Mowbray Primary SchoolOfsted inspection, 15 Mar 2006

122243 Unique Reference Number Northumberland LEA 281202 Inspection number 14 March 2006 to 15 March 2006 Inspection dates Mr Alastair Younger Reporting inspector

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

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Stakeford Lane School address First Type of school Guide Post Community School category Choppington, Northumberland 3 to 9 Age range of pupils

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01670 823198 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01670 531329 Fax number 270 Number on roll Mr Alan Moody Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Joan Riley Headteacher 1 October 2004 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 281202 14 March 2006 - 3 to 9 15 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 three additional inspectors.

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Description of the school

This is a slightly larger than average first school. Economically and socially, the area suffers from slight disadvantage and children’s attainment on entry is below average. There are very few minority ethnic pupils and about average numbers with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. One hundred and thirteen children are in the Foundation Stage, most of them are taught in the attached unit. The population of the area is growing and numbers on roll are rising. This has resulted in a small group of Reception age children being taught in a mixed age class with Year 1 pupils.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Mowbray First School, 14 March 2006 to 15 March 2006

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Grade: 2

The school’s previous designation as having serious weaknesses no longer applies. It is now a good school giving good value for money; this judgement accords with the school’s own view of itself. It has improved significantly in recent years and has a good capacity to keep improving. Parents feel their children are enjoying school and making good progress. Pupils know they attend a good school. They are happy and well cared for. Throughout the school, standards are above average and rising. This has been brought about through good leadership, management and governance. Outstanding improvement in the Foundation Stage has taken it from being a serious weakness to a strength of the school. Nursery children get off to a good start because staff provide a well balanced programme which matches their needs. Good progress continues through Reception in all areas of learning and children join Year 1 at the expected

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Grade: 2

level having also made good progress in their personal development. The curriculum for the small group of Reception children taught in the mixed age class is not as well matched to their learning and developmental needs as it is in the Foundation Stage unit but, by the end of Year 2, good teaching and learning results in pupils exceeding expectations, even though teachers occasionally miss opportunities to help them improve their writing skills. There is no fall-off in Years 3 and 4 and pupils attain above average standards. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities are well supported. Personal development is good and pupils are outstandingly well prepared for their future well-being. not applicable

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What the school should do to improve further

• Adjust the curriculum in the mixed age class to ensure that reception children in that class have equally appropriate opportunities to those in the Foundation Stage unit. • Raise standards by promoting a stronger culture of writing.

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Grade: 2

Achievement is good and standards are above average. Pupils say they work hard. Parents are happy with their children’s progress. Expectations are high and pupils enjoy a good degree of success in meeting their targets. Standards have been rising for the last five years. Children make good progress in the Foundation Stage and enter Year 1 with broadly average attainment. For the last two years, Year 2 pupils have exceeded the national average for reading, writing and mathematics. In reading and mathematics, more pupils attain or surpass each level than is the case nationally. The only target the school did not meet last year was for the writing of higher attaining pupils. This was only narrowly missed but serves to illustrate the point that teachers are not always making sufficient demands on pupils to overcome an occasional reluctance to put pen to paper. Good teaching and learning ensure that progress

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Grade: 2

2 Inspection Report: Mowbray First School, 14 March 2006 to 15 March 2006 continues in Years 3 and 4 and all targets are met or exceeded by the time they leave. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and those who are gifted and talented make the same progress as other pupils. Girls achieve slightly better than boys, especially in reading. The school has responded well to this by buying more books to reflect the interests of boys to encourage them to read more.

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Grade: 2

These are good. Pupils look forward to coming to school. Attendance has been improving for the last three years and now matches the national average. Behaviour is good and most pupils act safely and sensibly. Pupils have high moral standards and are indignant if individuals misbehave. Attitudes are good, although pupils occasionally show a reluctance to write. Foundation Stage children quickly settle to routines and learn to share sensibly. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Success is celebrated and pupils frequently reflect on the lives of others, especially those from other countries, such as the children in a Ugandan School with which Mowbray has close links. The school council and ‘Mowbray Mates’ give pupils excellent opportunities to demonstrate their growing sense of social responsibility, especially towards younger pupils. Pupils are eager to join these groups, which make an excellent

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Grade: 2

contribution to the development of a strong school community. The way the school combines good academic progress and the promotion of independence and responsibility stands pupils in excellent stead for future economic and social well-being. Pupils take a lot of exercise and show good awareness of healthy habits.

