Maney Hill Primary School

Inspection Report Maney Hill Primary School

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103353 Unique Reference Number Birmingham LEA 276899 Inspection number 5 December 2005 to 6 December 2005 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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Maney Hill Road School address Primary Type of school Sutton Coldfield Community School category West Midlands B72 1JU 5 to 11 Age range of pupils 0121 4649673 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 0121 4642721 Fax number 208 Number on roll Mrs Debbie Munro Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Miss Jane Thomas Headteacher 12 June 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 276899 5 December 2005 - 5 to 11 6 December 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 one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors and one Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

Maney Hill is an average-sized primary school and the majority of children come from the immediate locality of the school. The vast majority of the children are from White British backgrounds and there are very few pupils whose first language is not English. The number eligible for free school meals is well below average. The proportion of children with special educational needs is very low, although the proportion with a statement of special educational needs is similar to that found nationally. There is an independently run nursery with before and after school care on the school site.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Maney Hill Primary School, 5 December 2005 to 6 December 2005

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Grade: 3

This school provides a satisfactory education for its pupils. Although significant improvements have been made over the last two years, the school still needs to develop further. The school judges itself to be good in all areas except the Foundation Stage, where it judges provision and standards to be satisfactory. This is a more positive view than inspection evidence reveals. Although standards are above average throughout the school, children do not make as much progress as they could when compared with other children with similar above average starting points. This is particularly the case in English and for the most able children. This is because children are not consistently challenged in lessons and they do not always know how to improve. The personal development of the pupils is good because the school has put good systems in place to support the children and their views are valued. The children enjoy

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Grade: 3

coming to school and their attendance is good. Although there are examples of good teaching, in too many lessons teachers do not expect enough from the children. The curriculum is satisfactory, with a good range of activities to add enjoyment to the children’s learning. Leadership and management are satisfactory. The school has established a new leadership structure but it is too early to see how this is improving children’s learning. Management systems need to be developed to make them efficient and effective in helping children make better progress. Governors support the school well but are currently not involved enough in some aspects of self-evaluation. The school improvement plan is not precise enough to ensure improvements in teaching and learning. The school has made reasonable progress since the last inspection and overall, standards have risen steadily since then. Parents are generally very pleased with what the school

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Grade: 3

provides. The school has a sound capacity to continue to improve and gives satisfactory value for money.

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What the school should do to improve further

•Raise achievement in English by ensuring that expectations are high enough for all pupils, especially the more able. •Improve the quality and consistency of teaching and learning by raising expectations and sharing good practice. •Make school improvement planning more precise, with a clearer focus on raising achievement and improving teaching and learning.

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Grade: 3

Overall, children’s achievement is satisfactory. Most children enter the Reception class with skills in communication and number above those expected for their age. By the end of Reception, the majority of children have reached at least the level expected in all the areas of learning. 2 Inspection Report: Maney Hill Primary School, 5 December 2005 to 6 December 2005 During Years 1 and 2, children make satisfactory progress and the majority of children reach above average standards in reading, writing and mathematics. The most able pupils make the fastest progress. Progress then slows in Years 3 to 6. The 2005 Year 6 SATs results were high in English and mathematics and above average in science compared to all schools. The school sets reasonable targets for the children in Year 6 but a significant number of the more able children did not reach their targets in 2005, particularly in English, and a detailed analysis shows that progress in English was below

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Grade: 3

that of similar schools nationally. Whilst progress in Years 3 to 6 is satisfactory overall, this means that the children could be doing better with greater challenge. The progress made by children with special educational needs is good because of effective support that is tailored to their needs.

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Grade: 2

Children’s personal development is good. The children behave well around the school and relate well to others. They enjoy coming to school, and feel that it is a safe place to be. The large majority of children choose to have the school’s healthy lunches and children in Reception and Years 1 and 2 enjoy healthy snacks of fruit, milk and juice at break times. The school council meets weekly and their work has resulted in a number of improvements in school, including the introduction of a ‘top table’ at lunchtime and ‘playground pals’. They have yet to resolve the issue of healthy snacks for the older children at breaktime. Children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. There are colourful displays around the school celebrating world faiths. The work of the learning mentor to develop cultural understanding through cooking and dance activities is very good. Some of the children were able to share this work with other schools in the community.

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Grade: 2

Children’s attendance is good and they arrive in school prepared and ready to learn. A significant number of children come into school early and participate enthusiastically in additional literacy work.

