Newton Burgoland Primary School

Inspection Report Newton Burgoland Primary School

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119953 Unique Reference Number Leicestershire LEA 280695 Inspection number 20 March 2006 to 20 March 2006 Inspection dates Tony Dobell AI Reporting inspector

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

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School Lane School address Primary Type of school Newton Burgoland Community School category Coalville, Leicestershire LE67 2SL 4 to 11 Age range of pupils

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01530 270320 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01530 270320 Fax number 77 Number on roll Mrs Janet Thorpe Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Ms Margaret James Headteacher 2 October 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 280695 20 March 2006 - 4 to 11 20 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

This very small primary school draws its pupils from local villages. The number on roll has increased markedly in recent years. Children start in Reception with typically average levels of knowledge, skills and understanding. Most pupils are from White British backgrounds, but an average proportion come from different minority ethnic groups. No pupils speak English as an additional language. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties is average.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Newton Burgoland Primary School, 20 March 2006 to 20 March 2006

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Grade: 2

Newton Burgoland is a good school giving good value for money. Inspectors agree with the school’s own view of its effectiveness except in leadership and management, where its evaluation is too modest. Pupils achieve well because they are well taught. A decline in standards at the end of Year 2 has been reversed and pupils make good progress and reach above average standards throughout the school. This begins in the Foundation Stage, where learning is sensitively but purposefully managed, and children achieve well. The curriculum is satisfactory but planning does not always give enough emphasis to making links between subjects and for pupils to apply their literacy and numeracy skills. Pupils are well known to all adults and are valued for what they can do. Their confidence grows, their personal development is good, they behave well, and they are well cared for. Leadership and management are good. Very effective leadership from the acting

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Grade: 2

headteacher has enabled the school to improve markedly in recent months, though there is no long-term strategy for the school’s development. Well-conceived systems for tracking and assessing pupils’ progress are not yet fully effective. Staff and pupils have been given greater responsibility and are now working productively. Children and their parents are rightly proud of their school. Rapid recent improvement means that the school has improved well overall since its last inspection and has a very good capacity for further improvement.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Use information from tracking and assessment to determine how the pupils can make even better progress. • Develop subject management so that learning in one subject systematically supports the pupils’ progress in others, and particularly in literacy and numeracy. • Create a long-term strategy for the school’s development so that improvement can be consistently and coherently managed.

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Grade: 2

Children start school with levels of understanding and skills which cover a wide range but are average overall. They make good progress because their learning is well managed. They are on course to reach average standards by the end of the Reception Year and, in a few cases, to exceed them. Standards at the end of Year 2 have been declining in recent years, largely because the sounds which make up words have not been taught effectively. In the last few months, the systematic teaching of phonics has begun to raise standards in reading and writing and so reverse the decline. At the end of Year 6, standards have been generally above average and are on course to continue to be so. In this small school, test results can vary, depending on the pupils’ differing abilities within each year group taking the tests. 2 Inspection Report: Newton Burgoland Primary School, 20 March 2006 to 20 March 2006 Throughout the school, all pupils, including those with learning difficulties or

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Grade: 2

disabilities, make good progress and achieve well because their work is challenging and they are encouraged to improve. There has been good progress in information and communication technology since the last inspection and pupils now reach the expected standards.

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Grade: 2

Pupils’ personal development and well-being are good. They have responded very positively to recent opportunities to take responsibility and to become involved in decision-making, for example through the new school council. Relationships between older and younger pupils are strong. Pupils in Year 6, for instance, help younger pupils very successfully as ‘reading buddies’. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Assemblies help pupils to learn about other cultures and beliefs. Pupils sing hymns and songs tunefully and enthusiastically. Attitudes to learning and behaviour are good. From the time that they join the school, pupils enjoy learning, and quickly interact very pleasantly with adults and with each other. They learn to be confident and to contribute to the school and the wider community. Attendance has improved recently and is now average although there is scope to improve it further. Parents have responded very positively to the acting headteacher’s

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Grade: 2

high expectations for attendance and are keen for their children to attend regularly. Pupils know how to keep safe, relishing new opportunities to improve the school, for example by improving hygiene in the toilets. They have a good understanding of the need to eat healthily and to exercise regularly. They are well prepared for the next stage of their education and for their future lives.

