Brook Acre Community Primary School

Inspection Report Brook Acre Community Primary School

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111202 Unique Reference Number Warrington LEA 278618 Inspection number 1 March 2006 to 2 March 2006 Inspection dates Mr Arthur Markham CfBT Lead Inspector Reporting inspector

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

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Hilden Road School address Primary Type of school Padgate Community School category Warrington, Cheshire WA2 0JP 3 to 11 Age range of pupils 01925 815827 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01925 838876 Fax number 154 Number on roll Mrs M Chuck Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Karen Morris Headteacher 17 January 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 278618 1 March 2006 - 3 to 11 2 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

This is a smaller than average school serving a socially disadvantaged area. The vast majority of children are of white British background with only a small number from minority ethnic groups. There are five children at an early stage of learning English. The number of children entitled to free school meals is well above average and almost a third have learning difficulties and/or disabilities. When they enter the school, many children have very low level skills.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Brook Acre Community Primary School, 1 March 2006 to 2 March 2006

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Grade: 3

The inspectors agree that the school provides a satisfactory quality of education with some good features. A high emphasis is given to ensuring that the needs of all children are met and their personal and spiritual, moral, social and cultural development are good. They are cared for well and, as a result, feel secure and happy. The curriculum has improved since the last inspection and is now effectively enhanced by a wide range of after school activities, visits and visitors. As a result, most children enjoy coming to school and have positive attitudes to learning. Behaviour is good. Parents have positive views of the school. Leadership and management are satisfactory overall. The headteacher provides strong leadership and her clear educational vision is developing an effective team approach with a strong commitment to raising standards throughout the school. The school has a clear understanding of its performance and those areas that need further

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Grade: 3

development. Children enter the Foundation Stage with very low level skills and make a good start to their learning because provision is good. Whilst the quality of teaching is satisfactory overall, there is some inconsistency in quality across the year groups and throughout the school more able children are not always challenged enough. Recently implemented strategies to raise the quality of teaching and learning are having a positive impact upon children's progress, particularly in Years 3 to 6. However, whilst progress is satisfactory and there has been some improvement in standards in the last three years, standards are still low. The issues from the last inspection have been addressed with reasonable success and the school is well placed to improve further. The school provides satisfactory value for money.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Improve the progress made by children in order to raise standards in English, mathematics and science by: improving the overall quality and consistency of teaching throughout the school • Increase the number of children achieving above average standards at Year 2 and Year 6 by: raising the expectations and challenge presented to children.

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Grade: 3

Achievement is satisfactory. Most children enter the nursery with very low level skills, particularly in language and literacy. They make a good start to their learning in the nursery and Reception in all areas of learning, but standards are still well below those expected by the time they start Year 1. The children's low level skills slow their progress. Although children make reasonable progress in these years, standards are well below those expected by the end of Year 2 Inspection Report: Brook Acre Community Primary School, 1 March 2006 to 2 March 2006 2. In Years 3 to 6 most children make satisfactory progress, but standards are well below average. The school is aware that writing is the weakest area, with children's limited vocabulary and weaknesses in grammar, spelling and punctuation affecting standards in all subjects. In addition, few children achieve above average standards at both Year 2 and Year 6 in English, mathematics and science. There has been an

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Grade: 3

improvement in the last two years as a result of the determined efforts being made to improve the quality of teaching and learning. Target setting procedures are now more robust and children's progress is closely monitored in order to identify those not making the progress expected. In 2005 children reached the reasonably challenging targets set in English and mathematics. Children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and the few learning English as an additional language make satisfactory progress because they are given good support.

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Grade: 2

Personal development and well-being is good, as is spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Children learn about others beliefs and discuss their feelings and the impact of their behaviour on others. Almost all children are well mannered, behave well and have good attitudes to learning. Bullying and racism rarely occur and children are happy with the way they are dealt with. Increasing knowledge of other cultures is reflected in discussion with children about their work in history and the links with children in Africa. A rich programme of sports and two residential visits, contribute well to children's enjoyment and development of their social skills. Children know what is meant by a healthy lifestyle. They make a positive contribution to the community through fund raising and participation in musical events. Elected school councillors have been effective in bringing about change. They enthusiastically discussed their

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Grade: 2

decision that the school needed new bins to prevent litter and to improve the environment. Despite the determined efforts of the school to encourage good attendance, this is below average. This has an adverse impact on the education of the small number of children who regularly fail to attend and those whose parents take them on holiday during term time.

