Downside Primary School

Inspection Report Downside Infant School

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109567 Unique Reference Number LUTON LEA LEA 278217 Inspection number 2 February 2006 to 3 February 2006 Inspection dates Mr. Ian Nelson LI Reporting inspector

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

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Chaul End Lane School address Primary Type of school LU4 8EZ Community School category 4 to 7 Age range of pupils 01582593460 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01582593460 Fax number 257 Number on roll Mr.Syed Rizvi Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs. Susan Lewis Headteacher Not applicable Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 278217 2 February 2006 - 4 to 7 3 February 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 three Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

This is an average sized infant school serving an area with many social and economic disadvantages. The number of children eligible for free school meals is well above average. Nearly all the children are from minority ethnic backgrounds, mainly Pakistani. Nearly all are at an early stage of acquiring English. An average number of children have special educational needs. Children start pre-school at three years old with very limited knowledge and skills. The school is part of the 'Flying Start' project which aims to help children get a good start to their education. It is also part of the 'Healthy Schools' programme, and the 'Better Reading' partnership.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Downside Infant School, 2 February 2006 to 3 February 2006

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Grade: 2

This is a good school with an accurate view of how well it is doing. The children make good progress from a very low starting point because teachers understand their needs and how to meet them. Children make good progress through nursery and reception because they are taught well. However, they enter Year 1 with very low standards in most areas of learning. Teaching in Year 1 and 2 is also good and children make good progress. Standards in the Year 2 assessments, although rising year by year, remain well below the national average. This is because children do not have a secure understanding of the subject specific language they need to succeed in national assessments. Children's personal development is good and they behave very well in lessons and around the school. Attendance has improved a lot over the last three years because the school has worked hard to help parents to appreciate the importance of

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Grade: 2

bringing their children to school regularly. Attendance and punctuality is broadly satisfactory. The staff with leadership and management roles carry out their responsibilities well and parents appreciate the open and caring ethos the headteacher has established. The school struggles to fill vacancies on the governing body. Although governors are fully supportive they are not all confident or experienced enough to hold the school to account for its performance. The school has improved standards as well as doing all it can to resolve the issues for improvement from the last inspection and is well placed to get better still. It gives good value for money.

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What the school should do to improve further

- Continue to work closely with the local authority to recruit and train enough governors to improve the effectiveness of the governing body. - Continue to extend children's understanding of the subject specific language they need to do well in national assessments.

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Grade: 2

Achievement is good. Children start nursery with few of the skills expected of their age. Most speak hardly any English when they start. Most have had limited opportunity to interact with other children and adults before joining the neighbouring pre-school. From this very low starting point all children make good progress in the Foundation Stage and Years 1 and 2, particularly in their personal, social and emotional development and in learning enough English to get by socially. However, they are not in the school long enough to get a sufficient understanding of the meanings and applications of subject specific terms that they need to succeed in the Year 2 assessments. Consequently, despite the good progress they make, standards in those assessments at age 7 are low though they are rising steadily. Children are meeting the challenging targets their teachers set them. The school's focus on developing children's

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Grade: 2

English language through extensive opportunities for speaking and listening gives them great confidence and enthusiasm for learning. This lays firm foundations for 2 Inspection Report: Downside Infant School, 2 February 2006 to 3 February 2006 them to blossom and make rapid progress in the neighbouring junior school and beyond.

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Grade: 2

Children's personal development, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, is good. They behave very well, love school and have very good relationships with staff and one another. Year 2 children say, 'We try to help our teachers by being kind and helpful.' As a result, the school is a happy and caring place in which all children make good progress in acquiring the numeracy, literacy and social skills, which will help in later life. Attendance figures have improved very well over the last three years and although they are lower than most schools, attendance and punctuality are broadly average. Children learn how to stay safe which is vital as the school is close to a very busy road. They say there are many adults in school they can turn to if they are unhappy or frightened. Children know that it is important to eat healthy food and to take regular exercise. They enjoy visits from play leaders twice a

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Grade: 2

week to teach them different sports at lunchtime. Year 2 children enjoy being 'Playground Police' and helping others to resolve quarrels. They express their ideas on school issues through the school council. The school is successful in encouraging children to think of others by supporting several charity collections each year. They sponsor a child in South America and parents held a much enjoyed Eid party and raised 1000 pounds for victims of the Tsunami.

