Great Dunham Primary School

Inspection Report Great Dunham Primary School

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120811 Unique Reference Number NORFOLK LEA LEA 280896 Inspection number 14 June 2006 to 15 June 2006 Inspection dates Mr. Godfrey Bancroft AI Reporting inspector

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

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Litcham Road School address Primary Type of school PE32 2LQ Community School category 4 to 11 Age range of pupils 01328 701357 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01328 701082 Fax number 66 Number on roll Mr.Paul Gardner Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs. Sally Bone Headteacher 14 February 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 280896 14 June 2006 - 4 to 11 15 June 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 an Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

This is a much smaller than average primary school. The socio-economic circumstances of the community are broadly average. The percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals is below average. There are currently no pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds and no pupils who speak English as an additional language. Attainment on entry is below average. The percentage of pupils who have additional learning needs or disabilities 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: Great Dunham Primary School, 14 June 2006 to 15 June 2006

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Grade: 2

Great Dunham Primary is a good school with some outstanding features. The findings of the inspection agree with the school's evaluation of its own performance. Pupils of all abilities achieve well and make good progress. Provision for children in the Foundation Stage is good and they achieve well, mainly reaching the standards expected for their age. Standards at the end of Year 2 are currently well above average. At the end of Year 6, standards are currently average. Standards in writing are showing definite signs of improvement. However, measures introduced to improve pupils' writing need more time to become fully embedded throughout the school. Pupils' behaviour and overall personal development are outstanding and they have very good attitudes to their work. Teaching and learning are good and lessons capture pupils' interest and enthusiasm well. Assessment arrangements, marking and target setting are very good.

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Grade: 2

They can be improved further by involving pupils even more in deciding what they need to do to improve. The good curriculum meets pupils' learning needs well and is enhanced by a good range of additional activities. The care, guidance and support provided for pupils are outstanding, enabling them to learn in a caring and secure environment. Provision for pupils' personal, social and emotional development is excellent. Leadership and management are good. The good leadership of the headteacher gives a clear educational direction and has brought about significant improvements since the time of the previous inspection. Governance is extremely effective. Governors are supportive and knowledgeable about the school. Parents and carers have very positive views of the school. All the issues identified at the time of the last inspection have been addressed successfully and improvement since that time has been good. The school's capacity to maintain its improvement is good and it

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What the school should do to improve further

- Make sure that the measures introduced to improve pupils' writing become effective throughout the school. - Involve pupils more fully in deciding what they need to do to improve further.

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Grade: 2

Pupils from all ability groups and backgrounds achieve well. Those who have learning difficulties or disabilities make good progress. Children in the Foundation Stage make good progress. By the time they leave the Reception year they attain standards that are close to those expected for their age. Year-on-year test results in the school are often influenced by the small numbers of pupils in each year group and the differing numbers of those who have additional learning needs. Consequently, annual variations sometimes occur. Overall, in recent years, standards at the end of Year 2 have been average. However, standards in writing have sometimes been below average and not always as good as those in reading and mathematics. Standards in reading, writing 2 Inspection Report: Great Dunham Primary School, 14 June 2006 to 15 June 2006 and mathematics are currently well above average in this age group. Standards at the

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Grade: 2

end of Year 6 in recent years in English and mathematics have been broadly average. In 2005 standards were above average. The pupils currently in Year 6 are on course to attain average standards. However, when these pupils were in Year 2, their standards were below average and since that time they have made good progress. Pupils also attain good standards in art and design, music and physical education. The school sets realistic and appropriately challenging targets for attainment that are usually met successfully.

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Grade: 1

Personal development and well-being are outstanding. Attendance is above average. Pupils' behaviour is exemplary and they have excellent attitudes to their learning. They are very enthusiastic and always willing to contribute to discussions. Pupils are very good at working independently and sustaining their effort and interest. They are also very good at working together and helping each other. Older pupils are particularly good at caring for and helping the youngest children. Provision for pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is excellent. Assemblies provide very good opportunities for pupils to enjoy music and to reflect on their lives and the lives of others. The recent visit by the 'Mighty Zulu Nation' group inspired pupils, providing them with powerful insights into a culture that is very different from their own. Pupils clearly enjoy their learning. They are learning well about how to keep themselves safe

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Grade: 1

in and out of school. They are knowledgeable about the need to eat healthily and to take regular exercise. At the start of each day there are daily exercise sessions in the playground. During the inspection 'Captain Carrot' visited the school to reinforce pupils' understanding of what makes a healthy diet. Pupils contribute well to their community, for example, through the excellent musical concerts they give for the residents of a nearby nursing home. The school is preparing pupils to become valued young citizens with a good range of skills that will contribute to their future economic prosperity.

