Wood Green Junior School

Inspection Report Wood Green Junior School

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103913 Unique Reference Number Sandwell Local Authority 286805 Inspection number 6 °7 December 2006 Inspection dates Marion Wallace 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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Hobs Road School address Junior Type of school Wednesbury Community School category WS10 9BW 7 °11 Age range of pupils 0121 5560377 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 0121 5560630 Fax number 224 Number on roll (school) Tony Pearson Chair The governing body Appropriate authority P Hughes Headteacher 1 October 2001 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 286805 6 °7 December 2006 7°11 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

Wood Green Junior is an average sized school. The majority of pupils are of White British heritage with just under one fifth from minority ethnic backgrounds. Some of this minority speaks English as an additional language but no pupil is at the early stages of learning to speak English. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities is above average and the number of pupils with statements of special educational needs is well above average. The proportion entitled to free school meals is below average.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Wood Green Junior School, 6 °7 December 2006

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Grade: 3

Overall effectiveness is satisfactory. The school is a caring community and as a result pupils enjoy school and have a positive attitude to their work. There is a strong sense of community and a positive ethos. As one Year 6 pupil said, 'We like this school because everyone cares for everyone else, we all help each other.' Attainment on entry is low especially in English, mathematics and science. Achievement is satisfactory. Standards remain below average as pupils progress through the school and they are still below average at the end of Year 6. Pupils who have learning difficulties and disabilities make the same progress as their peers. Some pupils with specific learning difficulties, however, make good progress because of the good quality of the support. Preparation for future economic well-being is satisfactory. Pupils make satisfactory progress in the basic skills of literacy and numeracy and, as they all learn

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Grade: 3

to respect and value each other, they develop good personal qualities and social skills. The pupils' satisfactory progress is because of satisfactory teaching across classes. As a result of monitoring, the quality of teaching is steadily improving and some good and outstanding teaching was observed during the inspection. However, it is not yet consistent and rigorous enough to raise pupils' performance to the next level. Relationships are good and consequently pupils respond well to tasks. Teachers are well organised and plan interesting lessons. Expectations of what pupils can do, however, are not always sufficiently high to ensure pupils make good gains in their learning. This is particularly evident in the development of handwriting and writing skills. Pupils' personal development is good. They are learning to adopt healthy lifestyles because there is a strong focus on this aspect. Pupils say they feel safe and their views

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Grade: 3

are valued. The school council is pro-active in reflecting and acting upon pupils' views. Care, guidance and welfare are satisfactory. Pupils experience good levels of care but procedures to ensure academic progress is maintained are satisfactory. The inclusion manager makes a significant contribution to ensuring pupils with learning difficulties are cared for well. The curriculum is satisfactory. The school is adopting a thematic approach to help pupils make links between subjects but there needs to be a sharper focus to ensure all needs are fully met especially in mathematics and English. Opportunities to use writing in other subjects are developing but are still not as good as they could be. Leadership and management are satisfactory. The headteacher and deputy headteacher work well together and they have a sound understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the school. There is a strong emphasis on inclusion but the focus to

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Grade: 3

raise achievement in English and mathematics is not sharp enough. Many new systems have been introduced but have not been in place long enough to secure improvements. The school has made satisfactory progress since the last inspection and has satisfactory capacity to improve. 2 Inspection Report: Wood Green Junior School, 6 °7 December 2006

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What the school should do to improve further

• Raise achievement and standards in English and mathematics. • Introduce more rigorous monitoring to ensure that the quality of teaching and learning is consistently good and clarify the challenge and expectation needed to ensure all pupils make good gains in their learning. • Provide more opportunities for pupils to develop their writing skills and make more use of writing in different subjects.

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Grade: 3

Pupils enter Year 3 with below, and occasionally well below, average standards in their writing, reading and mathematical skills. Pupils make satisfactory progress, but by the end of Year 6 standards are still below average. Pupils have targets, but in a few classes there needs to be a closer match of work to ability to raise the pupils' satisfactory achievement to good. More effective planning and use of resources are improving the pupils' achievements but there is still some way to go. Progress is satisfactory overall, although inspection evidence found that writing is not used enough to enhance other areas of the curriculum and the development of writing skills is less well developed. Pupils achieve better in mathematics and science in all year groups because effective steps have been taken to improve standards. Standards in information and communication technology (ICT) have improved since the last inspection when they

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Grade: 3

were identified as a noticeable weakness. They are now broadly average. National tests results for 2005 were just below average in English, mathematics and science and this showed an improvement on 2004 and 2003. Standards slipped in 2006 especially in English because of the high numbers of pupils with learning difficulties, particularly in language, in the year group. Standards in the current Year 6 are higher than those of the previous cohort in 2006.

