Greenleys First School

Inspection Report Greenleys First School

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110345 Unique Reference Number Milton Keynes LEA LEA 278411 Inspection number 28 September 2005 to 29 September 2005 Inspection dates Sean O'Toole AI Reporting inspector

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

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Ardwell Lane School address Infant Type of school Greenleys Community School category Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire MK12 6AT 4 to 7 Age range of pupils

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01908314698 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01908314698 Fax number 158 Number on roll Mrs Janet Irons Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mr N McAllister Headteacher 11 October 1999 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 278411 28 September 2005 - 4 to 7 29 September 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 additional inspectors.

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Description of the school

The school changed its status in September 2005 and is now a two form entry infant school. Almost all families are from low income backgrounds; there is above average mobility in the area. The school has a high (38%) proportion of pupils entitled to free school meals. A third have special educational needs and 29% are from minority ethnic backgrounds. Nineteen pupils are at an early stage of learning English; their main home languages are Urdu, Punjabi and Bangladeshi. Two families have refugee status. Attainment on admission is well below average. The school has close links with Sure Start.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Greenleys First School, 28 September 2005 to 29 September 2005

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Grade: 3

Inspectors judge the school's effectiveness as satisfactory although the school believes itself to be good. Children make a good start in the Foundation Stage and achieve well. Nevertheless, by the end of the reception year standards are below those expected for their age. Teaching in Years 1 and 2 enables pupils to achieve satisfactorily although standards in reading, writing and mathematics are well below average. There is insufficient scope for pupils to apply skills in English in other subjects. Leadership and management are satisfactory and are successful in meeting the pastoral needs of pupils. There are inconsistencies in assessment, marking and target setting. Parents speak highly of the school and value the contribution it makes to their children's personal development. Staff are vigilant and supportive, ensuring that pupils grow in confidence. Pupils' enjoyment of school has resulted in improved attendance, good

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Grade: 3

behaviour and positive attitudes. The school has tackled issues from the previous inspection satisfactorily although more remains to be done to raise standards in English. Governors take an active part in school life and understand its strengths and weaknesses. Improvement planning is satisfactory although the school tends to be overgenerous in its self-evaluation. The school has satisfactory capacity to improve and provides sound value for money.

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What the school should do to improve further

* Accelerate pupils' progress and improve standards in English, providing more focused opportunities for pupils to apply their skills to work in other subjects.* Improve some aspects of teaching, especially the use of assessment, to sharpen up the pace of lessons and to increase pupils' productivity. * Improve the accuracy of the school's self-evaluation.

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Grade: 3

There are significant barriers to learning in this school including low attainment on admission and poverty. Achievement is satisfactory. Children in the Foundation Stage get off to a flying start because they are nurtured effectively. They make good progress in all aspects of their learning although by the end of the reception year few attain the expected goals for their age in communication, language and literacy. Most are on course to achieve the expected goals in personal, social and emotional development.Results of national tests at the end of Year 2 show that, for some time, standards in reading, writing and mathematics have been well below average. There has been a gradual rise in standards since the previous inspection but more remains to be done to secure further improvement, especially in English. The most recent test results in reading show a decline mainly due to the high percentage (46%) of pupils

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Grade: 3

with special educational needs in that group. The school sets suitable targets and the pupils come close to meeting them. More able pupils have met with good success in meeting their targets.There is little significant difference in the performance of boys 2 Inspection Report: Greenleys First School, 28 September 2005 to 29 September 2005 and girls and both groups make satisfactory progress. Those from Pakistani, Bangladeshi and other Asian backgrounds attain slightly better than other pupils. They make good progress because of the focused support they receive. Although the standards attained by pupils with learning difficulties are very low, they make good progress.

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Grade: 2

The school cares about pupils as individuals and does much to boost their self-esteem, for example, in 'golden' assemblies. There is a strong moral ethos that permeates all its work. Behaviour is good, and pupils enjoy learning. In the Foundation Stage exciting activities stimulate learning. When bathing a baby the children showed much care and thoughtfulness, expressing amazement when the baby cried. Increasingly strong links with parents have been very successful in improving their children's attendance. Everyone is included. Those from minority ethnic backgrounds are fully involved as they have opportunities to share their traditions and cultures. The school promotes healthy lifestyles well through physical education, games in the playground and after-school clubs such as tennis and football. 'Walk to school' weeks have been made easier through the school's initiative in having traffic calming measures installed on

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Grade: 2

the road outside. Pupils feel safe and secure, and settle in quickly into the reception classes. The older children are given responsibilities such as recycling and helping in assembly, but as yet there is no school council, so that there are few formal opportunities for them to make their views known. Former pupils say, They got me ready for middle school, and look back with fondness on their experiences.

