Girlington Primary School

Inspection Report Girlington Primary School

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107293 Unique Reference Number Bradford Local Authority 287783 Inspection number 20 °21 November 2006 Inspection dates Robert Robinson 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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Girlington Road School address Primary Type of school Bradford Community School category West Yorkshire BD8 9NR 3 °11 Age range of pupils 01274 493543 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01274 543874 Fax number 489 Number on roll (school) Mr Akhlak Rauf Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs S Wood Headteacher 2 July 2001 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 287783 20 °21 November 2006 3°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 three Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

This is a very large primary school. Almost all children are of Asian backgrounds. The school has a designated special provision for 32 children with profound hearing difficulties, who mainly live in the local area. All of these pupils have a statement of special educational need and are taught mainly alongside their hearing peers. Almost all pupils are learning English as an additional language. The local area is extremely socio-economically deprived.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Girlington Primary School, 20 °21 November 2006

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Grade: 2

This is a good school with outstanding features in: the leadership of the headteacher and other senior staff; the care, guidance and support provided; the personal development of all its pupils and the provision for pupils with hearing impairments. The school serves its community very well. It has forged exceptionally good links with the local community and religious leaders. The school has earned their trust and respect. It shares good practice with other schools which benefits pupils' learning. Parents are very supportive of the school. A parental comment summed up the feelings of the majority, 'I am proud that my child attends Girlington Primary School'.Good teaching and a well-planned, interesting curriculum enable pupils to achieve well. Standards by the end of Year 6 are about average. Standards in science are particularly high and about half of the pupils achieve above average standards. However, too few pupils

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Grade: 2

reach the higher levels in English. All pupils have equal opportunities to make good or better progress. Pupils with hearing impairments make outstanding progress. Pupils' personal development, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, is outstanding. Pupils really enjoy coming to school and they respond very well to the first rate, supportive care they receive. Attendance is satisfactory. However, the school does all that it can to encourage parents to appreciate the value of good attendance and the effects of long absences for holidays. Relationships are harmonious between pupils as well as between pupils and staff. Older pupils show an outstanding example to others in their attitude to work and in their behaviour. Pupils contribute very well to community projects and the smooth running of the school. They enjoy learning and appreciate the wide range of after school activities and educational visits. Pupils feel

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Grade: 2

safe and trust all the adults they deal with. They know how to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Pupils are well prepared for their future lives because of their good progress in basic skills and their exemplary attitudes to learning. The leadership and management of the school are good. The headteacher and other senior staff lead the school exceptionally well, resulting in good improvements since the previous inspection. Governors play their part too in the success of the school. They are very well informed through their knowledge of the day-to-day running of the school and the needs of the local community. The school has a largely accurate view of its performance and knows what it must do to improve.Owing to the commitment of the staff and the strengths in its leadership and management, the school has good capacity to continue to improve. There is a strong feeling amongst staff that, 'the best is yet to come.'

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What the school should do to improve further

• Provide increased challenge for the most able pupils so that more reach the higher levels in English by the end of Year 6. 2 Inspection Report: Girlington Primary School, 20 °21 November 2006

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Grade: 2

Pupils achieve well because teaching is good. Pupils at an early stage of learning English quickly grasp the language. Pupils with hearing impairments are given very good help by staff throughout the school. They make steady progress up to Year 4 and then their progress accelerates because of their firm foundations in basic skills. As a result, most of these pupils reach average or above average standards by the end of Year 6. The remaining pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make the same good progress as their classmates.Standards on entry to the Foundation Stage are low, particularly in communication, language and literacy. The children make good progress and by the end of Reception are working towards the standards expected for children of this age. Pupils continue to make good progress throughout Years 1 to 6. Standards by the end of Year 6 in the 2004 national tests were broadly average but

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Grade: 2

dipped to below average in mathematics. The 2006 national test results were much higher than previous years and the highest recorded since the last inspection. Overall, standards are average. Pupils did particularly well in science and a high proportion reached the higher level. The targets set for pupils to reach by the end of Year 6 were met in 2006 in mathematics at both the level expected nationally and the higher level. Although targets were reached in English at the level expected nationally, they were not achieved at the higher level.

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Grade: 1

Pupils are thoughtful and considerate of others, adopt safe practices in school and have superb attitudes to learning. They are well aware of the importance of physical exercise and they keenly take part in extra-curricular activities. Through school council and class councils, pupils initiated a change to the school lunches: 'We wanted to include a choice of healthy sandwiches with salads and now we can have that.'Pupils are enthusiastic about learning and display an obvious enjoyment of school activities. Pupils say there are no bullies at this school. They took part in anti-bullying week 'just as a reminder.' Their commitment to the school and the local community is high. Pupils interact with other children and with adults in a courteous and confident manner. For example, they took part enthusiastically in a project with a local church, aimed at breaking down barriers between young people and older adults. Pupils are developing

