Bradway Primary School

Age group Published Reference no. Sir Harold Jackson Primary School Inspection report

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Unique Reference Number 107033 LEA Sheffield

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Inspection number 274864 Inspection dates 13 - 15 June 2005 Reporting inspector Mr J J Peacock

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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 Bradway Drive Sheffield S17 4PD Gender of pupils Mixed Telephone number 0114 236 3723 Number on roll 380 Fax number 0114 235 2576 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair of governors Mr S Randall Date of previous inspection September 1999 Headteacher Mr P Stockley

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4 – 11 July 2005 274864 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 cooperation of Sir Harold Jackson Primary School and of the local education authority.

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by three additional inspectors.

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Description of the school

The school is larger than average, with 380 pupils on roll. Numbers are falling. Thirty five per cent of pupils travel to the school from out of the normal catchment area. The number eligible for free school meals and the proportion with special educational needs are both below average. Pupil mobility is high. Forty per cent of Year 6 did not start in Year 1. Most pupils are from a white, British background. A very small number, mainly from Indian or Pakistani families, are learning English as additional language. The attainment of most children on entry to the reception class this year is above average, but it varies from year to year.

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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 a good school with some outstanding features. The school judges itself this way and inspectors agree. Standards are above average in English and mathematics and well above average in science, by Year 6. Teaching and learning are good in Years 1 to 6. In the Foundation Stage, provision is satisfactory and all achieve the targets expected, but some of the higher attaining children could do better. Pupils of all ages really enjoy their lessons, behave exceptionally well and their attendance is much higher than average. The vast majority of parents are very supportive. They appreciate the good quality of care, guidance, and support. All pupils, including those with special educational needs and the few from minority ethnic backgrounds are fully included and take part in all that is offered. The school is well led by the headteacher and clearly focused on providing a high quality of care and education. The school is providing good value for money.

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Overall effectiveness of the school

The capacity for improvement is good. All previous issues have been thoroughly addressed. In particular, the curriculum and resources in the reception classes have been significantly improved. Resources for information and communication technology have also been improved and the latest technology is being used well to support learning. Improving standards in science has been a school priority and they have improved as a direct result of management initiatives.

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What the school should do to improve further

• provide more opportunities for subject leaders to monitor teaching and learning, in order to further improve standards • provide more challenging and interesting activities to improve children’s achievement in the Foundation Stage.

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Achievement and standards

School assessments show that most children entered the reception classes this year with skills that were above those expected for their age. Their progress is satisfactory and by the end of their reception year, most are on course to achieve the targets expected of them. Children are generally very articulate. They do particularly well in their personal, social and emotional development and in gaining early literacy skills. These areas are well taught. All enjoy activities for physical development. However, their enjoyment is compromised when the children are taken out to learn their key words during the sessions.

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Achievement and standards

Standards are above average by the end of Year 2 in reading, writing and mathematics. Reading is a particular strength. The school’s records clearly show that all pupils in the current Y6 who have been in the school since the reception class have made good progress. From their average starting point on entry their standards are now above average in English and mathematics. In science, the greater emphasis placed on investigation and pupils conducting experiments for themselves has resulted in a significant improvement in standards, which are well above average throughout. Pupils with special educational needs achieve well against the targets set for them because they are very well supported in lessons. Those learning English as an additional language also achieve well. The standards of pupils in the current Year 6 are high, but not as high as last year because of the differing abilities in the year

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Personal development and well-being

‘Learning through enjoyment’ is an apt school motto. Pupils are very positive about school. They describe the activities they do as ‘fun’ and ‘exciting’. All work hard and try their best in lessons. Attendance figures are in the top five per cent nationally and punctuality is outstanding. Behaviour is exemplary. All pupils fully understand the school rules. They respect others, work together very well and accept responsibility willingly. The school council gives pupils an understanding of working together for the good of the community. Many pupils make an outstanding contribution to this and to activities such as planting bulbs and performing plays at the ‘Crucible’ in Sheffield. The pupils are developing a good understanding of the world of work.

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Personal development and well-being

There are good opportunities for pupils’ spiritual development in and around the school. The outside classroom area is an inspirational place in which to learn. Pupils’ moral and social development is good. Through visitors, residential experiences and visits to places of interest, pupils gain respect for others and a good understanding of world and local cultures.

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Teaching and learning

Teaching and learning are good, overall. Teachers work hard to plan stimulating lessons for pupils and use the interactive whiteboards well to motivate pupils and help them learn. Pupils complete their tasks willingly. They listen carefully to each other and offer constructive criticism, for example whilst composing music in a Year 6 lesson using computers. They were enthralled by a terrific Year 2 lesson on ‘digging for bones’, which was very well resourced. Pupils effectively assess their own learning at the end of each lesson. They are also aware of their own learning ‘style’. Teachers vary their teaching methods to allow every pupil to succeed. Teachers mark pupils work, but their comments rarely tell pupils how they could improve their work even further. Pupils with special educational needs are well supported. In the reception classes, teaching is satisfactory overall, being better in some areas than others. A small

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Teaching and learning

number of parents felt their children could achieve higher standards.

