Wigmore Primary

Wigmore Primary School Inspection report

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109588 Unique Reference Number LUTON Local Authority 288438 Inspection number 23 °24 April 2007 Inspection dates Robert Drew 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 4 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 388 School

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The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Stephen Owen Chair Mrs Carole Crabtree Headteacher 22 April 2002 Date of previous school inspection Twyford Drive School address Wigmore Hall Estate Luton Bedfordshire LU2 9TB

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01582616101 Telephone number 01582616102 Fax number

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4 °11 Age group 23 °24 April 2007 Inspection dates 288438 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 3 Additional Inspectors

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Description of the school

The school is larger than average, serving the Wigmore district of Luton. Pupils come from a wide range of backgrounds, but the proportion entitled to free school meals is above average. Though attainment on entry is high for a few pupils, for many more it is well below average. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities is significantly above average. The majority of pupils are White British, with a significant minority coming from several ethnic minority groups. Pupil numbers are falling in this school and the area in general.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 11 Inspection Report: Wigmore Primary School, 23 °24 April 2007

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Grade: 2

The school's overall effectiveness is good. It promotes excellent levels of inclusion and equality of opportunity and so enables its very varied range of pupils to make good progress and achieve well. Staff help pupils to mature and to become socially aware by the time they leave school. Attainment on entry to the school is well below average and many pupils have learning difficulties and disabilities (LDD). However, the school enables most pupils to match national standards by the end of Year 6. The effective teaching and care in the Foundation Stage begins this process well. Good achievement continues through Key Stages 1 and 2, because the school assesses needs well and has adjusted its teaching and curriculum to match pupils' requirements. However, standards in writing lag somewhat behind those in other core subjects because in some lessons, teachers' expectations of what pupils should achieve are not high enough.

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Grade: 2

Nevertheless, most pupils make good progress because able pupils are challenged and lower attainers supported. Furthermore, the school provides effective specialised help for those with LDD or for those using English as an additional language. The curriculum is attractive, making good reference to the different cultural backgrounds of pupils and offering wide scope for active participation. This contributes significantly to the good behaviour which now typifies school life and promotes good learning. Pupils enjoy school. Teachers and teaching assistants work together well. Staff plan well and use particularly effective questioning. Pace is generally strong and in many, though not all, lessons assessment information is used well. As a result teaching and learning are generally good. However, a minority of lessons, though satisfactory, lack the pace and the fine adjustment to pupils' different needs that is

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Grade: 2

evident in the best. Care guidance and support are good. Class teachers and other staff know their pupils well and there are effective systems for securing pupils' safety and well-being in school and for ensuring that their personal needs are met. The tracking of academic progress has improved significantly and is now also good. These factors, together with the quality of day-to-day teaching and the school's caring and inclusive ethos, ensure good levels of personal development for almost all pupils. The school's strengths stem from effective leadership and management. The relatively new senior team is particularly strong. They work together very well and collectively give the school a very clear lead. Many valuable changes have been introduced. Some of these are already having a beneficial effect; others are in place and their full impact is awaited. Subject leadership is good. Monitoring is good and the school evaluates its own strengths and weaknesses well.

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Grade: 2

It has demonstrated a good capacity to improve further. The school works well in partnership with others. For example, its full time family worker is helping build good contact with parents and external agencies. Many other schools visit to exchange ideas, especially about the curriculum. The governing body plays a satisfactory role in school life. Governors show a good knowledge of their school, but are less active in challenging and giving strategic direction than they might be. The school provides good value for money.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Raise standards further, especially in writing, by ensuring that very good use of assessment and high expectations seen in some lessons become the norm. 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Wigmore Primary School, 23 °24 April 2007 • Strengthen the governing body's role in challenging the senior leaders and providing strategic support and guidance.

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Grade: 2

Achievement in the school is good. Pupils enter with significantly lower standards than average, but by the end of Year 6 are broadly in line with national levels. Good provision in the Foundation classes allows pupils to make rapid initial progress. Standards at the end of Key Stage 1 are below average, but less so than when the pupils entered school. Progress in lessons is good in all year groups so that, by Year 6, pupils have acquired secure skills in their core subjects. In 2006, results in science and mathematics were average, while in English too few pupils gained Level 5, especially in writing. The school has responded well to this problem and current Year 5 and 6 are on track to meet challenging targets which match national ones. This reflects better use of pupil grouping, assessment for learning and tracking of pupils' progress. Pupils from most ethnic minority groups make particularly good progress, reflecting the school's effective

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Grade: 2

monitoring and teaching but also its success in gaining strong support from pupils' families. There is scope for further improvement in writing, since not all lessons demonstrate the high quality use of assessment data and impressive level of expectations seen in the best.