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Grade: 1

well the necessary skills for their future well-being through a range of opportunities. These are provided by a curriculum which has a strong focus on pupils taking responsibility for their own learning. Attendance is average. 3 Inspection Report: Girlington Primary School, 20 °21 November 2006

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Grade: 2

The quality of teaching and learning is good with some outstanding features. Staff are skilled at developing pupils' understanding of English. They ensure that pupils have a good grasp of subject specific terms, for example, in science. Classrooms are stimulating places in which to learn, with attractive displays of pupils' work. The outdoor areas around the school are used well to assist learning in the Foundation Stage. Pupils, including those at an early stage of learning English as an additional language, receive strong support from well informed and capable teaching assistants. A particular strength is the help pupils with hearing difficulties receive from staff. This assists them to work particularly well alongside hearing learners. Good use is made of learning resources, including the visual impact of presentations on the interactive whiteboards. Pupils enjoy their learning because the planning of lessons is thorough

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Grade: 2

and mostly linked well to their level of attainment. Occasionally, the organisation of learning in Reception results in slower progress when children are taught together in whole class groups rather than working in small groups, where progress is faster. Pupils are encouraged to comment on what they have learned and to flag up any difficulties encountered. Constructive comments by teachers applaud good achievement as well as suggesting how pupils can improve. For example, 'This is well written but you have only used the present tense and pictures.'

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is enriched well with a wide range of additional activities, including sports and residential visits. Work in classrooms is supplemented well by a wide range of visits. For example, Year 1 visited a museum where pupils could take part in typical Victorian activities. This provided pupils with exciting experiences which added interest to their learning. The provision in the Foundation Stage is good. The curriculum for the youngest children is planned well. Indoor and outdoor accommodation is used effectively to develop all areas of learning, with particular emphasis on personal, social and emotional development and communication, language and literacy. The school is in tune with the parents' beliefs and continually tailors the religious education curriculum and worship to ensure pupils receive a balanced programme which encourages appreciation of their own as well as other faiths and cultures.

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Grade: 1

The school provides outstanding levels of care, guidance and support for pupils. Pupils at risk for whatever reason are quickly identified and supported. The school works successfully with outside agencies, such as speech therapists. Risk assessments are rigorous and effective. Health and safety procedures are in place, ensuring pupils are 4 Inspection Report: Girlington Primary School, 20 °21 November 2006 safe. Arrangements for child protection are robust: parents and pupils express high levels of trust in the staff. Pupils needing extra help or extra challenge with their learning are quickly identified with the help of a very thorough pupil tracking system. The exceptional support and inclusive provision for pupils with hearing impairments results in them making very good progress and reaching standards in line with their hearing peers. The school puts in a lot of effort in order to improve attendance, such

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Grade: 1

as the introduction of a breakfast club. Staff work extremely well with outside agencies such as 'Families Forward' to support pupils outside school. There have been no exclusions in 10 years.

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Grade: 2

The headteacher has built up a high performing team of senior managers and subject coordinators. All are clear about their individual roles and supportive and knowledgeable about each other's responsibilities. They are confident and clearly focused upon promoting the highest quality of care and education for the pupils. The deputy headteacher commented, 'All have the autonomy to go off and do things because the individuals are strong enough, but they know the parameters.' Rigorous monitoring procedures are in place. They ensure that individual staff performance is regularly assessed and recorded with precision. The school has very well developed procedures for promoting inclusion to enable all pupils to achieve the best they can. Innovative procedures for the setting of targets, of outstanding quality, ensure that pupils' small steps of learning are known. These procedures have been introduced relatively recently

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Grade: 2

and so, as yet, have not had sufficient time to impact fully on pupils' standards. The school has a good understanding of its strengths and areas for development. It is well served by its governing body, under the leadership of a perceptive and very well-informed chair. They ensure that the school uses its resources effectively and provides good value for money. 5 Inspection Report: Girlington Primary School, 20 °21 November 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: Girlington Primary School, 20 °21 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? 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? 3 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 1 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

1 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 1 The behaviour of learners 3 The attendance of learners 1 How well learners enjoy their education 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 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: Girlington Primary School, 20 °21 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? 8 Inspection Report: Girlington Primary School, 20 °21 November 2006

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you for welcoming Mr Halford, Mrs Flitcroft and myself to your school. We enjoyed the two days we spent with you and our discussions. Our findings confirm your own views that your school is good with many outstanding features because of the strengths in the leadership and management of the headteacher, senior staff and governors. We are pleased that you are taught well so you make brisk progress in your learning. We agree with you that the staff look after you extremely well. As a result you enjoy school, behave exceptionally well and work hard in lessons. We are particularly impressed by the way that you all get on very well together. Your parents and carers are very pleased that you come to this school.Most of you reach expected standards by the end of Year 6. However, we have asked the school to help those of you who find learning easier to get better results in English.We appreciated talking to you about your

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

work and watching you learn. We trust that you will continue to work with the headteacher and other staff to help them to improve the school. We wish you well for the future. 9 Inspection Report: Girlington Primary School, 20 °21 November 2006

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