North Lakes School

112118 Unique Reference Number Cumbria LEA 278852 Inspection number 9 February 2006 to 10 February 2006 Inspection dates Mr John Heap Reporting inspector

p.1

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

p.1

Huntley Avenue School address Junior Type of school Penrith Community School category Cumbria, CA11 8NU 7 to 11 Age range of pupils 01768 242150 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01768 242151 Fax number 224 Number on roll Mrs Lynne Reside Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Jean Wilson-Jowsey Headteacher 1 July 2000 Date of previous inspection

p.1

Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 278852 9 February 2006 - 7 to 11 10 February 2006 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.1

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.

p.2

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.

p.2

Introduction

The inspection was carried out by two additional inspectors.

p.3

Description of the school

This is a broadly average sized school in an area with economic disadvantage. Attainment on entry is a little below average. The proportion of children receiving free school meals is broadly average. Most children are white British and a very small proportion comes from minority ethnic heritages. The proportion of children with learning difficulties is well above average. The school has an eight-place strategic facility for children with severe learning difficulties. The school has received several awards including Investors in People and Healthy Schools.

p.3

Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: North Lakes School, 9 February 2006 to 10 February 2006

p.3

Grade: 3

Inspectors agree with the school that it is satisfactory and gives sound value for money. After a long period of insecurity caused by staffing problems, there are strong signs of recovery. Effective leadership by the headteacher has meant that the school is once more improving, particularly in areas such as children’s achievement which is satisfactory. The large proportion of children who have extra needs get good support and progress well. Moreover, there is an extra emphasis on boosting children whom the school judges could do even better. However, the school is right to identify the need to improve progress in writing and mathematics, particularly for the higher attaining children. The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory, with some good features. However, there is insufficient attention paid to setting individual targets for children’s learning and the use of marking to assess progress towards them. Care for

p.4

Grade: 3

all the children is good and the tracking of children’s achievements is effective and mostly accurate. The curriculum is sound with good features, such as the out of school enrichment activities. As a result, children grow in confidence and their personal development is good. However, there is insufficient use of children’s growing basic literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology (ICT) skills across the full range of subjects. Overall, leadership and management are sound. Recent improvements in several areas mean that the school is soundly placed to develop further. The monitoring of teaching and the framing of subject action plans are insufficiently focused on children’s achievement. not applicable

p.4

What the school should do to improve further

Raise standards in writing and mathematics, particularly for higher attaining children, by: • setting individual targets for children and using marking to assess their progress towards them • improving the range and quality of children’s writing in all subjects • improve the monitoring of teaching, so that there is greater focus on what children actually learn and achieve.

p.4

Grade: 3

Achievement and standards are satisfactory. Most children progress soundly in their learning, but higher attaining children could do better in writing and mathematics. Over time, results in national tests have fluctuated according to the numbers of children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. For example the results were particularly low in 2004 because of the high proportion of such children in the year group. The school reacted positively to this with much training and development in English and mathematics. At the core of this work is the extensive tracking of children’s 2 Inspection Report: North Lakes School, 9 February 2006 to 10 February 2006 achievements and the use of the information to identify the broad needs of groups and individuals. As a result, achievement rose in 2005. Nevertheless, the progress of higher attaining children in writing and mathematics is not good enough and ambitious

p.4

Grade: 3

targets in national tests have not been met. The main reasons for this are: • weaknesses in setting challenging targets for individuals and marking to these targets • insufficient use and development of children’s literacy, numeracy and ICT skills in the other subjects. The school is dealing with these shortcomings in partnership with the local authority through its involvement with the National Strategy Leadership Programme. Children with extra learning needs progress well and a few reach average standards by the end of Year 6. They benefit from good support.

p.5

Grade: 2

Personal development, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Children are friendly, considerate and eager to help each other and particularly the children from the strategic learning facility. Children enjoy school and attendance is sound. They feel safe and secure because they know staff will sort out any problems fairly. Behaviour is good and children are keen to earn rewards such as ‘golden time’. They know the difference between right and wrong and respond well to the ‘traffic light’ system of rules. Children are well aware of the need to adopt healthy lifestyles. School councillors take their responsibilities very seriously and their suggestions have been acted on, such as when designing the ‘Trim Trail’. Children have adequate responsibilities in classrooms and around the school. They make a strong contribution to the community by participating in local events and the choir has successfully sung

p.5

Grade: 2

in national festivals. Children are reflective learners and gain much from regular philosophy lessons, assemblies and class discussions. Children have a strong understanding of other beliefs and ways of life through: • learning about a range of faiths • active links with a school in Tanzania • participating with visiting theatre workshops that support the school’s strong commitment to racial equality.

