Broadmeadow Infant School

Inspection Report Broadmeadow Infant School

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103288 Unique Reference Number Birmingham Local Authority 286617 Inspection number 8 °9 January 2007 Inspection dates Martin Cole Reporting inspector

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

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Monyhull Hall Road School address Infant Type of school Kings Norton Community School category Birmingham B30 3QJ 3 °7 Age range of pupils 0121 4644266 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 0121 4645395 Fax number 240 Number on roll (school) Sarah Bradley Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Patricia Harris Headteacher 23 September 2002 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 286617 8 °9 January 2007 3°7 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

This larger than average infant school, which includes a nursery, serves an area with a significant level of social deprivation. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is roughly double the national average. The great majority of pupils are White British. Some children start in the school's nursery class while others do not join the school until the Reception Year. Children start at the school with attainment which is well below average. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities is a little above average. Their difficulties vary widely in nature. The role of acting headteacher was being filled at the time of the inspection by the school's deputy headteacher.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Broadmeadow Infant School, 8 °9 January 2007

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Grade: 3

This is a satisfactory school which has begun to improve significantly after a period when illness and changes amongst staff hindered improvement. Satisfactory teaching and care, guidance and support help children, right from their early days in Nursery or Reception, to make satisfactory progress in their personal development and well-being. Foundation Stage provision and standards are satisfactory. Pupils enjoy school and behave well. They have satisfactory attitudes and learn to contribute co-operatively to the community. They learn skills and personal qualities which will help them to fend for themselves in later adult life. Pupils have a fair understanding of how to be safe and healthy. They respond enthusiastically to good opportunities to take exercise but are much less inclined to make healthy mealtime choices. In their work, pupils achieve satisfactorily. Many pupils, especially girls, make good progress,

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Grade: 3

and as a result the standards of pupils leaving the school at the end of Year 2 are broadly average. Boys make significantly less progress than girls, partly because they generally take less interest in classroom work and concentrate less well. The school has recognised this and has begun to introduce a range of strategies to improve boys' willingness to learn. These include more opportunities for pupils to use information and communication technology (ICT) in their learning. Current opportunities are too few, reflecting the slow development of the school in past years. A new computer suite and better classroom equipment were about to come into use at the time of the inspection. Insufficient application of pupils' ICT skills is a weakness in both the teaching and curriculum, which are of a satisfactory quality. Lessons cover appropriate work and are generally well managed. They are purposeful occasions with pupils

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Grade: 3

behaving well and most tackling their work with some interest and determination. Some new approaches in teaching are not consistent in operation. The work given to pupils is generally suited to their abilities and needs but in some lessons, more able pupils are not sufficiently challenged. Teachers' assessment of pupils' progress has recently improved and is now good. However, it is not accompanied by sufficient guidance to pupils on what they must do next to make progress. Care and support for individual and social needs are good and highly valued by parents. The leadership and management of the school currently demonstrate satisfactory effectiveness. Within the last year, the acting headteacher, helped by good support from local authority personnel, the encouragement of governors and the hard work of a committed staff, has introduced many significant improvements which parents and pupils have appreciated. Many changes are too new and incomplete for them to have proved their

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Grade: 3

worth in raising standards, but they are well considered and appropriate to the school's needs. They are based on a good understanding of how the school can improve, which results from thorough checks on the school's performance. Although overall improvement since the previous inspection has been slow, improvement in the last year has been good and suggests that the school is now well placed to make further improvement. 2 Inspection Report: Broadmeadow Infant School, 8 °9 January 2007

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What the school should do to improve further

• Improve the achievement of boys by ensuring new ways of increasing their willingness to learn become firmly embedded. • Ensure the tasks given to all pupils, especially more able ones, always challenge them. • Give pupils more opportunities to use ICT to support their learning across the curriculum. • Give pupils clear individual guidance on how to improve their work.

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Grade: 3

Pupils achieve satisfactorily. They make steady progress as they move through the school. Standards at the end of the Reception Year are below those expected nationally for the children's ages, but they still represent satisfactory progress from the low levels of attainment with which the children started at the school. By the time pupils leave Year 2, their standards are shown by results in national tests of reading, writing and mathematics to be broadly average. This was the case in 2006 and in most recent years. However, teachers' assessments of science work show below average standards. In all subjects, girls outperform boys to a greater extent than is found nationally, though this was less noticeable in 2006 than in the previous year, suggesting some improvement. Boys do less well partly because more of them have difficulties or disabilities in learning or behaviour. However, pupils with learning difficulties or

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Grade: 3

disabilities make satisfactory progress toward the appropriate individual targets set for them. Boys' weaker interest in their work and poorer concentration account for their slower progress than that of the girls.

