Bellfield Primary School (NC)

Inspection Report Bellfield Infant NC SU School

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103289 Unique Reference Number Birmingham LEA 276885 Inspection number 1 February 2006 to 2 February 2006 Inspection dates Mark Mumby HMI Reporting inspector

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

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Vineyard Road School address Infant Type of school Birmingham Community School category West Midlands B31 1PT 3 to 7 Age range of pupils 0121 4644855 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 0121 4644854 Fax number 164 Number on roll Mrs Lillian Tuckwell Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Margaret Brown Headteacher 11 October 1999 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 276885 1 February 2006 - 3 to 7 2 February 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 one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors and one Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

Bellfield Infant School is an average sized infant school with a nursery. It serves a disadvantaged area of Northfield. Over half of the children are eligible for free school meals. About a third of the children come from minority ethnic backgrounds but the large majority speak English as their first language. The proportion of children with learning difficulties and disabilities is about average, although the proportion with a statement of special educational needs is higher than that found nationally. When children start in the Nursery, their knowledge and skills are below the levels expected for their age. The school provides support for children with hearing impairments through a specialist unit. The school operates a breakfast club.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Bellfield Infant NC SU School, 1 February 2006 to 2 February 2006

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Grade: 3

This is a satisfactory school with a number of good features. Significant improvements have been made recently and the school is well placed to improve further. The school has evaluated itself well and inspectors agree with all but one of its judgements. The inspectors’ view is that the curriculum is satisfactory, when the school judges it as good. Parents are very pleased with the education and care provided by the school. Although children start school with skills below those expected for their age, the majority make at least satisfactory progress. Children make a good start in the Nursery but the quality and standards in the Foundation Stage overall are satisfactory. By the time they reach the end of Year 2, most children are working at the standard expected for their age. They behave very well and approach their learning positively. There is a significant amount of good teaching but this is not consistent throughout

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Grade: 3

the school. Children are well cared for and are generally supported well with their learning. The school provides a generally satisfactory curriculum although planning in Reception is not sufficiently developed to make best use of the newly developed facilities. The enhanced information and communication technology (ICT) resources are not used well enough to support learning. Leadership and management are satisfactory. There is an appropriate focus on children’s learning and the school has established systems to monitor their progress. More work is needed to ensure that this information is used effectively to plan for further improvement. The governing body is not rigorous enough in holding the school to account for the quality of children’s learning. School improvement planning lacks precision, which is likely to make it difficult to monitor developments sufficiently well. The school has made satisfactory progress since the last inspection and recent

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Grade: 3

improvements indicate that the school has a good capacity to improve further. The school offers satisfactory value for money.

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What the school should do to improve further

•Build on the good teaching to ensure that the best practice is developed and disseminated in order to provide consistently high quality learning experiences for all of the children. •Develop further the planning in the Foundation Stage to ensure that each area of learning is appropriately addressed and best use is made of the recently improved indoor and outdoor facilities. •Make more effective use of ICT to enrich the learning opportunities for all children. •Make school improvement planning more precise in order to enable the school’s leaders, managers and governors to evaluate rigorously the work of the school. 2 Inspection Report: Bellfield Infant NC SU School, 1 February 2006 to 2 February 2006

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Grade: 3

Overall, achievement is satisfactory. Children enter the Nursery with skills below those expected for their age. They make a very good start in the Nursery and, by the time they reach their Reception Year, most of the more able children have caught up. At the time of the inspection, most children in Year 1 were working at the level expected of their age in reading, writing and mathematics. Through Year 1 and Year 2 the children make satisfactory progress, particularly in literacy. By the end of Year 2, the majority of children reach the standard expected for their age in reading, writing and mathematics. However, the progress seen in lessons was variable and not all children made as much progress as they could have done. The more able children generally meet the challenging targets set by the school. However, a significant number of the children of average ability do not meet their targets. Boys generally make better progress than girls. Children with learning difficulties and

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Grade: 3

disabilities make satisfactory progress.

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Grade: 2

Children’s personal development is a strength. Children are enthusiastic about school. From their early days in the Foundation Stage, they are considerate to others and relate confidently to adults. Their moral, social and cultural development is good. Spiritual development is satisfactory. The school has made satisfactory progress in developing awareness of other faiths and cultures. Children have good attitudes to learning. Most work well independently and in groups. For example, small groups of Year 1 pupils sustained good levels of attention in a mathematics lesson when evaluating which objects balance others. The children maintain concentration, even when the pace of teaching flags. They behave well around school and in the playground. The children have very few concerns about bullying and the school monitors any incidents rigorously. Sound provision for basic literacy and numeracy ensures that pupils are well placed

