Moorlands Primary School

Inspection Report Moorlands Primary School

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109799 Unique Reference Number Reading LEA LEA 278272 Inspection number 24 April 2006 to 25 April 2006 Inspection dates Olson Davis AI Reporting inspector

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

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Church End Lane School address Primary Type of school Tilehurst Community School category Reading RG30 4UN 4 to 11 Age range of pupils 01189 015505 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01189 015504 Fax number 443 Number on roll Mr John Kean Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Julie Parry Headteacher 12 January 2004 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 278272 24 April 2006 - 4 to 11 25 April 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 3 Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

This is a large primary school with nursery provision. In its last inspection two years ago it was judged to be an improving school, however it still had serious weaknesses because of pupils' unsatisfactory achievement. Most children benefit from pre-school education. Children transfer to the reception year from the nursery at the beginning of each term depending on when their fifth birthday falls. Pupils come from a broadly average economic background and the proportion of pupils entitled to free school meals is average. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities is similar to other schools. Although the percentage of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds is above average the number of pupils at the early stages of learning English is low.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Moorlands Primary School, 24 April 2006 to 25 April 2006

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Grade: 2

This is a good school. This judgement matches the school's own view of its effectiveness. It provides good value for money. The school is well led and managed by a headteacher who provides outstanding leadership. She and her senior team give clear direction to the school and involve the school community in the school's planning. The school also works well with outside agencies to improve learning for its pupils. The local education authority has played an important role in helping the school to improve. School self-evaluation is very strong and the positive impact of improvement initiatives is evident in many areas of the school. As a result the school has improved significantly since the last inspection and has the capacity to improve further. Governors are supportive of the school and active in many aspects of its work. However, their role in monitoring and evaluating the school's work is underdeveloped.

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Grade: 2

Pupils' progress is good and they attain above average standards by the end of Year 6. There is good provision in the Foundation Stage giving pupils a good start to their learning in Year 1. Although pupils attain satisfactory standards at the end of Year 2, too few are attaining the higher levels in writing. Pupils make good progress in their personal development. They behave well and have good attitudes to their learning. This contributes to their good achievement. Parents overwhelmingly agree that their children enjoy school and the many learning activities it offers. The curriculum is good but pupils have too few opportunities to develop their information and communication skills within other areas of the curriculum.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Raise standards in writing at Key Stage 1 for higher attaining pupils. • Develop the role of governors in monitoring and evaluating the work of the school. • Develop the use of information and communication technology within other areas of the curriculum.

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Grade: 2

Pupils make good progress and achieve above average standards because of good teaching and their positive attitudes to learning. This represents a dramatic improvement in standards and achievement since the last inspection. Children come into school with average skills overall, although some children have less secure skills socially and in speaking and listening. They make good progress in the Foundation Stage particularly in their personal, social and emotional development. The majority of children achieve the expected learning goals. Pupils make steady progress in Year 1 and Year 2 attaining average standards in reading, writing and mathematics. However, fewer than the expected number of pupils attain the higher levels in writing at Year 2. Boys did less well than girls in the Year 2 national assessments in 2005. This mirrored their lower attainment on entry. Pupils make very good progress from Year 3 to Year

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Grade: 2

6. In the 2005 national assessments the progress made by pupils was within the top 2 Inspection Report: Moorlands Primary School, 24 April 2006 to 25 April 2006 5% of all schools nationally in English and mathematics. The school met its challenging targets for both subjects. All groups made significant progress including pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities. Pupils from a minority ethnic background also did well. Boys and girls achieved equally well.

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Grade: 2

Personal development is good. The pupils have positive attitudes to school, enjoy their work and achieve well. These all contribute positively to their future. They behave well, they are keen to learn and be involved in their work. Pupils are confident, friendly and well-mannered and show respect for adults and their peers. Their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. They are developing a good understanding of a variety of cultures and the cultural diversity within society, for example through visits and visitors to the school. The use of 'Think Books' helps pupils to share their ideas, fears and feelings, especially if they are troubled. They have clear ideas about what constitutes a healthy lifestyle and are learning to make positive contributions to their school community, for instance pupils help younger children at lunchtime. Attendance is broadly average.

