Yardley Primary School

Age group Published Reference no. Yardley Primary School

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Unique Reference Number 133996 LEA Birmingham

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Inspection number 274803 Inspection dates 7 – 8 June 2005 Reporting inspector Alison M Cartlidge

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Inspection deemed to have been carried out under section 10 of the School Inspections Act 1996 according to section 12(3) of the same act.

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Type of School Primary School address School category Community Age range of pupils 4 – 11 Harvey Road Yardley Birmingham West Midlands B26 1TD Gender of pupils Mixed Telephone number 0121 4643235 Number on roll 626 Fax number 0121 4646647 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair of governors Father Clifton Graham Date of previous inspection NA Headteacher Mrs Jan Moss

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4 - 11 June 2005 274803 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication 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 Yardley Primary School and of the local education authority.

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by four additional inspectors.

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Description of the school

This large primary school is situated on the eastern side of the city of Birmingham. Many pupils come from a low-income area. The number of pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities is average for a school of this size. The proportion of pupils with English as an additional language is high, though few are beginners at speaking English. About half the pupils come from mixed race or Asian ethnic backgrounds. The school was formed in 2003 from two schools sharing the same site. This is its first inspection and there is national test data for one year only.

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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

This is an improving school that is satisfactory overall and provides sound value for money. The school considers that it is a good school, demonstrated by its commitment to improvement by all, and the many good strategies it has started. However, the positive changes made so far have not been in place long enough to compensate for the backlog of underachievement by Years 5 and 6. Members of staff have a clear understanding that pupils’ standards in these year groups are too low. Teaching and learning are satisfactory but the pupils are not always challenged to aim high enough in their learning. Teachers have strong relationships with pupils and meet their social needs successfully. Provision for children in the reception year is good. Pupils’ personal development and well-being are fostered well. The school’s rigorous self- evaluation supports school development planning and, with the enthusiasm of

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Overall effectiveness of the school

members of staff and the pupils, the school is well set to move forward.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Raise standards in English, mathematics and science by the end of Year 6. • Raise achievement by providing more challenging targets for individual pupils. • Ensure that the teachers, when they plan lessons, take enough account of the pupils’ different capabilities.

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Achievement and standards

The inspection team agrees with the school’s evaluation that pupils’ achievement is satisfactory overall. There are significant differences in standards across the school, but these have improved steadily in the last two years as initiatives have begun to have an impact. Children start school with attainment that is well below average and make good progress overall in the reception classes. In personal, social and emotional development, progress is very good because teachers’ high expectations ensure that the children reach nationally expected levels by the end of the reception year.

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Achievement and standards

In Years 1 and 2, pupils’ achievement is satisfactory. Although most pupils reach the expected level for their age, few attain beyond this because teachers miss opportunities to extend the learning of the more able pupils. Consequently, by the end of Year 2, pupils’ standards are lower than the national figure. There has been good improvement in reading in the current Years 1 and 2, with more pupils now achieving the higher Level 3.

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Achievement and standards

By the end of Year 6, standards are below average because pupils have not achieved well enough in the past. Whilst most pupils are now making satisfactory progress in Years 3 to 6, targets set by teachers for individual pupils are not always challenging enough to compensate for previous gaps in their achievement.

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Achievement and standards

There is no significant difference between the achievements of pupils from different social or ethnic backgrounds. Pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities make satisfactory progress.

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Personal development and well-being

The school gives good attention to pupils’ personal development and well- being. This results in good spiritual, moral, social and cultural development overall, although there are not enough opportunities for pupils to learn about the different cultures represented in Britain today. Pupils’ social development is good: they interact well with one another and are confident enough to initiate discussion with adults. Their good social skills prepare them well for their future entry into the world of work. Pupils’ involvement in developing class rules promotes their understanding of right and wrong well. They understand what they need to do to lead a healthy life and this is well illustrated by Year 3 posters on advising others on how to protect themselves from the sun.

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Personal development and well-being

Pupils enjoy school and most attend regularly. They behave well and their attitudes to their work are positive. Pupils see the school as being friendly, happy, safe and secure. Relationships are harmonious. Bullying and racism are rare and pupils agree that, should these occur, they are dealt with very quickly. The school council provides good opportunities for pupils to develop skills that will help them make a positive contribution to the community, as does their participation in fund-raising events. The school council is very well organised and has already helped to improve the playground and school meals.

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Teaching and learning

The headteacher considers teaching to be good, but the inspectors judge it to be satisfactory because the quality of teaching is uneven across the school. However, the headteacher has a clear picture of where the strengths and weaknesses lie. Recent initiatives, such as encouraging the teachers to share the planning of work and changing the year groups they teach, are beginning to improve the quality of teaching. Discussions with senior managers and a scrutiny of their own monitoring of teaching confirm that there is a good understanding of where further improvement is needed.

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Teaching and learning

In the reception year, teaching and learning are good. Teachers are well organised and make learning interesting. They provide good opportunities for role-play which boost children’s confidence and they give good support to the children during writing activities. Consistently high expectations for behaviour, co-operation and taking the initiative lead to the children achieving very well in personal, social and emotional development.

