Dunn Street Primary School

Inspection Report Dunn Street Primary School

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108695 Unique Reference Number South Tyneside LEA 278025 Inspection number 30 March 2006 to 31 March 2006 Inspection dates Mrs Jackie Barnes Reporting inspector

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

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Staple Road School address Primary Type of school Jarrow Community School category Tyne and Wear NE32 3QL 3 to 11 Age range of pupils 0191 4836619 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 0191 4836619 Fax number 164 Number on roll Mrs Maureen Holt Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Stewart Reader Headteacher 1 May 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 278025 30 March 2006 - 3 to 11 31 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 two additional inspectors.

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Description of the school

The school serves an urban community in Jarrow near Newcastle that is undergoing considerable change, including demolition, in preparation for the proposed new tunnel under the river Tyne. The school’s permanent building was destroyed by fire three years ago, and the staff and pupils travelled for a time to emergency accommodation in a secondary school. The school is now temporarily housed in a former retirement home, close to its community. The building of a new school is to begin very soon. The changes in local housing conditions have led to a decline in the number of pupils, with families coming and going, although many have remained at the school and there are now indications of more stable numbers. The locality has high unemployment figures and over two-thirds of the pupils are entitled to free schools meals, which is well above average. Almost all pupils are of white British origin. The proportion of pupils identified

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Description of the school

as having learning difficulties and/or disabilities is below average. When the children start school they vary widely in what they know and can do. Overall, most are working well below the levels typical for their age.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Dunn Street Primary School, 30 March 2006 to 31 March 2006

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Grade: 2

Inspectors agree that this is a good school. It has successfully maintained the good quality of its work, while dealing with exceptionally challenging circumstances. The headteacher is ably supported by staff in creating a calm and purposeful environment for learning with good behaviour and progress by the pupils. The provision for children in the Foundation Stage is good. They make good progress from an often low starting point and, although few achieve the expectations for their age by the end of Reception, many come close to this. Achievement is good and a large majority of pupils reach the standards expected for their age by Year 6. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make exceptional progress. The most capable pupils could achieve higher standards, particularly in English. Pupils’ personal development is a strength of the school. Teaching and learning are good; pupils enjoy school and work hard. The

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Grade: 2

curriculum is good. However, assessment information is not always used effectively in the overall planning of pupils’ learning. The leadership and management of the school are good, and governance is satisfactory. Key staff are developing their roles as, at present, they have insufficient impact on pupils’ achievement. The school has good capacity to improve further and provides good value for money. not applicable

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What the school should do to improve further

• Raise standards further, making full use of the school’s assessment information and the work of staff with leadership roles, to ensure all pupils, especially the most capable, achieve consistently well throughout the school.

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Grade: 2

Pupils achieve well. From a low starting point the large majority of pupils reach the standards expected for their age by Year 6 and some exceed these. All children make good progress through the Foundation Stage; although few children achieve the goals expected for their age by the end of Reception, many are close. Good progress continues through the rest of the school. In 2005, the national test results were about average at Year 2, although no pupils achieved the higher Level 3, and also at Year 6, where over one in four pupils achieved the higher Level 5 in mathematics and science. Fewer pupils achieved the higher level in English. The school came close to meeting its challenging targets. Predictions for the current year suggest that the more capable pupils are likely to achieve significantly better results in both English and mathematics, but may still be below national averages for Level 5. Pupils’ work, in books and lessons, and the school’s records, clearly indicate that most

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Grade: 2

pupils are making good gains from year to year, but the school could be more ambitious for the achievement of the more capable pupils. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make at least good, and often outstanding, progress through the school, 2 Inspection Report: Dunn Street Primary School, 30 March 2006 to 31 March 2006 with several attaining average standards by Year 6. This is mainly a result of teachers’ high expectations and the support pupils receive.

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Grade: 2

Pupils’ personal development and well-being are good. Social skills are particularly well developed in the Foundation Stage. The school’s expectations are consistently high, and pupils respond very well. They take responsibility for their actions, are keen to learn and have respect for their teachers and each other. Their behaviour is good and self esteem is high. The positive attitudes and personal skills enhance progress in lessons. Pupils feel safe, valued and respected, and greatly enjoy coming to school. They know how to live safe and healthy lives. They say bullying is rare and they know how to deal with it. Attendance is satisfactory overall, despite the mobility of families. Most pupils have good attendance records. Pupils make good progress in their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, and are successfully developing skills for their future economic well-being. The school has a ‘business ambassador’ from industry

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Grade: 2

and pupils are alert to world wide issues such as fair trade. They are actively involved in their local community and very proud of their school community. They are knowledgeable about the debate that surrounds the building of the second Tyne tunnel, and how it will affect the people in the community and the environment.

