Bitterne Manor Primary and Nursery School

Inspection Report Bitterne Manor Primary School

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116089 Unique Reference Number Southampton LEA LEA 279746 Inspection number 29 September 2005 to 30 September 2005 Inspection dates Mary Summers AI Reporting inspector

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

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Quayside Road School address Primary Type of school Bitterne Manor Community School category Southampton SO18 1DP 4 to 11 Age range of pupils 02380227596 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 02380233289 Fax number 206 Number on roll Mrs Heather Corless Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Miss Christine Bulmer Headteacher 13 March 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 279746 29 September 2005 - 4 to 11 30 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

Bitterne Manor Primary is a popular school for children aged four to eleven years. It caters for 206 pupils who comefrom mainly white British backgrounds although many other ethnic groups are represented. Few pupils are in the earlystages of learning English. The number of pupils entitled to free school meals is low as is the number with learningdifficulties and disabilities. The school has had a high turnover of staff over the past two years including theheadteacher and deputy, who started last year.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Bitterne Manor Primary School, 29 September 2005 to 30 September 2005

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Grade: 2

This school provides a good education for its pupils. The leadership team has a clear idea of the strengths and the areas for improvement. Pupils reach high academic and personal standards by year 6. They start in Reception at broadly average standards and make good progress, reaching levels which match and often exceed those expected nationally by year 1. Pupils feel safe and approach their learning with confidence. Parents show overwhelming support for the school's work. Good teaching enthuses the pupils and helps them achieve well. Information and communication technology(ICT) is used very well to make learning more enjoyable and effective for pupils. The curriculum is satisfactory overall but its organisation makes it difficult to ensure that all subjects are adequately covered.The leadership and management of senior staff is effective and enables them to really know the school's strengths and weaknesses.

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Grade: 2

Governors make a good contribution to the successful leadership and management of the school. Subject managers perform a satisfactory role but are not yet skilled enough to take an active lead in improving standards and provision.The school has made good improvement since its last inspection. It is well placed to improve its performance. It provides good value for money.

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What the school should do to improve further

* Ensure that all subjects receive appropriate coverage* Extend the roles of subject managers so that they can take an active lead in improving standards and provision.

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Grade: 2

Standards in Year 6 are above average. All pupils, regardless of their background, gender or ethnicity, achieve well in relation to their capabilities and their starting points on entry to the school. Individual targets are set according to pupils' capabilities and provide appropriate levels of challenge. A significant fall in Year 6 mathematics standards in 2004 was successfully addressed. Senior managers helped teachers to improve their practice by ensuring that lessons were planned and delivered in line with National Numeracy Strategy guidelines. Standards are much higher this year. Standards in Year 2 which had been good in previous years fell to below average this year. This fall had been forecast by the school, as there were more pupils with special educational needs in the year group. Pupils in Year 2 this year are on track to reach much higher standards. The headteacher and teachers carefully monitor pupils' progress.The school

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Grade: 2

rightly recognises good achievement in ICT. Pupils really enjoy these lessons.

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Grade: 2

Inspectors agree with the school's assessment that pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. They also agree that pupils need more opportunities 2 Inspection Report: Bitterne Manor Primary School, 29 September 2005 to 30 September 2005 within the curriculum to explore cultural diversity. There is a warm and welcoming atmosphere in the school. Pupils respond well to this, behaving well in lessons and around the school. Most work hard and maintain high levels of concentration during lessons. Attendance is satisfactory.Pupils have many opportunities to contribute to life in the community. They raise money for charities and present concerts for parents and friends. The school council makes an outstanding contribution to school life. They regularly consult classmates, manage their own budget and organize meetings using agendas and minutes. Pupils greatly value having this extra responsibility and really

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Grade: 2

enjoy helping others. This stands them in good stead for their future education and economic well-being.

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Grade: 2

Inspectors agree with the school's judgement that these aspects are good. Lessons are planned thoughtfully and cater well for pupils' different abilities. Activities usually challenge the most able and are suitably adapted to meet the needs of pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities. Lessons are well-structured and move at a good pace to maintain pupils' interest and concentration. Teachers make activities interesting so that pupils enjoy them and are motivated to work hard. In a successful Year 6 lesson, the teacher taught pupils how to produce a PowerPoint presentation. They then worked with tremendous enthusiasm to design their own presentation about different accounts of the Creation, which they had been studying in religious education. Teachers provide good opportunities for small group work and this helps the pupils learn to cooperate and take account of one another's views. Pupils in Year 2, for example, discussed their

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Grade: 2

mathematics work with each other, working out whether 52 was nearer 50 or 60. They shared ideas and checked one another's answers, clearly enjoying the process.

