Brook Street Primary School

Inspection Report Brook Street Primary School

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112231 Unique Reference Number Cumbria LEA 278881 Inspection number 7 March 2006 to 8 March 2006 Inspection dates Mr Dave Byrne Reporting inspector

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

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Edward Street School address Primary Type of school Carlisle Community School category Cumbria CA1 2JB 3 to 11 Age range of pupils 01228 607503 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01228 606473 Fax number 140 Number on roll Lynn Savage Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Janet Ditchburn Headteacher 1 October 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 278881 7 March 2006 - 3 to 11 8 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

Most children are of white British heritage, although some, of Polish and Portuguese origin, have English as an additional language. A high percentage start and leave school at times other than the normal. Attainment on entry is well below average. Deprivation is high, qualifying a very high percentage of children for free school meals. The proportion of children with learning and behavioural difficulties is twice the national average. The number of children on roll is falling rapidly because of changes in the use of housing in the area.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Brook Street Primary School, 7 March 2006 to 8 March 2006

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Grade: 2

This is a good school. It does well in educating children with a wide range of personal, emotional and academic needs. Levels of personal support and welfare are very good. A good grounding is provided for children in the Foundation Stage. This contributes to good behaviour, secure relationships and positive attitudes throughout the school. Progress is good across the school given the very low standards with which children start school. Good teaching successfully meets all children’s needs. As a result, children overcome many challenges to achieve well by the end of Year 6. They gain average standards in English, mathematics, science and information and communication technology (ICT). The use of assessment is satisfactory but current systems are inefficient and cumbersome. Children benefit from good links between the school, parents, the local community and support agencies in the fields of education and

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Grade: 2

health. Although the curriculum is good overall, links between subjects are not well planned. This reduces scope for children to fully develop their skills of speaking, reading, writing and ICT. The headteacher and key staff provide effective management and leadership. The school’s self-evaluation is accurate. The governing body meets statutory requirements but is not involved enough in monitoring the school’s performance. Improvement since the last inspection has been good and the school currently gives good value for money. Future improvement, however, could be impeded by the negative impact of the budget deficit. not applicable

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What the school should do to improve further

• Raise standards particularly in speaking, reading, writing and ICT by devising and implementing strategies for linking subjects together and refining assessment systems. • Improve the role of the governing body and senior management team so that it keeps a closer eye on the school’s performance and takes steps to balance the school’s budget.

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Grade: 2

Achievement is good overall. Children do well to move from well below average attainment on entry to average standards at the end of Year 6. Standards are improving overall and are better than they were at the last inspection. The 2005 results for Year 6 and Year 2 were disappointing but were lower because of the impact of the high proportion of children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. • Good progress occurs in the Foundation Stage but the impact on standards of learning and behavioural difficulties is significant. As a result, by the start of Year 1 the majority of children attain standards below average. In Key Stage 1 good progress occurs, given pupils’ starting points, but most children still do not make 2 Inspection Report: Brook Street Primary School, 7 March 2006 to 8 March 2006 enough progress to reach average standards by the end of Year 2. Children make good progress in Years 3 to 6 and standards in the current Year 6 are average in

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Grade: 2

English, mathematics and science. Good progress is made by children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and also those with English as an additional language. Standards in ICT and religious education are better than at the last inspection. They now match expectations.

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Grade: 2

Inspectors agree with the views of the school and parents that personal development and well-being are good. Children enjoy school. They participate in lessons enthusiastically and behave well. The ‘You can do it’ programme has contributed significantly to the confidence and high esteem shown by most children and has reduced incidents of poor behaviour significantly. Children say they feel safe and that bullying is rare and racism non-existent. If bullying happens children are confident that it is effectively sorted out. Children know how to lead healthy lifestyles and work safely. The accreditation as a healthy school shows in the good quality lunches and daily provision of fruit, vegetables and milk. Most children are polite and courteous and willingly help others. Given the chance, they accept responsibility and use initiative. This is demonstrated by the high profile of the school council and the play leader

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Grade: 2

schemes. Children think of others. They are proud of the funds raised for a variety of charities, such as the Carlisle Floods appeal. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good overall. Children know the difference between right and wrong and generally get on very well with each other. The strong emphasis on the basic skills of literacy, numeracy and ICT, coupled with the development of good social skills, gives children a good grounding for their future economic well-being. Attendance is below average but improving. This is because of the implementation of a good range of strategies to encourage good attendance.

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Grade: 2

Teaching and learning are good overall. Staff cope well with the high number of children starting and leaving the school partway through their primary schooling. Imaginative initiatives introduced in the last three years have improved the quality of teaching and learning. Initiatives, such as the Nurture Group and the ‘You Can Do It’ strategy, successfully boost children’s self esteem. This has been so successful that teachers are now able to concentrate on academic issues in lessons more than on behaviour management. As a consequence, standards have improved, particularly in Key Stage 2. In Key Stage 1 teachers are working very hard to improve children’s basic skills, but it is not until half way through Key Stage 2 that the fruits of their labours are evident with standards rising to broadly average. In the Foundation Stage, teachers work very closely with teaching assistants to provide lively and exciting activities.

