Christ Church Primary School

Inspection Report Christ Church Infants' School

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124034 Unique Reference Number Staffordshire LEA 281609 Inspection number 7 February 2006 to 7 February 2006 Inspection dates Lois Furness AI Reporting inspector

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

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Dale Street School address Infant Type of school Burton-on-Trent Community School category Staffordshire DE14 3TE 3 to 7 Age range of pupils 01283 239 445 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01283 239 445 Fax number 126 Number on roll Mrs Sue Marbrow Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs June McCarthy Headteacher 28 February 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 281609 7 February 2006 - 3 to 7 7 February 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 two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

Christchurch Infant and Nursery School is smaller than most schools. More pupils than usual are entitled to a school meal free of charge. Eight ethnic backgrounds are represented in the school. The majority of pupils are either of White British or of Pakistani origin. Approximately one quarter is at an early stage of learning English. Children’s attainment on entry to the Nursery is low, particularly in their language and literacy skills. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties is close to the national average.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Christ Church Infants' School, 7 February 2006 to 7 February 2006

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Grade: 2

Christchurch Infant and Nursery is a good school. This evaluation confirms the school’s view of its effectiveness. Parents and carers are right to be very pleased with what the school provides. By the end of Year 2, standards have reached the national average. This shows good achievement from when children first start at school. Although pupils read simple texts fluently, their comprehension skills or ‘reading for meaning’ skills are not as good. This affects the progress of the more able pupils in reading, and in mathematics as they try to read and understand word problems. Teaching and learning are good. Teaching is lively and captures the interest of the pupils. Pupils are therefore eager and interested learners. The feedback given to pupils about the quality of their work is inconsistent. Pupils are not always clear about the good features of their work and how they can improve. Learning in the Foundation Stage (nursery and reception)

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Grade: 2

is good. Children settle quickly in a secure, caring environment where they make good progress. Leadership and management are good. The leadership provides a clear steer to the work of the school and the school improvement plan is a useful tool to support school improvement. Although attendance is satisfactory, not enough is done to analyse patterns of absence to raise levels of attendance further. Governance is satisfactory. Governors are supportive, but their role of questioning and evaluating is not well established. Therefore, they are not fully contributing to school improvement. The school has responded well to the issues arising from the previous inspection and is well placed to continue to improve. The school gives good value for money.

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What the school should do to improve further

•Develop pupils’ ‘reading for meaning’ skills in English and mathematics. •Involve pupils in knowing more about the good features of their work and how they can make their work better. •Increase governors’ involvement in evaluating and influencing the school’s development. •Analyse data more effectively to raise levels of attendance further.

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Grade: 2

Pupils’ achievements are good. By the end of Reception, children make good progress. Standards, though, in all areas of learning, apart from in personal, social and emotional development, remain below those expected for their age. Children’s achievement in personal, social and emotional development is very good. Pupils’ progress in Years 1 and 2 is also good. Standards in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 2 are broadly average. More able pupils achieve well in writing, but too few pupils attain the higher Level 3 in reading and mathematics. Although pupils have a good knowledge of letters, letter sounds and words, their understanding of what they have read is not as good. This affects the progress of the more able pupils in reading. It also affects them in mathematics as they try to understand word problems. Pupils who are at an early stage of learning English do well because the teaching meets their

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Grade: 2

2 Inspection Report: Christ Church Infants' School, 7 February 2006 to 7 February 2006 needs. Also, pupils with learning difficulties get good support and make good progress. The challenging targets the school set for pupils’ achievements in 2005 were not met. The school realises that these targets were too ambitious and those for 2006 are more realistic.

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Grade: 2

Pupils’ personal development, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, is good. They really enjoy coming to school. Behaviour is good. Pupils understand the need for rules, as one pupil said ‘So we all know what to do to be good’, and obey them well. They play and work happily together and know the importance of keeping safe. They support each other well; for example, they keep a careful lookout for anyone who might be waiting at the ‘friendship stop’ because they are lonely. Pupils’ attendance is only satisfactory, as a few parents take their children out of school for extended holidays. Good emphasis is placed on being healthy. Every day starts with ‘Fit and Fun’ for all staff and pupils. Therefore, pupils know that exercise is a good thing to set you up for the day. Almost all pupils choose the healthy option at lunch time. Pupils learn to be part of a community and develop a good sense of

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Grade: 2

responsibility. They take on eagerly roles of school councillors, deciding where money should be spent to improve the school. Their good level of cooperation, together with their good progress in developing basic skills, prepares them well for life when they leave this school.

