Claremont Primary School

Inspection Report Claremont Primary School

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105408 Unique Reference Number Manchester LEA 277351 Inspection number 15 February 2006 to 16 February 2006 Inspection dates Mrs Sarah Drake 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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Claremont Road School address Primary Type of school Moss Side Community School category Manchester, Lancashire M14 7NA 7 to 11 Age range of pupils

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0161 2262066 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 0161 2260448 Fax number 490 Number on roll Mrs Fadima Zubairu MBE Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Ms P Dempsey Headteacher 13 March 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 277351 15 February 2006 - 7 to 11 16 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 three additional inspectors.

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Description of the school

Claremont Primary is a large school which opened in September 2003. The vast majority of pupils belong to minority ethnic groups and more than half speak English as an additional language. There are 21 languages spoken in school. There is a constant turnover of pupils with more than a third arriving or leaving each year, many from outside the country and some as refugees or asylum seekers. High numbers of pupils are eligible for a free school meal and the percentage with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is also well above the national average. The school holds the bronze Healthy Schools Award.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Claremont Primary School, 15 February 2006 to 16 February 2006

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Grade: 2

Claremont Primary is a good school with many outstanding features which serves its community very well. It provides good value for money. With its high turnover of children, many of whom arrive with little English and some with no previous experience of education, it does remarkably well to achieve standards that are below the national average. The quality of the Foundation Stage is good. Children get off to a particularly good start in the nursery; in the Reception classes staff could capitalise more fully on children's free play. Children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is exceptional with high quality provision, especially in the arts, that truly celebrates diversity throughout the day. Teaching is of good quality, although the helpfulness of teachers' marking varies. Teaching assistants and extra staff make a very strong contribution towards helping children to achieve. The rich curriculum excites children's

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Grade: 2

interest and a strong emphasis on language development is inherent in all activities. The support and care provided for children are outstanding, enabling even those with the most troubled home circumstances to feel secure and make good progress within the harmonious and predictable school environment. In this school each individual matters. The school's high quality provision is underpinned by exceptional leadership and management. Very careful analysis and unusually strong partnership with parents and the wider community ensure that children's varying needs are diagnosed and catered for, enabling them to achieve well. The school knows its strengths and weaknesses well, but is over modest in its self-evaluation. It takes effective action when it identifies a problem, for example, raising standards in mathematics, and has very good capacity to improve.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Building on the good practice in the nursery, ensure that Reception staff exploit fully the learning potential of children's independently chosen play. • Extend the high quality of teachers' marking in some classes throughout the school, so all children know clearly what to do to improve their work.

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Grade: 2

Children's achievement is good. From a very low starting point on entry to nursery and for many of the children who enter the school into each year group, good gains are made in the core subjects of English, mathematics and science. Test results in these subjects by the end of Year 6 are below average overall. 2 Inspection Report: Claremont Primary School, 15 February 2006 to 16 February 2006 During the Foundation Stage children's progress is good. Standards are still well below expectations by the end of the Reception year but the children have built well on what they already knew. Particularly impressive gains are made in the nursery in terms of language and children's personal and social development. Despite standards by the end of Year 2 being below average, children continue to make good progress in Years 1 and 2. Over half of them attain the expected standards in reading, writing and mathematics before beginning Year 3. A good rate of progress

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Grade: 2

is maintained during Years 3 to 6. This is a significant accomplishment, given the disruptions caused by new children joining the school in the juniors and the extensive challenges arising from the diversity of children's languages and previous educational experiences. Children do so well because of the good quality of teaching and curriculum provided. The school sets challenging targets for children to achieve in the national tests and generally these are met. The overall dip in results in 2005 was predicted from analysis of the children's previous standards. The school's actions to raise children's understanding and use of language overall and particularly in mathematics, are having a very positive effect. All groups of children achieve equally well.

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Grade: 2

Children's personal development and well-being are good. The school's ethos and aims are reflected in the importance given to every child. This helps them grow in confidence, take pride in their work and really enjoy their learning. Behaviour is generally good because staff are extremely skilled at pre-empting trouble and helping children to increase their self-discipline. The children are helpful, polite and sensible as they move around the school. Bullying and racism are rare and children feel that adults and the trained peer mentors treat all issues fairly. The school operates as a happy, vibrant community. Children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding. The school council has a strong impact through various initiatives, charitable fundraising and recycling. Many children take on responsibilities such as reading mentors for Reception class children or as playground sports coaches. They are involved in the local carnival

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Grade: 2

and are currently developing a community garden with the Rotary Club. Children are well aware of how to stay safe and make healthy lifestyle choices. Their cultural understanding is exceptionally well developed with the community's diversity fully celebrated across all subjects. Alongside this, there are plenty of opportunities for children to reflect on the richness of life and their own response to different circumstances. The strong emphasis on development of language and other basic skills, as well as the careers course for Year 6 ensures that children are well equipped to take their place in society. Attendance is below average, affected in part by the school's high mobility, and too many children arrive late in the morning. However, the breakfast club combined with imaginative and persistent work by the recently appointed attendance officer are having a very positive impact. 3 Inspection Report: Claremont Primary School, 15 February 2006 to 16 February 2006

