The Lantern Community Primary

Inspection Report The Lantern Community Primary

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134014 Unique Reference Number CAMBRIDGESHIRE LEA LEA 282420 Inspection number 19 January 2006 to 19 January 2006 Inspection dates Mr. George Falconer LI Reporting inspector

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

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Nene Road School address Primary Type of school CB6 2WJ Community School category 4 to 7 Age range of pupils 01353 664174 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01353 664041 Fax number 85 Number on roll Mr.Roderick Mair Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs. Janet Cobley Headteacher Not applicable Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 282420 19 January 2006 - 4 to 7 19 January 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

The Lantern Community Primary School is a relatively new school that opened in September 2004. It has, therefore, not been inspected previously. It is located on a new housing estate close to the centre of Ely. The catchment area is mainly made up of owner occupied housing. There is also some social housing. The percentage of children from minority ethnic groups and who are learning as an additional language is above average, although actual numbers of pupils are small. The percentage of children eligible for free school meals and those with learning difficulties or disabilities are much lower than average. The capacity of the school is currently planned for 210 children. The children enter the school with standards which are above that which is typical for their age.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: The Lantern Community Primary, 19 January 2006 to 19 January 2006

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Grade: 2

This relatively new school has made a very good start. The school views itself as a good school and the inspection team agrees with its evaluation of its own performance. There are also some outstanding features to the school. It serves the children and the community very well indeed. A parent took the time to write, 'I am very happy with the school as my child is loving learning.' The leadership and management of the school are good and show a good capacity to continue the school's development. The leadership and management of the headteacher and the senior management team are good with some outstanding features. The school has rightly recognised that in order for it to build on its very good beginnings it needs to continue develop the work of governors, it peer observations of teaching and the work for the most able pupils. The quality and standards in the Foundation Stage are outstanding. The children make

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Grade: 2

very good progress in a practical curriculum which is provided in a very rich and stimulating environment. This year's children are more than likely to exceed the early learning goals by the end of the reception year. Children in Year 1 and Year 2 build upon the very good start made in the reception class and make good progress. Standards throughout the school are good overall with the children having sufficiently clear and challenging targets. The teaching is effective and the curriculum is good. A good range of activities outside lessons enruch the curriculum and are well attended by children. The personal development and well being of children is good with outstanding features and the quality of care, guidance and support is outstanding. Attendance and behaviour are outstanding. Children really like coming to school and show levels of enjoyment that are also outstanding. They are enthusiastic and have

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Grade: 2

very positive attitudes. Spiritual and moral development is promoted well through religious education and the personal, health, social and citizenship education programme. Financial management is robust and the school provides good value for money. There is good communication with parents, whose views are sought and acted upon. They are very satisfied. They are highly supportive of this new community which works hard to include all children and allows community access for a wide range of activities. A parent wrote,'I am particularly impressed by the school offering reading and maths evenings to parents so we find out exactly how it is taught to our children.'

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What the school should do to improve further

- continue to develop the work of governors - develop its sharing of good practice through peer observations of teaching - ensure that work for the most able children is further developed.

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Grade: 2

Children make good progress overall with very good progress being made in the Foundation Stage where the quality and standards are outstanding. Children enter reception with standards broadly above those typical for their age and attain well 2 Inspection Report: The Lantern Community Primary, 19 January 2006 to 19 January 2006 above average standards by the time they transfer to Year 1. This is due to the outstanding provision in the reception class. The excellent start made by the children is built upon in Year 1. By the time they reach Year 2, standards in reading, writing and mathematics are well above the expectations for this age. Children continue to make good progress towards challenging targets in relation to their abilities in Year 2. Evidence indicates that Year 2 children are highly motivated, appropriately challenged and on track to reach the challenging targets set by the end of the year. Children with

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Grade: 2

learning difficulties and disabilities make similar progress to others in their class and benefit from the additional support provided. Those from minority ethnic groups and those with English as an additional language also make similar progress. There is no difference in the performance of boys and girls. Children currently in Year 2 did not spend their reception year in this school as the school only opened in September 2004.

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Grade: 2

Personal development and well-being of children are good with some outstanding features. The school's ethos is built upon providing a caring and stimulating environment. Children feel safe and secure with adults that they can talk to if they have problems of any kind. Attendance and behaviour are outstanding. Children really like coming to school and show levels of enjoyment that are also outstanding. They are enthusiastic and have very positive attitudes. The school has a good personal, health, social and citizenship education programme that works really well for the children. They show a very good understanding the importance of healthy living from the very beginning of their time in school as a result. The outstanding Foundation Stage and its curriculum make excellent use of the outdoor activity area. The outdoor curriculum in general is given a high profile with a range of healthy activities including

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Grade: 2

a trim trail. Children are offered healthy eating options at lunchtime and the school is participating in several health scheme projects including the developing school travel plan. The curriculum provides good opportunities for physical activity with a number of age-related resources. Good spiritual, moral, social and cultural education is provided for all children. The school provides satisfactory opportunity for children to make positive contributions to the community, for example, the Ely in Bloom project and the children's support for charities. Plans for community links to continue to develop are already firmly planted in the school's strategy.

