Bosmere Community Primary School

Inspection Report Bosmere Community Primary School

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124674 Unique Reference Number SUFFOLK LEA LEA 281778 Inspection number 29 November 2005 to 30 November 2005 Inspection dates Mr. Ian Naylor LI Reporting inspector

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

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Quinton Road School address Primary Type of school IP6 8DA Community School category 4 to 9 Age range of pupils 01449721750 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01449721750 Fax number 237 Number on roll Mr.Richard Pittaway Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Ms. Vivian Rolph Headteacher 14 February 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 281778 29 November 2005 - 4 to 9 30 November 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

Bosmere is an averaged sized rural primary school near Ipswich. The great majority of children are from a White British heritage. The number of children identified as having learning difficulties or disabilities requiring school action is half the national average. A significant number of children attend from outside the school's normal admission area. When children join the reception class, most have the abilities of typical four-year olds. Children have a wide variety of home backgrounds.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Bosmere Community Primary School, 29 November 2005 to 30 November 2005

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Grade: 3

Inspectors agree with the school that Bosmere is an effective school providing a satisfactory level of education, with some strengths. There is a particularly strong sense of school community. This is because of friendly relationships, and children feeling safe and happy. Although there has been instability in staffing in recent years, teaching and learning are satisfactory overall with examples of good practice in mathematics. Achievement and standards overall are satisfactory. The headteacher has introduced new and exciting ideas to enrich the curriculum and improve the quality of teaching and learning. These are beginning to show good effects, for example, in children's self confidence. The headteacher with the support of staff and governors, has successfully addressed the issues arising from the last inspection. Children's speaking and listening skills have been improved. Teachers use information about

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Grade: 3

what children can do more effectively to support future learning. Provision for children whose first language is not English, is now good. The standards and the quality of provision for children in the Foundation Stage are satisfactory. The school's main strengths lie in the pupils' good personal development, the way it cares for their pastoral needs, the curriculum it provides and achievement in mathematics. Areas of weakness are in the pupils' writing skills, their attendance, and the way information and communication technology (ICT) is used across the subjects. The school has a good capacity to improve and it provides satisfactory value for money.

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What the school should do to improve further

- Raise standards and expectations of children's writing. - Provide more opportunities in ICT to help children with their work in other subjects. - Improve attendance.

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Grade: 3

Standards and achievement are satisfactory overall. Children make satisfactory progress in the nursery and reception class and begin Year 1 with standards that are broadly average. Satisfactory teaching, learning and achievement continue so by the end of Year 2 standards are broadly average. They are good in reading and mathematics, but not enough children reach higher levels in writing. This pattern of strengths and relative weaknesses continues in Years 3 and 4. Last year's school targets were realistic and were met in mathematics and reading, but were over-estimated and not achieved in writing. Girls attain higher standards than boys. Pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities make similar progress to their peers. The few children who have English as an additional language make good progress. The school is well aware of the need to develop higher level writing skills and to tackle the difference between girls' and boys'

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Grade: 3

attainment. It has begun to address these issues, with some success in boys' progress with spelling. 2 Inspection Report: Bosmere Community Primary School, 29 November 2005 to 30 November 2005

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Grade: 2

The children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. They make good progress in their personal development. However, attendance is below the national average mainly because too many parents take family holidays in term time and this detracts from what could be even better personal development. Children behave well in lessons and around the school. They clearly enjoy their lessons, show a good response to activities and try hard to improve their work. They say, 'Bosmere school is a nice place to be'. They show a good sense of right and wrong, understand class and school rules and follow them well. Children take on responsibilities in the classroom and at break and lunchtimes. They work through the school council to improve their school. In lessons they learn how to keep safe from harmful substances, about road safety, and what to do if they are bullied. They learn about eating healthy

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Grade: 2

foods and the benefits of exercise, for example, during a 'health week' last summer. They are involved in many activities through the year that involve them in helping others in the local community, such as planting trees grown from acorns in the local woods, or raising funds by their own efforts for charitable causes. Younger children are helped in many ways by older ones who act as playground 'buddies' or as lunchtime helpers. Cultural awareness is good. Children's spiritual development is supported well through assemblies and religious education.

