Aintree Davenhill Primary School

Inspection Report Aintree Davenhill Primary School

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104868 Unique Reference Number Sefton LEA 277239 Inspection number 27 March 2006 to 28 March 2006 Inspection dates Mr Mark Madeley CfBT Lead Inspector Reporting inspector

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

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Aintree Lane School address Primary Type of school Aintree Village Community School category Merseyside L10 8LE 3 to 11 Age range of pupils 0151 526 1162 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 0151 520 3006 Fax number 477 Number on roll Mr R Harris Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs K Coyle Headteacher 27 September 1999 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 277239 27 March 2006 - 3 to 11 28 March 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 three Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

This is a larger than average school. The children, who are virtually all of white British heritage, come from the immediate area and from nearby Liverpool and Knowsley districts. The Liverpool and Knowsley children now make up approximately half of the intake. Most children join the school in the Nursery but about one in five join in the Reception year. The proportion of children eligible for free school meals is below average at about one in ten. About 13% of children have learning difficulties and/or disabilities, which is below average, but there is a higher than average percentage of children with a statement of additional need. The school has ten places for children with severe physical disabilities and these children are fully integrated into classes.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Aintree Davenhill Primary School, 27 March 2006 to 28 March 2006

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Grade: 2

The inspection team agrees with the school's evaluation that this is a good school where children reach outstanding standards. It is highly valued by its parents, as indicated by one who wrote, 'I feel I have made an excellent choice of school for my child.' It is well led by the headteacher. She has a good understanding of its strengths and areas for development through rigorous monitoring. Issues from the last inspection have been successfully addressed and the school has a good capacity to improve further. The governing body is offers good support to the school and their oversight of finances is outstanding. The school gives good value for money. The school has effective partnerships with other agencies, particularly for the support of children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. All children are very happy in school, behave well and are keen to learn. They have a good understanding of how to stay safe, fit

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Grade: 2

and healthy because the school's systems for their care are good. The quality of teaching is good and enables children to make good progress. By Year 6 children reach exceptionally high standards in English, mathematics and science because they are taught these subjects very well. Recent innovations in curriculum are already having a very positive impact on children's work. Children do not always know how to improve their work because of some inconsistencies in teachers' marking. The quality of provision in the Foundation Stage is satisfactory. Children's progress is satisfactory and they reach above average standards before they join Year 1. Children learn well from adult-led activities but independent activities in Reception classes sometimes do not meet the learning needs of the children.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Structure and manage the independent learning activities in the Reception classes so that they are better matched to the needs of the children. • Improve the consistency of teachers' marking to help children understand how to improve their work.

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Grade: 2

The school evaluates achievement and standards as outstanding but the inspection team judges them to be good. Children generally achieve above average standards through the school, and well above average standards in Year 6. Their achievement overall is good. Children's achievement in the Foundation Stage is satisfactory overall. Children enter Nursery with standards in line with expectations for children of their age and make good progress because staff build well on their desire to learn. They and other children join Reception classes with higher than expected standards and make steady progress. Adult-led activities are taught well and children's reading skills are strong but they make less progress when working independently. Most children achieve the standards for their age before joining Year 1 and a substantial minority exceed them. Standards in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of Key Stage

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Grade: 2

2 Inspection Report: Aintree Davenhill Primary School, 27 March 2006 to 28 March 2006 1 are above average, and are improving year on year. Children make good progress because teaching challenges them to do their best. Higher attaining children achieve well in this age group. At the end of Key Stage 2 standards in English, mathematics and science are exceptionally high and have been this high for many years. Children make good progress in Years 3 to 5 and very good progress in Year 6 due to outstanding teaching and high quality revision. Very challenging targets are set and achieved for each successive group of Year 6 children. Children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities are well supported and make good progress.

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Grade: 2

Children's personal development is good and the school ensures their well-being. Parents are highly supportive of the positive atmosphere in the school. Children enjoy school, are polite, friendly and do their best. Behaviour is good; for example children queue patiently to get their lunch. Children feel safe because they know that bullying is not tolerated. The good relationships evident in the school community strongly promote children's personal and social development. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Discussions between school council members and their classmates teach children about democracy. Older children proudly take on responsibility for tasks around the school. Children have raised money for charities and to improve playground resources. Children respect beliefs and views that are different to their own. Children are aware of the benefits of healthy eating and take part in a wide variety of physical

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Grade: 2

activities. The encouragement they are given to be punctual and the progress they make in basic skills ensure they are well prepared for the next stage in their education. Attendance is satisfactory. It has improved as a result of a wide range of well planned initiatives ably led by the headteacher. The attendance of some children is below average because families take holidays during term time.