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Grade: 2

Teaching and learning are good. Pupils enjoy lessons because often activities are chosen that will capture the pupils’ imagination. In Year 1, for example, ‘Monty the Dragon’ was found in a bag, so pupils had to find out how he was feeling by asking him questions. The pupils were totally captivated, and worked hard without any interruptions for the whole of the lesson. Support assistants take an active part in developing such activities, particularly for those pupils with learning difficulties or for those who are at an early stage of learning English. Teachers have a good idea of how well pupils are doing, but the quality of the feedback they give to them is inconsistent. Marking, for example, is too often limited to ticks, or to comments which do not show pupils clearly the good aspects of their work or how they can make it better. Teaching in the Nursery and Reception classes is good. Here teachers place a good emphasis

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Grade: 2

on developing children’s personal skills. Children in Reception, for example, are given a great deal of independence, such as looking for words around the room, so they quickly learn the importance of acting responsibly. 3 Inspection Report: Christ Church Infants' School, 7 February 2006 to 7 February 2006

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is good, meeting the needs and interests of the pupils well. Good attention is given to the basic skills of reading, writing and mathematics. Work with computers is lagging a bit behind, but the school is already working on this aspect of learning. The staff make good use of resources including the accommodation, displaying pupils' work effectively to support learning. Pupils with learning difficulties get work that is set at just the right level to enable them to meet their targets. Those who are at an early stage of learning English receive extra help with language, so they can catch up with others in their class. Pupils’ personal development is well supported by many of the activities. For example, there is a strong emphasis on staying fit and healthy through clubs such as ‘Active Hour’, the football club and ‘Lads and Dads’. The school also works hard to broaden pupils’ experiences by, for example, visiting

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Grade: 2

the seaside, as many have never seen the sea before, or visiting churches and mosques to learn about different religions.

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Grade: 2

Care, guidance and support for pupils are all good. Parents are very appreciative of the school’s work in these areas. All adults know the pupils well and are alert to any concerns that may arise. Child protection and health and safety procedures are good. Any pupils who are at risk are identified and supported effectively. Teachers have a good idea of how individual pupils are progressing. However, assessment information has only just started to be collected together to get a clear picture of how different groups or classes are progressing. Similarly, the school is not yet analysing data on attendance to spot any patterns that might be emerging. Effective strategies, though, such as the ‘Burton Bunny’, are used to remind pupils how important good attendance is. The recently introduced initiative of telephoning parents on the first day their child is absent is helping to do the same for parents.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good. The headteacher provides good direction for the work of the school and has a good understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for further development. This understanding is shared with all staff who work together effectively as a team. Self-evaluation is thorough and action planning is clearly focused on what is needed to move forward. For example, the school has recognised that its tracking of pupils’ progress needs to be more rigorous and a new, more effective system has been introduced. Governance of the school is satisfactory. Governors are supportive, but their role of questioning and evaluating the school’s work is still at the development stage. They know they have more to do to contribute fully to the school’s continued improvement. The school has good links with external agencies and works very closely with parents. ‘Family Learning’ encourages parents

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Grade: 2

4 Inspection Report: Christ Church Infants' School, 7 February 2006 to 7 February 2006 to take an active interest in what their children do at school and this boosts their children’s learning. The improvement made since the last inspection and the actions taken so far to raise achievement indicate that the school is getting better and has a good capacity to continue to do so. 5 Inspection Report: Christ Church Infants' School, 7 February 2006 to 7 February 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: Christ Church Infants' School, 7 February 2006 to 7 February 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 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 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 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 NA 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 talking to us and showing us your work when we visited your school. We enjoyed meeting you and seeing what you do. What we liked about your school •Your headteacher makes sure that your school is a happy place to be. •You have good teachers to help you with your learning. •You enjoy school and your behaviour is good. •You are very willing to help one another and look after anyone who is lonely. •You make healthy choices at lunchtime and know that exercise everyday is important. •Your parents really like the school and feel you learn well. What we have asked your school to do now to make it even better •Although you know your letters and letter sounds some of you do not always understand what you are reading. We have asked your teachers to help you to understand better the texts that you read both in English and mathematics. •We have also asked your teachers to make sure that you know which parts of your work are really good and to give you help in making

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

other parts better. •We have asked the governors to find out more about what you are doing in school so they can help your headteacher and teachers make your school even more successful. Thank you again for the warm welcome you gave us.

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