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Grade: 2

Teaching and learning are good. In the Foundation Stage, staff use a stimulating range of activities to develop children’s understanding and skills, especially in language, reading and mathematics. In older year groups, lessons are carefully prepared and are conducted at a very brisk pace. Pupils are expected to pay attention and work hard, and they do. Most produce accurate and well presented work, particularly in English and mathematics. The interactive whiteboards are used effectively to support learning. Most lessons include regular, light humour, which delights the pupils and reinforces the good relationships with staff. Teachers have high expectations of what pupils can do and most pupils are provided with the challenging experiences needed for them to achieve as well as they can. The planning of the teaching and learning in lessons enables most pupils to make at least good progress, especially those with learning

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Grade: 2

difficulties and/or disabilities. However, in a minority of lessons, the more capable pupils are not sufficiently challenged, often required just to complete the same work as the rest of the class. As a consequence, they do not always achieve as well as they could, especially in English. On these occasions, the available assessment information is not used to best effect in planning each pupil’s progress. 3 Inspection Report: Dunn Street Primary School, 30 March 2006 to 31 March 2006

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Grade: 2

The curriculum and other activities are good. Although the present accommodation is not entirely suitable for the primary curriculum, the school successfully uses other facilities and people to provide its present broad curriculum with good provision for literacy and numeracy. Information and communication technology (ICT) is now recovering well from the significant losses in the fire, but remains basic. A wide range of educational visits, clubs and visitors enriches the curriculum. Booster groups are provided in literacy, but little is specifically provided to help promote higher standards for the most capable pupils. Pupils have good experiences in learning how to be healthy and safe, and the take up of out of school activities, including sport, is very good. Almost all these opportunities are well used by pupils and staff and lead to good progress in personal and academic development.

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Grade: 2

High quality care is provided for pupils throughout the school, with regular reviews of effectiveness and particularly good attention paid to health and safety issues. The environment for learning is very supportive and staff, including those not directly involved in lessons, are committed to the welfare of all pupils. Good guidance is provided for almost all pupils during lessons, and in their personal development. However, the guidance for the most capable pupils is not consistently ambitious, contributing to some loss of momentum in their progress. The school is particularly successful at supporting the pupils’ self esteem. As a result, they are confident that they can do what is asked of them, even in challenging circumstances such as writing and dramatising their own poetry, and presenting it to the whole school during assembly. Regular contact is maintained with parents, who are overwhelmingly

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Grade: 2

supportive and report that they have ready access to staff, although they would like more regular updates on their children’s progress.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good. In difficult circumstances, positive learning experiences for pupils have been maintained in a safe and happy environment. This helps all pupils achieve well. Clear leadership from the headteacher and supportive teamwork by staff and governors have been a major strength. The school’s self evaluation is satisfactory overall. Regular monitoring and reviews of effectiveness have included the views of parents, pupils, staff and governors. The school has accurately identified the need to refine the roles key staff who have responsibility for further improvement in teaching, learning and achievement. An elementary system for predicting and tracking pupils’ progress, is already in place but not yet clearly linked to the priorities in the school development plan, or to subject leaders’ action plans. The focus of teaching and learning has successfully ensured individual pupils make

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Grade: 2

4 Inspection Report: Dunn Street Primary School, 30 March 2006 to 31 March 2006 good progress in lessons, although more rigorous analysis and use of data would identify the needs of all pupils. Some whole school adjustments have been made to the organisation of pupils, such as withdrawal for booster work, but the flexibility needed to respond to the full range of their needs has not yet been fully explored. 5 Inspection Report: Dunn Street Primary School, 30 March 2006 to 31 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: Dunn Street Primary School, 30 March 2006 to 31 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 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 1 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 1 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 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

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE T 0207 421 6800 F 0207 421 6707 Ofsted helpline 08456 404045 The Children Dunn Street Primary School Staple Road Jarrow Tyne and Wear NE32 3QL 30 March 2006 Dear Children Thank you for making the inspectors so welcome in your school. You helped us to understand why you enjoyed school so much, and how you appreciated your friends and teachers. You work hard and are successful. Your behaviour is good and people notice this. You are polite to adults, and look after each other. It was good to see how proud you are of your school and how confident you are to try challenging things, such as reciting your poetry in assembly. You know how to have fun, and how to be healthy and safe. We think some of you can be even more successful, and so we have asked your school to make sure that every one of you has the chance to do the best you possibly can. You will need to help, by persevering if you don’t

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

succeed first time, and by continuing to work so well together. We wish you continuing success in the future and a happy time in your new school. Yours faithfully Jackie M Barnes Lead inspector

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