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Grade: 3

Teaching and learning are satisfactory overall, but good in mathematics. Most lessons are satisfactorily planned with an interesting range of activities. During the inspection teachers were adept at introducing children to new ideas and activities connected with the international 'theme week'. This produced some lively teaching especially in art and poetry and there were some super results in children's work. Teaching assistants are deployed well and give good support to groups of pupils in areas such as reading. They also support well those with learning needs or disabilities, or whose first language is not English. Teachers have a satisfactory approach to assessment which is an improvement since the last inspection. Clear targets are set for each child and most lessons begin with the teacher explaining what the class will learn. A consistent approach to the marking of work is evident from children's workbooks. However, some

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Grade: 3

lessons do not sufficiently meet the needs of individuals because not enough thought has been given to setting tasks at an appropriate level, and teachers' expectations are not always high enough. Some teachers encourage children to reflect on the quality of their own work and that of other children and how to improve it. Other teachers need to copy this good practice. Not enough time or planning by teachers goes into children using ICT to support their work in other subjects. 3 Inspection Report: Bosmere Community Primary School, 29 November 2005 to 30 November 2005

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Grade: 2

Inspectors feel that the curriculum is good and that the school has been over-cautious in its evaluation. Several recent initiatives have successfully enhanced children's learning and enjoyment, such as the introduction of an anti-bullying project, work focusing on personal and social development and 'theme weeks'. A recent science and music project also involved drama, problem solving and collaborative work. During the inspection children worked with a visiting artist as part of a project with several international schools, as well as other schools in Suffolk. The recent inclusion of 'thinking skills' sessions is already helping children to articulate their ideas and share their learning. It is too soon for all of the initiatives to have had an impact on standards, but they make a significant contribution to pupils' enjoyment and staff morale. The school provides a very good variety of very popular clubs. There is a full programme of visits

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Grade: 2

out of school to support children's learning and of visitors into school to support work on other cultures, music and the arts.

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Grade: 3

Inspectors agree with the school that this is satisfactory overall. Pastoral welfare is good. Staff know children well. There are good relationships between staff and children. Great care is given to helping children settle quickly and happily into school when they first join. Similarly children are helped and supported as they move from year to year and to the middle school. Particular attention is given to keeping pupils safe and promoting their health and welfare. Correct procedures for health, safety and child protection are known and followed by all staff. The school is aiming to achieve the local authority's Healthy Schools Award and staff have worked hard to meet the stringent requirements. There are satisfactory assessment systems in place and children's progress is carefully tracked and recorded. However, this information is not used effectively by staff to guide the next steps in learning for each child.

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Grade: 3

Leadership and management are satisfactory overall with some particular strengths. The headteacher, in the relatively short time she has been in post has worked hard to improve the school. Despite a large turn-over of staff in the previous two years, she has created a whole-school vision accepted by everyone so that staff morale is high. She has introduced new ideas, including a more creative curriculum that is developing a better performance from children. In particular it gives many children the self-confidence and esteem to achieve more. The issues from the last inspection have been addressed. Governors are undertaking training to enhance their effectiveness. Consequently, they are gradually becoming more closely involved in supporting staff and constructively challenging the leadership. They still have some way to go to achieve this fully. The views of parents and children are actively sought and action is taken

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Grade: 3

4 Inspection Report: Bosmere Community Primary School, 29 November 2005 to 30 November 2005 when good ideas are suggested. For example, annual reports were modified as a result of parents' comments, and children's suggestions were considered while improving outside play areas. There is good potential amongst staff, governors and children for further improvements. Senior staff and governors make sound evaluations of the school's performance, draw up careful plans and take positive action to improve weaker areas. The school's money is carefully managed to provide the staff, facilities and resources that support children's learning and standards effectively. Consequently, there is satisfactory value for money. 5 Inspection Report: Bosmere Community Primary School, 29 November 2005 to 30 November 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: Bosmere Community Primary School, 29 November 2005 to 30 November 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 3 How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? NA 3 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 3 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 4 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 3 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 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

You may remember we visited your school recently. You made us feel very welcome. Thank you for letting us look at your work and for talking to us about all the things you do in school. We think you did some super work, especially in art work during your 'theme week'! These are some other things that we found out about your school. You feel that it is a happy and safe place to work and learn. You enjoy coming to school and work hard at your lessons. You are quite rightly proud of all that you achieve, especially your work in mathematics. You behave sensibly and are kind to one another. You have 'playground buddies'. This gives you a friendly person to talk to when things are difficult for you. It also helps to stop bullying. Teachers and teaching assistants look after you very well. They give you exciting activities to do that help you to learn new things. You go on lots of visits out of school and have people to visit school to help you

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

with things such as music. You have a lot of clubs at lunchtime and after school. The headteacher and teachers need to help you with your written work to make sure it is the best you can do. They need to give you more time to work on the computers so that you can learn more in each of the subjects. They need to encourage all of you to come to school, except when you are ill. We wish you every success for the future

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