All Saints' CofE (Aided) Primary School

Inspection Report All Saints CofE (Aided) Junior School

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110852 Unique Reference Number CITY OF PETERBOROUGH Local Authority 288796 Inspection number 2 °3 November 2006 Inspection dates Geof Timms 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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Dogsthorpe Road School address Junior Type of school Peterborough Voluntary aided School category Cambridgeshire PE1 3PW 7 °11 Age range of pupils 01733563688 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01733563688 Fax number 242 Number on roll (school) Rev David Miller Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Rachael Hutchinson Headteacher 9 July 2001 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 288796 2 °3 November 2006 7°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 two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

The school is of average size for its type. It is popular with parents and, as it is a Church of England Aided school, a number of pupils are from out of the immediate catchment area. A below average number of the pupils are entitled to free school meals. Less than half are from a White British background and the remaining pupils are from a wide range of different minority ethnic backgrounds, the most common being of British Asian - Pakistani heritage. A high proportion has English as an additional language, a small number of whom are at an early stage of learning the language. The number of children with learning difficulties or disabilities is broadly average although it is high in some year groups and there is a high proportion of pupils with statements entitling them to extra support. Although there is a range of attainment on entry to the school, most children's standards are broadly average. At the time of the inspection,

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Description of the school

the headteacher had only been in post for one year, and the deputy headteacher for two months.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: All Saints CofE (Aided) Junior School, 2 °3 November 2006

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Grade: 2

This is a good and improving school with some outstanding features. The headteacher and her new senior management team have very quickly addressed a number of important issues and the school is being well led and managed. The governing body are effective in holding the school to account for its performance. Standards are above average by the time pupils leave the school and they are well prepared for their future education. They make good progress and achieve well. Standards are good in English, mathematics and science. The most recent tests show that standards in writing have improved due to the work the school has done to raise attainment. A small fall in mathematics and science has led to changes to the development planning. There is also an increased awareness of the need to help the pupils at an early stage of learning English with applying their skills to solve problems. The curriculum is good. The recent

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Grade: 2

project weeks, introduced to help improve pupils' creativity, have been popular and successful. More remains to be done to provide opportunities to enable pupils to use their skills in practical situations and to develop their thinking skills and creativity further. The school's self-evaluation is a major strength and this helps the identification of the most important priorities for improvement. For example, the links made between subjects are not fully developed. Staff have been given more time to plan together and this has improved the consistency between classes in the same year group. The quality of the teaching is good overall and this is helping pupils make the good progress that they do. Teachers usually share the objectives of lessons with pupils but they do not always make them clear enough so that pupils understand exactly what is expected of them. Personal development is good and the very positive attitudes pupils display towards

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Grade: 2

school are best summed up by the Year 3 girl who wrote in her journal that she 'loves being a junior so much and I don't like going home much!' The pupils clearly enjoy school and they have a very good understanding what they need to do to keep healthy and safe. They are developing good basic literacy, numeracy and computer skills, and learning to work and play together. The school is also popular with parents. One wrote that they found the school to be a 'safe and happy environment for our child's education - we have seen her grow in confidence and ability.' Throughout the school there is an excellent level of care and support for the pupils. They are able to communicate with their teachers in a variety of ways such as, for example, the written journals. The school ensures all requirements for safeguarding the pupils are met. The school has addressed the issues raised at the last inspection effectively and now provides good value for money. This, together with other

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Grade: 2

improvements made under the new leadership, show that the school has a good capacity to improve further. 2 Inspection Report: All Saints CofE (Aided) Junior School, 2 °3 November 2006

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What the school should do to improve further

• Increase the opportunities provided for pupils to develop their creativity and understand the links between subjects. • Ensure pupils understand the purpose of lessons and what they need to do to be successful.

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Grade: 2

The pupils have a wide range of ability when they enter the school but their standards of reading, writing and mathematics are broadly average overall. They make good progress and achieve well throughout and by the time they leave standards are consistently above average. The most recent test results showed that pupils' writing skills improved and reading standards were maintained at a high level, although mathematics and science results fell slightly due to a small number of pupils who found it difficult to complete tasks because of their language skills. The good achievement extends to virtually all groups of pupils, including those with learning difficulties and disabilities, and most of those from minority ethnic backgrounds. Results are analysed and when pupils are recognised as underachieving they are quickly targeted with extra support and their progress improves. Currently, for example, this is happening

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Grade: 2

successfully with boys from British Pakistani backgrounds in writing. Challenging targets are set and usually achieved. Throughout the school there is high quality art work.

