Friezland Primary School

Inspection Report Friezland Primary School

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105666 Unique Reference Number Oldham Local Authority 287289 Inspection number 13 °14 September 2006 Inspection dates Ann Sharpe 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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Church Road School address Primary Type of school Greenfield, Oldham Community School category Lancashire OL3 7LN 4 °11 Age range of pupils 01457 872601 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01457 810573 Fax number 100 Number on roll (school) Mr Derek Stacey Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Katherine Wallace Headteacher 22 April 2002 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 287289 13 °14 September 2006 4°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 an Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

Most pupils attending this small, semi-rural school come from privately owned homes in the upper end of the price market for this area. Pupils are from White British backgrounds. Very few claim free school meals. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is well 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: Friezland Primary School, 13 °14 September 2006

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Grade: 2

Friezland Primary is a happy and caring school that reaches out exceptionally well into the community that it serves. Governors, staff, parents and pupils have every reason to feel proud of their achievements in recent years, particularly the outstanding improvement since the previous inspection. Everyone agrees that the key to the school's success is the excellent leadership of the headteacher. In the last two years, she has won hearts and minds by her energetic enthusiasm, her inspiration, and by 'walking the talk' of the very high standards she sets for herself and others. One teacher said, 'She has opened our wings and allowed us to fly.' As a result, weak leadership, management and governance have been transformed into strengths, setting the school on a clear path of continual improvement. Everyone works as a united team, keeping the best interests of the pupils in clear sight. This is a school that knows its own

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Grade: 2

strengths well, is not afraid to say where it can do even better, and gets on with the job of putting things right. Consequently, standards are well above average and pupils' achievement is good, including in the Foundation Stage. As a result of good teaching and learning, pupils have started to make up for previous weaknesses in their writing, but some could still do better. Similarly, although the more capable children are now racing ahead, some have potential to reach still higher standards across the subjects. Staff and pupils strive to do better all the time. In pursuit of this, teachers have put into place new practices for assessing pupils' attainment and setting them targets to aim for over time. Success with this initiative is already evident in the improvements in national tests and assessments in 2006. Teachers know, however, that there is further work to do in order to maximise fully pupils' learning

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Grade: 2

potential. Another major reason for pupils' good achievement is the dedicated attention to all aspects of pupils' personal development and well-being. This starts in the Foundation Stage (Reception class), where children quickly settle into school routines. One governor said, 'We all work together to help every child to grow up to be the very best person they can, whatever they choose to do in life.' Enjoying learning, doing as well as they can, keeping safe and healthy and playing an active part in the community all have high priority in the curriculum and day-to-day life of the school. This ensures that pupils' behaviour is good and that they want to come to school and participate in the very good opportunities they have to learn. It is not surprising then, that parents think very highly of the school and welcome their chance to become increasingly involved in their children's education. This school gives good value for money.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Make greater use of information from assessing pupils to raise their achievement in writing and to enable the more capable pupils to reach higher standards across the subjects. 2 Inspection Report: Friezland Primary School, 13 °14 September 2006

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Grade: 2

When children start in the Reception class, their attainment is above average, but not as high in writing. They make good progress in all classes because of good teaching and learning, and attain well above average standards by the time they leave the school at the end of Year 6. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities achieve well because of good quality support and high expectations that they can do well. This good achievement is not reflected in the 2005 Year 6 national test figures because of the small number of pupils tested. Similarly, the good achievement of Year 6 pupils who left the school in July 2006 has not yet been included in national data. Attainment in Year 6 is improving faster than the national trend, and pupils are making better progress over time than pupils nationally. The school plans to make greater use of the good information from assessing pupils' attainment to set increasingly challenging

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Grade: 2

targets. This shows the school's determination to address previous weaknesses in pupils' writing skills and to challenge the more capable pupils still further.

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Grade: 2

Pupils' good attitudes, behaviour and attendance make an important contribution to the high standards they achieve. Parents are very pleased that their children enjoy school and take an active part in running it. One parent commented, 'My daughter really loves being at school and is always telling us how much she has enjoyed her day.' Pupils know how to keep themselves safe and healthy, and are well prepared for their future economic well-being. The school council is just one of many ways in which pupils learn how to work alongside others and to value their opinions. Pupils readily take responsibilities, such as selling healthy snacks at playtimes. Their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Pupils' knowledge and understanding of our multicultural society and the wider world is growing, but they are not yet very knowledgeable about world religions. The mature and sensible attitudes of older pupils

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Grade: 2

were evident, however, when they explained how they would welcome children from other religious backgrounds to their school and would like to get to know them better.

