Alverthorpe St Paul's CofE (VA) School 3-11yrs

Inspection Report Alverthorpe St Pauls Church of England Voluntary Aided Junior and Infant School

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108253 Unique Reference Number Wakefield LEA 277934 Inspection number 19 October 2005 to 20 October 2005 Inspection dates Mrs Elisabeth Linley HMI Reporting inspector

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

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St Paul's Drive School address Primary Type of school Alverthorpe Voluntary aided School category Wakefield, West Yorkshire WF2 0BT 4 to 11 Age range of pupils

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01924 303 725 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 0 Fax number 256 Number on roll Miss K White Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs C Chell Headteacher 24 January 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 277934 19 October 2005 - 4 to 11 20 October 2005 Inspection Report: Alverthorpe St Pauls Church of England Voluntary Aided Junior and Infant School, 19 October 2005 to 20 October 2005

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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 two additional inspectors.

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Description of the school

Alverthorpe St Paul's C of E (VA) Junior and Infant School is situated on the north-west edge of Wakefield. It is similar in size to other primary schools. The majority of pupils live fairly close to school and the proportion of them who are eligible for free school meals is slightly lower than the national average. When children start school, many of them have skills that are below what might be expected nationally. Almost all pupils are from white British backgrounds and only a very small number are in the early stages of learning English as a second language. The proportion of pupils designated as having learning difficulties and/or disabilities is below average.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Alverthorpe St Pauls Church of England Voluntary Aided Junior and Infant School, 19 October 2005 to 20 October 2005

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Grade: 2

This is a good and improving school with some outstanding features. When children start school their levels of attainment are below what might be expected for their age as many have limited language and social skills. Good teaching, provision and outstanding leadership of the Foundation Stage helps them to achieve well. Pupils continue to make good progress as they get older. This is because teaching in school is good and lessons are well planned, lively and purposeful. However, in some classes, more able pupils are not always challenged to do their best, particularly in English. But the school knows itself well; it knows that by the age of 7 and 11, pupils standards are currently average overall. It has rightly identified raising standards in writing and challenging more able pupils as priorities for improvement. Christian principles permeate all aspects of the school's work. They contribute effectively to the care, guidance and support provided for its pupils and to their

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Grade: 2

personal development, both of which are good. Pupils are well motivated, take responsibility for themselves and behave very well. They feel safe in school, enjoy themselves and want to learn. This is because they are engaged by a curriculum that meets requirements and one that is considerably enriched with additional activities. Leadership and management of the school is good overall. In the two years that the headteacher has been in post, she has brought about significant changes. She has enabled other senior staff and the governors to play their part fully in improving the school. Parents too are involved and appreciate all that school provides for their children. The headteacher provides outstanding leadership. The school has a very clear picture of its strengths and weaknesses. The school has worked hard to made good progress since the last inspection and is well placed to improve further. It provides

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What the school should do to improve further

This good school knows what needs to be done. In particular it should focus on: • raising standards in English, particularly the quality of pupils' writing; • ensuring that more able pupils in all classes achieve as well as they can.

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Grade: 2

The school judges pupils' achievement to be good and that standards are average; inspectors agree. All pupils, including those who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities, or English as a second language, achieve well from the moment they start school. The school has focused on improving the curriculum in Key Stage 1 and the way pupils are taught, so that they enjoy learning and achieve well. This is beginning to pay 2 Inspection Report: Alverthorpe St Pauls Church of England Voluntary Aided Junior and Infant School, 19 October 2005 to 20 October 2005 dividends. The results in the national tests for 7 year olds were above average in 2005 and were much better than the previous year, particularly in mathematics and reading. Results in the national tests for pupils aged 11 have much improved over recent years and although they were lower in 2005, and were average overall, pupils still achieved well. Pupils made particularly good progress in science and many surpassed their targets

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Grade: 2

in mathematics. However, the targets set for pupils in English were just missed. The school knows it has some way to go with writing and has rightly started to tackle this issue along with the achievement of more able pupils.

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Grade: 2

The school judges pupils' personal development and well-being to be good and inspectors agree. From an early age, they come to school eagerly; they feel safe and their attendance is above average. Pupils' attitudes and relationships with each other are good; their behaviour is outstanding. They clearly enjoy their lessons and are enthusiastic when speaking about what they are doing. They are aware of healthy lifestyles and this was shown when a Year 1 pupil reflected that 'the elephant that wanted to walk', in their shared reading book, was enjoying a healthy activity! Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Pupils contribute well to school life through the school council. Their suggestion to introduce drinking water in lessons was quickly adopted and the introduction of 'playtime friends' has had a positive effect on behaviour. Pupils make a good contribution to the local community

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Grade: 2

through links with the parish church. They are prepared well for their future economic well-being and pupils develop their basic skills effectively. Their success was recognised in June 2005 when the school received the award of the Basic Skills Quality Mark.

