Keelham Primary School

Inspection Report Keelham Primary School

p.1

107438 Unique Reference Number Bradford Local Authority 287818 Inspection number 2 October 2006 Inspection date Lesley Clark Reporting inspector

p.1

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

p.1

Denholme Gate School address Primary Type of school Bradford Foundation School category West Yorkshire BD13 4HH 3 °11 Age range of pupils 01274 832491 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01274 833816 Fax number 110 Number on roll (school) Mr C Ing Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Mr David Atkinson Headteacher 24 April 2002 Date of previous school inspection

p.1

Inspection number Inspection date Age group 287818 2 October 2006 3 °11 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.1

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.

p.2

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.

p.2

Introduction

The inspection was carried out by an Additional Inspector.

p.3

Description of the school

This small village school to the west of Bradford is very popular and has many more children wanting to come than it has places for. It serves the local community and also takes in pupils from further a field. A 15-place Nursery class was established two years ago to form a Foundation Stage with the Reception class. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is higher than average and there is a correspondingly large proportion of pupils identified as having gifts and talents. The school is run by a headteacher for three days a week supported by a full-time teaching deputy headteacher. Most teaching staff have part-time contracts or job share.

p.3

Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Keelham Primary School, 2 October 2006

p.3

Grade: 2

This is a good school with some outstanding features. The school, while judging itself to be good, is too modest where it excels and too generous where it has identified weaknesses. The school makes outstanding provision for pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and for pupils identified as being gifted and talented. These pupils do exceptionally well. Standards are high at the end of Year 6 in English, mathematics and science with almost all pupils achieving the level expected and over half exceeding them. These high standards have been maintained for the past five years. The last two years have seen standards pick up at the end of Year 2 because of outstanding teaching in this year group. Pupils are well taught and achieve well because the school has high expectations of each of them. Additional classes provided by the local grammar school give a real boost to science, extending the curriculum to include forensic science, for example, or linking

p.4

Grade: 2

science, mathematics and technology in challenging projects. In addition, gifted and talented pupils have opportunities to enter national challenges which tax their skills and ingenuity. Pupils' outstanding personal development is a major contributory factor in the high standards they achieve. They work hard, behave well and concentrate intently in lessons. They are similarly energetic outside. Pupils clearly benefit from the wide range of sporting opportunities on offer both at school and at the local high school and are full of vitality as a consequence. The curriculum on the whole is good. While there is outstanding provision in terms of breadth and additional learning opportunities outside school for pupils in Years 1 to 6, the Foundation Stage curriculum is not sufficiently well planned to offer a full range of learning experiences both indoors and outdoors, despite good resources. Provision in the Foundation Stage is satisfactory. Although there are weaknesses in the teaching

p.4

Grade: 2

of basic skills, children make satisfactory progress overall because of strengths in the provision for their personal development. As a result, they become increasingly confident and keen to learn. Recent measures taken by the school to support children's early language, literacy and mathematical development have not had sufficient time to have full impact as yet. Pupils are given good levels of care, support and guidance. Parents are unquestionably supportive of the school, appreciating the care it takes of their children. In Years 1 to 6, pupils do well because well-thought-out assessments are used effectively to track pupils' progress and to help teachers decide what needs to be taught. Many children follow individualised learning plans and this helps both those with learning difficulties and those who are talented to make best use of their gifts. However, in the Foundation Stage, assessments are less rigorous and observations of children working on

p.4

Grade: 2

independent activities lack detail. Good leadership and management have brought about immense changes since the last inspection in terms of establishing and maintaining high standards and developing the school site to provide more teaching space both indoors and outdoors. Management is particularly strong, with a noticeable increase in the pace of change with the 2 Inspection Report: Keelham Primary School, 2 October 2006 appointment of a full-time deputy headteacher to assist the part-time headteacher. Much has been achieved in a short time because of self-evaluation, which has highlighted clearly the shortcomings in the Foundation Stage as well as the strengths in the rest of the school. The school gives good value for money and is well placed to continue to improve.

p.4

What the school should do to improve further

• Make sure that children in the Foundation Stage have full opportunity to learn independently from a wide range of well-planned, interesting activities both indoors and outdoors and that their learning is assessed in sufficient detail to enable teachers to help them make the best possible progress.

p.5

Grade: 2

Standards are well above average at the end of Year 6 in English, mathematics and science. Pupils achieve well because they are well taught. Those who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities or who are gifted and talented tend to make the best progress because they are given a great deal of individual support and additional opportunities to develop their skills to the full. The school sets and meets challenging targets because it has high expectations of all learners. Children enter school at a broadly average level. After a slow start in the Foundation Stage, their progress picks up in Years 1 and 2. Standards recently have been above average at the end of Year 2 because of outstanding teaching quality. Pupils in Year 6 attribute their success to their teachers who, 'tell you what you need to improve on. They give you small tips that work'.

