Rednal Hill Junior School

Rednal Hill Junior School Inspection report - amended

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103248 Unique Reference Number Birmingham Local Authority 286606 Inspection number 15 °16 November 2006 Inspection dates Alison Cartlidge Reporting inspector

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection of the day care was carried out under the Children Act 1989: Part XA (as introduced by the Care Standards Act 2000) and, where (funded) nursery education is provided, under Schedule 26 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998.

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Junior Type of school Community School category 7 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 268 School 39 Day care

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The governing body Appropriate authority Jon Allison Chair Graham Catt Headteacher 12 February 2001 Date of previous school inspection 29 June 2004 Date of previous day care inspection Irwin Avenue School address Birmingham B45 8QY

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0121 4532520 Telephone number 0121 4579359 Fax number

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7-11 Age group 15 °16 November 2006 Inspection dates 286606 Inspection number

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Amended Report Addendum

Report amended due to factual inaccuracy

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Amended Report Addendum

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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Amended Report Addendum

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 four Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

Most pupils are of White British heritage with only a few coming from other ethnic backgrounds. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is above average. The school has an above average number of pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities. Attainment on entry to Year 3 is slightly below average in most years. The school provides a breakfast club and after-school care.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 11 Inspection Report: Rednal Hill Junior School, 15 °16 November 2006

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Grade: 3

This is a satisfactory school where governors and members of staff are strongly committed towards improving provision and standards. Pastoral care is a particular strength and the headteacher and other senior leaders are successful in motivating members of staff and pupils. As a result, personal development is good. A consistently encouraging approach enables pupils to behave very well and leads to a calm and studious atmosphere throughout the school. Pupils are exceptionally good at behaving responsibly when carrying out unsupervised tasks on computers located outside classrooms. Good links with other schools have improved the transition of pupils from one school to the next. Pupils' achievement is satisfactory, given their starting points, although standards by the end of Year 6 are slightly below average. Pupils do better in reading and science than in writing and mathematics. This is because teachers do not always expect enough of more able pupils

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Grade: 3

in these subjects. The school uses information about pupils' progress to identify those who need additional support. This is having the best impact on less able pupils and those with learning difficulties who are identified and supported quickly, helping them to make good progress. The school is less effective in identifying more able pupils who have fallen behind in what they should be achieving. Teachers do not always act quickly enough to ensure that these pupils make the expected gains. Teaching and learning are satisfactory. Throughout the school, enthusiastic teachers form very good relationships with the pupils. The recent use of interactive whiteboards has increased the interest of boys especially well. Teaching is best in Year 6 where teachers have consistently high expectations and pupils make good progress. In some lessons in other year groups, teachers do not challenge pupils enough, especially the more able. On these occasions they do not

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Grade: 3

provide work that meets differing needs closely enough. Care, guidance and support are satisfactory because, whilst all teachers provide positive feedback on pupils' work, they do not consistently mark work so that pupils are given guidance on how it can be improved. The curriculum is satisfactory. The good opportunities for enrichment including those for creativity and sport contribute well to the pupils' very great enjoyment of school. Leadership and management are satisfactory. Areas for development are clearly identified and recent initiatives are already beginning to have a positive impact on dealing with previous underachievement in mathematics and writing. The school provides some very good opportunities for parents to share in the education of their children. For example, workshops have helped extend their understanding of how to support spelling and reading.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Improve the progress of more able pupils in mathematics and writing by ensuring that work always provides enough challenge. ■ Ensure that there is more good teaching by making sure that teachers in Years 3 to 5 always expect enough of the pupils and show them how they can improve. ■ Monitor pupils' progress more rigorously so that underachievement can be identified and tackled swiftly. 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Rednal Hill Junior School, 15 °16 November 2006

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Grade: 3

Pupils' achievement is satisfactory from their slightly below average starting points in Year 3. Standards by the end of Year 6 are also slightly below average overall. They are lower in mathematics and writing than in reading and science. Pupils make less progress in mathematics and writing because teachers do not consistently have high enough expectations, particularly of the more able pupils. In mathematics, pupils are not good at problem solving and in writing they do not always use a wide range of interesting vocabulary. The school has begun to tackle weaknesses in writing successfully. For example, a recent project started in Year 6 has encouraged boys to write, and this is beginning to have a good impact on improving their progress. Progress is satisfactory overall in Years 3 to 5 and it is good in Year 6, where teachers meet differing needs well and have particularly high expectations. Pupils with learning difficulties

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Grade: 3

make good progress because they are well supported by specialist teachers and teaching assistants.