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Grade: 2

Pupils are considerate to one another and behave well because adults successfully help pupils develop sensitivity towards others and to appreciate differences. Pupils' attitudes to learning are good and they are eager to talk about their work to visitors. They like coming to school and this is reflected in the satisfactory levels of attendance. Pupils develop a good understanding of how to lead safe and healthy lifestyles. They understand what makes a healthy meal and can talk about the benefits of exercise. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. They have a good awareness of what makes a 'good citizen'. The playground 'Buddy' system encourages older pupils to look after those who are upset or lonely. Pupils are also supportive of those in the wider community. They support many charities and sponsor the education of a young girl in Uganda. The school council and the eco-committee have made a

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Grade: 2

positive contribution to the school community such as initiating improvements to the 3 Inspection Report: Wood Green Junior School, 6 °7 December 2006 toilets. Through visits and visitors, pupils are developing a good understanding of their own culture and a sound understanding of life in a multicultural society. Good personal development and satisfactory progress in their basic skills help prepare pupils for the next stage of their lives.

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Grade: 3

Pupils make satisfactory gains in their learning. Good progress is evident but intermittent. It is not sustained throughout their time in school because of the variation in the quality of teaching. Relationships between teachers and pupils are good and these help to maintain pupils' positive attitudes and confidence. Teachers and teaching assistants provide helpful support for pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities and ensure tasks are matched suitably to their needs. However, this practice is not consistent and despite improved planning, activities are not always matched to pupils' abilities to ensure all pupils make good progress. The work given to pupils is occasionally too easy and so pupils do not make as much progress as they could. Greater challenge and expectation would ensure consistently good gains in learning over time. Marking is frequent but variable in quality. Recently introduced assessment procedures enable

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Grade: 3

teachers to see whether pupils are making the expected progress but these procedures have not been in place long enough to impact on standards.

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Grade: 3

The school is currently developing more creative approaches to linking activities in different subjects and this is making the curriculum more interesting and relevant to pupils. All classes have an interactive whiteboard, which adds to the impact of lessons, and pupils have regular access to new computers. However, opportunities for pupils to develop their writing and use their writing skills across all subjects are often missed and there are not enough opportunities for pupils to use their mathematical skills in other subjects. The school has a good programme of health education and as a result has recently been awarded Sandwell's 'Platinum Healthy Schools Award'. An extensive range of visits and visitors is used well to enrich pupils' learning and is a strength. Many pupils participate in and benefit from the wide variety of after school activities. The residential visit for all year groups also supports pupils' social and

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Grade: 3

personal development as well as their academic work.

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Grade: 3

The effective quality of pastoral care promotes the pupils' good personal development in a safe and secure environment. Pupils are valued and cared for. Staff know pupils well and the majority of parents agree that the school cares very well for the safety 4 Inspection Report: Wood Green Junior School, 6 °7 December 2006 of pupils. Effective arrangements are in place for safeguarding pupils and the quality and care of vulnerable pupils are good. Support for academic development is satisfactory. Although assessment information is collected rigorously, it is not used carefully enough to raise the quality of teaching and the level of pupils' achievement. Not all pupils are clear about what they need to do to improve their work. Some older pupils have a good understanding of their 'steps to success' but this is not evident in other parts of the school.

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Grade: 3

There is a good team approach to how the school is led and managed. The headteacher and deputy headteacher ensure that the school is a caring and supportive community. They are developing the academic support for pupils well, which is beginning to raise standards and achievement. The school improvement plan accurately reflects the awareness of issues to be addressed. Measures to bring about improvement in pupils' achievement and standards are evident and are beginning to bear fruit but have not been in place long enough to impact consistently on standards. There are good procedures to track pupils' progress, but the use of this information is not yet sharp enough to bring about consistently good improvement. Monitoring needs to be more rigorous to ensure more rapid improvement. All staff are strongly committed to valuing and nurturing everyone and this is a strength of the school. Subject leaders have a

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Grade: 3

clear understanding of their role and are intent on ensuring all groups achieve well. Opportunities to monitor teaching and learning are developing. The governing body is satisfactory. It is supportive and has a good knowledge of the school as a caring community. Its awareness of the use of school data to question and challenge the school, in order to raise pupils' achievement and standards, however, is less well developed. 5 Inspection Report: Wood Green Junior School, 6 °7 December 2006 .

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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: Wood Green Junior School, 6 °7 December 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? 4 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?

2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2 The behaviour of learners 3 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. 7 Inspection Report: Wood Green Junior School, 6 °7 December 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? 8 Inspection Report: Wood Green Junior School, 6 °7 December 2006

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you very much for welcoming us into your school. We enjoyed talking to you and your teachers, coming to your assembly and visiting your dining room. You are very lucky to have such a wonderful selection of healthy food at lunch time. • These are the things we liked most about your school. • Wood Green is a caring school and you learn to care for each other very well. You all feel very safe at school. • You enjoy school and the activities, including those that take place outside the school day. • Your teachers help you realize the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle and being part of the school community. But to make things even better we have suggested a few things we think will help. • We think you could make more progress in English and mathematics. • Mr Hughes can check all the time that teachers are planning work that challenges you to complete harder tasks as quickly as you can. You can all help by working hard and letting

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

your teachers know if the work is too easy or too hard. • We think that your handwriting and writing skills could be better and that you should do more writing in other subjects. 9 Inspection Report: Wood Green Junior School, 6 °7 December 2006

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