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Grade: 2

The quality of teaching is good. Challenging learning activities, carefully tailored to the needs of individual pupils, mean that they make good progress. This attention to individual needs begins in Reception, where skilfully planned work effectively meets the children’s widely differing learning needs so that they settle well into the school, gain in confidence and achieve well. In the mixed age classes in Years 1 to 6, pupils’ learning is carefully managed so that all make good progress. In Years 1 and 2, the systematic teaching and learning of word sounds introduced during the last few months is already having a positive effect on standards of reading and writing. In Years 3 to 6, pupils are expected to give of their best and to express themselves precisely. A good pace in lessons, good relationships and positive attitudes to learning all contribute to the pupils’ good achievement. Improved systems for assessing pupils’ standards and

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Grade: 2

tracking their progress are giving pupils a better understanding of how to improve 3 Inspection Report: Newton Burgoland Primary School, 20 March 2006 to 20 March 2006 their work. However, as the school accepts, there is scope for information from these systems to be more systematically used to promote further progress. Pupils with learning difficulties are identified early and they are given support to overcome them. Effective learning support assistants help teachers to ensure that these pupils make good progress.

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Grade: 3

The school provides a satisfactory curriculum. Staff have recently introduced improved integrated planning for learning across the school. Lesson planning is now stronger than it was, particularly in English. Subject planning ensures that pupils in all year groups learn what is expected, but learning in one subject does not yet always reinforce learning in others, for example to develop the pupils’ literacy and numeracy skills. Staff know their pupils very well and planning for individual needs is strong. Different year groups are well catered for in mixed-age classes and flexible arrangements between groups ensures that the planning is translated into a good match of work to pupils’ needs. This is being helped by significantly improved assessment systems, which are in the early stages of development. Lessons include a suitable range of opportunities for pupils to learn about health, fitness and safety, often through personal, health and social education lessons. Pupils

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Grade: 3

enjoy a satisfactory range of activities and clubs at lunchtimes and after school.

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Grade: 2

Care, guidance and support are good. Staff know pupils very well and have responded very positively to the acting headteacher’s high expectations to create stronger relationships with parents. Parents, too, value closer links with teachers and other staff. This level of openness has significantly improved the impact of support and guidance procedures, to the benefit of all pupils. Misunderstandings about the importance of attendance have been resolved and levels of absence have been reduced. Newsletters now usefully inform parents about what is being taught and many other matters of interest. Recently improved assessment systems and tracking of pupils’ progress are providing teachers, parents and pupils with a good understanding of how well pupils are doing and of how they can improve further. This is most effective at this stage in Years 4, 5 and 6. Pupils’ personal development has also been analysed and plans are being

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Grade: 2

developed to address areas of difficulty for individual pupils. Child protection measures are robust, though some further training is needed. Staff understand procedures, and appropriate checks are in place to protect pupils’ safety. 4 Inspection Report: Newton Burgoland Primary School, 20 March 2006 to 20 March 2006

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Grade: 2

Highly effective leadership from the acting headteacher, who joined the school at the end of October 2005, has enabled the school to make rapid progress since then. Parents, pupils and staff comment on a new vibrancy, improved learning activities, and ‘a sense of excitement’. The acting headteacher has introduced a range of new systems which, although at an early stage, are already beginning to have a positive effect on learning and standards. For example, new tracking and assessment systems are improving pupils’ awareness of how to improve their work. There is scope for these systems to be still more effective, for example to further improve the pupils’ progress. The acting headteacher is wisely staging the introduction of initiatives over time so that they can be managed effectively. For example, at this stage, teachers are managing the curriculum jointly without taking individual responsibility for particular subjects.

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Grade: 2

They are valuing the climate of openness and consultation that is bringing improved opportunities for them to play a greater role in the life of the school and in planning its future. The school improvement plan has appropriate objectives to the end of this school year. The school appreciates the need to establish longer term plans for improvement. Governance is satisfactory. Governors appreciate the increased information that they receive so that they, too, are playing a greater role in leading and managing the school. Together with the acting headteacher, they are planning to use the school’s considerable accumulated funds to benefit all pupils, for example by improving the quality and quantity of learning resources. Given the significant improvements of the last few months and the systems being put into place, the school has a very good capacity for further improvement. 5 Inspection Report: Newton Burgoland Primary School, 20 March 2006 to 20 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: Newton Burgoland Primary School, 20 March 2006 to 20 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 NA 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 3 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

Thank you for welcoming us into your school, being so polite and friendly and talking to us about your learning and your lives in the school. We think that your school is good in many ways: • You are well cared for by all adults who work in the school and you feel confident and happy. • Your teachers try hard to make your learning interesting and you make good progress. • You get on well together and support each other well. • You are all treated equally and are valued for what you can do. • You know that it is important to eat healthy food and to exercise regularly. • Your acting headteacher is a super leader for your school and is planning to make it even better. All these things mean that you develop into confident young people, happy to say what you think in class and in assemblies. We think that three things would improve your school further: • Information from assessing your work could be used better to help you to make more progress.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

• Subjects could be managed better so that your work in one subject helps your learning in others. • The school needs to plan better how it is going to develop and improve in the next few years. We enjoyed our day in your school very much and wish you well for the future. Best wishes Mr A J Dobell Lead Inspector

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