Bramcote CofE Primary School

Inspection Report Bramcote CofE Primary School

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122788 Unique Reference Number NOTTINGHAMSHIRE LEA LEA 281342 Inspection number 20 June 2006 to 21 June 2006 Inspection dates Mrs. Patricia Cox AI Reporting inspector

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

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Hanley Avenue School address Primary Type of school NG9 3HE Voluntary aided School category 4 to 11 Age range of pupils 0115 9258548 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 0115 9257329 Fax number 144 Number on roll Mrs.Cynthia Jones Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs. Sarah Carlin Headteacher 6 March 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 281342 20 June 2006 - 4 to 11 21 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 small but expanding school has pupils from mainly White British backgrounds. The proportion identified as having learning difficulties is lower than average, as is that entitled to free school meals. The proportion whose first language is not English is similar to the average. Attainment on entry to the school is generally above that typical of the children's age. The deputy headteacher, who has only been in position since September, is acting as headteacher for one term until the new headteacher takes up the post.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Bramcote CofE Primary School, 20 June 2006 to 21 June 2006

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Grade: 3

The school gives pupils a satisfactory education. The children make satisfactory progress in Reception, so standards are higher than usual when they enter Year 1. Progress is steady through the school and pupils reach above average standards at the end of Years 2 and 6. Teaching is good in many lessons, with interesting activities that involve pupils. However, it is satisfactory overall because teachers do not have thorough assessment information to match the work precisely to the needs of all pupils. The curriculum is satisfactory and includes an outstanding range of additional activities, particularly in music. However, it does not support teachers in building precisely on pupils' skills. Timetables do not make the best use of time. The school provides well for the pupils' spiritual, social, moral and cultural development. Their behaviour is good and they take responsibility extremely well. Care for the pupils' health and

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Grade: 3

wellbeing is exemplary but academic guidance is not effective enough. Leadership and management are satisfactory overall. Monitoring and evaluation have not been rigorous enough and the school has had an over-optimistic view of its effectiveness as a result. Planning for school improvement has lacked a long-term strategic view. However, the acting headteacher has provided good leadership and has quickly identified major areas needing improvement. Senior teachers and staff are eager to improve, although they have not had sufficient opportunity to develop their leadership skills and responsibilities are allocated inequitably. Governors fulfil their role satisfactorily but have not had the kind of information they need about the work of the school. Value for money is satisfactory and there is good capacity for improvement.

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What the school should do to improve further

- Monitor its work rigorously, including the thorough tracking of pupils' progress, and use what emerges to plan for long-term improvement, involving and providing information for staff and governors. - Develop target-setting and ongoing assessment so that teachers have a good view of standards and progress and the pupils are involved in measuring the progress they have made. - Review the allocation of responsibilities and develop the role of the senior management team and the subject coordinators, so that they take full responsibility for standards in their aspects and subjects. - Improve the curriculum by building in a progression of skills and organising the timetable so that it makes the best use of time.

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Grade: 3

Achievement is satisfactory. Children enter Reception with better developed skills and knowledge than is typical for their age. They make satisfactory progress, and develop their independence well, so that standards are higher than usual when they enter Year 1. Standards have regularly been above the national average at the end of Year 2 in writing and particularly in reading, but less so in mathematics. Test results at the end of Year 6 in English, mathematics and science have also been above the national 2 Inspection Report: Bramcote CofE Primary School, 20 June 2006 to 21 June 2006 average. The results in 2005 showed that the pupils had made satisfactory progress since Year 2. The Year 6 pupils exceeded their targets in 2005 and 2006, suggesting that the targets may not be challenging enough. The results in science are not as strong as English and mathematics, because scientific enquiry is underdeveloped.

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Grade: 3

Standards in information and communication technology (ICT) are rising because resources and expertise have improved. Standards in music are very high. Pupils, including those with learning difficulties make satisfactory progress overall through the school, as do the pupils whose first language is not English, as they rapidly gain fluency in the language.

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Grade: 2

Personal development and well being are good. Pupils enjoy school and their attendance is good. They behave well in lessons, at lunch and at playtime and get on very well with each other. The behaviour of the older pupils is exemplary. All those in Year 6 have responsibilities which they carry out diligently. Pupils feel safe and say that if they have a problem there is always an adult they can turn to. The school has worked well with pupils to promote healthy lifestyles and this is very evident in the school meals, which the pupils thoroughly enjoy. The school takes pupils' views seriously and considers their suggestions for changes to improve the school, particularly through the work of the school council. They held interviews for playground 'Buddies' and were closely involved in the appointment of the new headteacher. These opportunities contribute well to their growth as good citizens and help to prepare them for the

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Grade: 2

future. Overall, provision for social, moral, spiritual and cultural development is good; the school ensures that pupils have a good understanding that not everyone has the same opportunities in life that they have. Spirituality is central to the work of the school. Pupils make a good contribution to the community, particularly through the school's close links with the Church.