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Grade: 2

The school quite rightly judges the quality of teaching and learning to be good with examples of outstanding practice. In the best lessons, all pupils are involved and encouraged to think for themselves; they learn at a brisk pace. Most pupils are challenged effectively and often surprise themselves at what they can do. In an outstanding Year 6 mathematics lesson, for example, pupils were desperate to make contributions. Pupils' literacy skills, as well as their numeracy skills, were developed when they shared their ideas about consecutive numbers with their 'talk partners'. Teachers manage classes well and treat pupils with the utmost dignity. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and those for whom English is a new language, are supported very effectively by teaching assistants and are fully included in all activities. Assessment has improved and is now good. Effective links are made by most

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Grade: 2

teachers so that work is planned to help pupils meet their targets. The school recognises, however, that work for the more able pupils needs to be more challenging 3 Inspection Report: Alverthorpe St Pauls Church of England Voluntary Aided Junior and Infant School, 19 October 2005 to 20 October 2005 in some classes. The school's marking strategy, including the use of the 'yippee yellow and green for growth' strategy, does much to provide children with accurate advice on how they could improve their work.

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Grade: 2

The school provides a good range of activities to meet the interests of all its pupils; this is because the curriculum is under constant review to ensure that it meets statutory requirements. The curriculum has a clear focus on developing pupils' skills in literacy and numeracy and pupils speak very favourably about what they learn in lessons. Art is a popular subject, as is French, which has recently been introduced into the curriculum. Pupils also value the opportunities they have to use computers to support their learning in all areas of the curriculum. They also enjoy the wide variety of enrichment activities that are available. Information about clubs is available on the school's website and here the reader can also discover how much pupils enjoyed their visit to Clarke Hall! The residential experience at Camp Windermere in Year 6 develops teamwork and a sense of belonging very well. The school community takes the

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Grade: 2

well-being of its pupils very seriously and the promotion of healthy eating and the lunchtime 'fitbods club' are also positive features.

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Grade: 2

Pupils speak highly of the good quality care and support they receive from the staff and older pupils. The 'playtime friends' initiative, for example, organised by the school council, makes pupils feel both valued and valuable. Child protection arrangements are fully in place and both teachers and support assistants have undergone relevant training. The school works effectively with a range of external agencies to benefit the pupils. As a result, systems to identify vulnerable children are very effective and pupils experiencing difficulty are identified quickly. Pupils feel safe in school and know that everyone is fully included in what is on offer. As they say, 'if we have anything on our mind, there is always someone to talk to'. Pupils believe they are treated fairly and that teachers give them full credit for their achievements. The guidance for more able children is not effective in some classes. However, teaching assistants provide effective

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Grade: 2

support for all pupils, particularly for those who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities.

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Grade: 2

The school is correct in its judgement that leadership and management are good. The headteacher provides outstanding leadership and is ably supported by other outstanding leaders in school, including the deputy headteacher and the Foundation Stage leader. The headteacher's vision for the school is supported by everyone. She has inspired and enabled all staff and governors to embrace change and to improve. They celebrate 4 Inspection Report: Alverthorpe St Pauls Church of England Voluntary Aided Junior and Infant School, 19 October 2005 to 20 October 2005 the school's successes, for example, in mathematics and science, whilst focusing correctly on raising standards in writing. They have reviewed and evaluated the curriculum and styles of teaching and learning to achieve this. All members of the school community are valued and feel able to play their part. They work well with parents and with external agencies. Parents and pupils are pleased that

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Grade: 2

account is taken of their views. The school evaluates its work very effectively and knows how well it is doing. The governing body undertakes its responsibilities well and holds the school to account. Significant improvement has been made since the last inspection and the school has good capacity to improve further. The headteacher has budgeted shrewdly and used additional funding wisely to achieve her goals. The school provides good value for money. 5 Inspection Report: Alverthorpe St Pauls Church of England Voluntary Aided Junior and Infant School, 19 October 2005 to 20 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: Alverthorpe St Pauls Church of England Voluntary Aided Junior and Infant School, 19 October 2005 to 20 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 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 2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development NA 1 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 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 2 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

N/A The inspectors were pleased to be able to talk to many of you when we visited your school and we enjoyed hearing about all the things you like. We were impressed by a lot of what we found and I have listed some of these things for you: - you get on very well together and your behaviour is excellent; - you enjoy coming to school and you work hard for all the teachers and staff; - many of you are doing really well, particularly in mathematics and science; - the staff and governors work hard to care for you, to keep you safe and to give you lots of support; - they organise many things for you to do and to learn and you like these a lot; - your headteacher works particularly hard and encourages everyone to try their best. There are a few things that we think could be even better and we hope that you will work very hard with your teachers to sort them out: - some pupils said they find work a bit easy and so your teachers will make sure you all have

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

the right work so that everyone can do really well; - for many of you it will be important to improve your writing and your teachers will help you with this too. Thank you very much for making us so welcome when we visited you. We wish you all the best for the future.

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