Coteford Infant School

Inspection Report Coteford Infant School

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102375 Unique Reference Number Hillingdon LEA LEA 276706 Inspection number 8 May 2006 to 9 May 2006 Inspection dates Raminder Arora AI Reporting inspector

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This inspection was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Fore Street School address Infant Type of school Eastcote Community School category Pinner HA5 2HX 3 to 7 Age range of pupils 01895671952 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01895624559 Fax number 214 Number on roll Mr Richard Campanini Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs J Thomas Headteacher 3 April 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 276706 8 May 2006 - 3 to 7 9 May 2006 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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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 Education Act 2005, 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 carried out by two Additional Inspectors

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Description of the school

Coteford Infant is an average size community school that caters for 214 pupils aged 3 to 7 years. Pupils come from a range of social backgrounds and most are from White British families. The proportion that does not speak English at home is about average and rising. Children's attainment on entry is below average. The level of pupils entitled to free school meals is above average. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities, including those with statements of special needs, is high. The school has a specialist resource provision for pupils with physical disabilities. An increasing number of pupils move in or out of the school at times other than the usual.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Coteford Infant School, 8 May 2006 to 9 May 2006

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Grade: 2

This is a popular and successful school that provides a good quality of education. Taken overall pupils of all backgrounds and abilities, including those receiving specialist resource provision, achieve well. The quality of teaching and learning, and the curriculum, are good with some outstanding features. For example the support for pupils with learning difficulties and physical disabilities is particularly well organised. The quality of provision in the Foundation Stage is good and the children achieve well. However, some of the more able pupils in Years 1 and 2 are not achieving the higher standards in writing of which they are capable. Pupils enjoy their time at school, are well behaved and make the most of opportunities available to them. Parents are overwhelmingly supportive of the school, and correctly believe that their children are learning and achieving well. The school is very welcoming and values all its pupils equally.

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Grade: 2

The school's capacity to improve is good. Its own assessment of its performance is accurate and well founded on a good range of evidence collected by leaders and managers at all levels. There has been full response to the issues raised by the last inspection. The school has correctly identified the need to modify its improvement plan to provide a briefer, more focussed overview of the main priorities and their cost. The school offers good value for money.

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What the school should do to improve further

andmiddot; Raise teachers' expectations of what pupils, especially the more able, can achieve in writing.andmiddot; Complete the new long-term school improvement plan to include sharply focused priorities.

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Grade: 2

The school identifies these aspects to be good and inspectors agree. Children enter school with below average attainment levels, particularly in their social and communication skills. They quickly settle because of the interesting range of activities designed for them and the good support given. With the exception of communication, language and literacy, the majority of children are on course to achieve the expected goals in the Foundation Stage areas of learning. It is clear from the results of 2005 that the proportion of pupils achieving the expected levels at the end of Year 2 in reading, writing and mathematics was close to average. The brighter pupils achieved the higher levels in reading and mathematics, but fewer managed this in writing. This is being successfully addressed through appropriate measures, for example, the use of the Jolly Phonics scheme across all classes, which has already begun to show a positive impact on pupils' progress in spelling. Inspection

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Grade: 2

findings confirm the accuracy of the school's very effective tracking of pupils' performance, which shows that all are making good progress in Years 1 and 2. The 2 Inspection Report: Coteford Infant School, 8 May 2006 to 9 May 2006 school sets and achieves challenging targets. The high quality support by the learning support staff enables pupils with physical disabilities, to achieve well in relation to their personal learning targets.

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Grade: 1

Pupils' personal development and well-being are outstanding. All pupils benefit from a wealth of opportunities to develop their personal and social skills. They play happily together at playtimes and there is an absence of any inappropriate behaviour. Pupils feel secure and free from discrimination. They demonstrate sensitivity and respect in their relationships with each other and with adults, and this reflects the school's commitment to the development of racial harmony and responsibility for others. A strong feature is the level of care and understanding shown by pupils to classmates with a disability. Pupils clearly enjoy their lessons and love coming to school. Although attendance is below average, the school is working successfully to reduce pupils' absence and encourage punctuality. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding. Imaginative assemblies, visits and visitors to the school effectively contribute to the pupils' personal

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Grade: 1

qualities. They acquire a good understanding of different faiths, cultures and lifestyles through various activities, clubs and community events that the school supports. As a result, they leave the school as mature and sensible pupils, well adjusted for their next stage of learning. Pupils' well-developed team-working skills contribute strongly to their potential for future working roles. Pupils are developing a good understanding of healthy lifestyle choices and wholeheartedly contribute to both school life and the wider community.

