Staple Hill Primary School

Inspection Report Staple Hill Primary School

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109018 Unique Reference Number South Gloucestershire LEA 278105 Inspection number 22 November 2005 to 23 November 2005 Inspection dates Jill Arnold HMI Reporting inspector

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

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Page Road School address Primary Type of school Staple Hill Community School category Bristol BS16 4NE 3 to 11 Age range of pupils 01454 867240 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01454 867 241 Fax number 473 Number on roll Mrs Sam Walpole Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Elizabeth Chaplin Headteacher 15 January 2001 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 278105 22 November 2005 - 3 to 11 23 November 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 two of Her Majesty’s Inspectors (HMI) and two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

Staple Hill is a larger than average primary school situated in a socially and economically deprived area of Bristol. A fifth of the nursery places are reserved for pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities. When pupils start in the Reception classes, their attainment is generally below average, although each new group reflects a wide spread of ability. Pupils are mainly of White British origin but nearly 15 per cent come from a range of minority ethnic backgrounds. Eight per cent of pupils do not speak English as their first language. The proportion of pupils with special educational needs is higher than average.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Staple Hill Primary School, 22 November 2005 to 23 November 2005

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Grade: 4

In accordance with section 13 (3) of the Education Act 2005, HMCI is of the opinion that this school requires significant improvement because it is performing significantly less well than in all the circumstances it could reasonably be expected to perform. The school is therefore given a Notice to Improve. Significant improvement is required in relation to improving pupils’ achievement and raising standards in English and mathematics. Staple Hill School is a welcoming and caring community where pupils’ personal development is given a high priority. Pupils enjoy coming to school and parents are supportive. However, standards are not good enough and many pupils are not achieving as well as they could. The quality of teaching is satisfactory, and often good, but not consistently so. The majority of pupils behave well and are keen to learn but, occasionally, weaknesses in the teaching lead to them losing interest. Although the

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Grade: 4

quality of educational provision in the Foundation Stage is satisfactory, the standards attained by children are below average. The new headteacher provides good leadership and she is supported by an enthusiastic team and a committed governing body. The school has satisfactorily addressed all but one of the areas identified for improvement at the last inspection and is working hard to improve the achievement of all pupils. The leadership team has already made some significant improvements in a very short time. The school has a sound basis for further development. However, it is too early for initiatives to have had much influence on standards. The school views its overall effectiveness as satisfactory but, because pupils’ academic achievement is so low in comparison to that of pupils in similar schools, inspectors judge its overall effectiveness to be inadequate. Consequently, the school is failing to

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What the school should do to improve further

•improve the quality of teaching, so that it is consistently good in all areas of the school •ensure that all teachers are using assessment effectively, to track pupils’ progress and to set appropriately challenging targets for them to achieve •provide pupils with clear guidance on how to improve the quality of their work.

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Grade: 4

Pupils’ achievement and standards are inadequate. When children enter the Nursery their attainment is below the standards expected for their age. Although they make satisfactory progress in the Foundation Stage, many children do not achieve the Early Learning Goals, particularly in communication, language and literacy. 2 Inspection Report: Staple Hill Primary School, 22 November 2005 to 23 November 2005 National test results in 2005 were lower than in the previous two years and the school failed to meet its published targets. The standards attained by Year 2 pupils remained below the national averages for reading, writing and mathematics. The English and mathematics results for Year 6 were below national averages and significantly lower than those in similar schools. The school has focused its attention on the needs of pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities, who make satisfactory progress in relation to the targets in their

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Grade: 4

individual education plans. It has not given sufficient attention to the needs of higher attaining pupils, who are not achieving as well as they could. The school knows that pupils’ achievement is inadequate and it is working hard to improve the quality of teaching and learning. During the inspection, pupils often made good progress in individual lessons, but the standards of work seen during the inspection were lower than average. However, the school’s careful analysis of progress suggests that the results of the 2006 national tests for Year 6 are likely to show an improvement on this year’s results.

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Grade: 2

Pupils’ personal development and well-being are good. Their social, moral, spiritual and cultural development are satisfactory. Pupils enjoy coming to school and are keen to learn. Their behaviour in lessons and around the school is generally good. They feel safe in school and know that incidents of bullying or harassment are dealt with firmly. Pupils feel able to make a positive contribution to the community because their views are sought and they are listened to. They respond confidently in lessons in the knowledge that their opinions will be valued. They have generated good ideas for improving the school and for charitable fund-raising, through the school council. Pupils develop responsibility through activities such as taking charge of resources. Their social skills are developed through teamwork, sharing and making presentations. The school has a Healthy School Award and pupils understand the benefits of health

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Grade: 2

and lifestyle choices. They drink water regularly and many choose healthy lunch options. Many pupils enjoy physical education and benefit from the extra-curricular sporting activities provided. Although attendance had previously declined slightly over a three-year period, it is now satisfactory.

