Richard Durning's Endowed Primary School

Inspection Report Richard Durning's Endowed Primary School

p.1

119409 Unique Reference Number Lancashire LEA 280547 Inspection number 14 September 2005 to 15 September 2005 Inspection dates Alastair Younger Reporting inspector

p.1

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

p.1

Chorley Road School address Primary Type of school Bispham Voluntary controlled School category Nr Ormskirk, Lancashire 4 to 11 Age range of pupils 01257 462968 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01257 462968 Fax number 82 Number on roll Mrs Jane Cowin Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Catherine Hodgson Headteacher 1 May 2000 Date of previous inspection

p.1

Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 280547 14 September 2005 - 4 to 11 15 September 2005 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 one Additional Inspector over a period of two days.

p.3

Description of the school

This is a small primary school in Bispham, a pleasant village near Ormskirk. There are 82 pupils on roll. Pupils’ ability on entry to the school is average, or slightly above. All pupils are white and English speaking. There are ten pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities and seven identified as gifted or talented. The headteacher has been in post for only two weeks.

p.3

Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Richard Durning's Endowed Primary School, 14 September 2005 to 15 September 2005

p.3

Grade: 2

Inspectors share the school’s view that that it is a good and effective place of learning, where all pupils thrive. With strong leadership, carefully managed finances, higher than average standards, happy, hard-working pupils and very satisfied parents, the school is very well placed to continue to improve. It gives outstanding value for money. The school’s main strength is that it helps pupils to grow up into well educated, polite and characterful young people. This is achieved through good teaching and an outstanding curriculum which strongly promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development alongside their academic learning. The main weakness is that formal systems for monitoring and evaluating of standards are underdeveloped and not closely enough linked to school improvement planning. There is a good Foundation Stage. Pupils join the school in the reception class, which is shared with pupils in Years 1 and 2. Quick, accurate assessments are made and if

p.4

Grade: 2

any support for learning is needed it is quickly forthcoming, and very effective. Pupils meet their goals and their move into National Curriculum studies is very smooth, with the result that the good progress they have been making continues uninterrupted. Suggestions for improvement, made by the previous inspection, have been fully and successfully addressed and the accommodation has been much improved.

p.4

What the school should do to improve further

• Link the school’s plan for development more precisely to the raising of standards. • Monitor the quality of lessons more thoroughly to ensure that pupils are consistently challenged.

p.4

Grade: 2

As the school correctly identifies, pupils achieve well. Nearly all parents say they are very happy with the progress their children are making and all the pupils feel they are doing as well as they can. Standards are slightly higher than average for all ages and it is rare for any pupil to leave at the end of Year 6 without having met the level expected for their age in English, mathematics and science. In a typical year, such as last year, about a half of all Year 6 pupils do better than this. Pupils make good progress right from the start. Potential learning difficulties, however minor, are quickly identified and extra support given to those pupils. This is very effective and results in nearly all of these pupils achieving better than expected by the end of Year 2 and nearly all of them attaining the age related expectations for all pupils by the end of Year 6. Throughout the school, a very close check is kept of individual attainment and this

p.4

Grade: 2

information is exceptionally well used to set challenging targets. These are nearly always met, and often exceeded. Last year, targets for English were met and those for mathematics and science were comfortably exceeded. There is no subject where progress by any group of pupils is unsatisfactory. 2 Inspection Report: Richard Durning's Endowed Primary School, 14 September 2005 to 15 September 2005

p.4

Grade: 1

This is an area where the school achieves outstanding success. Its own evaluation is that pupils’ personal development and well-being are good but, in reality, they are much better. It is the main aim of the school to produce ‘well rounded’ individuals and it does exactly this. As a result, the pupils are a delight. Almost without exception, pupils say they love coming to school and parents confirm the fact. Many pupils said they could not wait to get back to school after the summer holiday. As a result, attendance is amazing. There has been no unexplained absence in recent years, attendance has improved over each of the last three years and, last year, was 97 per cent. The atmosphere around the school is happy, calm and purposeful. Pupils are strongly encouraged to reflect on their own, and other’s, lives and their awareness of other cultures grows apace, often through high quality musical and artistic experiences.

p.5

Grade: 1

Misbehaviour is almost unheard of, there are high moral values and pupils enter into work and play with equal enthusiasm and exuberance. Pupils are given many opportunities to show how they are becoming more mature and independent. Last year’s leavers, for instance, organised, prepared and managed a hugely successful buffet lunch for invited guests entirely on their own initiative. Sport and healthy living are very strongly promoted; just watching the energy that pupils expend at breaktimes on the huge playing field is ample proof of this. Pupils show a very strong awareness of the importance of good relationships, safe and responsible actions and contributing positively to the community. Their self-confidence, coupled with their politeness shows how good their social development is and bodes well for their future economic well-being. •

p.5

Grade: 2

Teaching and learning are good for pupils of all ages. This is a view backed up by the school’s own evaluation and by the almost unanimous views of pupils and parents. This overall judgement hides the fact that teaching is occasionally outstanding, such as in a Year 3/4 mathematics lesson, which was pacy, dynamic,fun and made use of a wide range of simple resources, including a ventriloquist’s dummy, to help reinforce pupils’ understanding of number facts. What is stopping more teaching from being outstanding is that, occasionally, teachers do not ring the changes often enough, or push learning along as fast as they could, especially for average and above average pupils. All teachers plan work carefully, varying it to suit the different ages and abilities of groups of pupils but, occasionally, not enough for the most able ones within a group. Pupils who need the most help get it, often from the skilled classroom assistants.