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Grade: 2

Teaching is good. Children enjoy learning because teachers generally ensure that lessons are presented in varied and interesting ways. Teachers manage the children's behaviour well and there is a positive atmosphere which helps the children to feel secure and keen to learn. In the Foundation Stage, teachers use the children's own ideas well to develop their learning. The clear focus placed on developing the children's speaking and listening skills is one of the most significant factors in the most effective teaching. In a good Year 2 mathematics lesson, for example, the teacher was skilled in getting the children to use very good mathematical language such as 'edges', and 'faces' when describing the properties of three-dimensional shapes. The teacher's questioning was very good and she demanded extended answers from the children when explaining similarities and differences between cuboids and spheres. The school

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Grade: 2

rightly recognises that this successful strategy needs to be consolidated and built upon further. Support staff make a strong contribution to the good learning of the many children who are learning English. For example, they note down the children's achievements. These and other assessments of the children's progress are used well to ensure that future lessons are pitched at the right level to match children's learning needs. 3 Inspection Report: Downside Infant School, 2 February 2006 to 3 February 2006

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Grade: 2

The school provides a good range of learning activities to ensure that all the required subjects are taught. Good adaptations have been made to meet the children's needs, particularly to boost progress in learning English. For example, work in history, geography and information and communication technology are planned effectively to contribute to the pupils' literacy and speaking skills. The school needs to consolidate and build upon these good initiatives to help children learn correct technical terms, use them confidently and apply them correctly . Good planning makes sure that all groups take part in the full range of activities. The school gives children many opportunities for additional activities and visits. These enhance their understanding of particular subjects and increase their enjoyment of school life. For example, when appropriate, visits are made to a mosque, temple and church. In addition a wide range

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Grade: 2

of visitors, particularly theatre groups and musicians, enhance the provision as does the borough's 'Life Bus' that is used to educate pupils in health matters. There is an exceptionally broad range of lunchtime and after school activities.

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Grade: 2

Parents are rightly pleased about the good levels of care that their children receive. One parent said, 'This school does its very best to take care of every child'. Health and safety and arrangements for protecting children are good and all adults are made aware of their responsibilities. Pupils have confidence in their teachers and enjoy all aspects of school life. Children who find learning hard or have disabilities are well provided for. Their support is well organised and effectively targeted. Arrangements for the pupils' guidance are good. There are good systems in place for checking how well they are progressing and for setting them targets to aim for. Consequently, children know what they need to do to improve. Support for the most vulnerable children is particularly good and is enhanced by the very good work of the family worker. She liaises well with parents and outside agencies to support children and their families.

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Grade: 2

The school works hard to give parents the skills and confidence to help their children to learn at home and needs to build upon this work.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good. The head has established a clear vision for the school that is shared by all staff. Consequently they go out of their way to ensure that all children, whatever their background, gender, ability or disability are included in all school activities. Standards and attendance are rising and the school has done all it can to resolve the issues for improvement from the last inspection. Consequently it is well placed to carry on improving. The school has good systems for checking how well it is doing. These ensure it has an accurate grasp of how good it is and how to get better still. All staff are fully involved in reflecting on what is going well and what 4 Inspection Report: Downside Infant School, 2 February 2006 to 3 February 2006 could be improved. Staff regularly seek and act upon the views of parents and their children through surveys and through the school council. The result is a clear and

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Grade: 2

detailed school improvement plan outlining priorities and how these will be achieved. The school struggles to fill all the places on the governing body so that too few governors are trying to do too much work. It is working closely with the local authority to resolve this, but some governors are new and awaiting training. While governors are very supportive of the school, some are not confident or experienced enough to get fully involved in checking its performance and asking staff challenging questions about how well it is doing. The school maintains very close links with the neighbouring pre-school and junior school to ensure that the move from one to the other is as easy for children as it can be. The family worker plays a crucial role in getting parents more involved in their children's learning. 5 Inspection Report: Downside Infant School, 2 February 2006 to 3 February 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: Downside Infant School, 2 February 2006 to 3 February 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 4 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 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 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

Thank you for making us so welcome when we came to your school recently. This letter is to tell you what we think about your school. We think you go to a good school. All of the grown ups look after you well. You always have someone to look after you if you are upset. You behave very well and get on well with each other so everyone is happy. You work very hard in lessons so that you learn lots of new things. Teachers make lessons interesting and help you to learn English. They also help you to learn the words you need to do well in tests but some of these are a bit hard for you. Your headteacher leads the school well. She has lots of ideas for making it better still. The school does not have enough governors to do all the jobs they have to do to help the teachers. We have asked the school to get some more governors and to carry on helping you to learn the English you need to do better in your Year 2 tests.

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