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Grade: 2

Throughout the school, pupils enjoy learning and achieve well because teachers ensure that lessons are presented in interesting and varied ways. They manage the pupils' behaviour well and there is a positive atmosphere in which pupils thrive. In the Foundation Stage, staff are supportive and sensitive to the children's needs. They make sure that the children have a clear understanding of what is expected of them and this helps the children to feel secure and keen to learn. Teachers provide good opportunities for the pupils to talk about their work in pairs and small groups. This excellent strategy helps to boost learning. In an effective Year 6 literacy lesson for example, the teacher encouraged the pupils outstandingly well to discuss with each other the key organisational and language features of a written report. This helped them to make rapid progress towards the lesson's challenging objectives.

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Grade: 2

Support staff make a strong contribution to the good learning of pupils who find learning hard or have behavioural difficulties. They manage these pupils very well and contribute effectively to the teachers' evaluations of the pupils' 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: Moorlands Primary School, 24 April 2006 to 25 April 2006

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Grade: 2

There has been a significant improvement in the quality and range of the curriculum since the last inspection. Pupils now enjoy a good range of learning activities that matches their needs well, though the school recognises that there is too little opportunity to make use of information and communication technology in many subjects. The day is well planned to ensure that all the required subjects are given sufficient time. The range of activities outside lessons is good. It includes opportunities to participate in musical and sporting activities. Pupils enjoy learning about how to care for their environment. This encourages them to lead an active and healthy life and to develop an interest in caring for their community. The school uses visits to residential centres, museums and other local places of interest to enrich children's learning. A good range of visitors to the school enriches the curriculum well.

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Grade: 2

Provision for pupils' care, guidance and support is good. Pupils' safety, well-being and security are paramount within the school. The headteacher ensures there are clear systems to assess risks. Child protection procedures and health and safety routines are well established. Pupils say that they feel safe. Bullying is not tolerated and any incidents are dealt with swiftly and effectively. There are clear procedures for ensuring vulnerable pupils, including those with learning difficulties and disabilities, are supported well. Pupils are also well-supported in group and individual work in the 'Dovecote' teaching area attached to the school. All pupils are well-supported in their learning, activities are matched effectively to their different needs and challenging individual targets are set for pupils who find learning difficult at times. As a result pupils are well aware of what they must do to progress to the next steps in learning.

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Grade: 2

The leadership and management of the school are good. The headteacher is an inspirational leader. She provides very clear direction for the school ensuring that it has a strong focus on raising standards and that it provides good standards of care. As a parent commented, 'She has been the driving force in waking up the school.' The headteacher is ably supported by her strong senior team in maintaining an unwavering drive towards improvement. As a result, standards and pupils' progress have improved significantly since the last inspection. Pupils flourish within an ethos of challenge and support. Curriculum leaders play an important part in raising standards by monitoring and improving the provision in their subjects. School self-evaluation is very strong. School leaders have an accurate understanding of the school's strengths and areas for development. Priorities for school improvement arise out of careful analysis. Governors

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Grade: 2

4 Inspection Report: Moorlands Primary School, 24 April 2006 to 25 April 2006 are supportive. They ensure that the school's financial resources are used well and are carefully monitored. However their role in monitoring and evaluating other aspects of the work of the school, such as the standards pupils achieve and the curriculum, is underdeveloped. There are rigorous procedures for monitoring and improving the quality of teaching. School leaders make good use of assessment data to monitor pupils' progress and to correct weaknesses. For example, pupils' lower attainment in writing has been noted and remedial action has been taken to improve skills. As a result of the determination and rigour shown by school leaders the school has made rapid improvements since the last inspection and has the capacity to improve further. 5 Inspection Report: Moorlands Primary School, 24 April 2006 to 25 April 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: Moorlands Primary School, 24 April 2006 to 25 April 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 1 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 2 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 1 How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education NA 1 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

Pupils Thank you for making us so welcome when we visited your school. We enjoyed talking to you and took careful note of your comments. We agree with the headteacher, staff and governors that your school provides you with a good education. We think that it has made a great amount of improvement since the last inspection. Here are some of the many good things we found when we visited your school:* your school is a happy place in which to learn because you behave well and get on well with each other and with the adults in school* you make good progress in your work because you are taught well and you want to learn* adults in school are kind and look after you well* the school is well led and managed; the headteacher and staff are clear about what needs to be done to improve the school so that you can make even better progress. There are some things that we have asked the headteacher, staff and governors to do to improve

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

the school. These are:* help you to improve your writing skills by the time you leave Year 2* get the governors to keep a closer eye on how well you are getting on and how well the school is doing* give you more opportunities to develop your ICT skills in other lessons.We hope that you will help your teachers as they try to make your school even better for you. Yours sincerely Olson Davis Lead Inspector

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