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Grade: 3

Teaching is satisfactory overall and good in the Foundation Stage. The reception children benefit from a rich vein of practical activities, well-focused adult guidance and opportunities to learn in a variety of groups. They thrive because staff focus effectively on individuals and quickly identify any potential learning problems. Teaching in Years 1 and 2 is satisfactory. There is good teaching of pupils at an early stage of learning English and of those with special educational needs. This success springs from accurate analysis of pupils' needs and opportunities to learn through practical activities. Support staff make a significant contribution to pupils' learning.There are weaknesses in a few lessons which lack pace and include overlong introductions, doing little to motivate the pupils. Consequently, the pupils work slowly. In a good lesson in Year 1, pupils excitedly identified full stops and capital letters because the teacher made

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Grade: 3

effective use of the interactive whiteboard. In Year 2, the teacher's high expectations and brisk pace stimulated an enthusiastic response and pupils rose to the challenge of identifying rhyming words. Although teachers mark pupils' work, they rarely include specific guidance to help pupils to improve. Assessment lacks sufficient focus and is not used well enough to help teachers to plan the next steps in learning. 3 Inspection Report: Greenleys First School, 28 September 2005 to 29 September 2005

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Grade: 3

The school correctly judges its curriculum meets requirements and is satisfactory. The curriculum in the Foundation Stage is good and provides effectively for the children's personal and academic development. Throughout the school the provision for personal, social and health education is good and has a beneficial impact on the pupils' self esteem. Pupils say that they especially enjoy practical work, physical education and the good extra curricular activities. A pupil who had recently left said, 'I think that this school helped me to learn really well.' The provision for pupils with special educational needs and those at an early stage of learning English are managed successfully. Although there is satisfactory provision for the teaching of basic literacy skills, there are insufficient opportunities to apply these skills in other subjects and this hampers pupils' progress in English.

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Grade: 2

The staff provide pupils with good support and guidance and parents are full of praise for this aspect of the school's work. Outstanding provision is made for children starting school. Home visits and taster sessions ensure that the children settle very quickly. Evaluating pupils' progress is underdeveloped. Progress books include samples of pupils' work but this evidence has limited value as it rarely includes information about the levels attained. The school works well with outside agencies and has good procedures to ensure the health, safety and well being of the pupils. Procedures to identify risks are well established. The school works hard to secure improvements, such as the successful bid for funding for a nurture group. Staff have a good understanding of child protection and are vigilant in supporting vulnerable children. There is active participation in the life of the community and a willingness to listen to

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Grade: 3

The school evaluates leadership and management as good, but inspectors found that they are satisfactory. The headteacher and staff are effective in promoting a positive ethos and good standards of care. They are good role models and are respected by the pupils and their parents. The school promotes equality of opportunity and works hard to include and value everyone. This is reflected in the good management of the provision for special educational needs and for those at an early stage of learning English. Parents are very appreciative of the way in which staff respond to their children's needs. The school regularly canvasses parents and responds effectively to their ideas.Governors have a realistic view of the school and are especially pleased with the improved parental relationships which have led to greater involvement in governance, social and fundraising activities. They monitor lessons and are involved

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Grade: 3

effectively in decision-making. Good analysis of data was used to plan improvements 4 Inspection Report: Greenleys First School, 28 September 2005 to 29 September 2005 to the teaching of reading and has led to the purchase of new books to stimulate pupils' interest. There has been satisfactory improvement since the previous inspection and most issues have been tackled although standards in English remain a concern. There is a satisfactory improvement plan, linked to raising standards, but it lacks a sharp focus on improving pupils' writing. The school overestimates its performance in some areas. The rigour applied to analysing and supporting pupils with learning difficulties is a good model for improving assessment and target setting. The school is in a secure position to improve further. 5 Inspection Report: Greenleys First School, 28 September 2005 to 29 September 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: Greenleys First School, 28 September 2005 to 29 September 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 4 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 3 How well do learners achieve? NA 4 The standards 1 reached by learners

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Achievement and standards

NA 3 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 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 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 2 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 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 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 2 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

I would like to thank you for the friendly way in which you welcomed us to your school. Mr Butt and I enjoyed talking to you and looking at your work. We enjoyed watching you in lessons and were pleased that most of you behaved well and listened to your teachers. We were very impressed with the way in which children in the reception classes worked together. They are good at clearing up and really enjoy playing outdoors. It was good to see you sharing toys and playing games together in the playground and at lunchtime in the games room. Many of you said how helpful your teachers are. We feel that they could give you a little more guidance when marking your work. In lessons, many of you are keen to answer questions and try hard. We feel that your work in English could be improved if you had opportunities to read and write in more detail in subjects such as science, history, geography and religious education.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

It is very clear that the adults in school care for and are interested in you as individuals. They work hard to make sure that everyone is included and to provide opportunities for you to enjoy learning. Your parents think that the school does a good job in caring for you. Mr Butt and I agree. We hope that you continue to do your best and wish you every success in the future.

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