Burscough Bridge Methodist School

Inspection Report Burscough Bridge Methodist School

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119402 Unique Reference Number Lancashire LEA 280544 Inspection number 12 September 2005 to 12 September 2005 Inspection dates John Heap Reporting inspector

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

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Orrell Lane School address Primary Type of school Burscough Voluntary controlled School category Ormskirk, Lancashire 4 to 11 Age range of pupils 01704 892307 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01704 892307 Fax number 50 Number on roll Mrs Pat King Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Barbara Taylor Headteacher Not applicable Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 280544 12 September 2005 - 4 to 11 12 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 one additional inspector.

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Description of the school

This is a small Methodist primary school with 50 pupils on roll, more than twice as many of whom are boys than girls. Most pupils are white, though there are small numbers of Bangladeshi or Black African. Two of the Bangladeshi pupils are at an early stage of learning English. The proportion of pupils receiving free school meals is about average, but rather more pupils have special educational needs than is typical. Attainment on entry to Reception Year is below average, particularly in communication skills. The school has experienced a long period of disruption, owing to the illness of staff and major damage caused by the collapse of an adjoining building.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Burscough Bridge Methodist School, 12 September 2005 to 12 September 2005

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Grade: 3

This is a satisfactory school that provides sound value for money. Teaching and learning are satisfactory overall, but there are weaknesses in the teaching of writing. Overall, progress is satisfactory, but in the Foundation Stage it is good. Pupils’ personal development is good. They feel secure and safe in the school and make a good contribution to the day to day life. Leadership and management are good. The staff and governors have a good understanding of the improvements needed and they are moving the school in the right direction. Test results are steadily improving and the school has the capacity to improve further. not applicable

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What the school should do to improve further

• Raise standards in writing by: • increasing the amount and quality of writing in the full range of subjects; • setting pupils challenging targets for improvement, particularly the lower attaining pupils; • ensuring that the marking of pupils’ work relates directly to their personal targets.

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Grade: 3

Inspectors agree with the school that pupils make satisfactory progress and standards are average. Children enter the school with weak basic skills, particularly in communication. They make good progress in the reception class, but by the time they enter Year 1, standards are still a little below the expected level. Test results in Year 6 have been consistently better in reading, mathematics and science than in writing. Nevertheless, there have been gains in all subjects in recent years and pupils are reaching the targets set in most areas. The school rightly recognises that pupils’ writing skills need to be improved and they have been closely involved with a national initiative to raise standards. However, there is a need for pupils’ writing targets to be more closely matched to individual pupils’ needs and for teachers to monitor these targets carefully. Furthermore, the amount and quality of writing in other subjects is

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Grade: 2

The school is right to judge pupils’ personal development and well-being to be good. Pupils enjoy coming to school, are well motivated to learn and like their teachers. As a result, they have and maintain a positive outlook. Behaviour is good and there are no signs of the minor disruptions reported at the last inspection. Pupils are clear about what is right and wrong and they share readily their views on matters relating to the upkeep of the environment. Clearly they recognise that they are part of a community 2 Inspection Report: Burscough Bridge Methodist School, 12 September 2005 to 12 September 2005 and that they have certain responsibilities alongside their rights. Attendance levels are good and rising. This has been a highly successful initiative led by the headteacher. Throughout the school, lessons and other activities provide pupils with experiences that prepare them for life outside the school. For example, the youngest children acted

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Grade: 2

out a role-play about how to use a road crossing safely. Pupils are aware that eating healthy food and doing exercise is good for them. Assemblies and lessons provide pupils with good opportunities to reflect on and learn about moral and social issues. Pupils have a sound introduction to other cultures, such as that of China, and to the practices of a range of religions. However, overall, there are limited opportunities for pupils to learn directly about a wider range of cultures.