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Grade: 2

for later education. The school encourages children to follow a healthy lifestyle. This is reinforced well through displays, activities such as health week and the good quality of school meals. The active school council enables children to influence the life of the school. Attendance is carefully monitored and absences are systematically investigated. Largely through the hard work of the learning mentor, attendance has improved significantly and is now broadly average. Punctuality is good. 3 Inspection Report: Bellfield Infant NC SU School, 1 February 2006 to 2 February 2006

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Grade: 3

The quality of teaching is satisfactory overall. A significant amount of good teaching was seen during the inspection, but this was not consistent throughout the school. Teaching assistants work well and help individuals and groups of children to make good progress. Where teaching is good, teachers have a clear understanding of what they want the children to learn. They plan work that enthuses and challenges the individual children in the class because they use their subject knowledge well. They ask questions that make children think and teach children to use appropriate vocabulary. For example, in a Year 2 mathematics lesson, the teacher used a variety of practical methods and the children responded enthusiastically. Individual children were asked questions to confirm their understanding and the lesson moved on at a brisk pace. Where teaching is less effective, it is often slow and repetitive. Teachers do not always

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Grade: 3

assess children’s learning well enough and have an insufficient understanding of what children already know and can do. This results in children being given work that is too easy or too hard.

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Grade: 3

The curriculum is satisfactory. In the main, it provides a broad range of opportunities and experience for children. However, while there has been significant improvement in resources for ICT recently, not enough use is made of these to improve the quality of teaching or to extend pupils’ learning. Literacy skills are developed effectively across the curriculum, although cross-curricular use of mathematics is less well developed. Although provision in the Foundation Stage is satisfactory overall, the curriculum in Reception is not organised to reflect fully the six areas of learning. Outdoor play is not yet planned for appropriately. Children with hearing impairments are well cared for and have access to the full curriculum. They are effectively integrated into the life of the school. The curriculum is enriched by a satisfactory programme of extra-curricular activities including football, netball, dance and drumming. A good programme of outside visits

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Grade: 3

and of visitors to the school adds to children’s enjoyment of learning.

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Grade: 2

Care, guidance and support are good. Relationships between staff and pupils are a significant strength. The quality of care, particularly when children enter the Foundation Stage, and for children in the hearing unit, is good. As a result, pupils feel very secure and confident that adults will support them when needed. Risk assessments are carried 4 Inspection Report: Bellfield Infant NC SU School, 1 February 2006 to 2 February 2006 out as required and the school works hard to ensure that the environment is always safe. The school has satisfactory procedures for child protection. Children’s individual targets in English contribute effectively to continued improvement. However, children are less aware of their mathematics targets and these are not reviewed sufficiently often to help them to improve. The marking of work has improved since the last inspection and, particularly in Year 1, is often very thorough, giving good

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Grade: 2

pointers for improvement. Children with learning difficulties and disabilities and those learning English as an additional language receive effective support.

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Grade: 3

Leadership and management are satisfactory. The headteacher has been in post for only one term but has already established a clear vision for school improvement. The school is beginning to monitor its work systematically and is building up a good range of evidence about its performance. This has been used to prepare a school improvement plan, which sets clear targets for development. However, the criteria outlined to measure progress are very broad and the timescale for improvement is imprecise. This is likely to make it difficult for the school to evaluate the progress it is making. The school has assigned teachers to lead the development of individual subjects. These teachers provide a good level of support for their colleagues and are increasingly successful in bringing about improvements in children’s learning. However, they are less effective in monitoring the impact of their improvement work and providing

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Grade: 3

evaluative feedback for the staff as a whole and for governors. As a result, good teaching is only happening in some classes and areas of the curriculum. The governing body meets regularly and has established a number of committees to carry out aspects of its work. The headteacher provides detailed information to the governing body about the school’s work. However, this is not sufficiently focused on children’s learning and the governing body is not rigorous enough in challenging this. As a result, it is difficult for the governing body to hold the school to account. 5 Inspection Report: Bellfield Infant NC SU School, 1 February 2006 to 2 February 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: Bellfield Infant NC SU School, 1 February 2006 to 2 February 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 3 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 3 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 2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development NA 2 The behaviour of learners NA 3 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 2 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 3 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

Dear Children Thank you for making Mr Logan and me welcome when we visited your school. We enjoyed talking to you and looking at your work. You are all very polite, cheerful and helpful. We liked the way that you are all seemed to get on so well with each other. We were very pleased to see how hard you all work in your lessons and you were very good at telling us about what you were doing. Most of your lessons that we visited were exciting and you were learning a lot. We have asked your teachers to make sure that all of your lessons are like this. Your school building is very nice and you have got a lot of new things, such as computers and special places to learn outside. Your teachers have worked hard to make your school like this and we have asked them to make sure that they use all of these things well to help you to learn even more. Your school has changed a lot recently and I am sure you will all be very pleased about the

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

things that have got better. We have asked the people that are in charge of your school to make sure that they plan all of their work very carefully and always check to see if the changes have made things better. Yours sincerely Mark Mumby Her Majesty’s Inspector

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