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Grade: 3

The school rates teaching and learning as good but the inspectors found it to be satisfactory. There are examples of good teaching but this practice is not consistent across the school. Teachers’ explanations and instructions are generally clear and informative and effective questioning is often used to check children’s understanding. In a brisk and effective lesson on instructional writing, for instance, the teacher used the interactive whiteboard well to introduce ideas on decorating a Christmas tree, and gave clear demonstrations on writing instructions before letting the children practise the skill. As a result, children 3 Inspection Report: Maney Hill Primary School, 5 December 2005 to 6 December 2005 made good progress and were keen and enthusiastic, suggesting ways of making instructions varied and interesting. Where teaching is less effective, expectations are not high enough and the pace of

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Grade: 3

lessons is slow. Tasks are not well matched to children’s different learning needs. Work is not always sufficiently challenging, particularly for the more able children, and this slows their progress.

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Grade: 3

The curriculum is satisfactory. There have been significant improvements to the provision for ICT since the last inspection and teachers are now using this satisfactorily to support children’s learning. The curriculum is enriched by a good range of additional activities such as chess, choir, football, guitars, netball and Tae Kwondo. Teachers, parents and outside coaches all contribute well to the school’s programme of activities. The school provides a residential experience for children in Year 5 which helps develop outdoor activity skills such as abseiling, canoeing and teamwork. Visits to places such as a stage company and a synagogue contribute well to children’s learning. During the inspection, a highly successful production for the younger children developed their confidence and increased their understanding of the meaning of Christmas.

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Grade: 3

Care, guidance and support are satisfactory. Children in Reception settle into the school well because they are given good support and guidance. Parents are very supportive and one commented, “My daughter has settled in very well and is very happy to come to school”. There are effective procedures for risk assessment to ensure that children are safe. Child protection procedures are good and staff are well trained in this area. However, children’s individual targets in English and mathematics are not always sufficiently focused to guide improvement. Furthermore, the targets are not always reviewed on a regular basis. The marking of children’s work is inconsistent and does not always identify why a piece of work is good or what children need to do to improve. Children with special educational needs and those with English as an additional language receive effective support.

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Grade: 3

Leadership and management are satisfactory. The school’s judgement is that this aspect of the school’s work is good, but the current leadership structure has not yet been in place long enough for its work to have had an impact on standards. The school is beginning to analyse its performance in some detail and this is producing some helpful information such as the areas where children made the most errors in their tests at the end of Year 6. However, this type of information is not collated systematically or used effectively to bring about improvements. The school has recently 4 Inspection Report: Maney Hill Primary School, 5 December 2005 to 6 December 2005 implemented a detailed system to monitor the progress of the children and set challenging targets but it is too soon to see how this is improving children’s learning. The school’s improvement plan has too many targets and the actions to address these

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Grade: 3

are not timetabled into the school’s calendar. There is a clear sense of teamwork, and recently appointed subject leaders are working hard to develop learning in their subjects. Parents are generally very pleased with the school and hold it in high regard. The school has made satisfactory progress since the last inspection and the leadership team is committed to further improvement. With the clear educational vision of the headteacher, the school has sound capacity to continue to improve. The governors are very involved in the life of the school and have good systems in place to monitor its work. However, at times they do not receive sufficiently detailed information about progress and initiatives for them to offer an appropriate level of challenge to the school. 5 Inspection Report: Maney Hill Primary School, 5 December 2005 to 6 December 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: Maney Hill Primary School, 5 December 2005 to 6 December 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 2 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 2 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 2 The attendance of learners NA 2 How well learners enjoy their education NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 3 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 3 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 3 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

Maney Hill Primary School Maney Hill Road Sutton Coldfield B72 1JU 7 December 2005 Dear Children Thank you for making Mr. Watts 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. Mr Watts thought that the play that some of you performed was very good and very funny. I enjoyed talking to the school council and was pleased to hear about some of the good ideas that you have had which have made your lunchtimes better. I really like your ‘top table’. We were pleased to see those of you in Reception and Years 1 and 2 enjoying healthy snacks at break times. I think the school council needs to talk about healthy snacks for the older children again at one of its meetings. The adults who look after you in school all work very hard and you have a lot of interesting clubs and activities to take part in. The photographs I saw made your Bollywood dancing look

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

very exciting. We have asked the adults in charge of the school and your teachers to do a few things to make your school even better. We think that some of you can do even harder work. We have asked your teachers to help you with this and to tell you a little bit more about how to make your work better. I hope you will listen carefully to your teachers and do your very best, especially with your writing. Yours sincerely, Mark Mumby Her Majesty’s Inspector of Schools

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