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Grade: 2

Teaching and learning for pupils of all ages have improved because of the school's good efforts to help them to achieve as much as they possibly can. Teachers and well trained support staff work hard together and make lessons interesting and purposeful, with support for pupils where it is most needed. One parent commented, 'My daughter has improved in ability and confidence so much this year, thanks to her teacher.' Staff accept the regular checking of the quality of their work as an integral part of their 3 Inspection Report: Friezland Primary School, 13 °14 September 2006 teaching. They make whatever changes to their practice that may be needed in order to raise standards. Teachers have worked hard to improve pupils' writing, and to increase the proportion of pupils doing better than expected for their ages across the subjects. Although success is evident in recent test and assessment results, teachers

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Grade: 2

are not complacent. They know that their next priority is to use information from assessing pupils more smartly in order to tailor lessons tightly to pupils' individual learning styles and needs.

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Grade: 2

A varied, interesting and enriching curriculum helps pupils of all ages to achieve well. Pupils enjoy literacy and numeracy lessons, and say how much they like special events, such as the 'Tudor Day' and 'Spanish Day'. There is a good number and range of extra-curricular activities for such a small school. The school seizes every opportunity to widen pupils' experiences. One day, for example, the school meal included vegetables grown by the pupils. Similarly, pupils have been involved in designing and planning the outdoor premises, and they have drawn up plans to improve road safety in the area. Such projects are the result of the school's outstanding links with the local community and businesses. The introduction of Spanish into the curriculum for pupils of all ages has been a huge success. Pupils are thrilled by their newly acquired skills and take great delight in practising them. A review of the curriculum is underway as

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Grade: 2

part of the school's efforts to raise standards in writing and to make sure that there is always enough challenge for the more capable pupils across the subjects.

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Grade: 2

The school takes good care of all its pupils, and well thought out procedures for protecting and safeguarding them are in place. As a result, pupils know that staff will help them to overcome any difficulties. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, for example, have the extra help they need in lessons. Pupils like the 'worry boxes', and the 'buddying' system helps new children to settle into school quickly, as do the thoughtful arrangements for their induction. In recognition of weaknesses in writing, the school is forging closer links with pre-school settings in order to start tackling the problem earlier. Teachers keep a close eye on pupils' progress through assessment, tracking and target-setting systems. They give good guidance through verbal feedback and marking work. Revised assessment procedures are still evolving, however, and staff recognise the potential for helping pupils to understand more about

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Grade: 2

what they must do next in order to improve.

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Grade: 2

The headteacher's open approach has helped the school through the challenge of catching up with the national pace of change at the same time as raising standards. 4 Inspection Report: Friezland Primary School, 13 °14 September 2006 With no deputy headteacher and relatively few staff to delegate responsibilities to, this is quite an achievement. By involving everyone, including parents and the community, there has been outstanding progress since the previous inspection. As one governor said, 'She drags everyone in!' Teachers with responsibility for watching over standards in subjects take their fairly new duties seriously. They know that there is more that they need to do, especially raising standards in writing and for the more capable pupils across the subjects. Nevertheless, their input is reflected in improved test and teacher assessments in 2006. The school's commitment to attending to all the needs of every child is seen in their good achievement and good personal

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Grade: 2

development and well-being. As a result of regular checking, the school has evaluated itself correctly. It has pinpointed the right priorities for further improvement and has good capacity to improve. 5 Inspection Report: Friezland Primary School, 13 °14 September 2006 .

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Grade: 2

set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Friezland Primary School, 13 °14 September 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? 2 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

2 How well do learners achieve? 2 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?

2 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: Friezland Primary School, 13 °14 September 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: Friezland Primary School, 13 °14 September 2006

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you for talking to me and for answering all my questions so thoughtfully when I visited your school. I enjoyed my two days with you, especially eating the lovely vegetables you have grown and buying healthy snacks at playtime. Your behaviour was good all the time, and you worked hard in lessons. I am sorry that I was unable to hear you talking and singing in Spanish, but your teachers told me how well you did. Friezland Primary is a good school. I can see why you told me that you enjoy coming so much, and why your parents are very pleased with the school. All the adults care about you and work hard to help you to do well. You learn a lot in literacy and numeracy lessons, and have many chances to do other interesting and exciting things. The new outside play areas and grounds have improved the school a lot, and the school council is a very good way of helping to make your school even better. As some of you told me, your school has got better in the last two years. Everyone is right to

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

think that your headteacher has done an excellent job. She has helped teachers, classroom assistants, school governors and your parents to work together like a team. I suppose she is a bit like the captain of a football team who helps them to win lots of games. Although your writing is improving, I think that you could do even better. More of you could get the highest marks in all your tests and your work. So I have asked the school to make sure that your work is never too easy or too hard, but always gives you the chance to show what you are really capable of. You can help your teachers by always knowing what your targets are and checking all the time what you still have to do to reach them. 9 Inspection Report: Friezland Primary School, 13 °14 September 2006

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