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Teaching and learning

Assessment procedures and the use of data are good and much improved since the last inspection. The effective assessment helps the school to carefully track individual pupils’ progress and to cope efficiently with the high level of pupil mobility.

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Curriculum and other activities

The curriculum is well matched to the needs of pupils of all ages and abilities and broadened by the teaching of European languages. A good programme of personal, social and health education develops pupils’ knowledge of relationships, substance abuse and citizenship. The curriculum is kept under regular review. Good efforts are being made to link subjects and make use of computers to support learning. In a geography lesson, for example, pupils used literacy skills to write a tourist brochure. The curriculum is enriched by frequent visits to places of educational interest and well attended after school clubs. Pupils also benefit from working with visiting artists, musicians and theatre groups. A theatre group, for example, helped pupils learn more about the science of forces. The Enrichment Leader is promoting creative activities in the curriculum well. Pupils with special educational needs, including pupils from

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Curriculum and other activities

local special schools and those just starting to learn English, are fully included in all activities.

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Care, guidance and support

The level of care in the school is good. It is a place where every child matters. Procedures for child protection are well established and understood by all staff. Staff know pupils exceptionally well and relationships between adults and pupils are exceptionally good. The recently appointed Enrichment Leader actively encourages staff to celebrate every child’s achievement and pupils’ work is prominently displayed around school.

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Care, guidance and support

Pupils trust the staff, with confidence that there is always someone they can turn to for help. There are ‘worry boxes’ in each classroom to register any concerns they may have. The vast majority of parents are very supportive of the school and most of them have the view that their children are extremely well cared for.

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Care, guidance and support

The school encourages pupils to think carefully about healthy eating and exercise which promotes a healthy life style. Pupils are encouraged to take part in numerous extra-curricular sporting activities.

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Leadership and management

Leadership and management are good. The headteacher has a very clear vision and has achieved much since he was appointed in 2002. He is supported exceptionally well by his deputy who has much expertise in assessment procedures and the gathering and analysis of data. The positive results of their partnership and the good quality of management at this level are evident and standards are rising.

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Leadership and management

Although strong and consistent leadership has ensured that very thorough systems are in place for evaluating standards, monitoring the quality of teaching and learning is less well developed. The role of subject leaders is insufficiently well developed. They do not have enough opportunities to monitor the quality of teaching and learning for their subjects in the classroom. As a result, they are unable to pinpoint where improvements are needed to eliminate inconsistencies in the quality of teaching.

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Leadership and management

The governing body fulfils its statutory responsibilities well. Governors visit regularly and are very committed to the school. They are knowledgeable and keen to oversee all aspects of the school’s provision. Resources are good and those in the Foundation Stage have improved significantly over the past three years. The school has good relationships with the local community and with the neighbourhood high school. Pupils are prepared well for the next stage of their education.

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Grade: 2

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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2

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 3 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? 2

The standards reached by learners 2 How well learners’ make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners

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2

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 1 How well learners enjoy their education 1 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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1

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

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2

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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2

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

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2

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

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2

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

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appropriate

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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appropriate

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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appropriate

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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appropriate

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. NA Education for all learners aged 14-19 provides an understanding of employment and the economy. NA

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Annex B

The Pupils Sir Harold Jackson Primary School Bradway Drive Sheffield S17 4PD

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Annex B

As you know, a team of three inspectors visited your school recently to find out if your school is giving you the education that you should receive.

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Annex B

First of all, thank you very much for the warm welcome that you gave us. We enjoyed talking with you and finding out about the things that you like doing.

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Annex B

I am pleased to say that we decided that you have a good school. The things that we thought were particularly good were:

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Annex B

• The many improvements that your headteacher and his deputy have managed to bring about since they were appointed. • The good teaching that helps you to learn well. • You reach good standards, particularly in reading and science. • The way you all enjoy coming to school and learning. Your attendance is very high compared to other schools. • The way the school cares for you all equally well. • Your behaviour is exemplary towards each other and to your teachers. • The very impressive way in which you are involved in activities in your local community, such as bulb planting and your performances at the Crucible Theatre.

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Annex B

We have asked the school governors, headteacher and all the staff to improve two things in particular to make your school even better. These things are:

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Annex B

• We would like the teachers who look after each of the subjects to spend more time checking how well they are taught and trying to find ways to make sure you are all learning as well as you can in lessons. • We think teachers in the reception classes could give their children some harder work to do and to try and make better use of all the new equipment they have.

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Annex B

Thank you for helping us so much with the inspection of your school. We all hope that you will carry on enjoying learning and helping your teachers to make Sir Harold Jackson School a great place to be.

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Annex B

Mr J J Peacock Mrs S Hunt Mr M Madeley Lead Inspector Inspector Inspector Suite 13 WLTM Centre Moss Lane View Skelmersdale WN8 9TN T 01695 725000 F 01695 725500 www.cfbt.com

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