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Grade: 2

Pupils enjoy school and have very good attitudes towards their learning. They show respect for each other's views and develop caring relationships. Most behave well but occasionally when lessons lack pace, some pupils become restless and inattentive. Well above average attendance and good punctuality reflect the pupils' eagerness to learn. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good with particular strengths in moral and social development. Pupils develop a satisfactory understanding of their own and other cultures through activities such as the 'African Week' and a visit to a pantomime. Pupils are good at taking responsibility through activities such as the school council, helping younger ones to settle into school and organising games at break times. Members of the school council have been successful in improving behaviour and discouraging bullying in the playground. They have influenced the design of games equipment and produced induction leaflets for new pupils

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Grade: 2

to the school. Pupils feel safe. As one pupil said, 'The atmosphere is great in this school, we have no bullying and all the different races get on very well together', and that is typical of the view of other pupils. Pupils understand the need to stay healthy and design healthy menus. They support charities and benefit from working with pupils from the nearby special school, helping them to make a good contribution to the community. Pupils are prepared satisfactorily for the next stage of their education.

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Grade: 3

The skilful management of pupils leads to very good behaviour and very strong relationships between adults and pupils. Pupils say learning is often 'fun' and they especially enjoy the teachers' effective use of interactive whiteboards. An example of the good teaching in Year 6 was seen where a teacher with high expectations successfully encouraged pupils to write magazine reports with 'the wow factor'. In Years 3 to 5, the matching of tasks to pupils' differing needs is not always as successful. More able pupils are not always sufficiently challenged, and 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Rednal Hill Junior School, 15 °16 November 2006 at these times their progress slows. Marking of pupils' work is positive but sometimes lacks clear guidance to help pupils to improve. Good use is being made of assessment information to provide extra help for less able pupils and those with learning difficulties. Members of support

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Grade: 3

staff are used well to help these pupils to learn more quickly.

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Grade: 3

The curriculum meets pupils' personal needs well but it is not fully successful in securing sufficient academic progress for all pupils, notably the more able. The school has correctly identified the need to strengthen the opportunities for pupils to practise their writing skills in subjects such as history. A successful focus on creative arts results in pupils producing good quality work in designing, drawing and painting. Pupils make good use of their developing information, communication and technology (ICT) skills to support their learning across the curriculum. The good range of enrichment activities and interesting visitors supports pupils' personal development and extends their learning opportunities well. Pupils appreciate the good range of sporting activities, including football and the innovative 'tri- golf' course. One pupil commented, 'I love playing netball against other schools.'

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Grade: 3

The pastoral support provided for pupils is a strength of the school. Everyone is valued and there is a quiet, purposeful atmosphere in the school where everyone knows what is expected of them. Links with outside agencies are effective in safeguarding pupils' well-being. Child protection arrangements are fully understood in the school. Academic support is satisfactory. Pupils' learning is assessed frequently, but they are not always made aware of how they can improve their work.

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Grade: 3

The headteacher, senior leaders and governors work together well to ensure that the school is well organised and that pupils' pastoral needs are met well. There is a strong commitment to school improvement and priorities for development are firmly based on an evaluation of the school's test information. Recent developments are showing improvements in provision and pupils' progress, demonstrating a satisfactory capacity to improve. For example, new resources such as the interactive whiteboards are used well to engage the pupils' interest. The school's self-evaluation is satisfactory, although it is over-generous in some aspects. This is because the impact of provision on how well pupils learn is not always thought through well enough. There is a wealth of assessment information and this is used well to identify less able pupils and those with learning difficulties. The school is less rigorous in identifying more able pupils

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Grade: 3

who have made too little progress from one year to the next. Information is not organised sufficiently clearly to enable senior leaders to detect dips in attainment so that they can be tackled swiftly. Governance is satisfactory. Governors are supportive and hard-working. They fulfil their statutory responsibilities, although they do not monitor the school's work rigorously. 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Rednal Hill Junior School, 15 °16 November 2006

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Grade: 4

Children enjoy the out of school provision. However, because the organisation of care does not meet all regulatory requirements it compromises some aspects of their well-being. The registered person has failed to complete documentation requested by Ofsted with regard to the staffing and organisation of the provision. This is because they are unaware of the need to meet the national standards. Although their overall qualifications meet the requirement, members of staff are not deployed effectively to ensure that an appropriately qualified person is in charge at all sessions. Children's safety is compromised because not all staff are secure in their knowledge of the procedures to follow if concerned about a child. In addition, the child protection statement does not include a procedure in case of an allegation against a member of staff or a volunteer. The register of attendance fails to record the times of arrival and

