Leyland St Andrew's Church of England Infant School

Inspection Report Leyland St Andrew's Church of England Infant School

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119369 Unique Reference Number Lancashire LEA 280536 Inspection number 7 November 2005 to 8 November 2005 Inspection dates Penny Parrish Reporting inspector

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

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Woodlea Road School address Infant Type of school Leyland Voluntary controlled School category Lancashire, PR25 1JL 4 to 7 Age range of pupils 01772 423339 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01772 459096 Fax number 195 Number on roll David Wynn Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Vanessa Morrissey Headteacher 6 December 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 280536 7 November 2005 - 4 to 7 8 November 2005 Inspection Report: Leyland St Andrew's Church of England Infant School, 7 November 2005 to 8 November 2005

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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. A Nursery, operating separately from the school, and a daily after-school care club share the same building. This provision was inspected, simultaneously with this inspection, by two child-care inspectors. Their report and one on the school’s diocesan work are available as separate documents.

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Description of the school

St Andrew’s Church of England (Voluntary Controlled) Infant School is a large infant school. It serves a large estate owned by a housing association and a small range of private properties. The number of pupils taking free school meals is a little higher than average but the proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is lower than average. Almost all pupils are of white British heritage and all have English as their home language.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Leyland St Andrew's Church of England Infant School, 7 November 2005 to 8 November 2005

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Grade: 2

St Andrew’s is a good school. This confirms the school’s overall judgement of its own work. The headteacher leads the schools with enthusiasm and ambition. She is supported effectively by a dedicated staff team. Standards are above average and pupils achieve well. All of the pupils progress well, including those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. The quality of teaching is good, overall, but somewhat inconsistent. Pupils’ personal development is good and they show an outstanding level of interest and enjoyment in learning from a wide range of captivating activities. The school’s expenditure is average but pupils’ achievement is above average: the school gives good value for money. The school is used by the local authority as an exemplar of good practice. It has a good capacity for further improvement and is capable of achieving the outstanding effectiveness that is its aim.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Improve teaching so that it is consistently good quality in Years 1 and 2.

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Grade: 2

Pupils achieve well and standards are above average, not only in literacy and numeracy but across the curriculum. The school takes a broad view of raising pupils’ achievement and works effectively to improve pupils’ enjoyment and success in learning in all subjects. Results in national tests in 2005 are above average and on an upward trend. In the Reception class the children achieve consistently well. From a starting point of average attainment and with many children with limited language skills on entry, children progress well. By the end of the Foundation Stage, the early learning goals set nationally are met fully by most children in all areas of learning and by the end of Year 2, there is good achievement in the national tests.

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Grade: 2

Pupils’ personal development is good. It is not outstanding, as the school judges it to be, because of some weaknesses in behaviour in some lessons. Children make a good start in the Reception classes, learning to concentrate well, to share and make choices sensibly. Teachers in the older classes build on these skills well and pupils’ attitudes to learning develop particularly well. Pupils say they love coming to school and parents are very appreciative. One wrote, ‘He comes out full of what he has learnt during the day.’ Behaviour is good, overall, and sometimes excellent. Teachers are generally very adept at dealing with occasional over-excitement without suppressing children’s enthusiasm and imagination. Attendance is average and punctuality is good. 2 Inspection Report: Leyland St Andrew's Church of England Infant School, 7 November 2005 to 8 November 2005 Provision for pupils’ spiritual, social, moral and cultural development is good.

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Grade: 2

Relationships are good and the school gives the children a sense of their own worth and of their place in the world. They make a good start to learning about a safe and healthy lifestyle. The enthusiastic school council takes a lead in raising money for charities. It is proud of its work.