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Grade: 3

The school’s judgement about the quality of teaching and learning is a little generous and inspectors judge it to be satisfactory. Although teachers plan carefully and ensure that pupils work hard, there are shortcomings in the quality of written work and presentation. However, where the teaching is good there is a pace and drive that makes learning exciting, for example in the Spanish lessons. This is also seen in the work done with the reception children where role play and close attention to basic skills of literacy and numeracy is helping them to progress well. The match of work to pupils abilities is good in mathematics, science and reading. The work of pupils with learning difficulties is also carefully tailored to their needs, as in the spelling groups in Years 5 and 6. Teachers of pupils who are learning English as an additional language are carefully assessing needs. Provision is helpful and helping enabling these pupils to develop

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Grade: 3

confidence. Management of pupils is good and this helps them to behave well. Throughout the school, relationships between adults and pupils are good. This is a key factor in pupils enjoying school. Well trained teaching assistants give teachers good support and show a welcome willingness to take on the responsibility for pupils’, learning.

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Grade: 3

Inspector’s agree with the school’s judgement that the curriculum is satisfactory and matched soundly to pupils’ needs. Inspectors also confirm that the school has correctly identified the areas that need improvement, such as promoting greater opportunities for writing. There are plenty of interesting topics that are taught to the pupils which provide the chance for them to write at length and in a range of forms. • The curriculum meets statutory requirements and strongly promotes basic literacy and numeracy skills. Pupils’ personal development is well promoted through role play and 3 Inspection Report: Burscough Bridge Methodist School, 12 September 2005 to 12 September 2005 in physical education where there is strong evidence of collaborative work with other schools.

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Grade: 2

Inspectors agree with the school that it shows good care for all its pupils. The detailed monitoring of behaviour and attendance have helped to raise standards and assisted the pupils to develop confidence. The morale of staff and pupils is high and teamwork is strong. The school council plays a significant role in this aspect of school life and their influence in areas such as developing and improving the school environment is impressive. The monitoring of pupils’ work and achievement has been a positive step and has led to improvements in standards. However, there is some way to go in the development of individual plans to improve the writing of the lowest attaining pupils in Year 6. Procedures for safeguarding pupils are in place and the school prepares its pupils well for life in the wider society.

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Grade: 2

In trying circumstances, the headteacher has led and managed the school well. She has successfully focused the school on raising standards, improving attendance and behaviour whilst disruption was caused by serious damage to the building. She has created a climate of rigorous self examination that is supported by staff and by the improving governing body. As a result, most of the weaknesses identified in the last report have been resolved. Even where standards in writing have been slow to improve she has been accurate in identifying the problem and employing measures to improve standards. It is to the great credit to all concerned that day to day and longer term issues have not been stalled by the potentially crippling mishap to the school. The headteacher regularly seeks the views of parents and pupils. The results of these trawls are positive. In discussion with long experience of the school, made it clear that,

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Grade: 2

‘this headteacher is doing a really good job and has improved matters, particularly behaviour’. Governors are particularly pleased with the amount of information they receive and they feel that they know what is going on. This helps them to be more challenging as well as supportive, and thereby more effective critical friends. As a result, morale is high and the school is moving forward. 4 Inspection Report: Burscough Bridge Methodist School, 12 September 2005 to 12 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: Burscough Bridge Methodist School, 12 September 2005 to 12 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 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

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Achievement and standards

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

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Achievement and standards

NA 3 How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners NA 3 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

NA 3 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development NA 2 The behaviour of learners NA 2 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 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 www.ofsted.gov.uk Burscough Bridge Methodist School Orrell Lane Burscough Ormskirk Lancashire L40 0SG 14 September 2005 Dear Children It was a great pleasure to work with you and your teachers for two days this week. I am very grateful to you for the friendly and helpful way that you welcomed me and gave assistance when needed. What I particularly liked about your school It was clear from watching lessons and talking to you that you enjoy school, behave well and help each other. The way that the school council listens to all your views and helps to make decisions in the school. The way that the healthy tuck shop is run and the notice that you take about staying healthy and safe. I was pleased with the way that pupils who find learning difficult are helped to improve, particularly with their spelling. The lively and interesting way that Spanish is taught to the older pupils.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

I am certain that your teachers look after you very well. The headteacher, staff and governors know what they need to do to make your school even better. Your parents like the fact that you attend this school and they think it is improving all the time. I have asked your school to: help you become even better at writing. This means that they will give you more opportunities to write in the books of all the subjects that you do. They will also expect you to work even harder at writing longer pieces of work in a careful way. Finally, they will inform you how well you are doing and how near you are getting to your own targets. Best wishes for the future.

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Annex B

Yours sincerely Mr Heap Lead inspector Annex B

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