Dersingham Primary School

Inspection Report Dersingham Infant School

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102716 Unique Reference Number Newham LEA LEA 276758 Inspection number 10 October 2005 to 11 October 2005 Inspection dates Andrew Howe AI Reporting inspector

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

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Lawrence Avenue School address Infant Type of school London Community School category E12 5QP 4 to 7 Age range of pupils 02084782133 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 0208514 5206 Fax number 220 Number on roll Mrs S Clements Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Miss J Bezer Headteacher 28 February 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 276758 10 October 2005 - 4 to 7 11 October 2005 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

Dersingham Infant School is an average size infant school in East London that serves a diverse community. It is in an area of significant social deprivation. A high proportion of the children do not speak English as their first language. There are 27 different languages represented in the school. The percentage of children entitled to free school meals is well above average. An average number of children have special educational needs or learning difficulties. Although in the recent past children have frequently joined and left the school during the school year, mobility was static for the academic year 2004/05. However, mobility is increasing again this year, especially in Year 2. The school is part of the Manor Park Education Achievement Zone. It is accredited to the Newham Healthy Schools scheme. The headteacher has been in post for 2 years.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Dersingham Infant School, 10 October 2005 to 11 October 2005

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Grade: 3

The school grades itself as good. Inspection evidence indicates that achievement, teaching, and leadership and management are sound. Therefore, inspectors conclude that this is a satisfactory school, with a number of strengths, and that the school provides satisfactory value for money.The school's strengths include very good relationships, good behaviour and a positive working atmosphere. The school takes good care of its children and ensures they are safe. Children enjoy their learning and learn a great deal about how to live a healthy life. The school has built very positive relationships with parents and with the wider community, for instance through the flourishing food co-operative. Children work together well and appreciate each others' varied backgrounds and beliefs. Provision in the Foundation Stage is satisfactory. Children in the reception classes have good opportunities to develop their language

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Grade: 3

skills, enjoy a stimulating and varied curriculum and make sound progress. Children in the Foundation Stage and in Years 1 and 2 make good progress in mathematics. Standards at the end of Year 2 are well below average, particularly in reading and writing. The teaching of reading in all year groups is not rigorous or lively enough to raise the low standards. Teaching is generally sound but marking does not always help children to see what they need to do to improve their work. The monitoring of teaching is not rigorous enough to enable teachers to identify strengths and weaknesses in their performance. Attendance is below average.However, the school has a good capacity to improve. The senior staff are aware of the school's main strengths and weaknesses and have detailed plans in place for school improvement. School self evaluation is generally good, although the inspectors disagree with the overall grade

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Grade: 3

the school has given itself. There is a strong commitment to raising standards shared by staff and governors. Improvement since the last inspection has been sound.

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What the school should do to improve further

Improve standards in reading by ensuring teachers combine lively teaching of basic skills with promoting a passion for books.* Improve the quality of teaching by ensuring it is rigorously and regularly monitored and useful feedback is provided.* Make assessment and marking more useful so that teachers can plan for the needs of different groups more accurately and children know what they need to do to improve.* Continue to improve methods for monitoring and encouraging attendance.

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Grade: 3

Children start in the reception classes with standards well below those typical for their age, partly because many have limited experience of spoken English. This slows their progress in developing early literacy skills. Children make satisfactory progress overall in the Foundation Stage but make good progress in their mathematical development. Standards by the end of the Foundation Stage remain well below average overall. At the end of Year 2 the percentage of children attaining level 2 or above is well below 2 Inspection Report: Dersingham Infant School, 10 October 2005 to 11 October 2005 that expected nationally in reading and writing, below in mathematics, but above average for science. In particular, progress in reading is restricted by the children's limited language skills. The school set realistic, but demanding, targets for achievement in 2005 which were met successfully, and overall, standards are improving. Children

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Grade: 3

make sound progress from a low starting point and make good progress in mathematics. In one lesson observed the effective use of an interactive whiteboard enabled a girl in Year 1 to realise that the circle being discussed has got no points or sides !. Not enough children attain the higher levels in English, mathematics and science because work is not always well matched to the needs of the more able children. Children with learning difficulties and those at an early stage of learning English make satisfactory progress because they are given a high level of effective support in and out of the classroom.

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Grade: 2

Relationships in the school are very good. This helps children enjoy learning and develop good social skills. Children are confident, polite and behave well. They feel safe at school and know that adults will help them if they have a problem. They know how to keep themselves and others safe and take responsibility for the school environment and beyond, for example, by taking part in a recycling project. Children understand healthy living and have good opportunities for exercise. Assemblies promote good moral and social values well and provide adequate opportunities for spiritual reflection. Visits, visitors and the religious education programme successfully promote children's developing knowledge and understanding of other cultures and beliefs. Despite the school's efforts, attendance remains unsatisfactory. The school monitors attendance and works closely with the education welfare service to remind parents of

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Grade: 2

the importance of regular school attendance but has no checking system for the first day of unexplained absence.