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Grade: 2

The quality of teaching and learning is good. Children enjoy their learning, work enthusiastically and make good progress. They say that, 'teachers make lessons fun'. Teachers explain clearly what is to be learned and ensure that children fully understand what they have to do. They use questioning very well to develop children's language skills, and they allow them plenty of time to think. The use of puppets and actions helps to engage children's attention, particularly those at an early stage of learning English. Teaching assistants and other adults support children very well. Relationships are very good and the children respond well to staff's high expectations of behaviour. All teachers provide helpful guidance in the classroom and some marking is exemplary. However, across the school the quality of marking is too variable. Teaching and learning in the Foundation Stage are good, with some outstanding

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Grade: 2

practice in the nursery where staff use play-based activities very well to develop language and learning across all subjects. In Reception, good practical work in teacher led sessions promotes literacy and numeracy skills well but staff do not make the most of the learning opportunities provided by independently chosen play. Teachers assess children's progress carefully and use the information well when planning work, ensuring that activities meet the needs of all children. A strong combination of highly skilled class teachers, specialist teachers, teaching assistants and outside professionals provides good quality teaching for all.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is good. It is broad, well balanced and meets the needs of all children. The school capitalises upon and celebrates the rich cultural diversity of its children, incorporating this very well into the learning experiences. Carefully planned programmes are provided for those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and additional support is provided to help those learning to speak English. Basic skills in literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology are given a high profile and are reinforced extremely well within many subjects. In addition, the development of speaking and listening skills permeates the whole curriculum. These features provide good support for children's future economic well-being and help make learning meaningful. Actions taken to promote children's creativity, personal and cultural development are outstanding. There are many varied and rich opportunities to participate in drama,

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Grade: 2

music, art, foreign languages and physical education, with the latter reinforcing the benefits of exercise to stay fit and healthy. A wide range of enrichment activities supports children's personal and academic progress and ensures that they enjoy learning. A good programme helps children understand how to stay safe and keep 4 Inspection Report: Claremont Primary School, 15 February 2006 to 16 February 2006 healthy. Very good links with the community and other schools extend learning opportunities even further.

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Grade: 1

The care, support and guidance for children are outstanding. All staff work in an exceptionally well focused manner to help children feel secure and achieve well. The twice yearly screening of each individual's needs is impressive and means that support, whether for behavioural, emotional or academic needs, is targeted in the most effective manner. The Gaadhitaan (Achievement) homework club for families of Somali children exemplifies the school's imaginative approach: reinforcing learning in lessons, promoting children's own culture and guiding parents how to support their children's learning within a welcoming and relaxed environment. Child protection and health and safety arrangements are effective and well known to all staff. Playtime is very well organised to ensure children are fully occupied and have no time to misbehave. Very good procedures ensure that the many newcomers are able to settle swiftly, helped by bi-lingual staff members and child buddies who,

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Grade: 1

wherever possible, speak the same language. Preparation for the move to secondary school is equally good.

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Grade: 1

The exceptionally skilled leadership and management of the school enable all children to make good progress. The headteacher has very high expectations of everyone, including herself, and combines her analytical and interpersonal skills exceptionally well to the children's benefit. The amalgamation of two schools has been successfully achieved and all staff have a very clear focus on what needs to be done next. Curriculum managers are answerable for standards in their areas and are becoming increasingly familiar with expectations across the whole school. Action planning is firmly based on thoughtful analysis of the information gained from monitoring. The actions to raise standards in mathematics are having a positive impact. All staff's performance management relates to raising children's achievement. Very close partnership with parents and a wide range of outside agencies supports children's learning very well. Inclusion is at the forefront of leaders' thinking when

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Grade: 1

deciding which intervention will benefit which children most. For example, when taking on whole school responsibility for pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, the special needs co-ordinator carried out a detailed audit so that all staff are aware which child has learning needs and who has language needs. This means that support from behaviour specialists, speech therapists, specialists in teaching English as an additional language and others is used to best advantage, to help children achieve and gain best value for money. 5 Inspection Report: Claremont Primary School, 15 February 2006 to 16 February 2006 Governance is of good quality. The governors have a good knowledge of school life, keep a firm eye on finances and are sufficiently confident to hold the school to account in a supportive manner. The school is welcoming, runs very smoothly and nurtures children very well so that they can succeed.

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Grade: 1

6 Inspection Report: Claremont Primary School, 15 February 2006 to 16 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. 7 Inspection Report: Claremont Primary School, 15 February 2006 to 16 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 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 NA 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 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 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 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 1 How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education NA 1 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

We all very much enjoyed our visit to your school and would like to thank you for being so welcoming and ready to talk with us. You told us that you think it is a really good school and we agree with you. Here is a list of things that we particularly liked: - your teachers plan interesting lessons so that you enjoy your learning - they explain things clearly and are good at helping you to develop your language skills - they help you to remember to behave well, so your school is a happy place to be - you make the most of the children's and staff members' different nationalities and produce some wonderful work in art, music and drama - everyone is made to feel welcome in school and helped to make good progress - your headteacher and other senior staff are very skilled at deciding what needs to be done to improve the school and then making sure that it happens. Here is a list of things we have asked your school to do next, to help you make even

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

better progress: - make the most of Reception children's free play activities to help them develop their skills in all areas of learning - make sure that all teachers mark your work as helpfully as some do, so that you are clear about how to improve it. We hope that you continue to enjoy your education and work as hard as you do now.

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