p.5

Grade: 1

Pupils thoroughly enjoy school. Behaviour is good and attendance is above average. Pupils bubble over with enthusiasm as they speak of what they do in lessons and on their many and varied educational visits. They are very aware of how they learn and recognise that it is their job to 'try to work to the next level' when they are set targets in their work. They attribute their success 'to the teachers partly; but we work together as a team.' Year 6 have a lot of responsibilities such as answering the telephone at lunchtimes or reading with Reception children. They clearly see their position as important in setting the tone for the school and making sure it is a happy place for everyone to be. Bullying is not an issue. The school council has made an impact on healthy awareness through running a healthy tuckshop and developing playground markings to encourage energetic play. Spiritual, moral and cultural development is

p.5

Grade: 1

good. Pupils are exceptionally well placed in terms of their future economic well-being because, in addition to their very good literacy and numeracy skills, their outstanding social development gives them confidence and poise. 3 Inspection Report: Keelham Primary School, 2 October 2006

p.5

Grade: 2

The quality of teaching and learning is good overall with some examples of outstanding practice in Years 2 and 6. The quality of teaching and learning in the Foundation Stage is satisfactory on balance, with strengths in fostering children's personal, social and emotional development and weaknesses in teaching basic skills. The good teaching is characterised by thorough planning based on assessments of pupils' previous work. Year 6 pupils astutely pointed out that, 'teachers go over things; they won't leave you not knowing.' Many opportunities for independent or collaborative work, often involving problem solving, help pupils learn effectively. What distinguishes the outstanding teaching is the capacity to cater for many different learning styles with an undercurrent of humour that captures pupils' interest while it engages their minds.

p.6

Grade: 2

The provision is polarised between good with outstanding features in Years 1 to 6 and satisfactory with inadequate features in the Foundation Stage. Good provision for literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology (ICT) balanced by a greater amount of time given to physical education (PE) and sport than in most schools, aids pupils' good progress. Outstanding enrichment through links with the local high school, extra-curricular clubs and extensive educational visits gives additional breadth and wide-ranging learning experiences. The curriculum is also extremely well adapted to meet the needs of those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and those who are gifted or talented. In the Foundation Stage, the curriculum is not well planned to ensure children learn effectively from undertaking purposeful, challenging learning activities both indoors and outdoors. There is a tendency to view outdoor

p.6

Grade: 2

play as a time to 'let off steam' rather than as an intrinsic and important part of children's learning.

p.6

Grade: 2

Provision for pupils' welfare is good and child protection procedures are robust. The systems to support children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities are outstanding and the school has the capacity to cope successfully with a wide range of needs and abilities. Individual education plans give precise and achievable steps of learning for pupils with learning difficulties and these, together with outstanding support from teaching assistants in all classes, enable pupils to do extremely well. Good systems support academic progress and give a clear overview of how well pupils are doing. Assessment is less well planned in the Foundation Stage. Information and the planning of activities based on observations of children's learning lack the necessary detail to help children make the best possible progress. 4 Inspection Report: Keelham Primary School, 2 October 2006

p.6

Grade: 2

Good leadership and management have ensured that the school has made good improvement since the last inspection. The change from a school with a Reception class to one with a Foundation Stage has been managed smoothly though there are weaknesses, identified by the school, which are being tackled effectively. Despite staffing which is largely part time or on a job share basis, the school continues to thrive with everyone taking a fair share in managing different subjects. Astute management has ensured that pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities have outstanding provision, both in terms of the support they receive in class and from a part-time special needs manager. Gifted and talented pupils similarly benefit from additional support such as 'Philosophy for Children' sessions which extend their thinking. Governors take a keen interest in what goes on at school and are well organised and

p.7

Grade: 2

supportive. Finances are well managed so that pupils have the benefit of a good range of learning resources. The school has good capacity to continue to improve. 5 Inspection Report: Keelham Primary School, 2 October 2006 .

p.7

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: Keelham Primary School, 2 October 2006

p.8

Inspection judgements

School Overall Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

p.9

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

p.9

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 1 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

p.9

learners?

2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2 The behaviour of learners 2 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

p.9

and interests of learners?

2 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

p.9

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: Keelham Primary School, 2 October 2006

p.9

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: Keelham Primary School, 2 October 2006

p.10

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you for being so friendly and for talking to me so animatedly about your school. I enjoyed talking to you, seeing you in lessons and talking to your headteacher and other teachers about your school. I came to the conclusion that your school is good and that you help to make it so. Here is why! Your school is well led and managed and has made sure that you have good resources both inside and outside to help you learn. You are well taught and that is why you achieve high standards in your work. I think the system you have of underlining the bits in your targets that you really need to work on is very effective. You behave well and older pupils take on many responsibilities, particularly helping younger children. You are well looked after and those of you who have special talents or who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities are given outstanding support to help you make the most of your gifts.

p.11

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

You certainly work and play with enthusiasm. No wonder your teachers are keen to take you outside school on different educational visits because you are so responsive! I was impressed by the amount of PE that you do and that you enjoy so many things both here and at the high school. All this adds up to a good school where it is fun to be a pupil. It is part of my job to point out what could be improved. While the changes to the Reception class - adding a nursery and creating an outside play area - have created a Foundation Stage of learning, there is still more to be done to make sure that it works as well as it should. So this is what I have suggested: • make sure that children in the Foundation Stage have full opportunity to learn independently from a wide range of well-planned, interesting activities both indoors and outdoors and that their learning is assessed in sufficient detail to help them make the best possible

p.11

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

progress. 9 Inspection Report: Keelham Primary School, 2 October 2006

p.11