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Grade: 2

The quality of teaching and learning is good. Teachers have high expectations of children. They have good subject knowledge, especially of English, mathematics and science, and as a result children are challenged and make good progress. Tasks provided within the lessons are generally well matched to children's needs. This is particularly strong in Years 2 and 6 where effective questioning is used to probe children's understanding, fire their imaginations and stimulate them to produce high quality work. Revision work in Year 6 is of a very high standard. Adult led activities in the Reception classes are well planned and taught. However, independent tasks are not always well thought out. Children throughout the school are given good opportunities to work collaboratively and to share ideas. Specialist teachers extend children's enjoyment and skills in religious education, various sports and the arts. Children have

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Grade: 2

good opportunities to use their literacy, numeracy and computer skills in other subjects. 3 Inspection Report: Aintree Davenhill Primary School, 27 March 2006 to 28 March 2006 Assessment systems are effective in identifying children who require additional support or further challenge. Children's progress is monitored closely and challenging individual targets are set for them. Their work is regularly marked but teachers' comments do not always give them clear guidance on how to improve their work further. Children who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities are supported well by effective teaching assistants.

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Grade: 2

The school evaluates this aspect as outstanding but the inspection team judges it to be good. The curriculum meets statutory requirements and the needs of the children. Provision for children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is good. The provision for English, mathematics and science is very good and helps children achieve very high standards. The school has started to challenge children further by exploring links between subjects through a 'theme' approach. The children especially enjoy these lessons and have used their English skills very well to produce beautiful books. Planning in the Foundation Stage follows the national guidance in a satisfactory way although planning for independent activities could meet the needs of the children better. The good programme for children's personal development helps them understand how to stay safe and lead a healthy life style. Through 'themes' and religious education lessons

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Grade: 2

they know about other cultures and beliefs and this helps them prepare for life in a multicultural society. Children and parents value highly the range of clubs and activities now run after school.

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Grade: 2

Arrangements for child protection are in place, and parents and children express high levels of trust in staff. Risk assessments are carried out and health and safety procedures are in place ensuring that children are safe at all times. The school makes very effective use of a wide range of agencies to provide additional support for children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. Children's self-esteem and self-confidence are successfully developed through praise and recognition of their work, especially at high quality assemblies. Children know their learning targets and, in most cases, understand what they need to do to achieve them. Teachers' marking is sometimes less effective in helping them improve their work. Children develop teamwork and cooperative skills particularly well through educational trips and the greatly enjoyed residential visits. The school promotes children's understanding of a healthy life style

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Grade: 2

very successfully and, significantly, has achieved all 12 aspects of the 'Healthy School Award'. 4 Inspection Report: Aintree Davenhill Primary School, 27 March 2006 to 28 March 2006

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good. The school knows itself well and this has been pivotal to the success of the headteacher in bringing about improvements since her appointment. The school sees effective self-evaluation as central to improvement. All issues from the last inspection have been dealt with effectively, demonstrating that the school has good capacity to improve further. The views of parents, carers and stakeholders are taken into account when considering future planning. The headteacher, staff and governors share a very strong commitment to doing the best for all children and the inclusiveness of the school is outstanding. This strong commitment is the driving force behind a school which enables children to make good progress both academically and in their personal development and meets the needs of the community well. The senior leadership team rightly identifies the need to develop the role of some

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Grade: 2

subject advisers further in order for them to carry out their roles more effectively. Managers have been effective in improving provision in the Foundation Stage but recognise that work remains to be done. Governance is good. The governors are fully supportive of the school and know it well from information provided by the headteacher and staff. The monitoring of finances is outstanding, particularly given the extremely high costs of maintaining a vast building, and their input helps to ensure that the school provides good value for money. 5 Inspection Report: Aintree Davenhill Primary School, 27 March 2006 to 28 March 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: Aintree Davenhill Primary School, 27 March 2006 to 28 March 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 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 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 1 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 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 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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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you very much for sharing your views on your school with us. They were most valuable to our recent inspection. We agree with you that you attend a good school where all staff work very hard to help you learn and grow as a person. By Year 6 staff have helped you make good progress and you reach exceptionally high standards in English, mathematics and science. We were delighted by your desire to learn and your confidence when you spoke to us. This was true even for the youngest children in the Nursery who involved us quickly in their 'princess' games. We feel that your behaviour around the school is good and that older children are keen to help the younger ones. We looked at some of your topic books and thought that they were wonderful - beautifully written and illustrated and showing effective use of your computer skills. You know how to stay safe, fit and healthy and many of you take up the chance for more exercise at the good

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

range of after school clubs. Even good schools with very high standards like yours need to continue to improve. These are the things we have asked the school to do to make it a better place to learn: - ensure that teachers' marking shows you how to improve your work - improve some aspects of planning and teaching in the Foundation Stage. You can help make your school a better place by continuing to work hard in lessons, being friendly and helpful to each other and adults and by coming to school every day. We enjoyed working with you and the staff of your school. You all played your part in the inspection and we were very impressed with you all. We wish you and the school well for the future.

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