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Grade: 2

3 Inspection Report: Brook Street Primary School, 7 March 2006 to 8 March 2006 Across the school, work is carefully planned and tailored to meet children’s needs, particularly in English, mathematics and science. As a result, children learn well and the vast majority respond well to the stimulating lessons. Good use is made of questioning but at times opportunities for extended discussions are limited. This holds back aspects of achievement. The use of ICT is satisfactory but not enough use is made of computers or of literacy and numeracy skills in all subjects. Teachers know children well but assessment is inefficient as a way of defining details of individual progress.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is good and has improved since the last inspection. The Foundation Stage gives children a good start and in Years 1 to 6 subjects are carefully planned to meet the children’s needs. A strong emphasis is given to the basic skills of literacy, numeracy and ICT, but planning is weak for linking subjects together. This holds back pupils’ achievement in speaking, writing and aspects of ICT. Provision for pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is good and for those with English as an additional language it is satisfactory. Imaginative schemes successfully promote personal, social and health education and make a significant contribution to children’s academic and personal achievement. The curriculum is enriched by a good range of out of school visits and visitors such as artists and musicians. The range of extra-curricular activities, however, is very limited, particularly in sport.

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Grade: 2

Inspectors agree with parents and the school that care, guidance and support are good with a particular strength in personal care, guidance and support. Each child is valued and child protection and health and safety arrangements are thoroughly implemented. Staff know each child very well and good links with outside agencies complement the support given to children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. There is, however, limited support for children with English as an additional language; despite this they progress well. The Nurture Group makes a particularly strong contribution to the achievement of children with emotional difficulties. Close links with parents includes workshops to show how they can help their children at home. Well constructed individual education plans effectively target the needs of children with learning and behavioural difficulties. The use of assessment is satisfactory across the school. Children

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Grade: 2

are involved in setting and evaluating their own targets for improvement but the current assessment systems are difficult to use.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management is good overall. The headteacher is highly regarded by parents and staff because she has implemented effective systems to support children’s personal development and satisfactory systems for supporting academic achievement. 4 Inspection Report: Brook Street Primary School, 7 March 2006 to 8 March 2006 The senior management team, although large for the size of the school, is effective. It gives a clear educational direction but the contribution of the deputy headteacher to school management is less than normally found. Subjects are well managed and staff are skilled at finding the best way to improve progress and raise standards. The Foundation Stage is effectively managed, despite limitations of the accommodation. The provision for learning difficulties and/or disabilities is well managed but the management of support for children with English as an additional language is only

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Grade: 2

satisfactory. The governing body is satisfactory. It is supportive and gets involved in school life but is not involved enough in monitoring the school’s performance. Although resources are adequate, the range of library books is relatively narrow and the number of teaching assistants is small. The budget is in deficit and increasing financial pressures threaten continued improvement in the future. 5 Inspection Report: Brook Street Primary School, 7 March 2006 to 8 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 Street Primary School, 7 March 2006 to 8 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 3 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 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 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

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE T 0207 421 6800 F 0207 421 6707 Ofsted helpline 08456 404045 Brook Street Primary School Edward Street Carlisle Cumbria CA1 2JB 8 March 2006 Dear children You were very welcoming to Mr Early and me during our visit to your school. You are fortunate to attend a good school which is steadily improving. It is getting better not only because of the efforts of your teachers but also because of the contribution you make. Your good behaviour, politeness and willingness to help others all combine to make your school a good place to be. You enjoy your lessons and work hard for most of the time. By the end of Year 6, most of you can read, write and do mathematics and science at standards expected for your age. Many of you also seem to do a good job using the computer. Your headteacher leads the school well and your teachers and support staff give you interesting lessons. It is good to see that you often go on visits to local places such as Tullie House Museum

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

because this adds interest to lessons. We are disappointed, though, that you don’t have a better range of extra-curricular clubs, especially in sport. Even though teachers know each of you very well, we have asked the school to find ways of making better use of assessment to help you. We have also asked the school to find ways of giving you even more opportunities to use your skills of speaking, reading, writing and ICT in all lessons. Because the numbers of children coming to your school is falling, we have also asked the school to make sure that the money it spends is reduced to make sure that it doesn’t get into debt. Thank you again for your friendliness and good company. We have lovely memories of enjoying your excellent lunches whilst chatting with you about all sorts of things. Good luck to each and everyone of you for your future. It is always worth remembering that to have a friend, you first

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

have to make others want to be your friend! Best wishes David Byrne Lead inspector

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