Purlwell Infant and Nursery School

Purlwell Infant and Nursery School Inspection report

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107641 Unique Reference Number Kirklees Local Authority 287879 Inspection number 22 January 2008 Inspection date Peter Jones 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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Primary Type of school Community School category 3 °7 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 321 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mr U Rafiq Chair Mrs J Virr Headteacher 8 July 2002 Date of previous school inspection Purlwell Lane School address Batley West Yorkshire WF17 7PE 01924 326734 Telephone number 01924 326735 Fax number

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3-7 Age group 22 January 2008 Inspection date 287879 Inspection number .

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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 one Additional Inspector. The inspector evaluated the overall effectiveness of the school and investigated the following issues; achievement and standards, teaching and learning, curriculum, and some aspects of care, guidance and support and leadership and management. Evidence was gathered from lesson observations, parents' questionnaires, the scrutiny of pupils' work and of assessment data and other documents. In addition, discussions were held with pupils, the chair and vice-chair of governors and key staff. Other aspects of the school's work were not investigated in detail, but the inspector found no evidence to suggest that the school's own assessments, as given in its self-evaluation, were not justified and these have been included where appropriate in this report.

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Description of the school

This large infant and nursery school serves a residential area facing challenging social and economic circumstances. The vast majority of pupils are from minority ethnic backgrounds and speak English as an additional language. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is below average as is the proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. The school holds the Investors in People and Investors in Pupils Awards and has the Gold Healthy Schools status.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 9 Inspection Report: Purlwell Infant and Nursery School, 22 January 2008

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Grade: 2

This is a good school. Some of its work is outstanding. The headteacher provides outstanding leadership and is determined to further improve pupils' standards and achievements and the quality of their experiences. The recently formed senior leadership team and the governors have an accurate picture of the school's effectiveness, although they are too modest about the excellent quality of the care, support and guidance it provides for pupils. The introduction of highly effective systems for analysing pupils' progress and the continual improvements to staff skills and expertise has resulted in a good improvement since the school's last inspection. The vast majority of pupils enter the school with English as an additional language. Although the school's roll has remained stable, the funds the school receives to support these pupils have been cut significantly since 2004 and this has led to staffing reductions. Nevertheless, the

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Grade: 2

school has responded well to the resulting challenges it has faced in maintaining and improving the quality of the education it provides. The good teaching and a good curriculum enable pupils consistently to reach broadly average standards in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 2. Given pupils' starting points, this represents good progress, and exemplifies the good value for money the school provides. The school has a good capacity to improve even further. Visitors are welcomed warmly when they enter the school and are met with a host of beaming smiles from the pupils. Pupils are very proud of their school and eager to talk about it, but remain polite and courteous at all times. They enjoy their lessons and the time they spend in the well equipped and exciting playground areas. Attendance is in line with national averages and improving. The school works hard and successfully with parents and the community to

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Grade: 2

reduce the frequency and impact of pupils' extended visits abroad in term time. Behaviour in classrooms and around school is good, and pupils understand how important their own safety is and that of others. They show excellent awareness of the importance of eating healthily and taking physical exercise. The award to the school of Gold Healthy Schools status is an indication of the quality of its work in this area. Pupils are keen to take on positions of responsibility as monitors or helpers. The fledgling school council is growing in confidence and capability and has helped to bring improvements to the playground areas. There is a strong tradition of fundraising for the school and for local and national charities. Many pupils join in the good range of lunchtime and afternoon clubs and their confidence and self-esteem is raised as a result. The popular gardening club provides pupils with a simple introduction to commerce by

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Grade: 2

selling the vegetables they have so carefully grown. The effective teaching throughout the school is secured on the outstanding relationships between pupils and staff. Pupils are keen to learn and work hard in all their lessons. The expertise of staff in providing effective strategies to accelerate pupils' progress in language and communication are also central to the school's success. The school's curriculum is carefully tailored to achieving success in basic skills. It also provides pupils with interesting experiences and visits to local museums and attractions. There is a good variety of visitors to provide pupils with knowledge and experience of the worlds of sport, music and art. The Art Week taking place during the inspection is a good example of how the school effectively combines subjects through a common theme to make learning exciting. The contribution of the extremely skilled and dedicated teaching assistants is an integral part of the highly focused teaching that develops