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Grade: 3

Teaching is satisfactory. In the Foundation Stage, teachers have high expectations of behaviour and there are satisfactory procedures for assessing the needs of individuals. Relationships are particularly good in the Nursery where carefully planned activities ensure that children’s personal, social and emotional skills are developed well. In the 3 Inspection Report: Staple Hill Primary School, 22 November 2005 to 23 November 2005 Reception classes, however, too much time is spent each day on one specific area of learning. Much of the teaching in Key Stages 1 and 2 is good. In the better lessons, pupils were excited by learning and therefore they behaved well and made good progress. Teachers demonstrated good knowledge of the subject and provided explicit teaching of key skills. Careful lesson planning ensured that pupils’ interests and academic needs were well catered for, and pupils were actively involved.

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Grade: 3

In less effective lessons, the pace was too slow and pupils lost interest when the activities were not inspiring or challenging. There were insufficient opportunities for pupils to participate or to discuss their ideas. The lesson planning did not address the full range of learning needs within the class. Relationships between adults and pupils are generally good and praise is used well to boost pupils’ self-esteem. Pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities make satisfactory progress as a result of the encouragement and guidance they receive. However, assessment and the use of comments and marking to provide feedback to pupils are not being used consistently in all classes.

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Grade: 3

The school provides a satisfactory curriculum with a good range of additional activities. Curricular provision in the Foundation Stage is satisfactory, although lesson planning for the Reception classes does not identify what each group of children is expected to achieve from each activity. The areas of learning are not adequately integrated, particularly communication, language and literacy development, and mathematical development. A revised curriculum provides more opportunities for pupils to deepen their understanding and enjoyment by making links between subjects and by increasing the use of information and communication technology. However, these opportunities are not yet being fully exploited. There is a good range of additional activities for pupils at lunch time and after school including sports, music, drama, French and gardening. The curriculum is also enriched by visits to theatres and by artists coming into school. The residential trip by Year 6

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Grade: 3

pupils is enjoyed greatly and develops their academic, social and physical skills.

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Grade: 3

The care, guidance and support provided by the school are satisfactory. Staff know their pupils well, care about them and quickly respond to their individual needs. The school undertakes thorough risk assessment. Procedures for child protection and health and safety are satisfactory. The school works effectively with a number of outside agencies to benefit individual pupils. There is good provision for pupils who find learning or conforming difficult 4 Inspection Report: Staple Hill Primary School, 22 November 2005 to 23 November 2005 and for those with physical disabilities. Pupils for whom English is an additional language receive helpful support and their progress is monitored carefully. Teachers have recently had training in identifying and supporting pupils who are particularly gifted or talented but it is too early to assess the effects of this work on these pupils’ achievement. Although there are new improved systems for tracking pupils’ progress and setting

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Grade: 3

academic targets, these are not being applied consistently in all classes. Many pupils are unsure of how well they are doing or how they can make progress. They are not given enough guidance in class or through the marking of their work to enable them to reach higher standards.

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Grade: 3

The leadership and management of the school are satisfactory. Through its realistic self-evaluation, which takes account of the views of pupils, parents, staff and governors, the school has an accurate picture of its strengths and weaknesses. There is a clear focus on raising standards and promoting pupils’ personal development and well-being. In a short space of time, the new headteacher has had a significant influence on the school. She is providing clear direction and is leading the drive for improvement with energy and determination. The quality of teaching has improved, with staff receiving constructive feedback. The school is calmer, with fewer incidents of disruptive behaviour. The newly introduced system for closely tracking pupils’ progress is effectively highlighting where to focus additional learning support. The steps taken to improve attendance are having a positive effect so far this academic year. The

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Grade: 3

teachers in the new leadership team have a clear view of what needs to be done to improve pupils’ achievement and they are well supported by local authority advisory teachers in carrying out their action plans. The governing body is committed to helping the school to improve and it is beginning to develop a more critical approach to evaluation. It has several new members who are planning to undertake training to help them carry out their responsibilities. It is too early to expect a significant improvement in standards of attainment, but these rapid and positive developments show that the school has now established a secure foundation for improvement. 5 Inspection Report: Staple Hill Primary School, 22 November 2005 to 23 November 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: Staple Hill Primary School, 22 November 2005 to 23 November 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 3 How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? NA 3 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 4 How well do learners achieve? NA 4 The standards 1 reached by learners

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Achievement and standards

NA 4 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 3 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 3 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 3 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles NA 3 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 3 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 3 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 3 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

Staple Hill Primary School, Page Road, Staple Hill, Bristol, BS14 4NE 24 November 2005 Dear Pupils, Thank you for welcoming us when we came to inspect your school recently. We enjoyed meeting you and visiting your lessons. We thought that you behaved well in lessons and around the school. It was good to see how well you get on with each other and with your teachers and other adults who work in your school. You and your parents told us that you like coming to school and especially enjoy art, physical education and the lunch time and after-school activities. We could see that you were learning best in the lessons that you found really interesting and which gave you lots of opportunities to take part. Although you and your teachers work hard, we think that many of you are not achieving as well as you could. We have asked Mrs Chaplin and the teachers to make sure that all your lessons are as interesting as the best ones. We have also asked them to make sure you know

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

how well you are doing and to give you plenty of advice on how to improve your work. We want you to do your very best, so try hard to follow their advice and ask if you are not sure. We are also a little worried that some of you are away from school too much. Try to make sure that you go to school every day so that you do not miss any lessons. Thank you again for being so friendly and helpful. Yours sincerely, Jill Arnold Her Majesty’s Inspector

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