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Grade: 2

Teaching and learning are good. Relationships between teachers and pupils are excellent and teachers are very good at celebrating pupils' efforts and successes. This helps to ensure that pupils are well motivated. Teachers have good subject knowledge. They use information and communication technology (ICT) effectively to enhance their teaching and to make learning interesting. Teachers plan their lessons carefully and meet the needs of the full range of ages and abilities in their classes well. Teaching assistants make a very good contribution to supporting pupils' learning. Lessons are often typified by exciting activities that engage pupils' interest well. Teachers are very effective at promoting pupils' speaking and listening. They are also making good use 3 Inspection Report: Great Dunham Primary School, 14 June 2006 to 15 June 2006 of recently introduced practices to improve the quality of pupils' writing, although

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Grade: 2

these practices need more time to become fully established throughout the school. Teachers assess pupils' attainment and progress accurately and thoroughly. The marking of pupils' work is very good and provides pupils with helpful advice about how to improve. However, pupils are not as fully involved as they could be in judging for themselves how much progress they have made. Sometimes they are not asked to comment about what they think they need to do to improve.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is good and meets pupils' learning needs well. It allows pupils to acquire the basic skills of speaking and listening, literacy, numeracy and ICT effectively. Since the time of the previous inspection the quality of the curriculum has improved significantly. Teachers are now provided with good guidance to support their teaching, especially in ICT and religious education. The provision for the physical development of the youngest children has also improved very well. Pupils' learning is enhanced by a good range of additional activities. These include a residential visit for older pupils, and instrumental and sports clubs that contribute to high standards in music and physical education. Many of the sports clubs that pupils enjoy are the result of participation in the local school sport partnership. The school has experienced considerable success in sports competitions. Pupils have twice won the county schools'

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Grade: 2

orienteering championships and several pupils have competed at national level.

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Grade: 1

Care, guidance and support are outstanding. Arrangements to ensure all pupils are safe are applied rigorously by all staff. Pupils' personal, social and emotional development is monitored closely and supported very well. The work of the 'Circle of Friends' support group, in which pupils and teachers help pupils who have difficulties in forming relationships, is outstanding. 'R Time' is also very effective, helping pupils to learn the value of courtesy and good manners. Support for pupils who have learning difficulties or disabilities is good and their progress and learning needs are analysed very closely. Teaching assistants support the learning of lower attaining pupils very well, such as when they lead groups of pupils in programmes such as 'Springboard' mathematics. Gifted and talented pupils benefit greatly from attending enrichment classes in mathematics at a nearby high school. Arrangements to monitor pupils'

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Grade: 1

academic progress are very good. These arrangements enable teachers to set challenging targets and respond to what needs to be done to improve the performance of each pupil. The school council provides a good forum for pupils' views to be heard and responded to. Those pupils who are members of the council take their role very seriously. 4 Inspection Report: Great Dunham Primary School, 14 June 2006 to 15 June 2006

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good and the school is well placed to maintain its current pattern of improvement. The headteacher provides calm, reflective and supportive leadership and has brought about significant improvements since the time of the previous inspection. Standards are now higher than at that time, especially in mathematics, ICT and religious education. Recent innovations are also leading to improvements in writing standards. Teachers who have leadership responsibilities, such as subject leaders, fulfil their duties well and provide good support for their colleagues. The school's assessment of its own performance is accurate and all stakeholders are involved well in this process. Arrangements for the headteacher and staff to check on and evaluate how well the school is working are good. The school improvement plan sets out clearly how the school intends to improve and includes details of how the intended improvements will be achieved and their success evaluated.

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Grade: 2

Governors are extremely supportive. They are very well informed about the strengths of the school, ask searching questions about its performance and are involved fully in addressing areas for improvement. Parents and carers are very supportive of the school and of their children's learning. They also think the school is very good. They are very appreciative of the school's dramatic and musical performances, the last of which was 'Twelfth Night'. Governors and the headteacher work together effectively to manage the school's finances and ensure they are used wisely to support pupils' learning. 5 Inspection Report: Great Dunham Primary School, 14 June 2006 to 15 June 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: Great Dunham Primary School, 14 June 2006 to 15 June 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 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 3 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 1 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development NA 1 The behaviour of learners NA 2 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 1 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 making me welcome in your school. I know you are proud to attend Great Dunham Primary School and think it is good. Many of your parents and carers think so too. I also think it is a good school and that it has some outstanding features. I think your behaviour and the ways in which you all work so hard are excellent. Teaching is good and teachers and teaching assistants help you to do your best. I am especially pleased to note your successes in sports events and the very high quality of your musical and dramatic productions. I am pleased to see how very good you are at caring for and helping each other. The staff are also very good at taking care of you and making sure you are safe. Your school governors, headteacher and staff work very hard to make sure that everything works well. There are some things that your headteacher and the governors will be doing to make things even better. They will be providing

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

more help for you to improve your writing. They will also be making sure that you are involved even more in identifying what you need to do to make your work even better. Very well done to you all.

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