Chadsmoor CofE (VC) Junior School

Inspection Report Chadsmoor CofE (C) Junior School

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124240 Unique Reference Number Staffordshire LEA 281668 Inspection number 7 December 2005 to 8 December 2005 Inspection dates Peter Clifton AI Reporting inspector

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

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Burns Street School address Junior Type of school Chadsmoor Voluntary controlled School category Cannock, Staffordshire WS11 6DR 7 to 11 Age range of pupils

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01543 511000 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01543 511505 Fax number 233 Number on roll Mrs Pam Cork Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Barbara Herszenhorn Headteacher 11 October 1999 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 281668 7 December 2005 - 7 to 11 8 December 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

The inspection was carried out by two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

The school is situated between Cannock and Hednesford in an area recognised for its social and economic deprivation. The number of pupils has fallen since the last inspection, and the school is now of average size. The proportion of pupils taking free school meals is slightly above average. Nearly all pupils are from a White British background. The proportion with learning difficulties has been below average for the past two years. Few pupils join or leave the school other than at the usual time. The results of national tests taken by the pupils in Year 2, before they join the school, show that attainment is average.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Chadsmoor CofE (C) Junior School, 7 December 2005 to 8 December 2005

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Grade: 4

In accordance with section 13 (3) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector (HMCI) is of the opinion that this school requires special measures because it is failing to give its pupils a satisfactory standard of education and the persons responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. The school’s overall effectiveness is inadequate and it provides unsatisfactory value for money, even though a large majority of parents are pleased with what it offers. Standards have been significantly below the national average for the past four years. A large proportion of pupils are underachieving in English, mathematics and science, and making inadequate progress from their standards on entry to the school. The progress made by more-able pupils is poor, particularly in mathematics. The school is not meeting targets set in English or mathematics. The school judges itself, incorrectly,

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Grade: 4

to be good. Progress from the previous inspection is unsatisfactory. The main reasons that the school has not remedied its weaknesses are because the leadership has not focused sufficiently well on raising standards through improving the quality of teaching and learning, and because it underestimates the pupils’ standards on entry to the school. The evidence from observing lessons, looking at the pupils’ work and analysing their progress indicates that teaching is inadequate. On too many occasions, the work given to pupils is either too easy or too hard. The curriculum is unsatisfactory and too much time is spent on activities that are undemanding. The school provides well for pupils’ personal needs and physical care but there are weaknesses in guidance for their academic needs.

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What the school should do to improve further

•Improve the quality of teaching by ensuring that activities are better matched to the pupils’ level of understanding. •Improve the quality of leadership and management by making monitoring and evaluation more rigorous in identifying weaknesses and pursuing improvement. •Raise expectations across the school by giving more weight to the results of the Key Stage 1 national tests.

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Grade: 4

Pupils enter the school with average standards but attainment when they leave is significantly below average. The pupils make inadequate progress in English, mathematics and science. In each of the last three years, their lack of progress has placed the school in the bottom 5% of schools nationally. In 2005, there was an improvement in the proportion of pupils reaching the higher Level 5, which the school attributes to the intensive support programme it is using. 2 Inspection Report: Chadsmoor CofE (C) Junior School, 7 December 2005 to 8 December 2005 At the time of the last inspection, standards were average in English and science but below average in mathematics. Since this time, standards have declined, with mathematics remaining the weakest subject. The progress made by more-able pupils is poor, particularly in mathematics where only one third of pupils make the expected gains. In English, their progress is better but

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Grade: 4

still inadequate, with about two thirds achieving as well as they should do by the time they leave the school. Pupils who have learning difficulties and disabilities have also underachieved over time, although they were often well supported in the lessons seen during the inspection. The school judges standards at the beginning of Year 3 to be lower than those achieved in the national tests when the pupils were in Year 2. As a result, its targets are lower than they ought to be but the school still fails to reach them.

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Grade: 3

Although the school rates this area as outstanding, inspectors judge it to be satisfactory. The pupils’ behaviour in classes and their attitudes to learning are satisfactory. Many pupils are keen and want to do well and show this in their responses to questions. However, a minority of pupils do not pay sufficient attention. In assembly, older pupils are not as attentive as younger ones and need to be settled before prayers. Pupils move around the school with consideration for others, but there are a few instances of silly behaviour. Attendance is average. The pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is satisfactory. Generally, they enjoy school because they feel well cared for and safe. They say that the school is largely without bullying. The pupils are aware of the importance of exercise and eating healthily because this knowledge is developed effectively through the curriculum. During lunchtimes, pupils expend considerable amounts of energy playing games

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Grade: 3

together or on the scooters provided by the school. Pupils make a good contribution to the community through their organisation of charitable events. Key skills such as writing and mathematics, which are crucial for their future well-being, are underdeveloped.