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Grade: 4

departure for children and staff. There has been no recent formal risk assessment of the premises. Children are happy and behave well. Staff are welcoming and interact positively with children. Children have good relationships with adults and respond well to their encouragement and praise. Children with special needs are actively involved and included because the provision works with parents to ensure their individual needs are met. Children choose freely from activities which promote their social and emotional development. They enjoy creating Christmas decorations, co-operate well when constructing models and enjoy playing games and table football together. Children enjoy playing outside, but there are insufficient planned opportunities for physical development, particularly for those who are older and more active, in the winter months. Resources for outdoor play are satisfactory although there are no large wheeled toys

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Grade: 4

to develop younger children's physical skills. The environment is clean, with displays of children's pictures. Furniture is fit for purpose although there is only one small soft seating area for relaxation. There are satisfactory procedures to ensure that children remain healthy. They choose from a variety of different foods each day although the lack of healthy options available, particularly in the afternoon, limits their understanding of healthy eating. Relationships with parents are positive. They value the provision which enables them to stay in work. Since the last inspection there have been no complaints about the registered day care that required Ofsted or the school to take action so that the day care continued to meet the National Standards. The school is required to keep a record of complaints about the registered day care made by parents, which they can see on request. The complaints record may contain complaints

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Grade: 4

about the registered day care other than those made to Ofsted. The quality and standards of care are inadequate. The registered person does not meet the National Standards for under 8's day care and childminding.

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Recommendations or actions to improve the registered day care

■ Ensure that Ofsted is notified of any changes to the person in charge or committee and that they submit to Ofsted's vetting procedure. 08/12/2006 ■ Ensure that managers have at least a Level 3 qualification appropriate to the post. 08/12/2006

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Recommendations or actions to improve the registered day care

■ Ensure the system for registering children shows their daily hours of attendance and that there is a system for registering staff attendance. 08/12/2006 ■ Ensure that the child protection policy is understood by all staff and includes procedures to be followed in the event of an allegation being made against a member of staff. 08/12/2006 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Rednal Hill Junior School, 15 °16 November 2006 .

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Recommendations or actions to improve the registered day care

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: Rednal Hill Junior School, 15 °16 November 2006

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Inspection judgements

School Overall Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

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Overall effectiveness

How effective, efficient and inclusive is the provision of education, integrated care and any extended services in meeting the needs of learners? How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 3 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 3 The capacity to make any necessary improvements Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

3 How well do learners achieve? 3 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 2 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2 The behaviour of learners 2 The attendance of learners 2 How well learners enjoy their education 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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and interests of learners?

3 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average to below average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low. 9 of 11 Inspection Report: Rednal Hill Junior School, 15 °16 November 2006

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and supporting all learners?

How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can How effectively and efficiently resources, including staff, are deployed to achieve value for money The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities Yes Do procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements? No Does this school require special measures? No Does this school require a notice to improve?

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The effectiveness of the registered day care

4 The quality and standards of the registered day care 3 How effective is the day care in helping children to be healthy? 4 How effective is the day care in protecting children and helping them to stay safe? 3 How effective is the day care in helping children to achieve and enjoy their learning? 3 How effective is the day care in helping children to make a positive contribution? 4 How effectively is the day care organised? No Does the day care meet the needs of the range of children for whom it provides? No Has the day care improved since the last inspection? No Does the day care require enforcement action? Yes Does the day care require a notice to improve? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: Rednal Hill Junior School, 15 °16 November 2006

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you for welcoming us to your school in such a polite and friendly way and for showing us your work. Your school is doing a satisfactory job with some good things and some things that need to be made better. Here are some other things about you and your school:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You enjoy school, behave very well and are good at taking responsibility.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ We especially like the sensible way you work by yourselves on the computers.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ All adults are kind and caring and help you to feel safe and happy at school.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Members of staff and governors are working hard to make the school even better.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Your parents and carers are very pleased that you come to this school.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

What we have asked your school to do now:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Help you to do better in your writing and in solving problems in mathematics.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Give you hard enough work and show you how you can do better, especially those of you who find your work easy. ■ Check up more often how well you are doing so that you all learn as quickly as you should.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

We thoroughly enjoyed talking to you about your work and watching you learn. We wish you all well for the future. We hope you continue to help your teachers by behaving sensibly and working hard. 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Rednal Hill Junior School, 15 °16 November 2006

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