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Grade: 2

Teaching and learning are good. Work is carefully planned and varied well to meet individual needs. Mixed age classes are well managed. Lessons in the Foundation Stage Unit include a wide range of whole class, small group and individual activities which suit children’s learning styles well. Teachers are confident. They maintain good behaviour by making learning interesting and keeping pupils involved. Occasionally, teachers dwell over-long on discussion with pupils. The pupils like this; they answer questions keenly and sensibly and clearly demonstrate their understanding. It is when they are asked to express themselves in writing that reluctance is occasionally encountered. Pupils do not have enough opportunities to take notes and to develop a stronger interest in writing. Teaching assistants provide invaluable support to pupils and teachers, often working with small groups of pupils working at a different level

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Grade: 2

to the rest of the class. Teachers keep a good check on pupils’ progress and often use examples of pupils’ work to show the class what hard working pupils have achieved. This serves to encourage learners and help uncertain ones. 3 Inspection Report: Mowbray First School, 14 March 2006 to 15 March 2006

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is good. It is well planned and meets all requirements. A wide range of visits, visitors and clubs helps make learning memorable. There is a good focus on literacy, numeracy, science and information and communication technology (ICT). The good programme of personal, social, health, and citizenship education greatly aids the personal development of pupils. Work is sensitively adapted to allow pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, or those who are gifted or talented, to make good progress. The good indoor curriculum in the Foundation Stage allows all children to be involved in key activities whilst also having opportunities for free choice. The outdoor learning area is due for development and is currently satisfactory. Reception pupils in the mixed age class are being somewhat rushed into a Key Stage 1 curriculum and facilities in this class are not as well suited to the learning needs of these children

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Grade: 2

as they are in the Foundation Stage unit.

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Grade: 2

Good care, guidance and support are extended to all pupils. Parents of children in the Foundation Stage are appreciative of the guidance they receive about helping their children to learn letter sounds and recognise numbers. Safety checks are rigorous and pupils are well protected. Learning difficulties are quickly and accurately assessed and good support is given. Gifted and talented pupils are identified and helped to fulfil their potential. Parents are regularly consulted. They are given good information about their children’s progress and how they can contribute. Training for family learning through emotional health and well-being is being developed through a good link with the school nurse and the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service. The school council and ‘Mowbray Mates’ are outstanding in their work to promote safety and welfare around the school. The marking of pupils’ work is good but comments about

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Grade: 2

how work could be improved occasionally serve more as a reminder to teachers than informing and encouraging pupils.

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Grade: 2

Good leadership, management and governance have brought about many changes for the better in recent years. They have contributed greatly to the raising of standards and the school’s increasingly good reputation in the community. The headteacher and her deputy form a good team. Their capacity to keep making improvements is greatly helped by a good system of monitoring and evaluation which clearly identifies strengths and weaknesses and takes good account of the views of parents and pupils. The subject leader role is developing well and there are good improvement plans for each subject. Teachers’ planning files are regularly checked and helpful comments made about how they could be improved. Teaching is frequently observed but points for development are occasionally not made clear. Pupils with learning and physical difficulties are fully 4 Inspection Report: Mowbray First School, 14 March 2006 to 15 March 2006

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Grade: 2

included in all activities but reception children in the mixed age class are not getting as good a deal as those in the unit. Financial planning and school administration are good and contribute greatly to the smooth, efficient running of the school. Governors have been a huge support. They have played an invaluable role in appointing good new staff, especially for the Foundation Stage, and guiding extensive redevelopment of the accommodation. 5 Inspection Report: Mowbray First School, 14 March 2006 to 15 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: Mowbray First School, 14 March 2006 to 15 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 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 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 1 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 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 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 Ofsted helpline 08456 404045 The Children Mowbray First School Stakeford Lane Guide Post Choppington Northumberland NE62 5HQ 16 March 2006 Dear Children It was a real pleasure to visit your school. It was heartening to see you brimming with enthusiasm and to hear you saying nice things about your school. We liked what we saw. Those of you in the Foundation Stage unit are getting off to a really good start. The rest of you are also doing well, your teachers are good and you are making good progress. We didn’t see any naughtiness at all. That’s good. Most of the time you work hard, but some of you would rather talk about things than write about them. Lessons seem fun and it’s good to see you meet lots of visitors. Those of you on the school council are doing a great job. It’s good for pupils to give staff hints about how you think the school could be

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

improved. Well done also you ‘Mowbray Mates’. How good it is to see what a force for good you are and the help you give to younger children. A lot of the success of the school is down to you and your good headteacher. She’s rightly proud of you and the staff. The school is very popular which means that many children want to come so a few of the reception age children have had to be moved into the Year 1 class. They are doing well there but we’ve asked the school to make sure that you’re not missing any reception class work. Good luck for the future. Alastair Younger Lead inspector

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