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Grade: 2

Teaching and learning are good, with some outstanding features. Good assessment systems and continuous evaluation of teaching methods help teachers to provide well for all pupils, including those capable of higher attainment, those in mixed age classes and those with learning difficulties and/ or disabilities. The arrangements for teaching English and mathematics in groups based on pupils’ previous attainments work well. Lessons in all subjects are busy and practical, and teachers are careful to keep times when children need to sit and listen short and well sprinkled with active involvement. Pupils generally listen very well because they know interesting activities will follow. Teachers and assistants form a good team, working enthusiastically and well to give pupils the academic and social strengths they need for the next stages of their education and to ensure their future economic well-being. They are effective in

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Grade: 2

improving speaking and listening through well-focused discussions, talking in pairs and the recently improved arrangements for drama. Teaching is never less than satisfactory but it varies in quality. Although it is monitored, the monitoring does not identify matters for improvement clearly enough. Occasionally, for example, lessons in Years 1 and 2 become a little too noisy, limiting pupils’ opportunities for thinking carefully and for good communication between staff and small groups of pupils. In the older classes, the outstanding elements in teaching tend to occur within whole class sessions and the quality is less consistently good when pupils are learning as individuals or in groups.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is broad, and is studied regularly by visitors from other schools. It is, however, good rather than outstanding, as the school judges it to be. It is innovative but has yet to fully develop the newly integrated methods of arranging subjects through topics. The curriculum for the Foundation Stage is well thought out and successful in meeting the needs of the youngest children. The well-established successes here are being used as a model for arrangements for sections of the day in the older classes. Teachers look for every opportunity to widen pupils’ experience of life beyond their immediate environment and provide a good range of visitors, including artists and musicians and visits to places of interest. This enrichment promotes pupils’ knowledge and understanding, and social skills and confidence well. After-school clubs are usually 3 Inspection Report: Leyland St Andrew's Church of England Infant School, 7 November 2005 to 8 November 2005

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Grade: 2

available and activities provided for children to complete at home to extend their learning are interesting and popular. The recently improved school grounds are attractive and provide interesting and safe opportunities for pupils to enjoy themselves outdoors and to extend their learning through a good range of play opportunities, physical education and scientific investigation.

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Grade: 1

The school’s care, guidance and support for pupils are outstanding. Parents recognise this strength and many support the view that this is ‘an exceptionally caring school with very dedicated staff’. Arrangements for the safety of all pupils, including those who are vulnerable or at risk, are rigorous and effective. Children report that there is no bullying and they are very confident of support from adults if the need arises. Those with difficulties in learning are identified early and helped well. As a result of the school’s rapid intervention, the number of these children is low. Liaison with parents is good from when the children start school and good opportunities are provided for parents to help their children.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good. The headteacher and staff are ambitious and seek to promote provision of high quality. Continuous self-evaluation systems of good quality, both formal and informal, inform the school’s improvement plan effectively, although this inspection has shown that some aspects of the school are seen as better than they are. Nevertheless, the school is used quite rightly as an exemplar for other local schools for its strengths in the Foundation Stage and the curriculum. The skills of individual teachers are utilised well to promote good achievement and the school provides a good base for the initial training of teachers. However, within a strong overall picture of leadership and management, opportunities are sometimes missed to identify matters for development, for example in class management. Governors are experienced and efficient, helping to safeguard the quality of the school

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Grade: 2

well. The views of parents, pupils and staff are regularly sought and acted on. Issues from the last inspection were resolved promptly and turned to strengths. Standards are on an upward trend. With its very effective staff and leadership team, the school clearly has a good capacity for further improvement. 4 Inspection Report: Leyland St Andrew's Church of England Infant School, 7 November 2005 to 8 November 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: Leyland St Andrew's Church of England Infant School, 7 November 2005 to 8 November 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 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 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 1 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 1 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 NA Learners are discouraged from smoking and substance abuse NA 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 www.ofsted.gov.uk Leyland St Andrew's Church of England Infant School Woodlea Road Leyland Lancashire PR25 1JL 9 November 2005 Dear Children We enjoyed visiting your school. Thank you for being so friendly and for helping us to find out what you do in lessons, assemblies and at playtimes. We enjoyed looking at your work on display, like the paintings of you all in the school hall. These are some of the important things we found out. St Andrews is a good school and we know that you are happy there. Teachers work hard to make learning very interesting and to help every one of you to do your best work. You are sensible, listen carefully to teachers and behave yourselves very well inside school and in the playground. The school is getting better each year as Mrs Morrissey and the teachers make any changes that are needed. Your parents agree that the school is good.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

We have asked the teachers to keep doing the good things that they do to help you to stay happy at school, interested in learning and to get more and more ideas how to make your work good. Thank you, once more, with very best wishes for the future, Penny Parrish and Keith Oglesby School inspectors Annex B

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