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Grade: 2

The quality of teaching and learning is good overall. Some teaching is outstanding. The staff know the children well through regular assessments. Relationships between teachers and children are very good and this has a positive impact on attitudes. Adults, including teaching assistants, are very good at encouraging a high standard of behaviour. They manage and care for children very well. Good lessons are characterised 3 Inspection Report: The Lantern Community Primary, 19 January 2006 to 19 January 2006 by lively, well-paced sessions where teachers focus questions on individual children well. Where the quality of teaching and learning is outstanding, excellent use of drama and role-play are used to effectively stimulate children's imagination and make them want to write about what they have experienced. For example, how Florence Nightingale felt having to work in an unclean hospital. Interactive whiteboards are used very well

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Grade: 2

to make lessons exciting and interesting and this feature impacts positively on achievements and standards. The school has already started to share good practice through peer observations and plans to extend this further.

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Grade: 2

The school provides a good, broad and balanced curriculum that meets a good range of needs and interests of the learners. It is stimulating, lively and interesting. The curriculum in the Foundation Stage is very creative and imaginative, with a strong focus on encouraging independent thinking and preparing children well for the next stage of learning. There is a particular focus on the development of writing. The school has ensured that practically based activities, which are so well provided for in reception, carry on well into the next year as this approach is at the heart of all they do. One child stated, 'The reception class is very nice and we have lots of things to do.' A good number of visits and visitors help bring lessons alive, and special themed weeks such as the Healthy Eating week held during the inspection, further enhance provision. Activities are well planned for children of differing abilities and the school recognises

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Grade: 2

the need to further develop work for children who are really quick learners. There are a good number of extra-curricular clubs which children really enjoy, including music, drama, dance, computers and French. Overall, the children appreciate the provision made for them and this was summed up by a child when he said, 'It's our best time, at school.'

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Grade: 1

Provision of care, guidance and support is outstanding. It is the impact of this on the pupils' learning and achievement which make this area of the school's work so good. This new school had to start from scratch to establish its systems to support children's safety, care and welfare. Children achieve high standards because they are given the right care and encouragement to do so. They feel safe, secure and happy. Child protection procedures are firmly in place and, helped by the brand new building, standards of health and safety are high. The ethos of the school is one of care for the individual, including the monitoring of their progress in learning. Learners become more independent as they become older and they are able to make informed choices because of the good quality of information provided for them. 4 Inspection Report: The Lantern Community Primary, 19 January 2006 to 19 January 2006

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management of this new community school are good with some outstanding features. The headteacher and senior management team demonstrate an outstanding ability to critically reflect on the needs of the school through rigorous systems to assess how good the school is. This impacts well on the achievement and standards and on the personal development and well-being of the children. The systems in place to check on how well the school is doing in this inclusive school are outstanding. They provide clear direction. Clearly constructed development plans are in place. These give a high level of direction and support to the good quality of education provided. Performance management and appraisal systems are fully in place and work very effectively. Strategic planning for staffing and resources for the future, larger, school population are well in hand. The school demonstrates a good capacity

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Grade: 2

to grow, develop and improve on its current good performance because of the headteacher's clear vision. Curriculum co-ordinators are well supported to carry out their developing roles. The relatively new governing body is becoming firmly established and takes its role seriously under the experienced leadership of the Chair of Governors. It is fully involved at this time and realises the future development required of itself as the school grows to capacity. Parents are fully supportive of the school and are very appreciative of the quality of education provided. One of many parents who voiced their very positive support stated, 'All of the staff are approachable, friendly and helpful and I feel very fortunate to send my child to such a great school.' 5 Inspection Report: The Lantern Community Primary, 19 January 2006 to 19 January 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: The Lantern Community Primary, 19 January 2006 to 19 January 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 1 The quality and standards in foundation stage NA 1 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation NA Yes The capacity to make any necessary improvements NA NA 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 1 The attendance of learners NA 1 How well learners enjoy their education NA 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles NA 3 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 1 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 1 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

I am writing to you to say a big thank you for making us feel very welcome and for helping us with the inspection of your school. We think you have a good school with lots of great things going on. We really did enjoy talking to you and listening to your ideas about the school. From what you say, school is a good place for you and you feel happy, safe and secure. You also told me that you learn lots of new things and I agree with you. In classes we saw how you enjoyed learning. We saw how you got on really well with each other and how you were happy to share ideas and help each other. We think you are very lucky to have such a good school. The headteacher, teachers and other adults are really good and work hard to care for you such a lot. The work is varied and very interesting and it gives you lots to think about. You told me that you really liked reception because you did lots of interesting things there. You were also

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

keen to tell me that you enjoyed the work in Year 1 and 2 where you continued to learn lots. You also really like the clubs that run for you after school. You make the most of them. One of you said, 'It's our best time, at school.' That must be a really big compliment for your headteacher and teachers. I thought you were brilliant in assembly, joining in with the story of The Good Samaritan and doing some acting too! What a bonus, having a guitar-playing headteacher! You told me that you like your school uniform but you also liked dressing up on special days, for instance in clothes you would wear for the job you would like to do when you are older. We think this is a great idea and helps you to think ahead to when you are older and at work. Your school is going to grow and get bigger. There will be more teachers to teach you and more children for you to play with. It's not an easy job to look after a growing school and

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

all the people in it but I am sure that your headteacher has some exciting plans ahead for you. It's good to know that you will all be working hard together, children and teachers, to continue the success of your school as it does get bigger.

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