William Austin Infant School

Inspection Report William Austin Infants' School

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109584 Unique Reference Number LUTON Local Authority 288434 Inspection number 29 °30 January 2007 Inspection dates Sue Hall 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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Culverhouse Road School address Infant Type of school Luton Community School category Bedfordshire LU3 1PZ 4 °7 Age range of pupils 01582 595198 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01582 595198 Fax number 390 Number on roll (school) Mr Stan Boelman Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Lynn Alexander Headteacher 11 February 2002 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 288434 29 °30 January 2007 4°7 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 larger than average sized infants school. The proportion of children eligible for free school meals is slightly below the national average. Almost all children are of Asian or British Asian heritage and the large majority speak English as a second language. The proportion with learning difficulties or disabilities is average. The school has achieved Investors in People and Healthy Schools awards.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: William Austin Infants' School, 29 °30 January 2007

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Grade: 2

This is a good school. Equality of opportunity is outstanding and the pastoral care of children is at the centre of everything the school provides. Parents are very pleased with the quality of education and one notes 'My children are so happy within their school environment that they look forward to going to school... I believe this is one of the best schools around.' Children enter the Foundation Stage with widely ranging skills and several have little formal pre-school experience. Initially, many have limited confidence in speaking English. Overall, their knowledge and skills on entry are below those normally expected of four-year-olds. The school effectively prioritises the development of children's skills in using English. Consequently, they settle well to school routines and make rapid gains in their learning. They achieve well and attain many of the targets expected of five-year-olds by the time that they enter Year 1, although communication skills often

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Grade: 2

remain below national expectations. In Years 1 and 2 they make good progress, especially in reading and writing, where planning, teaching and learning are all effective. At the end of Year 2 standards are in line with national expectations. While standards in mathematics are slightly below those in English, children achieve well overall. However, assessments throughout the school show girls do much better than boys, who do not always make the progress of which they are capable. The personal development of children is good. There is a high degree of racial harmony. Children are happy and enjoy lessons and playtimes. They feel safe and secure and learn how to make healthy lifestyle choices. They enjoy taking responsibilities within the school community, including as members of the school council. Girls try really hard with their work but some boys could be more independent and do more for themselves.

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Grade: 2

The quality of teaching and learning is good. A particular strength is the number and quality of support staff, who play a significant role in enabling children to develop confidence in their abilities. Curriculum planning is good, with particular emphasis on the development of personal and social skills and the ability to communicate with others. Levels of care and support for children are good overall. Pastoral care is a strength, as is the excellent support for those with learning difficulties and disabilities. This, coupled with high quality support for children with English as an additional language, ensures that children make good progress. However, the academic guidance of children is not always as effective because staff do not make full use of the range of assessment information to set the best level of challenge, particularly for those of higher ability. Leadership and management of the school are good. The headteacher provides well

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Grade: 2

focused leadership. Staff work well as a team with the special educational needs coordinator and family worker providing very effective support in areas of their responsibility. Governance of the school is good. The school provides good value for money and has good capacity for further improvement. 2 Inspection Report: William Austin Infants' School, 29 °30 January 2007

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What the school should do to improve further

• Improve the progress of boys by giving greater emphasis to developing their independent learning skills. • Make better use of the full range of assessment information to consistently challenge all children, especially those of higher ability and particularly in mathematics.

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Grade: 2

From a low base, most children achieve well. Many enter the Foundation Stage with limited early learning skills. About one in five of all pupils have no formal pre-school education and few experiences beyond their immediate family settings. Furthermore, some initially have little confidence in speaking English. Nevertheless, because children are well supported in their first language and those with learning difficulties or disabilities get effective help, they make good progress. When they enter Year 1, children attain many of the targets expected at this age, although speaking skills are still generally below national expectations. The school has put a lot of effort into raising standards in English, and assessments at the end of Year 2 show that attainment in reading and writing are in line with national averages. Standards in recent years have often been slightly lower in mathematics and the school has, rightly, put in place measures to improve children's

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Grade: 2

skills and confidence in solving problems. While the progress children make is good overall, girls often do much better than boys. Some boys do not achieve well in this area because they do not have independent skills and often wait for someone to do things for them. Higher attaining children achieve at least satisfactorily, but some could make more progress if challenged on a consistent basis, especially in mathematics.

