Farfield Primary and Nursery School

Inspection Report Buttershaw Primary School

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107238 Unique Reference Number Bradford LEA 277734 Inspection number 12 October 2005 to 13 October 2005 Inspection dates Mr Arthur Markham 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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Reevy Crescent School address Primary Type of school Bradford Community School category West Yorkshire BD6 2BS 3 to 11 Age range of pupils 01274 678 545 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01274 694 022 Fax number 375 Number on roll Mr M Neale Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mr R Goodswen Headteacher 16 October 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 277734 12 October 2005 - 3 to 11 13 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 three Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

Buttershaw Primary School is situated in an area of high social deprivation in Bradford. The school is larger than average with 375 pupils on roll aged from three to eleven years. The vast majority of children are of white British background and the number claiming free school meals is well above average. The percentage with learning difficulties and disabilities is above average. When they start in the nursery, the majority of children have very low-level skills. The school is involved in an Excellence in Cities initiative aimed at raising standards and has recently achieved Healthy School status.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Buttershaw Primary School, 12 October 2005 to 13 October 2005

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Grade: 3

The inspectors judge that school effectiveness is satisfactory and not good as judged by the school. This is because, although the school is implementing a range of measures to improve the progress made by pupils, standards are not rising at a fast enough rate. The factors impacting adversely on standards are carefully analysed, but the action being taken is yet to have great effect. The school has a positive ethos and pupils enjoy their learning. The headteacher gives a clear educational direction to the school and this has successfully developed a strong team approach with a commitment to improvement. Parents are pleased with the school and particularly the high level of care given to their children. Although teaching is satisfactory overall and some is good, work is often not challenging enough and teachers' marking of pupils' work does not clearly indicate how they might improve. Lessons are well planned, but limited use is made of interactive whiteboards to make

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Grade: 3

lessons interesting for pupils and stimulate their learning. Great emphasis is put on ensuring the needs of all children are met and provision for pupils' personal development is good. Children in the Foundation Stage make good progress from their low level skills on entry because teachers present a wide range of interesting and stimulating activities. The school gives satisfactory value for money. The school works well in partnership with neighbouring schools and its involvement in the Excellence in Cities initiative has a positive impact on provision. Monitoring and evaluation systems are well organised and the school consequently has a clear understanding of its performance and those areas that need further improvement. The school has made sound progress since the last inspection and is well placed to improve further.

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What the school should do to improve further

Improve pupils' standards and progress in English, mathematics and science by: • Raising the challenge for and expectations of pupils of all abilities. • Ensuring that the marking of pupils' work makes clear what they need to do to improve. • Making more use of the interactive whiteboards to make lessons more stimulating for pupils.

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Grade: 3

The school judges the standards achieved by pupils as good, but the inspection found that, although standards have improved slightly in the last two years, they are average. Most children enter the nursery with very low-level skills. As a result of good teaching they make a good start to their learning and achieve well in the nursery and reception classes. However, despite their good progress, by the time they enter Year 1, standards are well below those expected. 2 Inspection Report: Buttershaw Primary School, 12 October 2005 to 13 October 2005 In Years 1 and 2 pupils make satisfactory progress, but by the end of Year 2 standards are still significantly below those expected nationally. In Years 3 to 6 pupils continue to make satisfactory progress overall and, whilst the standards they achieve by the end of Year 6 are below those expected nationally overall, they have improved in the last two years. In 2004 pupils' performance compared with that in similar schools was

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Grade: 3

above average in English and broadly average in mathematics. In 2005 pupils' performance again showed improvement in mathematics and a marked improvement in science although results in English were slightly lower. The school is making a determined effort to raise standards and the wide range of strategies being implemented is shown to be having a positive impact. The school's tracking system shows that the progress being made by pupils is improving and most pupils achieve the challenging targets they are set. Pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities are well supported and achieve the targets in their individual education plans. Pupils develop satisfactory skills in using computers, which they use well to help them learn in other subjects.

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Grade: 2

Pupils like their school and enjoy their learning. The attendance of the great majority is satisfactory but the start of the day is ragged due to late arrivals in the morning. Pupils settle well at the beginning of lessons, try hard and take pride in their work but many need regular reminders to help them sustain their concentration. They are very friendly and interested in talking to visitors although they find sustaining a conversation quite hard to do. Pupils are polite, helpful and mostly behave well so that the school operates as a happy, orderly community. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good and is well supported by the strong emphasis that the school places on their personal development. The youngest children have few social skills when they enter school but make good progress and quickly become more self-sufficient and aware of others' needs. Pupils understand about sharing and fairness and are generous in their charitable giving. They work and

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Grade: 2

play together well, with full inclusion of those of different ethnicity or abilities. They behave safely and have a good understanding about healthy living. Assembly themes and many displays encourage thoughtfulness and appreciation of the wider world. Pupils are encouraged to make suggestions as to how their school might be improved through the work of the school council and their views are acted upon.

