Leen Mills Primary School

Inspection Report Leen Mills Primary School

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122589 Unique Reference Number NOTTINGHAMSHIRE LEA LEA 281301 Inspection number 13 June 2006 to 14 June 2006 Inspection dates Mr. David Martin LI Reporting inspector

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

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Leen Mills Lane School address Primary Type of school NG15 8BZ Community School category 4 to 11 Age range of pupils 0115 9536688 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 0115 9536692 Fax number 267 Number on roll Mr.Barry Scarbro Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mr. John White Headteacher 13 March 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 281301 13 June 2006 - 4 to 11 14 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 one of Her Majesty's Inspectors and two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

Leen Mills is a popular school on the Linby/Hucknall boundary. It serves a former mining community that is enjoying some economic growth. The proportion of pupils taking free school meals is fairly low.. There is considerable pupil mobility, particularly in the later years. As this is mainly of higher ability pupils it has some impact on the performance of different cohorts, with only around two-thirds of pupils continuing to Year 6. Most pupils are from a White British background with a small number from a minority ethnic heritage.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Leen Mills Primary School, 13 June 2006 to 14 June 2006

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Grade: 2

Leen Mills is a good school with some outstanding features. These include positive pupil attitudes and an enjoyment of learning, the pursuit of healthy lifestyles and the engagement of pupils through enjoyable lessons and a rich curriculum. Leadership and management are good. The headteacher has established an effective and caring staff through a strong commitment to team working. He provides a good role model and is ably supported by a recently re-structured senior team. School planning is good and involves all staff and governors. This sets clear priorities for future development, always with the intention of improving learning for pupils. The school knows its strengths and areas for improvement, and this is reflected in honest, accurate self-evaluation. The senior team monitor classroom practice regularly, and classroom teachers monitor the progress of pupils well. However, coordinators could have more

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Grade: 2

opportunity to track developments in their own subject areas. Governors know the school well through visits, links to subjects and information provided by school staff. They are prepared to challenge as well as give valuable support to the school. Consequently, the school has improved a great deal since the previous inspection and has a strong capacity to develop even further. It provides good value for money. Effective team work and curriculum management are reflected in the richness of learning opportunities provided by the school. The senior leadership team constantly seeks to improve the curriculum by creating effective links between subjects so that activities are meaningful and relevant. The curriculum is organised well so that pupils in the mixed age classes experience the same opportunities as they move through the school. However, planning different tasks to match pupils' ability is an area for further

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Grade: 2

development, to enable more able pupils to do even better. The curriculum is effective in promoting pupils' personal development and the provision for personal, social and health education is good. Pupils' awareness of safety issues is raised effectively. Appropriate training is given in sex and relationships education and pupils' awareness of drugs and harmful substances is promoted well. Curriculum enrichment is a particularly strong feature. There are lots of extra-curricular activities open to pupils of all ages and some, such as those linked to physical activities and music have specialist tuition. Pupils benefit from a range of visits to places of interest linked to a wide range of subjects. Through these they are able to develop information and communication technology (ICT) skills, outdoor adventure skills and build an appreciation of the lives of children from cultural backgrounds different from their own. This curriculum is very

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Grade: 2

well taught by staff who have good knowledge and expertise, plan carefully and have a wide range of styles that make learning fun. Expectations are very high and there is a good level of challenge. Resources are used creatively and ICT, especially electronic whiteboards, have made a significant difference recently. Teachers use assessment information well to adapt their planning and delivery, and to track pupils' progress carefully. Teaching assistants contribute effectively by supporting different groups of learners in the classroom, particularly those with learning difficulties or disabilities. As a result of this consistently good provision, pupils' attitudes to learning are outstanding. They are keen to engage with adults and each other, working independently with confidence. The quality of provision in the Foundation Stage is 2 Inspection Report: Leen Mills Primary School, 13 June 2006 to 14 June 2006

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Grade: 2

equally effective, and pupils make good progress in learning and personal development. Pupils are safe and feel secure, gaining an enjoyment of learning that continues in the main school. As a result of the good provision outlined above, pupils make good progress throughout the school. They enter the Foundation Stage at, or in some areas just below national expectations. By the time they start Year 1 they have progressed to standards broadly in line with national averages. Pupils continue to make good progress throughout the school, with results in 2005 at the end of Year 2 and Year 6 that were above national averages. The school provides high quality care and support for all pupils. All procedures for child protection and to ensure their health, safety and well-being are fully in place. A strong feature is the school's highly effective action to support pupils' personal and emotional needs. Pupils are confident that they are

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Grade: 2

valued and consequently show high levels of enjoyment in being at school. Their spiritual, moral social and cultural development is good. This is reflected in exemplary behaviour in lessons and around school, very positive attitudes to learning and to each other. Despite this, pupils' attendance is only satisfactory, mainly because too many pupils are taken out of school for their annual holidays. Provision is made to help pupils feel safe in and out of school and pupils know there is always someone they can go to for help and advice. Pupils respond extremely well to the school's moves to promote a healthy lifestyle, through taking opportunities to eat healthily and to take part in physical activity. All pupils have good opportunities to contribute to school life through the class and school councils, where pupils' requests are carefully considered. Good progress in literacy, numeracy and ICT, and opportunities to become young

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Grade: 2

entrepreneurs, give them the skills to prepare them well for their future lives.