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Grade: 4

The quality of teaching is inadequate, although the school views it as good. Some lesson planning is very brief and results in teachers providing a narrow range of activities, which they over-direct. Teachers sometimes move on too quickly before all groups of pupils are secure in their learning. On other occasions, the work is too easy, 3 Inspection Report: Chadsmoor CofE (C) Junior School, 7 December 2005 to 8 December 2005 especially for the more-able pupils. Good teaching was observed in Year 4 because the lesson, about telling the time, was well planned and took account of the pupils’ differing levels of understanding. Teaching assistants provide satisfactory support in lessons. They are sometimes used well to support specific groups and pupils who have learning difficulties, but they are not always involved sufficiently in planning. The use of assessment is unsatisfactory. Targets are not securely identified and shared

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Grade: 4

with pupils; as a result, pupils are not clear about how well they are achieving and what they need to do to improve. Marking is variable; some is supportive, but a lot does not give pupils enough feedback. A variety of assistants and instructors teach the pupils for 10% of the week. Their planning is brief and objectives are sometimes not clear. While the sessions are enjoyable for pupils, the teaching is not sufficiently well focused on raising achievement.

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Grade: 4

The curriculum is inadequate in catering for the range of pupils. The planning of the curriculum was an issue in the last inspection and weaknesses still remain. The curriculum satisfactorily meets the needs and interests of those who have specific learning difficulties and disabilities, and some of the individual support provided is good. Planning for more-able pupils, so that they develop skills systematically, is unsatisfactory. In addition to having lessons in the usual subjects of the National Curriculum, every year group spends 10% of the week on other curriculum activities. Half of this is spent in Karate lessons, the rest in a variety of activities such as French, dance, cookery, craft and ‘nurture’. These lessons are taught by teaching assistants and instructors. Their contribution to tackling the pupils’ underachievement is not satisfactorily monitored or evaluated and the relevance of some activities is unclear.

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Grade: 4

The provision for information and communication technology (ICT) has been developed well since the last inspection and pupils use the resources satisfactorily to support their learning. In addition, the school has successfully developed some creative aspects of the curriculum. A satisfactory range of extra-curricular activities enhances pupils’ experiences.

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Grade: 3

Care, guidance and support are satisfactory overall. Staff identify the personal, social and emotional needs of pupils well and provide good levels of individual support. Arrangements for child protection are fully in place and there are good systems for ensuring the pupils’ safety and welfare. However, guidance to help the pupils achieve high standards is weak; target setting and the monitoring of progress are inadequate. 4 Inspection Report: Chadsmoor CofE (C) Junior School, 7 December 2005 to 8 December 2005 During the inspection, the support for vulnerable pupils was at least satisfactory. Teaching assistants were usually well briefed and were able to help pupils who have learning difficulties and disabilities make good progress. Links with a wide variety of external agencies enhance the support which the school gives to pupils with particular needs. The school has effective systems for checking on absences and is working hard to

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Grade: 3

ensure that parents send their children to school regularly.

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Grade: 4

The school’s view is that leadership and management are outstanding and that improvement since the previous inspection is good. Inspectors judge the overall leadership and management of the school to be inadequate. Since the time of the previous inspection, overall standards have dropped. Little effective progress has been made on some of the key issues identified at that time, such as raising standards in mathematics and developing the monitoring and evaluation work of co-ordinators. These areas are still inadequate and, overall, insufficient progress has been made. The school’s improvement plan is not sharply focused on raising standards and progress. The school is not well placed to overcome its weaknesses and is providing unsatisfactory value for money. The school’s self-evaluation is poor and is based largely on a denial of the accuracy of the information about attainment on entry. During the inspection, the headteacher

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Grade: 4

broadly accepted the accuracy of the data for mathematics and reading, but strongly disputed the figures for writing. The governors, headteacher and teachers have too low expectations of what the pupils can achieve. Although the governing body is suitably involved in the process of self-evaluation, governors have not been provided with a sufficiently accurate view of the pupils’ overall progress. Over the past year, the school has participated in an intensive support programme to improve provision and accelerate the pupils’ progress. There are some positive signs of its impact, but it is too early to judge its overall effectiveness. There have been good improvements in the management of ICT since the previous inspection. Some of the spare rooms which have resulted from the fall in pupil numbers are used creatively. The instructors bring additional skills to the school, but their impact on raising standards and achievement is not evaluated sufficiently.

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Grade: 4

5 Inspection Report: Chadsmoor CofE (C) Junior School, 7 December 2005 to 8 December 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: Chadsmoor CofE (C) Junior School, 7 December 2005 to 8 December 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 4 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 4 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation NA No The capacity to make any necessary improvements NA No Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

NA 4 How well do learners achieve? NA 4 The standards 1 reached by learners

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Achievement and standards

NA 4 How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners NA 4 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

NA 3 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development NA 3 The behaviour of learners NA 3 The attendance of learners NA 3 How well learners enjoy their education NA 3 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 4 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 3 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 4 How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education NA 4 How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets, through quality assurance and self-review NA 4 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can NA 4 How effectively and efficiently resources are deployed to achieve value for money NA 4 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 to your school and telling us so much about it. We enjoyed talking to many of you and what you said was very helpful. We thought that your playtimes were very lively and that you get on well together. There are some big improvements needed in the school, especially with helping you to do as well as you can. What we most liked about your school: •how well the school supports your personal needs •your consideration for other pupils in the school •your understanding of the need to exercise and eat well. We have asked your headteacher to work on: •making sure your work is not too hard or too easy •ensuring that teaching is looked at carefully and regularly so that it can be improved •expecting you to make more progress from the time you join the school by using the results you get in the Year 2 tests. The adults in your school will be working hard together to make it better. To help do this, one

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

of Her Majesty’s Inspectors will visit the school regularly to check the progress you are making and the work of the school.

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