Fair Furlong Primary School

Inspection Report Fair Furlong Primary School

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109130 Unique Reference Number Bristol, City of Local Authority 288289 Inspection number 13 °14 February 2007 Inspection dates David Curtis 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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Vowell Close School address Primary Type of school Withywood Community School category Bristol BS13 9HX 3 °11 Age range of pupils 0117 3772181 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 0117 3772182 Fax number 295 Number on roll (school) Michelle Webber Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Emma Drew Headteacher 1 January 2002 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 288289 13 °14 February 2007 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

The school serves an area of significant social disadvantage. Children start school with standards that are significantly below expectations. Currently, nearly 50% of pupils are entitled to free school meals. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities is above the national average. Most pupils are of White British heritage. Six pupils from minority ethnic families have English as an additional language but are not at an early stage in this. The headteacher is currently seconded to another school in the local authority. The deputy headteacher, Miss Emma Drew, is acting headteacher during his secondment.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Fair Furlong Primary School, 13 °14 February 2007

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Grade: 2

'The school does not just teach our children English and mathematics; it also shows them how to be respectful to others, have good manners, take an interest in the area where they live and always strive to do better for themselves'. These comments by one parent reflect the positive views expressed by many in support of this good school. Central to the school's success are good leadership and management which are focused totally on raising standards and continuous school improvement. The outstanding improvement in standards from 2004 to 2006 at the end of Year 6 is testimony to the school's ability to improve and to sustain such improvement. Teaching and learning are good and make a significant contribution to pupils' good achievement and to them reaching broadly average standards in English, mathematics and science by the end of Year 6. Although standards in English are at the level expected, standards in spelling are below. Pupils make good progress overall, but the

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Grade: 2

rate of progress varies across the school. In Year 6, where teaching is outstanding, pupils make very good progress. As one Year 6 pupil said, 'Teachers challenge us to reach our own standards and personal limits'. The key factor in uneven progress is that in Years 3 to 5, teachers' planning does not always meet the different learning needs of pupils sufficiently well. Across the school, more-able pupils do not consistently make the progress of which they are capable. Pupils value the feedback they get from teachers' marking and, together with having clear targets, they feel that they understand what they must do in order to improve their work. However, teachers do not always provide pupils with clear expectations as to what they should achieve in lessons. Pupils' good behaviour and positive attitudes to school are very much part of the school's success. As a result of outstanding care, guidance and support, particularly

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Grade: 2

the highly effective pastoral care, pupils' personal development and well-being are good. Attendance, whilst below average, is improving year on year. Despite its best efforts, the school has a minority of persistent absentees. Pupils are prepared well both academically and socially for their future lives and well-being. The good curriculum contributes much to pupils' good achievement. Pupils benefit from an exciting range of visits and visitors to make learning more enjoyable. There are also a good number of extra-curricular activities which are enjoyed by pupils. Provision and standards in the Foundation Stage are good, enabling children to make good progress. Pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities make good progress, as do those with English as an additional language.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Improve teachers' planning, particularly for more-able pupils, so that lessons consistently meet the learning needs of all pupils and ensure their good progress. • Provide pupils with clear expectations of what they should achieve in all lessons. • Improve standards in spelling across the school. 2 Inspection Report: Fair Furlong Primary School, 13 °14 February 2007

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Grade: 2

Children make good progress in the Foundation Stage and achieve well in relation to their starting points on entry to the school. By the end of Reception, children's gains are most significant in their personal, social and emotional development. Although their skills improve steadily in other areas, many are still working at a level below the goals expected for their age in communication, language, literacy and mathematics at the start of Year 1. Good progress continues in Years 1 to 6, with progress in Year 6 being very good. By the end of Year 6, pupils reach standards that are broadly average in English, mathematics and science. In English, pupils have a good understanding of grammar and punctuation, but standards in spelling are weak. More-able pupils are not always sufficiently challenged in lessons and therefore on occasions make insufficient progress. Pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities make good progress because of effective

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Grade: 2

support from teachers and teaching assistants. Pupils with English as an additional language receive similar strong support and make good progress and achieve as well as their peers.