p.5

Grade: 3

Teaching and learning are satisfactory. Lessons are soundly planned and teachers make sure children know, in broad terms, what they will learn in each lesson. In the best lessons children’s progress is good. These lessons have a brisk pace and teachers ask searching questions that keep children on their toes, as in a Year 3 history lesson about the Romans. Moreover, teachers and support staff provide children with good 3 Inspection Report: North Lakes School, 9 February 2006 to 10 February 2006 opportunities to check their own and each others’ learning and use varied resources well. Other lessons feature some helpful matching of work to different learning needs so that children’s achievement is satisfactory. There is suitable emphasis on children acquiring sound basic skills and useful learning strategies. The school has good systems to track and monitor children’s progress at set times in the year. This information is

p.5

Grade: 3

used well in English and mathematics to group children according to their broad learning needs. However, the setting of precise learning targets for individual children is weak. As a result, marking is too general and children have too few opportunities to develop as independent learners. The high level of support from skilled classroom assistants promotes the good achievement of children with extra learning needs.

p.6

Grade: 3

The curriculum is satisfactory with some good features. The programme for learning is enriched well by a good range of activities such as annual residential visits, environmental study weeks and a wide variety of well attended after-school clubs. All legal requirements are fully met and schemes of work provide a sound basis for varied learning activities. As a result, children make satisfactory progress in gaining basic literacy, numeracy and ICT skills. However, there are too few opportunities to use these skills across the full range of subjects and this slows the progress of the highest attaining learners, in particular. For example, despite good provision for ICT, children are not encouraged to use and develop their ICT skills in all subjects. Activities to promote safe living are satisfactory. Children with extra learning needs are well provided for and benefit equally from what the school has to offer.

p.6

Grade: 2

Care, guidance and support are good. The school carefully monitors its practices to promote health and safety and, as a result, children are safe, secure and enjoy their time in school. The whole staff know well the children and, often, their families. This means that they cater for their wide and varied social needs to the satisfaction of the children and their parents. Child protection procedures and the response to absence are robust. Consequently, children who may be vulnerable are quickly identified and supported. In all of these areas, the school works successfully with outside agencies. The tracking of children’s achievements is extensive and effective. The management is mostly accurate in predicting how well children will do, but occasionally they are over ambitious. The headteacher has led significant improvements in this area and this has resulted in recent improvements in children’s progress.

p.6

Grade: 3

Leadership and management are satisfactory. After the last inspection, a lengthy period of disruption and insecurity was caused by staffing difficulties. As a result, children’s 4 Inspection Report: North Lakes School, 9 February 2006 to 10 February 2006 behaviour and progress suffered. Leaders have tackled these and other issues well and, as a result, behaviour is now good and progress improving. The headteacher has established good practices for managing the school, which have brought greater consistency in the quality of education and the raising of morale. This is evident in the Investor in People award. Parents, children and members of the school council contribute their ideas to help the school form an accurate picture of its performance. Priorities are consequently clear and the good quality of long-term plans to address them is a good indicator of the breadth of vision and the ambition of the leaders and

p.6

Grade: 3

managers. Governors and senior staff are well informed and provide sound support. As a result, the school is soundly placed to improve further. Regular monitoring of teaching focuses too often on the way that the teacher presents the lesson and insufficiently on children’s achievement and progress for monitoring to play a full part in raising standards. Coordinators’ action plans for their subjects are variable in quality. Good plans, such as the one for mathematics, have clear and measurable targets for children’s achievement, while others lack clear criteria for measuring the success of actions and initiatives. 5 Inspection Report: North Lakes School, 9 February 2006 to 10 February 2006 .

p.7

set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s

website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: North Lakes School, 9 February 2006 to 10 February 2006

p.8

Overall

Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

p.9

learners?

NA 2 How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? NA NA 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

p.9

Achievement and standards

NA 3 How well do learners achieve? NA 3 The standards 1 reached by learners

p.9

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

p.9

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 3 How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

p.9

needs and interests of learners?

NA 2 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

p.9

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.

p.9

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

p.10

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

p.10

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

p.10

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

p.10

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

p.10

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE T 0207 421 6800 F 0207 421 6707 Ofsted helpline 08456 404045 Mrs Jean Wilson-Jowsey North Lakes School Huntley Avenue Penrith Cumbria CA11 8NU 10 February 2006 Dear Children Mrs McArthur and I thoroughly enjoyed being in your school this week. As always, it is a pleasure and privilege to work with you and the staff of the school. We were very pleased when many of you wished to talk with us and we were impressed by the courtesy and help you provided. What we liked about your school: the way that you play sensibly and safely and behave well the important role the School Council plays in the school on your behalf the considerate way that you treat each other and particularly the help and support you give to the children in the strategic learning facility the good progress made by children with extra learning needs how well all the staff care for you and make sure that you feel safe and secure

p.11

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

the hard work that the headteacher and staff are doing to work out how well you are doing and how to help you make more progress. What we have asked your teachers and governors to make better: improve your ability to write and do mathematics. You can be really helpful by making sure that you always do your best work and, in fact, try always to improve on your last piece of work we want your teachers and governors to pay a lot of attention to the progress you are making when they watch lessons, look at your books and plan for the future. The inspection team wishes you well and good luck for the future. Yours sincerely Mr Heap

p.11