Inglewood Infant School

Inspection Report Inglewood Infant School

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112217 Unique Reference Number Cumbria Local Authority 289205 Inspection number 11 °12 January 2007 Inspection dates David Earley 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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School Road School address Infant Type of school Harraby, Carlisle Community School category Cumbria, CA1 3LX 3 °7 Age range of pupils 01228 607517 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01228 538191 Fax number 251 Number on roll (school) Mr Nigel Forster Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Amanda Noble Headteacher 1 June 2002 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 289205 11 °12 January 2007 3°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 infant school on the edge of Carlisle. The proportion of pupils who claim free school meals is above average. There is an above average proportion of pupils who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities. The school is in an area of increasingly high social deprivation. Most pupils are from White British backgrounds. No pupil is learning English as an additional language. Attainment on entry to the Foundation Stage is well below what would be expected for children’s ages.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Inglewood Infant School, 11 °12 January 2007

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Grade: 3

This is a satisfactory school, with some good features, which gives satisfactory value for money. The newly appointed headteacher has guided the school through a difficult period. She has a clear vision of the way ahead but there has been insufficient time for this to affect standards and achievement. On entry to the Foundation Stage, standards are well below those expected for children’s ages. By the end of the Foundation Stage, children have made satisfactory progress, though attainment is still well below expectations overall; it is broadly average in personal, social and emotional, and physical development. By the end of Year 2, standards are well below average, although progress and achievement are satisfactory and improving. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make good progress and achieve well because provision is good. Personal development, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, is

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Grade: 3

good. Pupils behave well and enjoy coming to school. They feel safe and happy and understand how to lead healthy lifestyles. They make a good contribution to the community and make satisfactory preparation for their future livelihood. Strategies put in place by the school are helping to improve attendance, although it is still below average because a small number of parents do not send their children to school regularly. Teaching and learning are satisfactory. Teachers manage pupils well and good use is made of teaching assistants to support learning. Lessons sometimes lack pace and challenge so that opportunities are missed to extend learning. The marking of work does not consistently help pupils to understand how they might improve. The curriculum is satisfactory. It is enriched by a sound range of extra-curricular activities and outside visits and visitors. It is broad and balanced but there are insufficient opportunities for

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Grade: 3

pupils to extend literacy and numeracy skills in other subjects. Care and guidance are good. This is a caring school where all are equally valued and arrangements for the health and safety of pupils are thorough. There are close links with parents and outside agencies to support learning. The school makes good use of its assessment and tracking systems in order to set targets for improvement and this is helping to improve achievement and quicken the rate of progress. Leadership and management are satisfactory. The headteacher and senior management team are new to their posts. There has not been time for the implementation of their vision for improvement to improve standards and provision significantly, although progress is beginning to quicken, for example, in boys’ learning. Subject co-ordinators have good subject knowledge but do not yet have sufficient opportunities to check teaching and learning in order to make improvements. Self-evaluation is sound and

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Grade: 3

leads to a realistic school improvement plan. There is a good team spirit and commitment to improve. Governance is satisfactory. Governors work effectively in helping to shape the direction of the school. Parents are supportive of the school and the budget is managed carefully in order to improve provision and help to raise standards. 2 Inspection Report: Inglewood Infant School, 11 °12 January 2007

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What the school should do to improve further

• Raise standards in reading, writing and mathematics. • Monitor and improve the pace of teaching and learning, and the quality of marking to ensure that it helps pupils to improve. • Increase the opportunities for pupils to extend their skills in literacy and numeracy in the other subjects in order to raise standards. • Improve attendance by continuing to work with the small number of parents who do not send their children to school regularly.

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Grade: 3

Most children enter the Foundation Stage with skills well below those usual for their age, particularly in communication, language and literacy and mathematics. Achievement is satisfactory overall. By the end of the Foundation Stage, standards are generally well below what is usual for their age, but children have made satisfactory progress in most areas of learning. They make good progress in their personal, social and emotional and physical development and reach broadly average standards because provision in these areas is good. In the 2005 national tests at the end of Year 2, standards in reading, writing and mathematics were significantly below average, particularly those of boys. In 2006, school data indicate that test results were similar. The school has put in place a range of strategies to improve the performance of boys and this is beginning to rise, although there has not been time for this to improve standards overall. The school has a high

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Grade: 3

and increasing proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and, in some classes, this is very high. Provision for these pupils is good so that they generally make good progress and reach the targets that are set for them, though their standards are well below what are expected for their age. Inspection evidence and school data show that progress at the end of the current Foundation Stage and in the current Year 2 is quickening and achievement is improving. This is because the school is emerging from the period of severe disruption and progress is enhanced by the increasingly effective use of assessment and tracking.

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Grade: 2

Personal development, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, is good. Pupils behave well and have positive attitudes towards life and work in school. The majority are friendly, courteous and attentive in lessons because the school promotes these values well and relationships are good. Pupils respond well to the initiatives, which help them feel safe and happy, such as the ‘Buddy’ system provided by the junior school. Most pupils enjoy school and take part in activities with confidence and enthusiasm. The school’s participation in the Healthy Living Programme and its award of the ActiveMark is reflected in the pupils’ understanding of healthy lifestyles. 3 Inspection Report: Inglewood Infant School, 11 °12 January 2007 The new school council is already playing an important role in enabling children’s voices to be heard. They have been involved in the requisition of new playground

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Grade: 2

equipment, including managing the budget, and have been influential in the refurbishment of the dining room. Pupils show their awareness of the needs of others by holding fund raising events throughout the year and make satisfactory progress in preparation for their future economic well-being. The school has introduced a wide range of strategies to improve attendance and punctuality and is working closely with a small group of parents who do not send their children to school regularly. As a result, attendance is improving although it is still below average.

