Petteril Bank School

112220 Unique Reference Number Cumbria Local Authority 289207 Inspection number 12 °13 July 2007 Inspection dates Denis Goodchild 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 3 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 126 School

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The governing body Appropriate authority Miss June Martlew Chair Mrs Lucy McCullough Headteacher 1 February 2003 Date of previous school inspection Burnett Road School address Carlisle Cumbria CA1 3BX

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01228 607515 Telephone number 01228 607516 Fax number

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3-11 Age group 12 °13 July 2007 Inspection dates 289207 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 one Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

Petteril Bank is a smaller than average size school. The school serves an area that has high levels of social and economic disadvantage and the proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is well above average. The number of pupils joining and leaving the school during the year is higher than is usual. The number of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is above average and the proportion with a statement of special educational need is well above average. There are very few pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds. Following a period of disruption to the leadership and management, the school is receiving intensive support from the local authority. The school has been chosen as Cumbria’s pilot extended primary school.

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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: Petteril Bank School, 12 °13 July 2007

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Grade: 3

This is a satisfactory and caring school. Parents are full of praise for a school, which they say is, ‘The heart of the community.’ They overwhelmingly agree that their children are well cared for, supported and safe. The very good links with parents and external agencies make sure that vulnerable pupils and those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities receive the help they need. This helps those pupils make good progress in all areas of learning. Pupils agree they feel safe. They like coming to school and they like the teachers. This makes pupils feel very confident that they have somebody to talk to if they are upset. Behaviour is good because of good relationships and the positive and effective support for challenging pupils. Pupils enjoy a good range of visits, visitors and after-school activities, which are well attended. The ‘creative partnership’ is particularly effective in uniting children and parents in learning. School attendance

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Grade: 3

is average. Pupils’ achievement is satisfactory. From very low starting points, pupils make satisfactory progress to reach below average standards by the end of Year 6. Children enter the Nursery with low attainment in all areas of learning. They make satisfactory progress but are still below average in communication, language and literacy and mathematical skills when they enter Year 1. They make good progress in their personal and social skills because of good relationships and effective sensitive support from adults and activities that promote personal development. Outdoor provision in the Foundation Stage is not yet fully developed to support children’s development in all areas of learning; this slows down the progress children make in their learning. Results in Key Stage 1 and 2 national assessments and tests are consistently below average. This represents satisfactory progress and achievement at both stages given their relatively low

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Grade: 3

starting point. Vulnerable pupils and those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make good progress and at times very good progress in lessons. This is because their needs are accurately assessed and they are well supported by skilled teaching assistants. Teachers are not as effective in assessing the needs of the more able pupils and expectations are too low. More able pupils spend too much time listening rather being engaged in activities that will develop and extend learning. This slows their progress and they do not attain as highly as they should. Also marking does not give sufficient guidance to pupils as to how they can improve. Leadership and management are satisfactory. Following a period of change, the headteacher, through her calm and purposeful leadership, has the full support of the staff who look forward to the future with a great deal of confidence. Parents appreciate the hard work of all at the

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Grade: 3

school and overwhelmingly agree that their children are safe and well cared for. The new management team are knowledgeable, know what needs to be done and are well prepared for the challenge ahead. The school improvement plan accurately details what needs to be done to raise standards. Management has already introduced success criteria in lessons, which have improved teaching and progress of learning. School governors are very supportive but their role as a critical friend is underdeveloped. Improvement since the last inspection is satisfactory. Changes in the management team and the accuracy of the school improvement plan and the initial progress made indicates that the school has a satisfactory capacity to improve and provides satisfactory value for money. 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Petteril Bank School, 12 °13 July 2007

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Raise standards in English, mathematics and science.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Improve teaching and learning by raising expectations and implementing assessment procedures consistently so that all pupils are challenged to achieve as well as they can, particularly the more able pupils. ■ Improve outdoor provision in the Foundation Stage so that children’s development in all areas of learning is supported more effectively. ■ Improve marking so that it gives clear guidance to pupils as to how to improve their work.

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What the school should do to improve further

A small proportion of the schools whose overall effectiveness is judged satisfactory but which have areas of underperformance will receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection

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Grade: 3

Pupils’ achievement is satisfactory. From very low starting points, despite satisfactory progress, pupils reach standards that are below average by the end of Year 6. Children enter the Nursery with skills and knowledge considerably below those expected for children of this age. Their communication, language and literacy and mathematical skills are the least well developed. They make satisfactory progress overall and enter Year 1 at below expected levels of learning. They make good progress in their personal and social skills because of good relationships and effective sensitive support from adults and the good use of activities, which promote personal development. Satisfactory progress is maintained in Key Stage 1. By the end of Year 2, results in the national assessments have been consistently below average. School data and inspection evidence indicate that current standards are similar to their recent national assessment results.

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Grade: 3

Results in Key Stage 2 in English, mathematics and science improved in 2004 and 2005. In 2005 below average results in English and mathematics and average results in science represented good achievement from a well below average starting point. In 2006 results dipped in all subjects. This still represented satisfactory achievement for this group of pupils given their relative low starting point. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make good progress because their needs are well met and they receive good support from skilled and well-briefed teaching assistants. The progress of more able pupils is not as rapid as it should be because expectations are not always high enough and they do not always receive effective guidance as to how to improve their work.