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Grade: 2

basic skills in reading and writing. The school's current priority of improving speaking and listening skills for all pupils is making an impact in all subjects. Computers and interactive 4 of 9 Inspection Report: Purlwell Infant and Nursery School, 22 January 2008 whiteboards are used very effectively to make learning stimulating, and the vibrant displays of work in classrooms and corridors are truly outstanding and add much to the learning process. Pupils are encouraged to work independently from an early age. However, in some lessons the most able pupils do not always have enough opportunities to extend their learning to develop the research and problem-solving skills they need to make even better progress. Care and support are at the heart of the school's work. Child protection and health and safety procedures are rigorously applied. The beautiful Victorian building is lovingly maintained and is an inspiration in itself. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities are identified at

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Grade: 2

an early stage and thanks to the expert and sensitive support they receive, they too make good progress. Parents value the work of the school highly. 'The friendly environment and caring atmosphere mean my child enjoys school and feels happy and secure,' was a typical parental comment. The academic guidance pupils receive is of a very high quality. Their progress is carefully tracked towards challenging targets and they are given very good advice about how to improve their work further.

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Grade: 2

Children enter Nursery with skills and abilities that are below those expected for their age in most areas, and are often well below in language and communication. They discover a safe, caring and happy world in the Foundation Stage that is rich in sensation and experience. The sensitive and purposeful teaching they receive enables them to make good progress overall. They reach standards that remain below those expected nationally by the end of Reception, but the skills and confidence they gain act as a springboard for the accelerated progress they make in Years 1 and 2. The school goes to great lengths to forge good relationships with parents and a great many of them take the opportunity to share the school experience with their children at the start of the day. The very good support the children receive from adults enhances their abilities to cooperate and share and to begin to be independent. Their personal and emotional

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Grade: 2

development improves rapidly as a result. The good outdoor provision enables them to exercise and gain coordination skills that benefit their physical development. The Foundation Stage is well managed and all staff carefully assess children's progress.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Ensure that the most able pupils are given more opportunities to develop the research and problem-solving skills and abilities they need to make the best possible progress. 5 of 9 Inspection Report: Purlwell Infant and Nursery School, 22 January 2008 .

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What the school should do to improve further

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 of 9 Inspection Report: Purlwell Infant and Nursery School, 22 January 2008

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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? Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 2 The effectiveness of the Foundation Stage 2 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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

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 of 9 Inspection Report: Purlwell Infant and Nursery School, 22 January 2008

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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 2 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 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 of 9 Inspection Report: Purlwell Infant and Nursery School, 22 January 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Inspection of Purlwell Infant and Nursery School, Batley, WF17 7PE I am writing to thank you for being friendly and helpful when I visited your school recently. I would like to share with you what I found out. Your school provides you with a good standard of education. Your teachers work hard to make your lessons enjoyable. They give you really good help and advice about how to improve. You behave well and you work hard in lessons and make good progress as a result. Your school keeps you safe and happy and gives you the chance to help others and take responsibility. You told me how much you enjoy the lunchtime and afternoon clubs and the visits the school organises to interesting places like Scarborough and the Butterfly House. Your school council has helped to make more improvements to your well equipped playground. I would like you to do even better with your work and so I have suggested something that will

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

help. I would like your teachers to make sure that those of who are capable of reaching the highest levels have the chance to improve your research and problem-solving skills as much as possible in lessons. You can help by always trying your best and being positive about your work. Everyone at Purlwell really cares about you and wants you to do as well as you can. 9 of 9 Inspection Report: Purlwell Infant and Nursery School, 22 January 2008

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