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Grade: 3

Teaching and learning are satisfactory. Typically, there is a calm working atmosphere in lessons and pupils enjoy working practically. Pupils are well managed so that they listen attentively and behave well. They readily answer questions because relationships are good and they know that their efforts are valued. However, teaching sometimes lacks pace and challenge. This leads to lack of rigour, the shortening of direct teaching time and missed opportunities to extend learning. Teachers have good subject knowledge, which helps them to give clear explanations, and they use whiteboards effectively to illustrate work. Classroom assistants are used effectively in supporting pupils and they work well with class teachers to ensure continuity of learning. Marking of pupils’ work is regular, but teachers do not consistently explain what pupils need to do in order to improve.

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Grade: 3

The curriculum is satisfactory. It is broad, balanced and adapted to the needs of all pupils. Planning ensures that pupils build securely on their previous learning. The curriculum is enriched by a sound range of extra-curricular activities, visits out of school and visitors to school. For example, Tullie House is used to extend work in history and learning is extended when weavers, dance workshops and theatre groups visit school. The curriculum is focused closely on literacy and numeracy, although there are insufficient opportunities for pupils to extend their skills in other subjects of the curriculum. A strong emphasis is placed on the promotion of healthy lifestyles and personal development, and there is satisfactory preparation for future economic well-being. There are close links with the junior school, which help to prepare pupils for the next stage in their education and to increase provision in subjects such as

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Grade: 3

information and communication technology (ICT). 4 Inspection Report: Inglewood Infant School, 11 °12 January 2007

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Grade: 2

The care, guidance and support provided by the school are good. The school ensures that all pupils are equally well cared for and supported. It is a welcoming place where pupils feel secure and safe. A school council member commented, ‘We all like coming to this school because the teachers are so kind.’ Child protection, safeguarding and health and safety procedures are in place. The school promotes healthy living and has close links with parents and local schools in order to support learning. The school has a successful range of strategies to encourage good behaviour and effort. These are well understood by pupils and contribute to their eagerness to learn and to do well. It makes good use of its comprehensive systems for assessing and tracking pupils’ progress in order to provide targets for improvement. This is helping to improve progress and achievement. Provision for pupils with learning difficulties and/or

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Grade: 2

disabilities is good. They are well supported by outside agencies and receive extra support from teachers and teaching assistants so that they make good progress.

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Grade: 3

Leadership and management are satisfactory. The recently appointed headteacher has a clear vision for the improvement of provision and the raising of standards, although there has been insufficient time for these to affect standards and achievement overall. She maintains the caring and sensitive leadership which helped to support staff, parents and pupils during a period of leadership disruption and stress. The newly constituted senior management team is at an early stage of its development. However, leaders and staff work well as a team and know pupils and parents well. This is helping to quicken the rate of progress. They contribute significantly to the promotion of good behaviour, personal development and care and guidance. This has helped to cement good relationships and to create a school where all are equally valued. The school makes sound use of performance data in its self-evaluation and this is used effectively

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Grade: 3

in the school improvement plan. Subject leaders have good knowledge of their subjects, but do not have sufficient opportunities to check on teaching and learning in order to make improvements. The school has good links with parents. They are supportive and have many opportunities to help with their children’s work. One parent commented, ‘The staff work very hard and parents regard the school very highly.’ Governance of the school is satisfactory. The chair of governors has a clear understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses and governors make effective use of their expertise in supporting the school and helping to shape its direction. Issues from the previous inspection have been tackled satisfactorily and the budget is managed astutely in order to support the raising of standards. Clear leadership, improvements to standards and learning and sound evaluation of performance indicate that the school has a satisfactory capacity to improve.

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Grade: 3

5 Inspection Report: Inglewood Infant School, 11 °12 January 2007 .

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Grade: 3

set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Inglewood Infant School, 11 °12 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? 3 The quality and standards in the Foundation Stage 3 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 3 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

3 How well do learners achieve? 4 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: Inglewood Infant School, 11 °12 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: Inglewood Infant School, 11 °12 January 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Inglewood Infant School School Road Harraby Carlisle Cumbria CA1 3LX 12 January 2007 Dear Children You were really kind to us when we came to your school. Thank you for making us welcome and for being so polite and helpful when we were asking you so many questions. We were very pleased to see how well you behaved and to hear how much you enjoy coming to school. These are some of the things we think your school does well: • it helps you to behave well and to learn to live and work together • we think that the school council does a good job in helping to make the school a better place • the teachers look after you really well and keep a good check on how well you are doing • we think that the way you all know about eating healthy food and getting plenty of exercise is super. These are some of the things we think you could do better: • we would like you to try harder in your reading, writing and mathematics • we want your teachers to try and help you to learn quicker and do better at your work

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

• we would like those children who have time off school to come more often • we would like you to practise your reading, writing and mathematics more in the other subjects to help you to get better. Thank you once again for making us so welcome. Yours sincerely David Earley Lead Inspector 9 Inspection Report: Inglewood Infant School, 11 °12 January 2007

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