Park Road Junior Infant and Nursery School

Inspection Report Park Road Junior Infant and Nursery School

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107640 Unique Reference Number Kirklees LEA 277794 Inspection number 15 May 2006 to 16 May 2006 Inspection dates Mr Terry McDermott 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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Park Road School address Primary Type of school Batley Community School category West Yorkshire WF17 5LP 3 to 11 Age range of pupils 01924 326728 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01924 326729 Fax number 229 Number on roll Mrs B Burrows Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mr B Turner Headteacher 8 May 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 277794 15 May 2006 - 3 to 11 16 May 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 two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

This average sized school is situated in the town of Batley. The area suffers from some social and economic disadvantage and an above average number of pupils are entitled to free school meals. The large majority of pupils are from minority ethnic, mostly Asian, groups. The proportion of pupils for whom English is not their first language is seven times the national average. The percentage of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is above average. The school has resourced provision for 18 pupils with hearing impairments. It holds the Investors in People Award. A new headteacher has been in post since September 2005.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Park Road Junior Infant and Nursery School, 15 May 2006 to 16 May 2006

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Grade: 2

The school accurately evaluates itself as a good school with some outstanding features. It gives good value for money. Achievement is good overall. Children start school at 3 years of age with low standards and they leave aged 11 with standards that are broadly average. They make consistently good progress because the quality of the teaching they receive is good throughout the school. Quality and standards in the Foundation Stage are good, and improving. As a result, children build a good base for future progress. This continues in Years 1 and 2. Progress in Key Stage 2 is good, and results from national tests are broadly average by the end of Year 6. All pupils make equally good overall progress in English, mathematics and science. Pupils' personal development is outstanding, and the quality of care, guidance and support provided for them is good. Pupils enjoy being in school and learning. They are unfailingly polite, and exceptionally well behaved. Attendance is below average

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Grade: 2

because too many parents take their children on extended visits outside the country. Teaching and learning are good overall, with some outstanding examples, particularly in Key Stage 2 where relentless challenge markedly accelerates pupils' progress. Specific, challenging learning targets related to national standards are not yet set for individual pupils. Inconsistency in the quality of some teachers' marking also prevents pupils from knowing precisely what they should do to improve. The good curriculum gives a good range of opportunities for enriching and extending learning. Leadership and management are good. The purposeful and modest headteacher leads by example and has built an effective team that knows the school well. Issues identified for improvement at the last inspection have been addressed successfully. The school has clear capacity to move forward.

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What the school should do to improve further

Raise standards further by: • ensuring that pupils are set challenging individual learning targets • marking work to a consistently good standard so that pupils know what they need to do to improve.

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Grade: 2

The school was modest in its evaluation of its performance in this area because it placed too much emphasis on the pupils' broadly average standards rather than their consistently good progress. 2 Inspection Report: Park Road Junior Infant and Nursery School, 15 May 2006 to 16 May 2006 Pupils achieve consistently well in their time in the school. They enter the Nursery with very low standards, particularly in communication and social skills. Because provision in the Foundation Stage is good, children make good progress through Nursery and Reception years and into Key Stage 1. This effective progress is maintained throughout the school from Years 1 to 6 and, in 2005, pupils reached broadly average standards in the national tests. Inspection shows that the current pupils in Key Stage 2 progress even further due to the relentless challenge presented to all in lessons, and to their excellent attitudes to learning. Pupils' outstanding self-motivation and

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Grade: 2

behaviour has been developed through unceasing guidance throughout their earlier years. Very effective and well planned interventions by bilingual support workers and specialist teaching assistants for all pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, including those with hearing impairments, ensure that no group of pupils underachieves. The school sets itself challenging targets based on accurate assessments of the prior attainment of pupils. It exceeds them comfortably.

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Grade: 1

This is an outstanding aspect of the school's work. Children's well-being is at the heart of school life: an understanding about healthy lifestyle choices and the need for safety is well developed. Pupils enjoy school, behave very well and work and play together co-operatively. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities are well integrated into school life and British Sign Language is routinely used by staff and pupils. In assemblies, pupils sing with enthusiasm, listen with respect and are able to reflect on spiritual and moral themes. Older pupils have a range of roles and responsibilities in the school which they carry out with dignity and maturity beyond their years. Lunchtime routines are well managed and a wide range of high quality activities are provided for pupils in the two playgrounds. The behaviour support worker, learning mentor, play workers and lunchtime supervisors work together to ensure that this is

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Grade: 1

a harmonious time developing social and communication skills. Inspirational posters throughout the school encourage harmony, tolerance and hard work and these values are evident throughout the school day. All languages are valued and one inspirational poster prominently displayed says, 'We all smile in the same language.' Attendance is below average because too many families take their children on extended trips out of the country. The school is very active in doing all it can to ensure that parents are aware of the negative effects this can have on pupils' learning and progress. 3 Inspection Report: Park Road Junior Infant and Nursery School, 15 May 2006 to 16 May 2006