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Grade: 3

Children in the Nursery and Reception classes make good progress in this aspect of their education. Pupils are happy, friendly and enjoy school. Their attendance is in line with the national average. Spiritual, moral and cultural aspects of pupils' development are satisfactory, whilst social development is good. Pupils gain in confidence and show care and respect for others. They behave well in and around school. There is no significant incidence of bullying and pupils say that any occasional upsets are dealt with effectively. Pupils willingly take on responsibilities that support the school community although there is no school council to extend their contribution. Progress in literacy and numeracy skills and growing confidence and independence help to prepare pupils satisfactorily for their future economic well-being. Pupils have a satisfactory awareness of how to be healthy. They enjoy doing exercise, particularly

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Grade: 3

their daily 'Wake Up, Shake Up' sessions. They know how to keep themselves safe, both in school and in the wider world. However, their knowledge and understanding about healthy eating is not always put into practice when choosing what to eat. 3 Inspection Report: Broadmeadow Infant School, 8 °9 January 2007

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Grade: 3

Within the satisfactory quality of teaching and learning, there is strength in teachers' successful management of pupils and activities. Activities are well organised and pupils are encouraged to behave well so that, throughout the school, lessons are calm, orderly and purposeful events where time is well used. Teachers and pupils get on well with each other and most pupils usually make at least satisfactory progress. With the help of teaching assistants, teachers see that effective extra help is given to pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities. When occasionally some pupils make less progress than they could, it is usually because more able pupils are not fully challenged by the work or because they lose interest and lack concentration. Boys show less involvement in their learning than girls do, for example, in one lesson the girls participated fully in the discussion and although the boys were asked questions, they did not answer as

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Grade: 3

many as the girls. The school has recognised the problem and has just begun to introduce appropriate changes, such as widening approaches to teaching and learning, including greater use of visual resources, practical activities and ICT.

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Grade: 3

The curriculum promotes pupils' progress satisfactorily and has some good features. Children in the Foundation Stage benefit from a well-planned curriculum which provides an effective blend of adult-led and independent activities. Extensive sporting opportunities, including coaching by sports professionals, enrich the school's curriculum and encourage healthy exercise. Visits from road safety officers ensure that pupils know how to use the roads safely. In addition to the required subjects, pupils learn some basic French. Strategies to reduce pupils' barriers to learning have been introduced but it is too early to see the impact of these initiatives in raising standards and achievement. There are suitable individual plans of work for pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities. Science has been reviewed to provide more interest for boys. A recent emphasis on writing has focused on different styles of writing in order to

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Grade: 3

foster the interest of boys. Although pupils' ICT skills are satisfactory, they have too little opportunity to develop them or enjoy learning independently through using computers.

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Grade: 3

Adults know the pupils well and have a high level of concern for their well-being. Parents are full of praise for the care shown. One expressed her 'immense respect' for the school, whilst a parent of a pupil with learning difficulties described the child's teacher as an 'absolute jewel'. Procedures for safeguarding pupils and ensuring their health and safety are robust and well understood by staff. Outside agencies are used 4 Inspection Report: Broadmeadow Infant School, 8 °9 January 2007 whenever possible to increase support for vulnerable pupils and those with learning difficulties. Secure child protection procedures are in place. Pupils feel safe and are confident that there is someone to turn to for help if necessary. Although the school has started to implement new strategies for guiding pupils on their work and progress, too little help is currently given to help them understand exactly how they can improve

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Grade: 3

The acting headteacher , with the support of colleagues has led the drive for school improvement. She has made effective use of extra support provided through a strong partnership with the local authority. Whilst not fully established or evident in raised standards, there have been valuable improvements in planning the teaching and curriculum and in assessing pupils' progress. Resources for learning have been improved, and links with parents are now more productive. Checks on the teaching and learning have become more rigorous and have been used as the basis for promoting better practice through guidance and training. Governors, most of whom are quite new to the role have played their part by holding the school to account and in encouraging and supporting improvement. They help the school to make an honest and accurate evaluation of its strengths and weaknesses. Planning for the future shows ambition

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Grade: 3

and relevant priorities. 5 Inspection Report: Broadmeadow Infant School, 8 °9 January 2007 .

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Grade: 3

set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Broadmeadow Infant School, 8 °9 January 2007

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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 quality and standards in the Foundation Stage 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 2 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 3 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

3 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2 The behaviour of learners 3 The attendance of learners 3 How well learners enjoy their education 3 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 3 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 3 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. 7 Inspection Report: Broadmeadow Infant School, 8 °9 January 2007

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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? 8 Inspection Report: Broadmeadow Infant School, 8 °9 January 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

The inspectors who visited your school recently would like to thank all of you for your friendly welcome. We enjoyed meeting and talking to you. It was good to see that you enjoy school and that you get on well with each other and with the adults. We think your behaviour is good and that most of you have a sensible attitude to school and to your work. This is helping you to make the progress you ought to make at school. However, on the whole, the girls make better progress than the boys. We were glad to see that you know what you need to do to stay healthy. We were pleased to find that you join in physical exercise keenly. We were sorry though to see that you often choose to eat foods that aren't really good for you. Some of you told us how much help the teachers and the other adults give you. We saw this for ourselves. All the adults look after you really well. The teachers give you the right sort of

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

lessons and provide suitable work to help you learn. We have said that your school is doing what it should to help your education. The adults in charge of it are doing what they are supposed to and they are trying hard to make the school better. We have suggested four ways that the school could help you learn still more successfully: • by helping the boys make better progress • by making sure all of you are given work that makes you think hard, so that you make all the progress you can • by giving you more opportunities to use computers to help you learn • by helping you understand more clearly how you can improve your work. We wish you all the best for the future. 9 Inspection Report: Broadmeadow Infant School, 8 °9 January 2007

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