Frodsham Manor House Primary School

Inspection Report Frodsham Manor House Primary School

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111236 Unique Reference Number Cheshire LEA 278632 Inspection number 27 March 2006 to 28 March 2006 Inspection dates Mr Anthony Calderbank 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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Langdale Way School address Primary Type of school Frodsham Community School category Cheshire WA6 7LE 4 to 11 Age range of pupils 01928 732341 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01928 739024 Fax number 187 Number on roll Mrs Helen London Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Val Cotterill Headteacher 15 November 1999 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 278632 27 March 2006 - 4 to 11 28 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

Frodsham Manor House is an average sized primary school in Frodsham, Cheshire. The pupils come from a wide range of social and economic backgrounds. A below average proportion of pupils is in receipt of free school meals. Attainment on entry to the school is broadly average. The majority of the pupils are of white British heritage. Six pupils have English as an additional language (EAL). The proportion of pupils identified as having learning difficulties and/or disabilities is smaller than that found in most schools. The school achieved the Arts Mark Gold Award in 2005 for the second time.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Frodsham Manor House Primary School, 27 March 2006 to 28 March 2006

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Grade: 2

Inspectors agree with the school's view that it provides a good standard of education. Children enjoy school, behave well and are welcoming to visitors. They are well cared for and have positive attitudes. Standards on entry vary but are broadly average. Children make good progress in the Foundation Stage and achieve well in all the areas of learning. Good progress is made overall throughout the rest of the school because of effective teaching. Standards by the end of Year 6 are above average in English, mathematics and science. Standards in speaking, listening and reading are high but children are not always provided with suitable opportunities to use their good writing skills in other subjects. Children make good progress and achieve well in information and communication technology (ICT) and art and design. They are keen to improve but are not sufficiently involved in the assessment of their work and the setting of individual targets.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum, including the provision for children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and those with EAL, is good. The leadership of the headteacher is very effective. The leadership and management provided by staff and governors are good. The school has progressed well since the last inspection and the ability of the current leadership to bring about further improvement is good. The school provides good value for money.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Provide suitable opportunities for children to use their good writing skills in all their subjects. • Involve children more in the assessment of their work and the setting of targets so that they have a clearer understanding of how well they are doing and what they need to do next to improve.

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Grade: 2

Achievement and standards are good overall. Children start school with average attainment and make good progress in the Reception class. By the time they enter Year 1 most will have achieved all the early learning goals. In Years 1 and 2, children continue to make good progress and as a result achieve well in reading, mathematics, writing and science. By the end of Year 6, standards in English, mathematics and science are above average. In 2005, the proportion of children working at Level 5 in English and science was significantly above average. However, there are more children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities in the current Year 6 and this will have an adverse effect on the number achieving Level 5. Children achieve very well and make good progress developing their skills in speaking, listening and reading. Standards are high in these areas. Standards in ICT and art and design are above those found in most schools.

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Grade: 2

2 Inspection Report: Frodsham Manor House Primary School, 27 March 2006 to 28 March 2006 Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language are supported well and make good progress.

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Grade: 1

Inspectors agree with the school that provision for personal development and well-being is outstanding. Children say this is a happy school. They have good attitudes to their work, are keen to succeed and behaviour is good. Parents are pleased with what the school provides. Relationships are very good and as a result children get on well with adults and each other. Attendance is above that found in most schools. Children are very aware of the benefits of healthy eating and physical activity. They are proud of the contribution they make to the school through the work of the school council, particularly the improved playground resources. One child commented, "It is an honour to be chosen to represent my class." Children take a pride in their work with, for example, the 'extreme geography' projects being of an outstanding quality. Children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is very good. They willingly

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Grade: 1

take on responsibilities and have an active involvement in charity fund-raising. Residential visits provide children with good opportunities to develop their social skills. Children develop a good awareness of the community through activities such as the choir performing for local residents. Some of the work displayed around the school, representing different cultures, is outstanding. By the end of Year 6, most children are confident with skills that prepare them well for the next stage of education and beyond.