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Grade: 2

Pupils' personal development and well-being are good due to the wide range of opportunities available which effectively develop their spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding. Pupils play an active part in school life and are increasingly involved in the wider community. Most pupils behave well, showing a mature attitude towards others. The elected school council identifies issues from other pupils and works together to resolve concerns. Pupils enjoy school, particularly the various clubs and residential visits on offer. One pupil said, 'The residential trips are just brilliant'. They understand effectively the need for healthy lifestyles. For example, they know about the importance of healthy eating and make conscious choices to buy fruit during morning playtime. Attendance is good. The school has a range of effective strategies which encourage pupils to come to school every day and not to have lengthy extended

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Grade: 2

holidays. 3 Inspection Report: All Saints CofE (Aided) Junior School, 2 °3 November 2006

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Grade: 2

The good teaching has a positive impact on the quality of the pupils' learning and on the progress they make. Most teachers have very good relationships with their classes and this means pupils are attentive and willing to take a full part in activities. All adults work well together and the support offered by teaching assistants and others is effective, especially on the progress made by the less able, or those at an early stage of learning English. Teachers assess accurately and the marking of pupils' work helps them know what they have done well and how they can improve. Teachers often share the objectives of the lesson but these are not always made sufficiently clear to pupils in simple enough language. Displays of work celebrate pupils' achievements, especially in art and design, but opportunities are missed to create interactive displays that support pupils' learning. Lessons are usually sufficiently challenging. This is helped

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Grade: 2

by the grouping of pupils by their prior attainment in English and mathematics.

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Grade: 2

Activities provided for pupils often give a good reflection of the diversity of their backgrounds. Enrichment and the timing of clubs within the day show how the school values differences and promotes understanding. The curriculum supports learning with increasing effect in literacy, particularly in writing. The recent themed days provide pupils with good learning opportunities. The school plans to develop these further to embed the links between different subjects and pupils' creativity and thinking skills. The support for those who have learning difficulties or other needs is good. Pupils are helped to enjoy all aspects of school life. The school's ethos ensures that pupils are keen to contribute to its smooth running and the welfare of others. Improvement in the use of information and communication technology since the last inspection has been satisfactory overall. The school forms effective partnerships with others to extend

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Grade: 1

The school provides excellent pastoral support for pupils and has all the policies and procedures required to ensure their care and protection. Pupils who find learning hard are identified early and well supported. The very strong partnership between teachers and teaching assistants, together with their impressive commitment to the pupils, play an important part in the high quality of care and support. The quality of academic guidance for pupils is good. Systems for checking pupils' progress and learning in the core subjects are comprehensive. This information is used effectively to set clear targets for improvement. 4 Inspection Report: All Saints CofE (Aided) Junior School, 2 °3 November 2006

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Grade: 2

The headteacher and senior staff provide good leadership and management overall and there are some outstanding features. The school has a good capacity to improve further, as is shown by the improvements made to, for example, writing skills. In the short time she has been at the school the headteacher has made a number of important improvements that are having a very positive impact on provision and on standards. These have included better planning, better tracking of pupils' progress and the use of this information to provide appropriately challenging targets. A major strength is the outstanding self-evaluation and recognition of appropriate areas for improvement. Another outstanding feature is the provision the school makes for equality of opportunity, as shown by the very effective support provided for those pupils who need a bit of a boost. The work of subject leaders has also been improved. They are

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Grade: 2

acting more effectively to support colleagues. The school recognises that there is more to do to develop fully subject leadership. The governing body offers the school a good level of support and challenge, and they are very aware of the strengths and weaknesses in the provision. 5 Inspection Report: All Saints CofE (Aided) Junior School, 2 °3 November 2006 .

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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: All Saints CofE (Aided) Junior School, 2 °3 November 2006

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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? 1 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? 2 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 2 The attendance of learners 2 How well learners enjoy their education 1 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?

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: All Saints CofE (Aided) Junior School, 2 °3 November 2006

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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: All Saints CofE (Aided) Junior School, 2 °3 November 2006

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

6 November 2006 Dear Children All Saints CE (Aided) Junior School, Dogsthorpe Road, Peterborough, PE1 3PW Thank you very much for the way you welcomed us to your school. Thank you also for the very friendly way you talked to us and shared with us what you like about the school and what you might like to see changed. We especially enjoyed meeting the school council and we were very impressed with what the council has done in the past. We liked a lot of your art work and also enjoyed hearing the choir sing the songs from 'Grease' so well. You are lucky to be at such a good school! Mrs Hutchinson, the teachers and other staff are working very hard to help all of you learn and to make sure you enjoy your time at school and that you are safe. Your standards in writing have improved recently and your reading is also good. You told us that the teachers help you learn new things well and this is also what we saw

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

happening in the lessons. When you behave well, which you do in most lessons, the teachers are more able to help you learn and less of your time is wasted. The school is excellent at caring for you and keeping you safe, and at working out what needs to be made even better. To continue improving we think the school needs to: • give you more chances to be creative and use your skills in all subjects • help you understand the purpose of each lesson and what you need to do to be successful. Thank you again for helping us with our inspection. Enjoy your time at All Saints and keep working hard! Yours sincerely Geof Timms (Lead inspector) 9 Inspection Report: All Saints CofE (Aided) Junior School, 2 °3 November 2006

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