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Grade: 3

The school says teaching is satisfactory and inspectors agree. Teachers present lessons confidently and have good subject knowledge. Lessons are well organised. Varied practical activities are thoughtfully planned. Careful questioning helps teachers check children's understanding and provides opportunities for children to express themselves. There is a high level of support for children whose reading skills are limited and this leads to sound progress. Teachers and support staff work hard to ensure good relationships and behaviour, so that children mostly listen well and co-operate in lessons. Teachers make very effective use of interactive whiteboards to make lessons interesting. Teaching in the Foundation Stage is satisfactory. Staff work hard at developing children's language knowledge and independence.Teachers are not always successful in matching tasks to children's abilities and expectations are not always

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Grade: 3

3 Inspection Report: Dersingham Infant School, 10 October 2005 to 11 October 2005 high enough. The teaching of reading, including phonic skills, is not well paced or exciting enough to raise standards. While individual reading support helps children practise skills, opportunities for reading in groups to promote discussion and enjoyment of texts, are limited. Marking and assessment do not always show children clearly what they need to learn next to improve their work.

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Grade: 3

The curriculum is satisfactory overall. Some useful links between literacy and other subjects such as information and communication technology have been planned. A good range of extra-curricular activity contributes much to children's personal development. Visitors, visits, and themed events are used effectively to enrich the curriculum. For instance children have visited the local mosque and been visited by the Imam, in order to develop their understanding of their own and other faiths. There is an emphasis on developing children's awareness of how to live a healthy life. Careful planning and well organised support ensures children with learning difficulties participate fully in the school's activities. Teachers' planning helps the many children at an early stage of learning English play a full part in lessons and make sound progress.

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Grade: 2

Children receive good support from the multi-lingual staff who ensure that their needs are met and that they enjoy their learning. Child protection and health and safety procedures are good. Supervision in the playground during break times is very good. Children play happily and any incidents are quickly resolved. Good links with outside agencies and effective resources in school mean that children with special educational needs and those who speak English as an additional language receive good support.The school has many assessment systems that chart children's progress. However, they are not used effectively to show children what they need to do next to improve their work. The school works hard to develop a positive relationship with parents that supports children's learning. Parents appreciate the school's care and advice. The school has consulted with parents and children but there are no formal arrangements for taking

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Grade: 2

children's views into account. Although some children take responsibility for some day to day tasks, opportunities for all children to develop independent skills are limited.

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Grade: 3

The school's leadership and management are satisfactory with a number of strengths. The headteacher has identified many of the improvements that the school needs to make. Her leadership is enterprising and positive and enables the school's senior staff to function well as a team. The views of everyone in the school community are valued. The school improvement plan is an ambitious and useful working document. However, it includes so many tasks that it is unlikely to be manageable. Success criteria for some 4 Inspection Report: Dersingham Infant School, 10 October 2005 to 11 October 2005 activities are not always specific enough.The governing body fulfils its statutory requirements satisfactorily. Governors are enthusiastic and keen to question. However, there is a lack of formal procedures to enable governors to evaluate the school's performance for themselves. They monitor the progress of the school development

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Grade: 3

plan but have limited involvement in setting its goals.Although the senior staff have a good overall awareness of the school's strengths and weaknesses, the monitoring of teaching is underdeveloped and does not provide sufficient feedback to help teachers improve their performance. The school has a good capacity to improve. Senior staff and governors share a real commitment to finding ways to help children do better. There has been sound improvement since the last inspection with standards rising in mathematics and science and better use being made of assessment information. 5 Inspection Report: Dersingham Infant School, 10 October 2005 to 11 October 2005 .

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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: Dersingham Infant School, 10 October 2005 to 11 October 2005

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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 2 How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? NA 3 The quality and standards in foundation stage NA 3 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 3 How well do learners achieve? NA 4 The standards 1 reached by learners

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Achievement and standards

NA 3 How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners NA 3 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

NA 3 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development NA 2 The behaviour of learners NA 4 The attendance of learners NA 2 How well learners enjoy their education NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles NA 2 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community NA 3 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 2 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 3 How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets, through quality assurance and self-review NA 2 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can NA 3 How effectively and efficiently resources are deployed to achieve value for money NA 3 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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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you for your help during the inspection. We really enjoyed finding out about your school. Everyone was very friendly and made it easy for us to do our job. We think your school is satisfactory. Here are some of the things that are good:* You enjoy coming to school.* All the adults in the school take good care of you. They keep you safe and teach you how to be healthy. * You learn well in mathematics.* You all work together very well and your behaviour is good.* The school and your parents work hard together to help you with your learning. We think there are some things that the school needs to do better:* Teachers need to help you improve your reading, so that you enjoy books and can learn from them.* Teachers need to make sure all of you get the right work and that their marking always helps you to make your work better.* All teachers need to help one another to improve their teaching.* You can help

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