Glodwick Infant and Nursery School

Inspection Report Glodwick Infant and Nursery School

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105645 Unique Reference Number Oldham Local Authority 287283 Inspection number 31 January °1 February 2007 Inspection dates Jim Kidd 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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Glodwick Road School address Primary Type of school Oldham Community School category Lancashire OL4 1AJ 3 °7 Age range of pupils 0161 770 8585 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 0161 626 0698 Fax number 350 Number on roll (school) Mr G Royle Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs J Brierley Headteacher 26 November 2001 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 287283 31 January °1 February 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 three Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

This is a large infant and nursery school situated near the centre of Oldham and serving an area of significant disadvantage. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is above average. Almost all the pupils are from a Pakistani background, with a few from other heritages, and all are learning English as an additional language, many at the early stages. Consequently, children's attainment when they start school is very low and a high proportion enter the Nursery unable to speak English. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is above average. Glodwick has successful links with a neighbouring infant school as part of the local authority Racial Harmony Project.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Glodwick Infant and Nursery School, 31 January °1 February 2007

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Grade: 2

The words of its pupils 'Be the best you can be, share, listen, talk it over and take turns' sums up what the school tries so hard to do. It is true to its mission statement, 'To create a welcoming atmosphere where everyone is valued and encouraged to reach their full potential.' Indeed, Glodwick Infant and Nursery is a good school with many outstanding features. Children get a good start in the Nursery and gain in confidence and self-esteem very quickly. The good progress they make in the Foundation Stage ensures that they continue to enjoy learning in Years 1 and 2. Although their standards are well below average at the end of Year 2 they achieve well in reading, writing and mathematics. Their skills in speaking and listening need to develop further so that they have more chances to talk about what they going to write before they put pen to paper. Pupils' personal development is outstanding: they behave well, care for each other

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Grade: 2

and feel safe. As they say themselves, 'Don't hit. No pushing. Stay safe when you cross the road!' Pupils willingly take on a range of responsibilities to help their classmates and teachers. As early as in the Nursery, for example, children are used to packing everything away at the end of lessons. The school council has a high reputation amongst all pupils and has many suggestions to make the playgrounds even better. Pupils speak confidently about the benefits of regular exercise and healthy eating. They particularly enjoy the milk, fruit and vegetables they have at breaks. Pupils respond well to good teaching and are developing their computer skills with a confidence which belies their years. Teachers have high expectations of what they pupils can do, but direct activities too much on occasions and in these instances the progress pupils make is reduced. The curriculum is well thought out, emphasises the

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Grade: 2

importance of basic skills and provides pupils with a good range of exciting activities. Care, support and guidance are outstanding. The dedicated team of teachers and teaching assistants do their utmost to ensure that all groups of pupils, whatever their levels of ability or skills in English, are given every opportunity to succeed in all areas of school life. As a result, pupils enjoy their school and are very proud of it. Outstanding leadership and management and the inspirational work of the headteacher and senior team ensure that the school goes from strength to strength, even with the many barriers to success it continues to face. All adults in the school speak with one voice: they are a cohesive team and are totally committed to the welfare of their pupils, to the families they represent and to the community as a whole. In Glodwick Infant and Nursery School the safe and stimulating environment is to the benefit of all

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Grade: 2

connected with it. The school provides good value for money.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Ensure that strategies to develop pupils' skills in speaking and listening have a positive effect on improving their writing. • Improve the consistency in the quality of teaching to match that of the best. 2 Inspection Report: Glodwick Infant and Nursery School, 31 January °1 February 2007

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Grade: 2

Children enter the Nursery with exceptionally low knowledge and skills, particularly in relation to speech and language, numeracy and personal development. They make good progress across the school, meet challenging targets by the end of Year 2 but reach well below average standards in reading writing and mathematics because of their very low starting points. However, children in the Foundation Stage achieve outstandingly in their personal, social and emotional development because of the high priority placed on it. The school's strategies to address underachievement amongst boys are very effective indeed and their standards are rising as a result. Progress in writing is beginning to accelerate but remains below that in reading and mathematics. There is now a need for an evaluation of the school's strategies to improve learners' speaking and listening skills and the impact they are having on pupils' writing. Excellent support and guidance

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Grade: 2

for all, often in pupils' home language, leads to all ability levels achieving equally well.

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Grade: 1

An overriding concern for the personal, social and emotional development of children from the moment they enter the Nursery is fundamental to everything the school tries to do. As a result, pupils are happy, get on well with each other and arrive in the morning with smiles on their faces, eager to learn. They feel safe and say that their teachers and teaching assistants are approachable if they have any problems. Parents agree and add, 'We can approach the staff at Glodwick with the confidence that any problem will be resolved in the best interests of our children.' Pupils behave well, enjoy greeting visitors and are desperate to tell them about the work they are doing and how much they enjoy it. They are very proud of their school council members, who, they say, 'Have lots of good ideas to make things even better for us. The school slide and the special table on Friday lunchtime were their ideas.' Healthy eating is a byword

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Grade: 1

in school and fruit, vegetables and milk abound at playtime and lunchtimes. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good and pupils have a keen understanding of religions and cultures different to their own. A wide range of charities benefits from the generosity of the pupils, the collection for victims of the Pakistan earthquake in 2005, for example. Pupils' impressive skills in using new technology and the independence they display in literacy and numeracy activities prepare them well for life after school. Attendance is below average but is improving as a result of the effective strategies employed to foster it. 3 Inspection Report: Glodwick Infant and Nursery School, 31 January °1 February 2007