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What the school should do to improve further

- Increase the role of coordinators in monitoring and evaluating teaching, learning and achievement in their subjects. - Plan consistently for different abilities as well as age, to ensure that all pupils achieve as well as they can. - Work with parents to ensure that pupils attend during term time in order to take advantage of the good learning opportunities available.

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Grade: 2

Pupils are broadly at expected levels on entry to the school. By the end of Year 2 they make good progress and attain standards above the national average. This progress is maintained in Key Stage 2 and they attain above average standards at the end of Year 6. All groups of pupils, including those with learning difficulties and disablilities, achieve well and make similarly good overall progress. In 2005 English results in Year 2 and science results in Year 6 were particularly strong, whilst progress in mathematics in Key Stage 2 was weaker. 3 Inspection Report: Leen Mills Primary School, 13 June 2006 to 14 June 2006

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Grade: 2

Personal development is good overall. Pupils' behaviour and their enjoyment of school are excellent, but due to holidays taken during term time, attendance is average. The extent to which they take on a healthy lifestyle through healthy eating and taking part in physical exercise is outstanding. Pupils know how to keep themselves safe and are prepared well for their future lives.

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Grade: 2

Teaching is good across the school in all classes. Particular strengths are the consistent planning and lively delivery of lessons and the good use of assessment information. As a result, pupils have very positive attitudes and are eager to learn. Classrooms are interesting, stimulating places where everyone learns and has fun. Whilst progress is universally good, lessons could sometimes be even more closely matched to the different abilities of pupils, particularly the more able, to ensure that all pupils make the best possible progress.

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Grade: 2

The breadth and quality of learning opportunities are good. Strong areas are the added richness brought to the curriculum through attention given to the music and the arts and to developing pupils' physical skills. Interesting cross curricular links between art, design and technology, ICT and other subjects promote interest, make learning enjoyable and add to the progress that pupils make.

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Grade: 2

The school shows very high levels of commitment to the personal care of all pupils. Great attention is taken to ensure that all pupils are able to work and play in a very safe environment. Pupils achieve good academic and personal standards because their progress is tracked effectively and, through a good level of involvement in assessing their known progress, pupils have a good idea of how well they are doing and how they can further improve their performance.

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Grade: 2

The leadership and management of the school are very effective. The headteacher sets a tone and spirit of teamwork that is well supported by senior staff. All adults 4 Inspection Report: Leen Mills Primary School, 13 June 2006 to 14 June 2006 play their part in managing and monitoring aspects of the school's work and are well supported by an active, knowledgeable governing body. There is a creative use of resources to employ specialist teaching in music and physical education which has resulted in high quality provision in these areas. Because self-evaluation is effective, the school has rightly identified the need to develop further the role of coordinators in leading their subjects. Nevertheless, the school is strongly placed to make further improvements. 5 Inspection Report: Leen Mills Primary School, 13 June 2006 to 14 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: Leen Mills Primary School, 13 June 2006 to 14 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 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 1 The behaviour of learners NA 3 The attendance of learners NA 1 How well learners enjoy their education NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 1 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 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

You may remember having some visiting inspectors in your school a few weeks ago. I am writing to tell you what we found when we watched you at work in your classrooms and around the school. All the adults and children in the school are very friendly and care a great deal about each other. As somebody said to me - 'Our teachers are just so nice!' You were also very friendly and helpful to us and this made our visit a real pleasure. Thank you for being so happy to talk to us and show us your work. You, and your parents, told us that Leen Mills is a good school, and we agree. There are some things that the school does really well. Your school day is made interesting and fun because adults plan your work very carefully. We heard a lot of laughter, but you also worked very hard and were keen to do well. Your behaviour was super at all times in class and around the school. You know that there is always someone to help if you are having

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

problems with work or if you are unhappy. You are lucky to have good music and PE teachers who help your class teachers to give you a wide range of things to do. This includes some busy clubs and activities before and after school. You also told us about some of the enjoyable trips and visits that you make. Visitors to the school told us that your school was their favourite! You are healthy and eat well, enjoying the fruit and lovely lunches provided for you. We know that Mr White and all the staff are keen to make the school even better. We have asked teachers to make sure that your work is always at the right level for you, so that you can all do as well as possible. Teachers will check that this is the case in all subjects. We hope that you continue to enjoy your time at Leen Mills and feel sure that you will go on to the next school as happy, confident learners. Thank you once again for the chance to work with you for two lovely days.

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