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Grade: 2

The quality of teaching and learning is consistently good throughout the school and some teaching is outstanding. Teachers use a wide range of effective strategies to engage pupils' interests. They plan activities to extend the learning of different groups of learners and take into account the range of learning styles in the class. Lessons have a clear focus and purpose, and this is shared with the pupils. One pupil said, 'I learn something new every lesson.' Excellent behaviour is a feature of all lessons and this enables pupils to concentrate and make good progress. Teachers though, do not routinely mark work in ways that inform pupils what they need to do next to improve. The support staff are very well used to develop learning and their work is a strength of the school. The bilingual support staff work seamlessly with the teachers, ensuring that pupils who speak English as a second language understand their work. Their

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Grade: 2

interactions with pupils have a very positive effect on language acquisition. This is particularly evident in the Nursery and in Reception class, providing a firm foundation for future learning. Pupils relate very well to their teachers and have a very positive attitude to their work and to learning. The resourced provision for the pupils with hearing impairments is well managed and teaching and learning are good. In this provision, pupils are happy and confident and make good progress; they are well integrated into school life.

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Grade: 2

The requirements of the National Curriculum are met and enriched by links with outside agencies, visitors to the school and visits out of school. Specialist teachers support the teaching of music in some classes and a range of lunchtime music clubs enables pupils to develop their musical skills. Pupils enjoy the range of extra-curricular provision and take part in sporting events and tournaments with other schools. Pupils in Nursery and Reception classes have good quality learning experiences, carefully planned to deliver the Early Years' curriculum. These enable pupils to make a positive start to school life and make good progress in the Foundation Stage of learning. The curriculum provision for pupils with hearing impairment is good and the Awareness, Balance, Concentration (ABC) programme is particularly effective. Planned increases in staffing levels will allow pupils more access into mainstream classes.

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Grade: 2

The school delivers a standard curriculum well, to ensure that all pupils make good progress in gaining the basic skills of communication and numeracy. 4 Inspection Report: Park Road Junior Infant and Nursery School, 15 May 2006 to 16 May 2006

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Grade: 2

The school accurately evaluates the care, guidance and support it provides for pupils as good. Staff are highly committed and provide a supportive and encouraging environment in which pupils feel safe, secure and confident. The school is a caring community and the health, safety and well-being of pupils are a priority. All the necessary child protection procedures are in place. Parents appreciate the work of the school and are pleased with the care and support given to their children. The elected school council, made up of pupils from Years 3 to 6, feels empowered to make suggestions to both staff and pupils. They have been active in recent developments to the school, including raising money for playground developments, and the appointment of senior staff. Teachers know how well pupils are achieving and set challenging group targets for future progress. However, these targets are not always broken down into small steps of progress and achievable goals which pupils understand.

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Grade: 2

The school cautiously evaluated its leadership and management to be satisfactory when, in reality, both are good. Despite relative inexperience, the senior leadership team has a clear vision of continuously improving standards. They have united the whole staff in creating a tangible focus on learning, within a very inclusive environment. Although there are some areas for improvement in setting individual targets, the school has very good arrangements for checking how well it is doing. These include a well organised system for collecting and analysing information from a variety of sources, including both parents and pupils. The school improvement plan sets appropriate priorities for development, and is underpinned by effective action plans. A number of good, new appointments have strengthened the teaching and leadership teams. Financial planning and management are prudent and robust. Governance is satisfactory overall because the school has had

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Grade: 2

difficulties in recruiting members. This places a heavy burden on the shoulders of a willing few, and also narrows the range of views by which the governing body can support or challenge the school. Weaknesses identified in the previous report have been tackled and are no longer issues for the school. Such improvements are the result of the strong focus placed on moving the school forward by the school's leaders and managers. The energy, expertise and dedication of the open minded senior managers give the school clear capacity to improve. 5 Inspection Report: Park Road Junior Infant and Nursery School, 15 May 2006 to 16 May 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: Park Road Junior Infant and Nursery School, 15 May 2006 to 16 May 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 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 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 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 1 The behaviour of learners NA 3 The attendance of learners NA 1 How well learners enjoy their education NA 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 1 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles NA 1 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community NA 1 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 1 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 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

Thank you very much for welcoming us to your school and for being kind, polite and so very friendly. We enjoyed our visit and want to share with you what we thought about Park Road. Here are some of the good things we found out. - We are pleased that you are very proud of your school, behave excellently, and enjoy your lessons. We really liked the way you get on with each other and with your teachers and other adults. - We were very impressed with the good teaching you get which helps you make good progress and learn lots of new things. - We think your headteacher and all the other adults really want to make the school even better for your sake. They are very dedicated, and you are lucky to have so many good teachers! We have asked your school to do two things to help you get even better: - we think your teachers should set targets for each one of you in the main subjects you learn about - we think your teachers should give you even more tips, written in your books, which tell you

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

clearly what you should do to improve. We appreciated talking to you and enjoyed seeing you learn so well. We wish you good luck for the future.

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