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Grade: 2

The quality of teaching and learning is good, with some outstanding practice. Pupils in both key stages respond positively to the dignified treatment and high levels of support they receive from teachers and teaching assistants. Indeed relationships are outstanding and pupils are generally fully engaged in the activities and are not afraid to take responsibility for their own learning. In an outstanding Year 2 craft lesson, for example, there were so many hands-on activities, that pupils experienced sketching, collage-making and 3-D construction; they moved between activities without any fuss. The use of computer technology as a teaching and learning tool, and by both pupils and teachers, is outstanding and children as young as three use computers with confidence and skill. In a minority of lessons there is too much teacher direction, concentration wanes and the pace of learning slows as a result. Teaching and learning in the Foundation Stage are good. There is excellent attention

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Grade: 2

to basic skills in literacy, numeracy and communication and on children's personal, social and emotional development. Children play and work together happily and much self-discipline at such an early age is evident in both the Nursery and Reception classes. Assessment is a developing strength and teachers track the progress of their pupils closely. As a result, any underachievement is highlighted accurately and the school intervenes quickly and effectively to address it. Pupils are well aware of how they can improve their work and, as they write on the prominent display in the assembly hall, 'Do hard work and assess it. Then you have learned!'

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Grade: 2

The curriculum includes an imaginative range of activities and experiences. It is carefully planned and organised, which helps all the pupils, whatever their needs, to build their skills and knowledge rapidly. For example, most children start Nursery speaking very little English, so the curriculum provides particularly well for developing their language skills. Throughout the school, a strong emphasis on literacy and numeracy is complemented successfully by a wide range of relevant activities, which catch the pupils' interest and promote their enjoyment of learning. For example, the Racial Harmony project includes exciting activities with a partner school and a myriad of computer activities has generated much high quality work. The pupils' outstanding personal development is fostered by a strong emphasis on activities that encourage them to consider their thoughts and feelings and those of others. Activities outside

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Grade: 2

lessons are good in range and quality, particularly the emphasis on first-hand experiences and the contribution made by visitors. These activities have a positive effect on pupils' personal development, self-esteem and confidence. 4 Inspection Report: Glodwick Infant and Nursery School, 31 January °1 February 2007

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Grade: 1

Levels of care are outstanding and parents understandably rate this as a significant strength of the school. Excellent relationships between staff and pupils create a very positive climate in school, which does much to ensure that each child is safe, happy and ready to learn. The confidence this gives pupils makes a very strong contribution to their personal development and their enjoyment of learning. Child protection procedures are fully in place. Vulnerable pupils are nurtured and are able to join in all school activities as a result. Support and guidance for pupils' learning are comprehensive. Teachers and teaching assistants are fully aware of their pupils' needs, plan work to meet them and provide effective guidance to help them improve. Activities in small groups are particularly beneficial. Ways of involving pupils in assessing their own understanding and progress are developing very well and pupils are clear about

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Grade: 1

the targets they have to reach. Support for pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is very effective. The school has well-founded systems in place to identify needs and set appropriate targets for learning.

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Grade: 1

This school continues to face many challenges, but excellent leadership and skilful management enable it to succeed against the odds. The headteacher has an extremely perceptive view of what the school needs to do to help all the pupils achieve their potential. This is shared by staff at all levels, which creates a very consistent, determined approach to supporting pupils' learning. As a result, pupils achieve well in their lessons and make outstanding progress in their personal development. The leadership team is very effective in pursuing areas for improvement. Rigorous, accurate evaluation of the school's performance results in key priorities for improvement in a detailed plan. Action involves all the staff and management keeps a close eye on the progress of initiatives to check they are successful. For example, recent measures to improve pupils' reading skills were falling behind the targets set and so additional activities were put

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Grade: 1

in place to ensure pupils reached their potential. Curriculum leaders also adopt a systematic approach to checking on quality and seeking improvements. On occasions, the school underestimates the quality of its provision but this is because it knows that nothing is ever perfect and that it always strives to improve. Governors have an astute grasp of the school's strengths. They value highly the way the school involves parents in their children's education but they also look closely at pupils' progress and are not afraid to ask challenging questions. The school is very successful in ensuring that all pupils are fully involved in learning and school life, whatever their background, ability or particular needs. All these strengths demonstrate that the school has outstanding capacity to improve further. 5 Inspection Report: Glodwick Infant and Nursery School, 31 January °1 February 2007 .

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Grade: 1

set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Glodwick Infant and Nursery School, 31 January °1 February 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? 2 The quality and standards in the Foundation Stage 1 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 1 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

2 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 3 The attendance of learners 1 How well learners enjoy their education 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 1 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 1 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?

1 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: Glodwick Infant and Nursery School, 31 January °1 February 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: Glodwick Infant and Nursery School, 31 January °1 February 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you all so much for the warm welcome you gave us when we visited your school recently. You were very friendly to us and we enjoyed meeting and talking to you. We would now like to tell you what we thought about your school. Glodwick is a good school and we know you are very proud of it! You behave well and you like your teachers, your teaching assistants and your classmates. You make good progress in your lessons and your teachers teach you well. The school council is very good indeed and it has lots of ideas to make your school even better. The friendship benches are very important too and they make sure no-one feels lonely. Your teachers try very hard to make your lessons fun and you are very good at using computers. You know, too, why it is important to have a healthy lifestyle and you eat fruit and vegetables every day. The adults in school care for you very well and make sure that you all enjoy life at Glodwick. Your headteacher and all the other staff

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

know how to improve your school even more. We have now asked your teachers to give you lots of chances to talk and listen to your classmates about what you are going to write so that your stories will be even better. We have also asked them to keep on trying their best in lessons to make sure that you make good progress in all your subjects. You can help in this by continuing to work hard! Thank you once again for being so kind and friendly to us. We enjoyed watching you learn 9 Inspection Report: Glodwick Infant and Nursery School, 31 January °1 February 2007

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