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Grade: 2

Pupils' personal development and well-being are good. Pupils have good attitudes to learning. They settle into school well and quickly make new friends. Attendance and punctuality are satisfactory, but a few pupils are persistently late despite the best efforts of the school. Pupils are generally courteous and polite, give of their best and take pride in their achievements. They are responsible and enthusiastic learners who are happy at school. They feel safe and confident that staff will help them if they feel upset or worried. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. They grow in self-awareness and reflect upon their feelings and actions. They have a clear understanding of right and wrong. Decisive action has effectively managed challenging behaviour and formerly high exclusion rates are now falling. Pupils encourage and support one another. Behaviour in many lessons is

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Grade: 2

very good. Pupils know how to live healthy lifestyles. They understand the importance of personal safety and learn to look after one another well. Pupils contribute fully. Through initiatives like the school council they enjoy taking responsibility and carry out these tasks enthusiastically. They raise funds for charities and readily offer ideas to improve the school. Pupils are building a satisfactory foundation for later life and their future economic well-being. Most learn the skills they need, and how to share and work together.

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Grade: 2

Teaching is good overall and often outstanding. In the best lessons, teachers plan a rich and varied range of learning experiences that excite and motivate pupils. Questions are used very well to probe the pupils' understanding and to extend their thinking. Most lessons move at a 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Wigmore Primary School, 23 °24 April 2007 good pace, and are well structured. All teachers establish a strong rapport with pupils and this promotes a strong sense of security, which allows pupils to investigate and try out new ideas with confidence and enjoyment. Teachers enable pupils to develop their different styles of learning by adopting a wide range of methods and using resources such as electronic whiteboards. The school makes good use of its well-trained and experienced team of teaching assistants, and their input has a significant and positive impact on pupils' learning. Regular assessments allow teachers to accurately track pupils' progress and to identify where there are

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Grade: 2

weaknesses in pupils' learning that need addressing.

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Grade: 2

The school provides pupils with a good curriculum. It has been thoroughly revised over the last two years to match pupils' needs and interests more effectively and to promote greater active participation. The careful attention given to pupils' different abilities, languages and cultural backgrounds has produced very clear guidance to staff and has led to better engagement by pupils; many show real enjoyment in lessons as a result. The great majority of staff have acquired confidence in using most of the new developments, though best practice has room to spread if the curriculum is to be outstanding. Pupils also benefit from a very good range of well supported extra-curricular activities, especially in sport and music.

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Grade: 2

Care, guidance and support are good. Wigmore is a very inclusive school. Staff know their pupils well. Good support ensures pupils settle quickly when they join. Much is also done to prepare older pupils for secondary school, so they look forward positively and confidently. The family worker role effectively augments and extends the work of the school in the community. Procedures to protect pupils and care for the vulnerable are very good. The health, safety and welfare of pupils are considered paramount. The suitability of all adults is checked and the school is a safe place. Support for all groups including pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities is excellent. Individual needs are quickly and accurately identified and well matched activities provided. Pupils for whom English is an additional language are equally well supported. Procedures for monitoring academic progress are thorough and effectively enable the school

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good. The headteacher provides very good leadership, well focused on continual improvement. A good partnership has been established with the two assistant heads, and together they lead with a clear sense of direction and determination to help all pupils to achieve their best. The subject leaders have a good understanding of the areas of development through their regular and thorough monitoring. The school has identified the right areas for improvement and is working towards them; for example, the need for more pupils to reach the higher levels in writing and the more effective use of the assessment for learning. The way the school works to include pupils from all backgrounds is excellent and contributes well to the school's warm family ethos. The views of all members of the community 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Wigmore Primary School, 23 °24 April 2007 are welcomed and most parents are supportive of the school. One parent wrote, 'I am really

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Grade: 2

pleased with the progress my children have made.' Governors show good knowledge of the school but could be involved more in challenging and advising the senior leadership team. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Wigmore Primary School, 23 °24 April 2007 .

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Grade: 2

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: Wigmore Primary School, 23 °24 April 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. 9 of 11 Inspection Report: Wigmore Primary School, 23 °24 April 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? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: Wigmore Primary School, 23 °24 April 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

26 April 2007 Dear Pupils Inspection of Wigmore Primary School, Luton, LU2 9TB Thank you for the warm welcome you gave us when we visited your school. I am especially grateful to those who gave up part of their lunch time to come and talk with inspectors. We decided that you are in a good school. Lots of things are going well: • teaching and learning are good and sometimes outstanding • the headteacher and assistant headteachers run the school well • you behave well and show real enthusiasm in many lessons • staff and pupils look out for one another so that you have friends and adults to turn to if you need help • lessons deal with interesting topics and all of you can be involved, whatever your ability or interests • standards are rising and you are making good progress. If the school is to be even better it should: • make sure that all lessons use assessment really well and set you really demanding work; this

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

already happens in the best lessons • encourage the Governors to give more active support to the headteacher. I hope you enjoy the rest of your time at this school, Yours sincerely Robert Drew Lead Inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Wigmore Primary School, 23 °24 April 2007

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