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Grade: 2

Inspectors saw mostly good and occasionally outstanding teaching. Teaching is good in the Foundation Stage and supports children's good progress in all areas of learning. During good lessons, teachers used questions effectively to assess and extend learning. They used resources imaginatively to engage and maintain pupils' interest. Pupils had useful opportunities to discuss their learning with each other and applied themselves to tasks with sustained levels of concentration. Where the quality of teaching was satisfactory, the purpose of the lesson was not always made clear to pupils to keep them on task and fully engaged in learning. The school recognises the teaching of writing as an area to develop further. The teaching of phonics is consistent and showing positive improvements in pupils' work. Marking of pupils' work is generally good but teachers do not expect enough from pupils in their writing, resulting in some work being untidy and lacking sufficient

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Grade: 2

attention to detail. 3 Inspection Report: Coteford Infant School, 8 May 2006 to 9 May 2006 Staff know children well because they regularly assess them and plan carefully to meet their needs. The work of the support staff helping pupils with physical disabilities in the mainstream classrooms is outstanding. As a result these pupils make good progress towards their individual learning targets.

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Grade: 2

The school's curriculum is good. It is broad and effectively monitored to ensure that pupils cover the necessary aspects of each subject and progressively increase their knowledge, skills and understanding. There is a clear focus on developing pupils' basic skills in literacy and numeracy. However, opportunities for pupils to write at length across different subjects are sometimes missed and this results in lack of challenge in writing especially for the more able. The pupils' understanding of how to stay safe and healthy is promoted effectively through the curriculum, especially in science, physical education and personal, social and health education. Good opportunities exist for the pupils to use information and communication technology and extend their learning in other subjects. For example, Reception children were seen confidently using digital cameras to capture two and three dimension objects

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Grade: 2

on film, as part of their numeracy lesson on shapes. The Foundation Stage curriculum is well planned and provides children with a good start to their education. Planning is effective with strong emphasis placed on children learning through play and through participation in real life experiences. A variety of visits and visitors, as well as events such as the 'Book Day' and various topic days, enrich the curriculum.

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Grade: 1

This is an outstanding feature of the school. All staff are fully committed to caring for the needs of all learners. This is especially so for those with learning difficulties and disabilities where a team of dedicated support staff are expertly led to provide levels of tender care to learners with profound needs. Pupils feel safe in the school and know that there is an adult they can turn to if they are in difficulty. Procedures for child protection are robust and rigorously applied. Health and safety and risk assessments are thorough. The academic progress and personal development of all pupils are monitored very carefully and data is used effectively to support their needs. The setting of personal targets for pupils is a strong feature in raising standards. The school actively promotes a healthy lifestyle amongst the pupils and places a strong focus on their personal development. 4 Inspection Report: Coteford Infant School, 8 May 2006 to 9 May 2006

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good with some outstanding features. The head teacher provides a clear direction for the school's work. She is effectively supported by a talented senior management team, which makes an important contribution to school leadership. All staff display a strong sense of teamwork. Roles and responsibilities are clearly understood and targets for development are set for the improvement of individuals. As a result there is a shared commitment to the school's aims and values and the pupils thrive, regardless of background or ability. The school works with a wide range of partners to improve provision and support achievements, and enjoys the complete confidence of parents. One parent wrote, 'We feel very fortunate. The school so clearly endeavours to make each child feel very special and valued.' Capacity for further school improvement is good. Issues from the last inspection have

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Grade: 2

been tackled successfully. Although more remains to be done to extend more able pupils' writing the school is taking appropriate action. The new curriculum planning groups have improved lines of communication and accountability amongst all staff but better links are needed between subjects to ensure that writing skills are developed consistently. The school has correctly identified some important weaknesses in its approach to improvement planning. The current plan is detailed and is clearly focussed on raising pupils' standards. However, it lacks a long-term view and priorities are insufficiently linked to the school's budget plan. The governing body provides good levels of support. Governors are developing a good understanding of the school's strengths and weaknesses. They are becoming more involved in monitoring the work of the school and playing a vital role in its further development. For instance, provision for information and communication technology

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Grade: 2

has been reviewed effectively and the quality of school meals has been improved by their direct involvement. Because resources are used imaginatively to promote learning and children make good progress the school provides good value for money. 5 Inspection Report: Coteford Infant School, 8 May 2006 to 9 May 2006 .

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set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s

website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Coteford Infant School, 8 May 2006 to 9 May 2006

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Overall

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

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learners?

NA 1 How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? NA 2 The quality and standards in foundation stage NA 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation NA Yes The capacity to make any necessary improvements NA Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

NA 2 How well do learners achieve? NA 3 The standards 1 reached by learners

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Achievement and standards

NA 2 How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners NA 2 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

NA 1 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development NA 1 The behaviour of learners NA 3 The attendance of learners NA 1 How well learners enjoy their education NA 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles NA 1 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community NA 1 How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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needs and interests of learners?

NA 1 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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needs and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low.

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and supporting all learners?

NA 2 How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education NA 2 How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets, through quality assurance and self-review NA 1 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can NA 2 How effectively and efficiently resources are deployed to achieve value for money NA 2 The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities NA Yes 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

Yes 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

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The extent to which providers ensure that learners stay safe

Yes 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

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The extent to which learners make a positive contribution

Yes 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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The extent to which schools enable learners to achieve economic well-being

Yes There is provision to promote learners’ basic skills Yes Learners have opportunities to develop enterprise skills and work in teams NA 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

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