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Grade: 3

Teaching and learning are satisfactory. Teachers have good relationships with pupils and lessons mostly proceed smoothly. Lessons are planned well and teachers focus on what they want pupils to learn, often giving them key points with which to check their work. Pupils with learning difficulties receive good support. Staff who teach Reception children have a clear understanding of their needs, balancing their requirements with those of the Year 1 pupils in the class and developing their independence. There is much good, lively teaching through the school that involves the pupils and moves them on rapidly. For example, during an ICT/music lesson, the teacher built precisely on the pupils' skills and ensured that they kept up with the rapid pace. However, the school is at an early stage in using some recent innovations such as paired discussions. Ongoing assessment is insufficiently developed, so teachers have too little information

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Grade: 3

3 Inspection Report: Bramcote CofE Primary School, 20 June 2006 to 21 June 2006 about their pupils' progress. Consequently, some tasks are not well matched to their needs, for example when pupils of average ability do the same work as the less able. Teaching assistants give good support to the groups and individuals they work with, although their time is not always used effectively at the beginnings of lessons.

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Grade: 3

The curriculum is satisfactory. Staff in the reception and Year 1 class plan activities that meet the requirements of the Foundation Stage curriculum and Key Stage 1. The curriculum map ensures that there is no repetition of topics through the school. However, teachers have little guidance in planning to build on pupils' skills. Writing and problem-solving are not developed sufficiently through the curriculum. Timetables do not use time efficiently and there is some slippage during the day. The curriculum is enriched by German for older pupils and by the 'theme' days and weeks, with a focus on a particular subject. An outstanding range of out of school clubs, particularly for music, extends opportunities for pupils. The curriculum includes a comprehensive programme for personal, social and health education, encouraging pupils to look after themselves. The school provides well for those with learning difficulties. They are

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Grade: 3

identified early and their targets are specific. Their individual education plans are written extremely well, in language that is accessible to them.

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Grade: 2

Care for pupils is good. The school takes exemplary care of their health and safety and well-being. Child protection arrangements, risk assessments and health and safety procedures are fully in place. Pupils are taught about risks, for example through road safety lessons. They say there is no bullying and that if there are difficulties with relationships, the staff resolve them quickly. The school works closely with parents, keeping them well-informed about any concerns. However, academic guidance is not yet effective enough. Teachers are developing the use of targets to help pupils to understand what they have achieved and what they need to do to improve. They are beginning to involve the pupils in measuring their own success. However, marking is making a limited contribution to assessing pupils' progress and giving them little guidance about the level at which they are working.

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Grade: 3

Leadership and management are satisfactory overall and are improving, giving the school the capacity to improve. The acting headteacher has provided good leadership and has made significant progress in identifying the key areas for improvement. In consultation with the incoming headteacher, several important measures have been introduced in a short time, and staff work well as a team. The acting headteacher's analysis of the school is realistic, and action is appropriate. She is developing the work 4 Inspection Report: Bramcote CofE Primary School, 20 June 2006 to 21 June 2006 of the senior management team, which is becoming increasingly involved with planning for improvement. However, responsibilities are allocated inequitably and the role of the subject coordinator has not been developed adequately. Some monitoring of lessons has been carried out and points given for improvement. However, evaluations

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Grade: 3

rarely focus on the impact of the teaching on the pupils' learning. Test results have been analysed, so that the school has a view of the relative strengths of subjects but the tracking of pupils' attainment does not give a clear view of the progress they make. Therefore the school has had an unrealistic view of its effectiveness. Planning for school improvement has not addressed the school's major issues or given a long-term strategic view of the school. There has been insufficient rigour in monitoring progress and measuring success. Governors and staff have not been involved enough in the planning. Nevertheless, governance is satisfactory. The governors are hard-working and have a good range of expertise. They are involved well in the school but have not been given information in the form they needed in order to hold it to account. 5 Inspection Report: Bramcote CofE Primary School, 20 June 2006 to 21 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: Bramcote CofE Primary School, 20 June 2006 to 21 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 3 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 3 How well do learners achieve? NA 2 The standards 1 reached by learners

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Achievement and standards

NA 3 How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners NA 3 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 2 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 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 3 How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education NA 3 How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets, through quality assurance and self-review NA 3 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can NA 3 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 very much for the way you welcomed me to your school this week and for the friendly way you talked to me. I wanted to let you know what I found out about your school. I enjoyed the discussions I had with many of you and thought you were very interesting and polite. Most of you behave well in lessons but a few of you could pay attention more. The Year 5 and 6 children are very mature and their behaviour is excellent. The school council works very hard and the members are very good at their job. I agree with you that your teachers are very nice to you and help you when you have problems. They are keen to help you do well. I think you read and write well and your maths is good, although some of you could do even better. Some of your lessons are really interesting and you really enjoy ICT, art and the marvellous music you do. The school looks after you very well and you have lots of things to do after school and at

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

lunchtime. But there are times when the work isn't quite right for you, it's either too hard or too easy, because your teachers don't keep track of how well you're doing. I think they could improve the way they mark your work and involve you in checking how good your work is. They also need to make sure that the work you do in class is right for your year group. I think that the school could be organised a bit better, so that teachers have a better idea of what needs to be improved. They could then plan to make it happen. But Mrs Carlin is starting to make a lot of good changes and I'm sure that your new headteacher will help to make your school even better.

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