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Grade: 3

Teaching and learning are satisfactory overall. Effective teaching in the Foundation Stage ensures that children make good progress from a very low starting point. However, teaching in Years 1 to 6 is variable. There is some good teaching, but not enough to overcome the considerable barriers to learning and enable children to achieve as well as they should. In some lessons, particularly in Years 1 and 2, children's progress slows because teaching is not stimulating and teachers fail to ensure that children are fully engaged in the lesson. Action to improve the quality of teaching has 3 Inspection Report: Brook Acre Community Primary School, 1 March 2006 to 2 March 2006 resulted in lesson planning now ensuring that learning builds systematically on what children have already learned. Teachers explain the objectives of the lesson to children at the outset and in the more successful lessons return to them to assess children's

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Grade: 3

understanding. Most children have positive attitudes and their behaviour is good, although occasionally some become restless when introductions to lessons are too laboured. Teaching assistants work well in partnership with teachers and support children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities well. Assessment procedures are well organised. Children are set individual targets in English and mathematics and their progress is carefully monitored. Children's work is marked carefully with good use of developmental comments to enable them to understand how they can improve.

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Grade: 3

The curriculum is satisfactory with some strong features. It meets the needs of most groups of children, including those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, satisfactorily, but the more able are not always challenged enough. The recommended areas of learning for the Foundation Stage are fully covered. Curriculum planning is carefully monitored to ensure children's learning is built upon. There is a satisfactory emphasis on the development of literacy and numeracy skills. Provision for information and communication technology has improved and children effectively apply newly learned skills in exciting projects such as the production of a school newspaper. Personal, social and health education, including circle time, enables children to express opinions and feelings while discussing important issues. The rich range of after school clubs and activities, which include gymnastics, a brass band, dancing, and hockey, help

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Grade: 3

to develop healthy lifestyles. Effective use is made of visitors and visits, including two residential experiences. These enhance the curriculum, broaden children's knowledge and provide enjoyment and achievement in learning.

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Grade: 2

Care, guidance and support is good. Staff work hard to create a supportive environment in which children develop their self-esteem and grow in confidence. Child protection and health and safety procedures are well organised and risk assessments are in place. There are regular checks on the school buildings and grounds and equipment is well maintained. Children say they feel safe and know who to ask for help if they feel upset or in trouble. Supervision during playtimes and lunchtimes is good. Misuse of drugs, the preparation for puberty and how to deal with dangers are sensitively introduced to enable children to be well prepared for life. Children's academic progress is regularly monitored. They are aware of their learning targets and marking of their work indicates how they can improve. There are good arrangements to ensure that children settle into school with ease and the strong links with the secondary school prepare them well for the next stage of their education.

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Grade: 2

4 Inspection Report: Brook Acre Community Primary School, 1 March 2006 to 2 March 2006

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Grade: 3

Leadership and management are satisfactory overall with some good features. The relatively newly appointed headteacher is providing strong leadership and effectively communicates her clear educational vision to all staff. She is well supported by the deputy headteacher and senior staff. They are successfully developing within the staff, a commitment to raising the achievement of children. The school runs smoothly because management systems are well organised. The recent introduction of a team approach to managing subjects has improved the monitoring and evaluation process by developing coordinators' management skills. They now monitor their subjects more effectively with the result that the areas requiring improvement are clearly identified. All staff are involved in school development planning and accept the need for their performance management objectives to be linked to priorities in the development plan. As a result the whole school is now working together

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Grade: 3

more effectively to make changes. Close attention is given to ensuring equality of opportunity. The careful analysis of performance data is enabling the school to monitor the progress being made by children in order to plan intervention for any who are underachieving. Governors fulfil their responsibilities satisfactorily and ensure that the school meets legal requirements. A number of them have direct responsibility for an aspect of the school's work, but their role in monitoring and evaluating the work of the school is not well developed. They fulfil their supportive role adequately, but their capacity to challenge is less well developed. Improvement since the last inspection, while satisfactory overall, has been more evident since the appointment of the new headteacher. The school's capacity for further improvement is good. 5 Inspection Report: Brook Acre Community Primary School, 1 March 2006 to 2 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: Brook Acre Community Primary School, 1 March 2006 to 2 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 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 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 3 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 4 The attendance of learners NA 3 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 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 2 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

As you know, two inspectors recently visited your school to find out how well your teachers are helping you with your learning. Thank you for being so friendly and talking to the inspectors. It was really interesting to listen to what you had to say. The things that we particularly liked were: - the way your teachers and other adults care for you very well and make sure that you feel safe and happy - your good behaviour and the way that you play nicely with each other - the way that you work and try hard to do what your teachers ask, which helps you learn - the wide range of school trips that are organised for you and the interesting additional activities like the gymnastics and the brass band - the way the headteacher and other members of the staff are working hard to make school even better for you. We have asked your headteacher and teachers to improve some things to make your school even better. They are:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

- work hard to help you improve the standards you achieve by making sure that lessons are stimulating and interesting - ensure that the work presented to you is suitably challenging. We are confident that your headteacher and teachers can do these very important things. You can help them by continuing to work hard and doing your best.

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