Radcliffe-on-Trent Junior School

Inspection Report Radcliffe-on-Trent Junior School

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122670 Unique Reference Number NOTTINGHAMSHIRE LEA LEA 281321 Inspection number 19 September 2005 to 20 September 2005 Inspection dates Ms. Sheelagh Barnes LI Reporting inspector

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

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Cropwell Road School address Junior Type of school NG12 2FS Community School category 7 to 12 Age range of pupils 01159110193 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01159110194 Fax number 263 Number on roll Mrs.Margaret-Anne Dickie Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mr. Steve Arnold Headteacher 22 May 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 281321 19 September 2005 - 7 to 12 20 September 2005 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

Three additional inspectors carried out the inspection

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Description of the school

This junior school is the same size as most schools nationally. It is situated in Radcliffe-on-Trent, near Nottingham, in Nottinghamshire. The number of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is the same as in most schools and there are average proportions of pupils with special educational needs. Virtually all of the pupils come from White British backgrounds and speak English as their first language. There are slight variations in the make up of groups of pupils who enter the school year-on-year, but the standards they have attained before they start are consistently above average overall.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Radcliffe-on-Trent Junior School, 19 September 2005 to 20 September 2005

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Grade: 2

This is a good school that provides good value for money. Inspectors agree with the school's own evaluation of its effectiveness. The quality of leadership is good and the clarity of self-evaluation by the headteacher and governors has enabled the school to raise standards over the last few years. There has been a good level of improvement since the previous inspection, particularly in the standards pupils attain and consequently the school is in a good position to continue this improvement. It is aware of the need to refine and improve the rigour of its planning and self-evaluation still further to become even more effective. The quality of teaching is good across the whole school. Teachers have a good knowledge of the pupils they teach and use this well when planning lessons to meet the needs of all groups. They mark work regularly and let pupils know how well they have completed each task. But they do not always

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Grade: 2

use their knowledge to track the progress of individual pupils through the school or to share with them and their parents the precise next steps they need to take to improve their work still further. There are good partnerships with parents, other schools and agencies, which promote pupils' well-being effectively. The curriculum is very well planned and includes an exceptionally good range of activities not only to develop pupils' academic skills but also their personal and social skills. Opportunities to develop pupils' spiritual awareness are satisfactory. The behaviour of pupils and their involvement and enjoyment of all of the activities the school provides are outstanding.

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What the school should do to improve further

- Sharpen self-evaluation and development planning. - Improve the use of assessment and ensure that assessment and marking are used more consistently to share with pupils what they need to do next to improve still further. - Improve the provision for pupils' spiritual development by planning regular, explicit moments for reflection and for pupils to experience awe and wonder.

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Grade: 2

The school achieved the challenging targets set for 2004 and standards in English, mathematics and science were significantly above average. Standards on entry to the school are above average overall and whilst, in the past, pupils have not always made as much progress as they should, the progress of all groups of pupils, including those with learning difficulties and disabilities, is now good. This is because teaching is generally good and more effective use is being made of assessment information to set more challenging targets and to monitor the progress of groups of pupils. Inspection evidence indicates that all groups of pupils are currently making good progress in their learning. This is reflected in the sharp rise in the 2004 National Curriculum test results in all three subjects. However, pupils make slightly better progress in mathematics and science than they do in English. Although pupils make good progress in reading

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Grade: 2

and in listening and speaking, their progress in writing is impeded by weaknesses in 2 Inspection Report: Radcliffe-on-Trent Junior School, 19 September 2005 to 20 September 2005 spelling and punctuation. The school has identified this weakness and is taking good action to tackle it.

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Grade: 2

Pupils are very committed to their learning and they enjoy school very much. They appreciate the efforts their teachers make to provide lively and stimulating lessons and a rich range of other activities. As one pupil remarked, 'There is never a dull moment in this school'. Good attendance and punctuality are further evidence that pupils really like being in school. They conduct themselves in a composed and responsible manner at all times and their behaviour is exceptionally good. The school lays very good foundations for developing pupils' skills for later life. Pupils are friendly, courteous and polite and are very aware of the wider world. They make a very good contribution to the community, particularly through charity work. They are successfully encouraged to adopt a healthy lifestyle and the annual 'healthy fortnight' contributes well to this. The school makes an outstanding contribution to pupils' social development

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Grade: 2

and a very good contribution to their moral development. As a result, pupils relate outstandingly well to one another and to adults. Many examples of older and younger pupils working and playing together illustrate these relationships. Successful improvements have been made to heightening pupils' awareness of life in a multi-cultural society. The school has also improved the contribution it makes to pupils' spiritual development and this is now satisfactory. However, it needs to ensure that more opportunities to enhance this aspect of pupils' development are built into lessons and other activities.