p.5

Grade: 2

The assessment of pupils’ progress is good. It is accurate and used well to plan for future learning. Teachers and the new headteacher, however, are not content with 3 Inspection Report: Richard Durning's Endowed Primary School, 14 September 2005 to 15 September 2005 this and are improving links between all assessments conducted throughout the school by using the Pupil Attainment Tracker to analyse, monitor and evaluate progress, learning and teaching more precisely. Pupils learn well because their work is interesting, they like their teachers and they are always learning something new

p.5

Grade: 1

Each day, pupils arrive at school, eagerly anticipating an exciting variety of activities. They are rarely disappointed, because the curriculum is outstanding. The school’s own evaluation is slightly lower than this but it does not take sufficient credit for the huge range of enrichment activities that it provides for pupils. There are many visits to places of interest, often to stimulate interest and learning in topic work, and there is an impressive programme of lunchtime and after-school clubs, which pupils eagerly look forward to. Many visitors have come to school to share their skills, beliefs and experiences. These visitors frequently include people of different faiths and cultures. The real glory of the curriculum, however, is the way it so carefully balances the academic side with pupils’ personal development, thus providing exactly the right diet to promote the main aim of the school – well-rounded pupils.

p.6

Grade: 2

An environment has been created that is as safe as possible whilst not being over-protective and thus removing any sense of excitement and adventure. Staff feel that they give good support and guidance to pupils and take great care of them. This is a fair judgement. Possible risks are identified before activities are allowed to take place and there is safe practice in subjects such as science, design and technology and physical education. Pupils are taught to understand the importance of behaving sensibly to avoid accidents. Break and lunchtimes are carefully supervised and child protection procedures are well understood by all staff. Staff are quick to recognise pupils who need extra help with their learning and to arrange support for them. Pupils’ and parents’ views are carefully listened to and there is a strong sense of working together to encourage pupils to do their best. Pupils say that this is a safe, happy school, where there is no bullying, racism or harassment

p.6

Grade: 2

The new headteacher is a natural successor to the previous one, sharing a very similar vision, one that is also shared by the governing body and all other staff. This singularity of purpose is an outstanding feature of leadership and explains why the school is so successsful in meeting its aims and targets. 4 Inspection Report: Richard Durning's Endowed Primary School, 14 September 2005 to 15 September 2005 Management is judged to be good overall; which tallies with the school’s own evaluation. The school runs very smoothly, with everyone fulfilling their responsibilities to a high standard. There is a very good programme of staff development and the management of staff performance is good. Finance is exceptionally well managed, with the result that the school has been able to make good improvements to the building and to fund extra staffing. However, there is very little formal monitoring of teaching and improvement planning is not linked closely enough to anticipated benefits

p.6

Grade: 2

and the raising of standards. The headteacher has recognised this and has very quickly made a start to remedy the situation. Many governors are parents of either past or present pupils. They have great pride in the school and a good grasp of what goes on and how high standards are. Alongside the new headteacher and the dedicated staff this means that the school is well placed to continue building on the many, good improvements since the previous inspection. 5 Inspection Report: Richard Durning's Endowed Primary School, 14 September 2005 to 15 September 2005 .

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: Richard Durning's Endowed Primary School, 14 September 2005 to 15 September 2005

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 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

p.9

Achievement and standards

NA 2 How well do learners achieve? NA 2 The standards 1 reached by learners

p.9

Achievement and standards

NA 2 How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners NA 1 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

p.9

learners?

NA 1 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development NA 1 The behaviour of learners NA 1 The attendance of learners NA 1 How well learners enjoy their education NA 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 1 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles NA 1 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community NA 1 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 1 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 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

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 www.ofsted.gov.uk Richard Durning's Endowed Primary School Chorley Road Bispham Nr Ormskirk Lancashire L40 3SL 16 September 2005 Dear Pupils How lucky you are to be attending such a good school; come to that, how lucky the school is to have such delightful pupils. You may remember my visit a while back. I came to see how well you were getting on and if there was anything I could suggest to make the school even better. You made me very welcome and I thoroughly enjoyed your company. Thank you. Two days isn’t long to look at everything that is going on in school but I saw an awful lot and had good chats with staff, some of your parents, and quite a lot of you. It’s obvious that you are very happy and most of you love coming to school. Hands up those of you who told me how much you wanted to get back to school after your long summer holiday! There are lots of

p.11

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

good things about your school. Here are a few. It is a happy school, you work hard and you do well in tests At playtimes you are so friendly to each other and to staff and visitors There are so many interesting things going on, you have lots of trips and get to meet all sorts of visitors; remember the drummers? Your teachers are good, they make you work hard and sometimes you work so hard that they can hardly keep up with you. There are only a few things that I felt could make the school better. The main one is that it would be good if staff made it a bit clearer how they wanted the school to improve and how any new developments would help you to get even better results. Perhaps they might get you to help them. Be careful though, because it might just be that they make you work even harder. Good luck anyway. All the best, Alastair Younger Lead inspector Annex B

p.11