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Teaching and learning

In Years 1 to 6, literacy and numeracy lessons provide suitable challenge for most pupils because pupils of similar abilities are taught together. However, within these separate ability groups the work planned is not always closely matched to the needs of individual pupils and teachers’ expectations are not consistently challenging enough for the more capable in each set. This results in some pupils not making the progress they should. The teachers’ effective methods for ensuring good behaviour and their strong relationships help the pupils to be happy, well motivated and hard working.

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Curriculum and other activities

The vibrant displays around the school provide colourful evidence of a broad and balanced curriculum. Specialist provision for pupils with special educational needs is good, including that for pupils with disabilities. Some good initiatives, such as a ‘gifted and talented’ numeracy group in Years 4 and 5, are having a good impact on learning. The use of literacy, numeracy and ICT across the curriculum is underdeveloped, although there has been a good drive to promote pupils’ speaking skills. Some useful visits to the school by authors and musicians help to make learning interesting.

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Care, guidance and support

Pupils are well cared for and there are good procedures for health and safety. The school works effectively with parents and external agencies to provide good care for pupils. Healthy lifestyles are well promoted and the school is part of the Healthy Schools initiative. The guidance and support to help pupils learn are satisfactory. Marking is thorough but pupils go unchallenged when they do not act on teachers’ suggestions for improvement or when they do not meet the targets set for them in their literacy and numeracy books. Overall, the targets set for pupils are not high enough. Given the pupils’ underperformance in previous years due to staffing issues and the recent amalgamation, the targets set do not ensure that lost ground is recovered.

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Leadership and management

The new headteacher, senior management team and subject co-ordinators work together well and provide good leadership. The headteacher has motivated all members of staff and the amalgamation of the two schools has been managed very well. There is a thorough and accurate analysis of standards and, as a result, a clear educational direction for the work of the new school has been established. The school is well placed to improve because priorities for development are based on raising attainment, the school’s finances are directed towards areas of greatest need and senior members of staff have the enthusiasm and skills to move the school forward. However, recent initiatives to improve standards have not been in place long enough to have had a significant impact. The school has a more generous view of teaching than the inspection team, although there is a clear understanding of where teaching needs to be improved. Governors are focused on school improvement

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Leadership and management

and are kept well-informed by the headteacher but they have little personal involvement in the school and do not hold the school to account sufficiently. The school welcomes pupils of differing race and background, though pupils’ differing educational needs are not always met closely enough because teachers’ expectations are not consistent. The school is successful in recruiting new members of staff and has won a national award for supporting newly qualified teachers. The school provides parents with support through workshops but parents are not involved in school development planning.

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Grade: 3

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

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INSPECTION JUDGEMENTS

Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate.

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3

How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners’ well-being?

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2

The quality and standards in the Foundation Stage 2 The effectiveness of the school’s self-evaluation 2 The capacity to make any necessary improvements Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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How well do learners achieve? 3

The standards reached by learners 4 How well learners’ make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners

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3

How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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2

The extent of learners’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development

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2

The behaviour of learners 2 How well learners enjoy their education 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community.

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3

How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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3

How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education

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2

How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets, through quality assurance and self- review

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3

How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can

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3

How effectively and efficiently resources are deployed to achieve value for money

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3

The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities

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3

The adequacy and suitability of staff to ensure that learners are protected

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The extent to which schools enable learners to be healthy

Learners are encouraged and enabled to eat and drink healthily. Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to take regular exercise. Yes Learners are discouraged from smoking and substance abuse. Yes Learners are educated about sexual health. Yes

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The extent to which providers ensure that learners stay safe

Procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements. Yes Risk assessment procedures and related staff training are in place. Yes Action is taken to reduce anti-social behaviour, such as bullying and racism. Yes Learners are taught about key risks and how to deal with them. Yes

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The extent to which learners make a positive contribution

Learners are helped to develop stable, positive relationships. Yes Learners, individually and collectively, participate in making decisions that affect them. Yes Learners are encouraged to initiate, participate in and manage activities in school and the wider community

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being

There is provision to promote learners’ basic skills. Yes Learners have opportunities to develop enterprise skills and work in teams. Yes Careers education and guidance is provided to all learners in Key Stage 3 and 4 and the sixth form. Yes Education for all learners aged 14-19 provides an understanding of employment and the economy. NA

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Annex B

Yardley Primary School Harvey Road Yardley Birmingham West Midlands B26 1TD

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Annex B

Thank you for welcoming us to your school and for being so friendly and helpful.

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What we liked most about your school:

• You behave well, are kind to each other and play together sensibly on your attractive playground. • You try hard in lessons and are polite to your teachers. • We liked the exciting work that we saw in the reception classes. • The school council is very well organised and we liked the way that the councillors have helped to improve dinners and the playground. • We are pleased that you are learning how to lead healthy lives. • We think that your teachers look after you well and give you some interesting work. • The headteacher, other teachers and governors know what to do to make your school even better. • Your parents and carers are pleased that you come to this school.

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What we have asked your school to do now:

• Make sure that teachers always give you work that is neither too hard nor too easy and helps you to learn even more quickly.

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What we have asked your school to do now:

We thoroughly enjoyed talking to you about your work and watching you learn, we wish you well for the future.

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What we have asked your school to do now:

Mrs Cartlidge, Mrs Kayembe, Mr Shaw and Mr Capper The Inspection Team Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE T 0207 421 6800 F 0207 421 6707 www.ofsted.gov.uk

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