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Grade: 2

The quality of teaching is good overall across the whole school. All teachers and support staff are skilled in helping pupils to learn how to work together and resolve any differences and this improves the atmosphere for learning throughout the school. Initiatives developed over recent years, such as training in the use of information and communication technology have improved the effectiveness of teaching and had a positive effect on the standards pupils achieve and the progress they make. For example, teachers are now confident in using interactive white boards. They use these well to make lessons come alive for pupils, by showing clips of film or illustrating the main teaching points of a lesson. Assessment is accurate and used well overall. As a result, boys and girls from all groups, including those with special educational needs and those with English as an additional language are provided with good support.

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Grade: 2

Work is set that is at the right level for each group to understand and find interesting. However, the progress of individuals is not consistently tracked across the school to monitor the gains they make and so there is less clear information about the progress of each pupil over time. While marking is regular and tells pupils whether their work 3 Inspection Report: Radcliffe-on-Trent Junior School, 19 September 2005 to 20 September 2005 is right or wrong it does not always tell them exactly what they need to do next to attain the next level or make the next step forward. These individual targets, the results of tests and the things pupils need to work on and improve are not consistently shared with them or their parents.

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Grade: 1

The school provides an excellent, interesting and stimulating curriculum and one that is enriched by an exceptionally good range of extra-curricular activities. In order to improve pupils' writing skills, an emphasis is being placed on encouraging them to apply and develop these skills in other subjects. This is having a positive impact because of the wider range of opportunities for extended writing the initiative allows. Particularly effective use is made of information and communication technology, and this provides pupils with an underpinning skill for later learning. A high proportion of pupils take part in after-school clubs and musical and sporting activities. Participation in these activities contributes very significantly to pupils' health and wellbeing and to their social and cultural development. Through a variety of drama productions, musical events and charitable activities pupils are able to make a positive contribution to the

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Grade: 1

community. Pupils talk very enthusiastically about their visits to places of interest and they value the opportunities provided for them to take part in residential activities.

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Grade: 2

The school takes very good care of its pupils. Parents are rightly confident that their children are safe in school and that they are encouraged and guided to adopt healthy lifestyles. The school is a community where all pupils, staff and parents are valued and where the ideas and opinions of all these groups are responded to. The impact of the School Council is a very good example of how the pupil voice is heard. The school works well in partnership with parents, who contribute well to the life and work of the school. The contribution made by the school to many aspects of pupils' personal development is outstanding. As a result, relationships are excellent and pupils are confident and out-going members of the community. They are very well prepared for the next stage of their education and for working life. The school has improved the guidance it gives to pupils on how well they are doing and this information is shared

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Grade: 2

with parents. Analysis of the large amount of information the school has on pupils' achievements is improving, but it is not yet robust enough to provide a detailed picture, for each child, of what they need to do, subject by subject, to improve their work still further.

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Grade: 2

The leadership and management of the school are good. The monitoring and self-evaluation that the senior teachers and governors have undertaken are good and 4 Inspection Report: Radcliffe-on-Trent Junior School, 19 September 2005 to 20 September 2005 have provided accurate information. This information has been used realistically when planning improvements and the information has been shared with all staff. Good regard is paid to the views of parents and pupils alike. For example, their views are sought through questionnaires and School Council meetings. The effect of this good leadership has been a clear focus on improving the quality of education that the school provides. There has been improvement in the quality of teaching and the confidence of staff in using new technology. As a result, in recent years the standards pupils from all groups attain and the progress they make in English, mathematics and science have improved.

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Grade: 2

The quality of care is good and successfully promotes the well-being of pupils including those with special educational needs and those at early stages of learning English. Resources and staffing are efficiently and effectively deployed and there is a good focus on achieving good value. The school is well placed to continue to improve. It is aware that while self-evaluation and development planning have been successful so far, it needs to refine this process still further. It is also aware of the need to apply more rigour to the analysis of the impact of initiatives at subject and whole school levels if it is to raise standards of all aspects of its work still higher. 5 Inspection Report: Radcliffe-on-Trent Junior School, 19 September 2005 to 20 September 2005 .

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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: Radcliffe-on-Trent Junior School, 19 September 2005 to 20 September 2005

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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 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 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

Thank you for welcoming us into your school and being so polite and friendly. What we liked most about your school: - We were pleased that you enjoy coming to school so much and behave so very well. - We saw that you come all the time, unless you are ill and that you take care to not be late because you are so keen to learn. - Your teachers teach you well and you learn a lot. - Your parents are pleased that you come to this school. - You get the chance to learn a lot of very interesting things in lessons and in clubs. - School looks after you very well and teaches you to be safe and healthy. - Your headteacher and the governors work hard all the time to improve your school. What we have asked your school to do now: - We have asked your teachers to plan more of those moments into lessons when you learn about wonderful and amazing things that really make you stop and think about things. We want you to have more

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

moments like the one when some of you were amazed to learn that children in countries near the North Pole go to school while it is dark all day in winter. - We have asked your teachers to note even more carefully how well each one of you is doing and always to let you and your parents know exactly what is the next step you need to take in the main subjects and what you need to do to reach the next level in your work. - We have asked the school to plan even more carefully so that your school can become even better than it is. We thoroughly enjoyed visiting your school, talking to you and watching you learn and wish you well in the future.

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