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Grade: 2

Children enjoy school a great deal and feel totally secure. Good behaviour and strong relationships are key to successful learning. However, some pupils and particularly boys are at times passive and do not try as hard as they could. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. The school uses its wealth of cultural diversity particularly well to foster deeper understanding. Consequently, there are high levels of racial harmony; playtimes are good, pleasant social occasions because the school promotes community cohesion very well. The recently formed school council goes about its work with purpose. Most children understand the importance of eating healthily and enjoy lunchtime games activities. Thanks to very effective monitoring, there has been a significant improvement in attendance, which has risen to average levels. This is a real success story. 3 Inspection Report: William Austin Infants' School, 29 °30 January 2007

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Grade: 2

Teaching and learning are good. Teachers ensure that children who speak English as an additional language receive well structured and high quality support that enables them to make the most of the learning opportunities on offer. They have worked successfully to provide these, grasping every opportunity to good effect, particularly in literacy. Teaching assistants also give good support in lessons, especially to those who find learning hard, so that children are fully included, make good progress and achieve their targets. The school has good systems for checking how well children are doing. This information is used well and ensures that children know what their targets for improvement are and also the steps they need to take to achieve them. However, information gained from assessing children's learning is not always used as well as it could be. More able children are sometimes not provided with sufficiently challenging work to improve

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Grade: 2

their progress and raise standards. This is particularly the case in mathematics.

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Grade: 2

The school provides a good range of activities to help children to learn. It is particularly effective in supporting children's personal, social and emotional development. Children in the Reception classes receive a good balance between teacher-directed and self-chosen activities to develop their skills and confidence. Staff use a wide range of learning opportunities to help children to improve their literacy, such as The Better Reading Partnership. These have had a positive effect on children's motivation and achievement. However, the school recognises the need to motivate boys to improve their progress further. The school provides well for children who have English as an additional language or find learning difficult. Rich learning opportunities, including regular educational visits, provide interest and enjoyment and so contribute to the quality of children's learning and achievement. Similarly, visitors to the school stimulate

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Grade: 2

children's interest in contributing to their community.

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Grade: 2

The school provides secure evidence to support its view that care, guidance and support are good. Parental confidence is high. Children's safety is paramount and the school deserves its Investors in People award. Child protection procedures are very secure and children know they can confide in a trusted adult. The school provides particularly well for those with learning difficulties and / or disabilities and English as an additional language. The family worker and outside agencies support individual families and the community very effectively. Constructive relationships with the on-site nursery and junior school ensure a smooth transition. Procedures for guiding academic progress 4 Inspection Report: William Austin Infants' School, 29 °30 January 2007 are satisfactory and improving. Target setting is at a relatively early stage and is not yet firmly established and therefore assessment information is not always used to best

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Grade: 2

effect to provide the highest level of challenge.

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Grade: 2

The leadership of the headteacher is good. This has been an important factor in the school's continued improvement since the last inspection. She has maintained a strong focus on children's achievement and on providing outstanding equality of opportunity for all, despite the growth in the number on roll and disruptions caused by building extensions. She is ably supported by the deputy headteacher and senior staff, including the special educational needs coordinator and family worker. The monitoring of teaching and learning by senior staff and subject leaders is effective and so provision for most aspects of the school's work is equally good. School self-evaluation is thorough and accurately identifies strengths and areas for further improvement. For instance the whole-school focus on literacy has been successful in raising standards. Governance of the school is good because experienced governors are well informed of what works

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Grade: 2

well and where improvements are needed. 5 Inspection Report: William Austin Infants' School, 29 °30 January 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: William Austin Infants' School, 29 °30 January 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 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: William Austin Infants' School, 29 °30 January 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: William Austin Infants' School, 29 °30 January 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

30 January 2007 Dear Children William Austin Infants' School, Culverhouse Road, Luton, Bedfordshire, LU3 1PZ Thank you very much for looking after us when we visited your school recently. We really enjoyed speaking to you in lessons, at lunchtime, in the playground and at the meeting with the School Council. We think there are lots of things that are good about your school. These are the things that we found are best: • Your behaviour is good and you get on really well together. • Most of you try hard and make good progress. • Everybody is given the help they need to succeed and do well. • The help for those who are just learning to speak English or who find work hard is really good. • Mrs Alexander does a good job of leading your school. These are things that we think could be even better: • Some of the boys could make better progress by doing more things for themselves. • Teachers could set work that makes you think a bit harder.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you again for being so helpful and friendly towards us. Remember that you can do a lot to help your school improve even more by making sure you try really hard all the time. Yours sincerely Sue Hall Lead inspector 9 Inspection Report: William Austin Infants' School, 29 °30 January 2007

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