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Grade: 3

Teaching is satisfactory overall, and inspectors observed some good teaching throughout the school. Lesson planning systematically builds on what pupils have already learned. Most pupils have positive attitudes and enjoy their learning. Behaviour 3 Inspection Report: Buttershaw Primary School, 12 October 2005 to 13 October 2005 is good, though a significant number of pupils have short attention spans and are highly dependent on their teachers. Teaching assistants provide effective support for pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities, who consequently learn well. Teachers use a range of effective strategies to engage and motivate pupils, but insufficient use is made of the recently installed interactive whiteboards to enliven lessons and stimulate pupils. In the more effective lessons observed pupils made good progress as a result of the high expectations, good pace and clear explanations of the teacher. However,

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Grade: 3

in some lessons although other elements are good, pupils' progress is often impeded because the level of challenge and expectation is not high enough. Teachers' questioning techniques are generally effective, but they are not always targeted at individuals to ensure their full involvement. Pupils' work and progress are systematically assessed and recorded. They are set individual targets in English and mathematics and their work is regularly and positively marked. However, teachers do not use enough developmental comments so that pupils clearly understand how they can improve their work.

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Grade: 3

The curriculum is satisfactory and complies with national requirements. Due emphasis is placed on developing pupils' basic skills in literacy and numeracy and a wide range of activities are provided to make learning interesting so that pupils enjoy school. Successful approaches are used to improve the curriculum and engage pupils' interest in learning. For example the school has identified the need to improve pupils' calculation skills and has made effective use of interactive displays to develop these skills. Careful attention is given to developing pupils' awareness of the need to stay healthy, take regular exercise and avoid the temptations and risks that they may face as they get older. The school organises a wide variety of sporting activities, which are supported by the use of coaches from local professional rugby and soccer teams. There are also very good opportunities for visits and residential trips, which are greatly enjoyed by the

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Grade: 2

Staff work hard and successfully to create a supportive environment in which pupils grow in confidence and self-belief. The school has an unusually high number of vulnerable pupils who need constant help to keep them on track. All staff know pupils well as individuals and there is always someone available with a smile and a listening ear. The work of the learning mentors and a pupil development centre enables pupils to remain in education who would otherwise have been excluded, and others who are floundering, to develop confidence. There are effective arrangements to ensure the health and safety of pupils, with good supervision throughout the day. Child protection procedures are comprehensive and 4 Inspection Report: Buttershaw Primary School, 12 October 2005 to 13 October 2005 pupils are helped to understand their personal rights. There is strong promotion of healthy living. Pupils are aware of their academic targets but, as yet, are not sufficiently

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Grade: 2

aware of precisely what they need to do next to raise the standard of their work.

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Grade: 3

Leadership and management are satisfactory. The headteacher has a clear vision of a caring community in which every child is important. He makes sure that these priorities run through all aspects of the school's life and a strong emphasis is placed on equality of opportunity. His purposeful leadership presents a good role model for staff. He has worked hard to develop a team approach within the school and is well supported by the deputy headteacher and senior staff. As a result staff collaborate well together and there is a determined approach to improving the progress made by pupils and raising their achievement. Systems are in place to ensure that the school runs smoothly. Resources are used well and staff are carefully deployed. Monitoring and evaluation procedures are well organised and take due account of the views of pupils and parents. This enables areas requiring improvement to be clearly identified. As a result the school

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Grade: 3

improvement plan has a clear focus on raising standards but does not clearly specify the aimed for level of improvement. Governors fulfil their responsibilities satisfactorily and ensure that the school meets legal requirements. Their role in monitoring and evaluating the work of the school is not well developed, but they have a reasonable awareness of the school's strengths and weaknesses and provide suitable challenge and support to the headteacher and staff. 5 Inspection Report: Buttershaw Primary School, 12 October 2005 to 13 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: Buttershaw Primary School, 12 October 2005 to 13 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 2 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 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 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

N/A As you know, three inspectors recently visited your school to find out how well your teachers are helping you with your learning. Thank you for being so friendly and talking to the inspectors. It was really interesting to listen to what you had to say. The things that we particularly liked were: - The way all of the school staff take very good care of you - The way you work hard for your teachers and they do their best to help you learn - Your good behaviour in lessons and around the school and the way you help each other - The way you are trying to improve your writing. We have asked your teachers to improve some things to make your school even better. They are: - Work hard to help you improve the standards you achieve by making sure that You are given really challenging work - Help you to understand how you can improve your work by making comments in your books to help you do this - Make lessons more exciting by making more use of the interactive white boards.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you for helping us so much while we were inspecting your school. We hope that you will continue to work hard in school and help the teachers so that Buttershaw Primary becomes an even better school.

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