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Grade: 2

Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. It is particularly strong in the social and moral elements. Assemblies are fun and lively, and make a valuable contribution to pupils' spiritual development. Pupils' understanding of life in a culturally diverse society is less well developed and is an area the school is working on. Pupils have a reasonable awareness of healthy lifestyles but do not always put into practice healthy eating choices. Pupils enjoy coming to school. In lessons, around the school and at playtimes, they behave well. They have good attitudes to learning and work hard on their own in pairs and in groups. They say that they feel safe and valued and know that they can ask for help if it is needed. Pupils are respectful of each other and of adults. The school council provides good opportunities for pupils to develop their decision-making skills, for example, by launching and judging a competition to design

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Grade: 2

Lessons are carefully planned, are well organised and have a clear structure. However, the excellent information on pupils' progress is not always used effectively to plan for the range of abilities in each class. As a result, more-able pupils do not always make the progress of which they are capable. Good use is made of resources, particularly 3 Inspection Report: Fair Furlong Primary School, 13 °14 February 2007 interactive whiteboards, to demonstrate key teaching points and to engage pupils' interest. Teachers have excellent strategies for the management of pupils. Expectations of behaviour are clear. Pupils respond positively to well-established routines that mean that time is generally used productively. Just occasionally, the pace of a lesson slows because too much time is spent on an introductory session and pupils struggle to concentrate for a lengthy period. Teachers do not consistently tell pupils what is expected of them in individual lessons. Equally,

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Grade: 2

teachers are not rigorous enough in marking spelling mistakes and this is a key factor in pupils' weaknesses in this area. Teaching assistants are effective in supporting individual pupils to ensure that they participate fully in lessons. Such support helps those with learning difficulties or disabilities, together with those who have English as an additional language, to make good progress.

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Grade: 2

The exciting and innovative curriculum enables most learners, including those with learning difficulties, to make good progress. Provision for literacy and numeracy is good and includes worthwhile opportunities for pupils to apply their skills across the curriculum. The school's recent focus on extending opportunities for writing is making a difference and pupils' skills in this area are improving. However, insufficient emphasis is given to the importance of good spelling. A major strength of the curriculum is that it includes an effective programme of personal, social and health education (PSHE) to support pupils' personal and emotional development. The curriculum is enriched well by a range of opportunities, such as theatre visits, film making, poetry workshops and sporting events. There is a good range of clubs that support and extend pupils' skills, especially in sport and information and communication technology (ICT).

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Grade: 1

All staff know pupils exceptionally well. Excellent systems, including high quality support from teaching assistants, are in place to track the progress of individual pupils and to quickly respond to any in need of additional support. These high quality systems are used effectively to support pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities as well as those with English as an additional language. The school is particularly successful in ensuring that pupils with significant difficulties benefit from all that it offers. Effective links are made with outside agencies to provide very good additional support for these pupils. Pupils who find it difficult to cope at break times are kept busy through activities such as 'muddy football' games or the opportunity to spend time in the library. Information from regular checks on pupils' progress is used very effectively to identify those who need an extra boost to their learning and help them to get back on track.

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Grade: 1

4 Inspection Report: Fair Furlong Primary School, 13 °14 February 2007 Clear targets and helpful feedback on their work help pupils to understand how well they are doing in relation to meeting their long-term targets.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management of the school are clearly focused on ensuring that pupils make good progress. The headteacher and deputy headteacher have a detailed understanding of the ability of their pupils and use this effectively to monitor and support their progress. They, together with subject leaders, have accurately identified areas where improvements can be made and have taken effective action to achieve those ends. The improvements in the recent national test results are a credit to the school and reflect the success of action taken to drive up standards. Good leadership has resulted in positive relationships and behaviour and has created a safe, welcoming atmosphere for pupils and parents, who are increasingly involved in the life of the school. Parents value the way in which the school listens to and responds to their views. A good example of this is the termly newsletters that give parents information

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Grade: 2

on the targets their children have been given. Governance of the school is good. Governors know the school's main strengths and weaknesses and are fully involved in supporting the school and planning for the future. 5 Inspection Report: Fair Furlong Primary School, 13 °14 February 2007 .

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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: Fair Furlong Primary School, 13 °14 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 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 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 2 How well learners enjoy their education 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 3 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?

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: Fair Furlong Primary School, 13 °14 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: Fair Furlong Primary School, 13 °14 February 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you very much for the very warm welcome you gave us when we visited your school. We enjoyed meeting you and talking to you in lessons. In particular, we would like to thank the school council and the Year 6 pupils who gave up part of their lunchtime to share their views with us. I am very pleased to tell you that you go to a good school. These are some of the things we think the school does well and you play an important part in these too. • During your time at school you make good progress in your learning. • Your behaviour is good and you get on really well with each other and all the staff who work with you. • You enjoy your lessons and the way teachers help you learn. • You are enthusiastic about the after-school clubs. • You are cared for exceptionally well and know that there is always an adult to whom you can turn if you are worried or have a problem. • Your school is led and managed well; all the adults want you to do your very best.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

There are a few things we have asked teachers to do to make your school even better. • Give you work which is not too easy or too hard. • Tell you exactly what you should have done by the end of the lesson. • Get you to work really hard at improving your spelling. Perhaps a 'Spelling Challenge' similar to your 'Maths Challenge' might be a good idea. You might think about raising this idea in the school council and with your teachers. Thank you again for making us feel so welcome. 9 Inspection Report: Fair Furlong Primary School, 13 °14 February 2007

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