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Grade: 2

Teaching and learning are good. Practical approaches in the reception class and close attention to the development of basic literacy and numeracy skills enable the children to make good progress. The use of specialist staff in subjects such as ICT, music and art is having a positive impact on standards. Effective assessment procedures have been introduced and the information is used well by teachers to identify gaps in provision and help them plan lessons that challenge all children. The management of pupils' behaviour is good and relationships between adults and pupils are very good. The use made by teachers of 'talking partners' is a key factor in the development of the children's very good speaking skills. It also ensures that children are able to clarify their thinking before answering a question. However, teachers do not involve children in the assessment of their work and the setting of individual targets. There are

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Grade: 2

inconsistencies in the marking of children's work. The small number of children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and those with EAL are well supported by classroom assistants. Teachers ensure that the children's 3 Inspection Report: Frodsham Manor House Primary School, 27 March 2006 to 28 March 2006 individual education and behaviour plans are written in child friendly language. As a result, the children understand clearly what they need to do to improve.

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Grade: 2

The school provides a good curriculum that meets effectively the needs of all its pupils. The school ensures that enough time is provided for basic skills to be taught but offers far more than that. The strong emphasis placed on the creative arts is highly successful, with children producing work of outstanding quality, as seen in the stimulating displays of children's work around school. Provision for children in the Foundation Stage is good. Despite the lack of suitable resources, the outside area is used soundly to help develop children's overall skills. Children use their numeracy and ICT skills well to support their learning in other subjects but are not provided with enough opportunities to broaden their writing skills in history, geography and religious education, for example. Personal, social and health education is good and successfully promotes an understanding of staying safe, keeping healthy and citizenship. Children benefit from

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Grade: 2

a good range of enrichment activities, which includes well attended after school clubs, visits and visitors. The school is resourced well and resources are put to good use.

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Grade: 2

The caring ethos, safe environment and very good relationships reflect the good pastoral care, guidance and support given to children. The school considers this aspect to be outstanding. Parents are pleased with the level of care their children receive and with the progress they make. One parent, who had moved her child from another school commented, 'My child improved dramatically in every respect and is now happy and confident due to the high standard of care.' Child protection procedures and risk assessments are very securely in place. Children say they feel safe and secure and know who to turn to with any problems or concerns. There are good quality procedures for the identification of children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. Parents of these children are fully involved in their child's programme. Procedures for monitoring academic achievement are good in English, mathematics and science but not as well established in other subjects. Children's progress is carefully

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Grade: 2

tracked and targets are set to enable them to work to the best of their capabilities. However, children are not sufficiently involved in the actual setting of their targets.

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Grade: 2

The leadership and management of the school are good. Since her appointment, the headteacher has managed successfully a difficult period of transition in the school and provides very good leadership. Changes have been brought about in consultation with others so that all staff feel valued and are willing to put the new ideas into practice. Much has been achieved. For example, improved assessment and tracking procedures 4 Inspection Report: Frodsham Manor House Primary School, 27 March 2006 to 28 March 2006 have helped to plug gaps in the knowledge and understanding of pupils in Years 3 to 6, particularly in mathematics. There is a strong team approach between the headteacher, governors and all staff. The school is effective in promoting equality of opportunity. This is evident in the quality of support provided for pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and also the welcome given to children new to this

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Grade: 2

country with limited spoken English. The school has a good range of systems in place to monitor its work and has an accurate and honest picture of what needs further improvement. The school's improvement plan identifies the correct priorities but would benefit from clearer success criteria. Successful interventions have improved national test results significantly in Years 3 to 6 and put in place a firm foundation to ensure good capacity for further improvement. Governance is good. Governors play an active role and are well informed about the school. They are committed to further develop their role in setting the school's priorities. 5 Inspection Report: Frodsham Manor House Primary School, 27 March 2006 to 28 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: Frodsham Manor House Primary School, 27 March 2006 to 28 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 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 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 2 The attendance of learners NA 1 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 1 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 2 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 very much for making us feel so welcome in your school. We enjoyed talking to you and seeing your lessons. We are particularly grateful to those of you who came to talk to us about the work you do and what you think of your school. These are some of the things we liked most about your school: - your work is good in English, mathematics, science, information and communications technology and art and design - you speak very well - you are good readers and enjoy books - everybody gets on well together - your behaviour is good and you try hard - all the adults in the school look after you really well - your headteacher has got lots of ideas and she is very good at finding out what people think and making things better. To make things even better, this is what we have asked your school to do now: - provide you with more opportunities to use your good writing skills in all subjects - involve you more in assessing your own work and setting targets to help you improve.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

We feel sure that Mrs Cotterill, the teachers, and the governors will carry on working hard to make your school better still. Do keep on working hard and enjoying school.

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