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Grade: 3

Pupils’ personal, spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and well-being are satisfactory. Behaviour overall is good. Vulnerable pupils respond very well to the considerable support and nurturing they receive which helps them to participate successfully in lessons. Pupils express pride and enjoyment when talking about their school. They like the way the school is part of the community and how visitors come in and work with them and their parents. The vast majority 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Petteril Bank School, 12 °13 July 2007 of pupils say that they like coming to school and particularly enjoy the good range of visits and after school clubs. Attendance is satisfactory. A small number of pupils are not punctual. By Year 6, pupils have a sensible understanding of how to stay healthy. Pupils move around school in an orderly manner, relate well to one another and cooperate when working in pairs

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Grade: 3

or groups. Their studies of other customs and beliefs, and group work on personal development and conflict resolution have developed sensitivity to the needs of others. As one group of pupils related, ‘We should treat other people as we want to be treated.’ They say that they feel safe and if they have concerns they are very confident that they can approach an adult in school for help. Pupils take appropriate levels of responsibility and contribute to the school community through the school council. The older children have been trained to deliver first-aid and resuscitation and run the Healthy Eating tuck shop.

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Grade: 3

The quality of teaching is satisfactory. Good relationships, high expectations of behaviour and well organised lessons ensure pupils’ learning proceeds in an orderly manner. Teachers’ subject knowledge and lesson planning are good. They are particularly effective in identifying the needs of vulnerable pupils and those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. Accurate assessments identify what these pupils need to do to improve and they receive very good support from well briefed and skilful teaching assistants. Therefore, these pupils make good, and at times very good, progress in lessons. The needs of the more able pupils are not always well met because teacher expectations are sometimes too low. These pupils spend too much time listening rather than being actively engaged in challenging exciting tasks, which will reinforce and extend their learning. Good practice was seen where success criteria were used

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Grade: 3

to guide pupils through the lesson and then used effectively in self-evaluation. This contributed to pupils making good progress. Marking is not consistently effective because it is not carried out regularly and does not identify what pupils need to do to improve. This slows progress.

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Grade: 3

The curriculum is satisfactory and statutory requirements are met. Indoor provision for the Foundation Stage is satisfactory but outdoor provision does not fully support children’s development in all areas of learning. Pupils’ personal development is well promoted so that they have a good understanding of living a healthy lifestyle. The school provides a wide range of out-of-school activities especially in physical activities. A good range of visits and visitors adds enjoyment to learning and the ‘creative partnership’ is particularly effective in uniting children and parents in learning. Priority is given to the teaching of literacy and numeracy but less attention given to the application of these skills, and information, communication and technology skills, within other subjects. Work for those pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is effectively planned to meet individual needs.

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Grade: 3

The care, guidance and support for pupils are satisfactory. The school gives a high priority to the care of its pupils, especially vulnerable pupils. There are very good links with parents and 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Petteril Bank School, 12 °13 July 2007 outside agencies and this ensures that vulnerable pupils and those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities receive appropriate help. Safeguarding issues and risk assessments are in place and parents agree that their children are safe and secure in school. Parents greatly value, and are full of praise for, the work of the staff and the very good support they and their children receive. Good relationships give pupils the confidence that their concerns will be listened to and they feel secure that they have someone to turn to. Assessment procedures are effective in identifying at an early stage those pupils who need additional help but are not as effective

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Grade: 3

in supporting the more able pupils so that they know what they have to do to improve their work.

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Grade: 3

Leadership and management are satisfactory. Following a period of change, the headteacher’s calm and purposeful leadership has gained the full support of the staff. Staff morale is high and they look forward to the future with confidence. The headteacher has been successful in creating a school, which places a high priority on the care and safety of its pupils. In this, she has the overwhelming support of the parents who cannot praise her enough and greatly value the school’s role as part of the community. The headteacher provides clear educational direction for the school and has an accurate view of its strengths and weaknesses. Working in close partnership with the local authority, a recently completed school improvement plan gives a sharp focus on what needs improving. The management team is new and is full of enthusiasm. They fully appreciate the challenges ahead and have a good understanding of their role in

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Grade: 3

monitoring the work of the school. Progress has already been made in implementing more effective assessment of pupils’ work and success criteria are now used well to check pupils’ progress in lessons. Governors are fully supportive of the headteacher, but their role as a critical friend is not fully developed. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Petteril Bank School, 12 °13 July 2007 .

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Grade: 3

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: Petteril Bank School, 12 °13 July 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? 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?

3 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 3 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 3 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 3 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?

3 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: Petteril Bank School, 12 °13 July 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: Petteril Bank School, 12 °13 July 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

16 July 2007 Dear Pupils Inspection of Petteril Bank School, Carlisle, CA1 3BX Thank you for the warm and friendly welcome you gave me when I visited your school. Thank you especially to those pupils who gave up some of their lunchtime to tell me about the good things in your school. You told me that your school is a friendly school and I agree. You are courteous, polite and well behaved around school and in your lessons. Well done! I also agree with you that you feel safe and that the adults really care for you so you have somebody to turn to if you need help. Your parents also agree and are very pleased with everything that the school does to help you. I enjoyed talking to the school council and they make a valuable contribution to the work of the school. They were very proud of the school garden and looking forward to eating the healthy vegetables. It was good to see that many of you were making healthy choices from the salad

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

bar at lunchtime and being involved in after-school sport. Staying fit is important to your learning. I enjoyed seeing you work in class. Your teaching assistants are very good in supporting those of you who need that extra help. You were very good at using the ‘success criteria’ to check how well you were doing in the lesson. This is a good idea introduced by your headteacher and teachers and I have asked them to do more to help you to get much better at your English, mathematics and science. Some of you need more challenge and harder work in your lessons so I have asked your teachers to find out what challenges you need to progress at a quicker rate. I have also suggested that when teachers check your work they should give suggestions as to how you can improve it. Of course, you can also play your part by doing your best all the time. Those of you in Nursery and Reception are learning new things but I have asked the

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

school to improve your outside play area to help you learn even more. Once again thank you for making me so welcome and I wish you every success for the future. Yours sincerely Denis Goodchild Lead Inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Petteril Bank School, 12 °13 July 2007

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