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Grade: 3

The curriculum is rightly judged to be satisfactory by the school. It is broad, but the way it is organised makes it difficult to monitor the amount of time given to each subject, especially art, design and technology, history and geography. There is currently no way of ensuring that pupils cover the necessary aspects of each subject and progressively increase their knowledge, skills and understanding.Provision for information and communication technology has improved significantly since the last inspection and is now good. It is used very effectively to extend pupils' learning in other subjects. The after-school ICT Enterprise Club is an exciting new venture and provides really good opportunities for older pupils to extend their skills within 'real life' situations.The Foundation Stage curriculum is well-planned and provides children with a good start to their education. The pupils' understanding of how to stay safe

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Grade: 3

and healthy is promoted effectively through the curriculum, especially in science, physical education and personal, social and health education. 3 Inspection Report: Bitterne Manor Primary School, 29 September 2005 to 30 September 2005

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Grade: 2

Arrangements for the induction of new pupils are good and they settle quickly to school routines. The school makes good use of the Police, Fire and Health services to teach pupils about how to keep safe and healthy. It also encourages them to take an active role in their community through useful links with candidates in the run-up to elections. Good procedures for child protection are in place. Pupils say they feel safe in school and have someone they can go to if they have anxieties or concerns. They are confident that any bullying is quickly sorted out. The school operates a 'Peer Mediators' system so that pupils can help resolve conflicts in the playground without the need for adult intervention. This is a good example of the impact of the school's work on increasing pupils' independence and initiative.Teachers provide pupils with clear guidance about their performance and how they can improve. Assessment of

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Grade: 2

pupils is good in English, mathematics and science. This information is used carefully to plan their next steps in learning, keep a check on progress and set targets. Teachers offer useful advice to parents so they can support their children at home. The inclusion manager provides good information and advice to staff to help them with the early identification of pupils who may need extra help and support in the classroom.

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Grade: 2

The school rightly assesses the quality of leadership and management as good. There is a clear focus on achievement but also on enjoyment and pupils' personal development. The new management team has undertaken some useful evaluation work to identify school strengths as well as areas for improvement. All views were carefully analysed and taken into account when finalising the improvement plan.Governors make an important contribution to the successful leadership and management. A clear knowledge of the school's work enables them to carry out their monitoring role effectively and make informed decisions about how to allocate funds to support improvement. The commitment and enthusiasm of the new leadership team are infectious and are driving the school forward in terms of standards and provision. They have formed a cohesive team of staff who are keen to improve their own practice for the benefit of the pupils. This is no mean feat, considering that most of the staff

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Grade: 2

are relatively new. Improvements over the past year have been rapid, in terms of raising standards in mathematics in Year 6 and in developing pupils' independence and initiative. They have rightly recognised that the roles of subject managers need to be extended so that they can monitor provision and lead improvement more effectively. The school is well-placed to continue to make good improvement in the future. 4 Inspection Report: Bitterne Manor Primary School, 29 September 2005 to 30 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. 5 Inspection Report: Bitterne Manor Primary School, 29 September 2005 to 30 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 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 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 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 for welcoming us to your school last week and thank you especially to those children who spent time talking with us, and telling us their views and ideas. I am pleased to tell you that we agree that your school is a good school. We were especially pleased with these things:* The good quality of your work.* The way you use computers to help you in different subjects.* You behave well, work hard and listen carefully to your teachers. This really helps you succeed at school. * Your school council do a brilliant job! They help all children have a say in the running of your school.* Your teachers and other adults look after you carefully. They make sure that you get help if you need it.* Your teachers give you interesting work in lessons. Your headteacher would like to re-organise some of the ways that lessons in different subjects are planned and we agree that this would be a good idea. Teachers are also going to be helping

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

each other with different subjects just as you help one another with your work. We know that you will continue to work hard and do the best you can at school. Yours faithfully, Mrs Mary Summers, Lead Inspector

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