. Lower-attaining pupils, including those with special educational needs, do particularly well because of the accuracy of the school’s assessment of their needs, well-focused help and careful tracking of their progress. The needs of higher- attaining pupils are also identified and most make good progress. There is room for improvement in maximising the achievement of these pupils as some lessons do not challenge them sufficiently.

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Achievement and standards

Two key factors make a major contribution to high standards in this school. One is that teachers set most pupils challenging targets based on what they have learned. The second is the consistently good and often very good quality of teaching.

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Achievement and standards

The school is not complacent about its high standards in English, mathematics and science. It knows it needs to raise standards in other subjects and continues to implement improvement strategies. It has been singularly successful in information and communication technology (ICT) where pupils achieve higher standards than expected. There are too few opportunities for more able pupils to use ICT skills to extend their learning.

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Personal development and well-being

Pupils’ personal development is outstanding and their behaviour and attitudes towards work is exemplary. In lessons they are very attentive and eager to learn. They are very confident in expressing their views and are unfailingly polite, helpful and sensitive towards each other. The high attendance rate at the school confirms that they enjoy coming to school. Pupils say that they feel very positive about what they are doing, that they feel very safe at school and know who to turn to if they need help. This is due to the quality of the care and support which they are given in lessons and within the wide range of activities that the school offers. Pupils have good awareness of how to remain healthy and are encouraged to make choices about food and exercise.

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Personal development and well-being

Pupils’ spiritual and cultural development is good. The school ensures that they know about different cultures and beliefs.

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Personal development and well-being

Pupils respond very well to the numerous opportunities which they are given to take responsibility. The school regularly consults with pupils and acts on issues which are raised. The school council is very effective in developing pupils’ community awareness. While pupils are encouraged to become independent there is more which the school could do to encourage able pupils to develop independence in learning.

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Teaching and learning

The quality of teaching and learning is good with much that is very good. Teachers know and understand well what needs to be taught. They plan and deliver interesting lessons and vary their teaching to take account of the different ways in which pupils learn.

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Teaching and learning

Teaching assistants make a very good contribution to learning. Carefully matched support for pupils who need extra help ensures that they are fully included in lessons. The direct teaching of pupils with special educational needs is of high quality. In some lessons, not enough notice is taken of earlier learning to stretch the higher attaining pupils and to give them opportunities to use their initiative in their learning. However, the school is aware of this inconsistency and continues its drive to improve this aspect of teaching.

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Teaching and learning

The assessment of pupils’ progress in English, mathematics and science is a strength. There is very good practice in tracking pupils’ progress and in setting targets for them. In other subjects this is less well developed, although a good start has been made in identifying appropriate ways in which this might be managed. For instance, a comprehensive audit of pupils’ skills in ICT has been carried out and a clear format for recording their progress is being introduced.

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Curriculum and other activities

The school ensures that pupils have full access to the national curriculum and provides them with a broad range of extra curricular activities. It makes full use of educational visits and uses a variety of visitors to the school to ensure that all pupils’ learning is rich and varied, particularly within the arts and music. Pupils are keen to take part in a wide range of weekly activities and clubs, which include French, football, netball and disco dancing. These activities are very well attended and contribute substantially to pupils’ enjoyment of school. The school actively promotes good citizenship by encouraging pupils to develop their own club activities. It also provides good opportunities for pupils to learn about healthy living and keeping safe.

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Curriculum and other activities

The school has taken effective steps to develop its work in the light of recent national initiatives. More able pupils have the opportunity to attend summer schools and master classes at the local secondary school. However, there is more that could be done to enable these pupils to deepen their knowledge, skills and understanding. The curriculum could be more finely tuned to their needs and opportunities for them to work more extensively are limited. In some lessons there are insufficient opportunities for more able pupils to work beyond the task set for the whole class. For this reason the overall curriculum is good rather than very good.

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Care, guidance and support

The school has very good procedures for assessing pupils and tracking their progress in English, maths and science. Teachers share targets with pupils and most can readily identify what they need to do to improve, largely because their work is very well marked. The school’s analysis of pupils’ performance in tests is extremely thorough and staff know where improvements in teaching can be made.

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Care, guidance and support

The quality of care given to vulnerable pupils and those with special educational need is outstanding. The school works well with a range of agencies, which contributes to the very good progress which these pupils make. Governors have ensured that all health and safety procedures are in place, including those which relate to child protection. Governors and staff have worked hard to ensure that the school provides a safe and clean environment for learning. The school has deservedly achieved ‘The Healthy Schools Award’.

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Leadership and management

The school’s leadership and management is good, with some very good features. The headteacher provides very good leadership. Her commitment to promoting high standards, and the fullest personal development of all learners, influences all aspects of the school’s work. Equality of opportunity is strongly promoted and the management of work with pupils who have special educational needs is very good. The school has good links with parents and the community and very close links with other schools.

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Leadership and management

Detailed improvement plans accurately reflect the school’s needs, but are insufficiently linked to pupils’ learning, making it difficult for the leadership to measure the impact of its initiatives. This lack of focus is also evident where senior staff check the quality of lessons. From their records it is clear that pupils’ achievement is not considered sufficiently.

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Leadership and management

There is strong subject leadership in English, maths and science, but the leadership of other subjects is less well-developed. Subject leaders are not all clear about their roles and they do not check fully on the quality of teaching in their subjects.

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Leadership and management

The school is very well run and finances are well managed. Governors ensure that the school meets all statutory requirements. They provide good support but are too dependent on staff to inform them about the impact of curriculum initiatives. The school faces the challenge of a tight budget resulting from fluctuations in pupil numbers, and an increasing need to provide for pupils with special educational needs. Despite this, it is considering ways to improve and manage its support for staff. It has also continued to improve the provision for learning, most recently within ICT.

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Grade: 2

procedures set out in the leaflet 'Complaining about HMI-led Ofsted inspections', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk.

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Grade: 2

part, for non-commercial purposes, provided the source and the date are acknowledged.

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