Anthony Bek Community Primary School

Anthony Bek Primary School Inspection report

p.1

112610 Unique Reference Number DERBYSHIRE Local Authority 289343 Inspection number 21 °22 June 2007 Inspection dates Georgina Beasley Reporting inspector

p.1

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

p.1

Primary Type of school Community School category 3 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 155 School

p.1

The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Pauline Bowmer Chair Mr Matthew Freeston Headteacher 8 July 2002 Date of previous school inspection Rotherham Road School address Pleasley Mansfield Nottinghamshire NG19 7PG

p.1

01623 810355 Telephone number 01623 810355 Fax number

p.1

3 °11 Age group 21 °22 June 2007 Inspection dates 289343 Inspection number .

p.1

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.

p.2

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.

p.2

Introduction

The inspection was carried out by two Additional Inspectors.

p.3

Description of the school

Anthony Bek Primary School is smaller than average. Most of the 155 pupils are White British. A small number are from traveller communities, Asian or from mixed backgrounds. All except a few pupils speak English fluently. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities is above average, as is the proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals. The school has recently been awarded the Advanced Healthy School Award.

p.3

Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 11 Inspection Report: Anthony Bek Primary School, 21 °22 June 2007

p.3

Grade: 2

This is a good school. The headteacher's inspirational leadership has transformed the school in just two years. The school's positive climate for learning was established so quickly that behaviour and attendance improved dramatically and the school was able to move onto other key aspects requiring improvement. He has, as parents say, 'brought a breath of fresh air to the school.' He is the first to admit that he has not done this on his own and has empowered everyone to contribute to the school's success. Staff, pupils, governors and parents think carefully about the impact of their work on learning. Partnerships with parents have strengthened considerably since the previous inspection. Parents are now confident to approach the school with their views, feeling that their input is welcomed and valued. Partnerships with other local schools are equally strong and make a good contribution to pupils' achievement. The excellent

p.4

Grade: 2

and accurate evaluation of the school's strengths and what it needs to do to improve is extremely effective. There is good capacity to improve. Children start at the school with knowledge and skills that are well below average. Good focus and provision ensure the children make good progress in Nursery and Reception although only a few reach expected goals by the time they start in Year 1. Despite good progress, standards remain below average by the end of Year 2. Good progress continues in Years 3 to 6 and standards are broadly average demonstrating a rising trend and continued good improvement. Care, support and guidance for pupils' academic and personal development are good. Pupils know how to stay safe and they make a good contribution to the school's community. Good personal development and projects such as their business enterprise, means that pupils are acquiring the skills that they will need for their future economic well-being in later life. They

p.4

Grade: 2

have an outstanding awareness of how to keep healthy and fit. Targets on how to assess their own work are enabling pupils to gain a greater insight into their own learning and to identify for themselves and each other what they need to do next to improve. Subject targets for different ability groups are effective but do not always meet each pupil's individual and specific needs. As yet, the school has not successfully identified all pupils who have the potential to achieve higher than average levels by the time they leave the school. Teaching and learning, and the curriculum are good. Due to well-focused training, all teachers are clear about what a good to outstanding lesson looks like and all strive to achieve this in every lesson. An excellent and varied range of enrichment activities has put so much fun into learning that pupils enjoy greatly their time at school.

p.4

What the school should do to improve further

• Set personal targets that clearly describe precisely what each pupil needs to do to improve their work and give them clear guidance on how to reach their targets. • Plan learning that challenges the potentially more able pupils to reach higher standards.

p.4

Grade: 2

Pupils make good progress throughout the school. Standards improve from the well below average attainment when the children start school. However, most children do not reach the levels they are expected to by the end of Reception. Standards remain below average in reading, writing, mathematics and science at the end of Year 2. 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Anthony Bek Primary School, 21 °22 June 2007 Test results in English, mathematics and science at the end of Year 6 fell to exceptionally low levels in 2004. Pupils' progress was inadequate. Since then significant improvements in the quality of learning and teaching have resulted in good progress and rapidly improving standards. Although standards in English and mathematics remain below average this year at the end of Year 6, the school met its challenging targets in reading and writing. Standards at the end of Year 4 and 5 are already average, painting a promising picture for the next two years' results.

p.4

Grade: 2

Although very few children start Nursery above expected levels, there are still too few pupils attaining higher than average levels throughout the school. Standards in science and information and communication technology (ICT) have improved considerably since the previous inspection and are now average. A close watch is kept on pupils with learning difficulties, pupils from traveller communities and pupils who speak English in addition to another language. As a result, pupils in these groups make equally good progress.

p.5

Grade: 2

Pupils' personal development, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, is good with some outstanding features. Pupils love every minute of their time at school and this is reflected in their continually improving attendance and good behaviour which are now real strengths. Their enthusiasm and joy for learning envelops the school. Pupils are reflective individuals with high levels of social and moral responsibility who delight in helping each other out and in celebrating classmates' successes. Their awareness of other faiths and traditions, although developing well, is a little patchy. Pupils have a well-developed sense of caring, citizenship and respect, helped in no small part by the highly innovative and effective Crusader award scheme which challenges, motivates and nurtures the pupils in equal measure. Pupils have an outstanding understanding of what is needed to keep fit and healthy and they manage

p.5

Grade: 2

risks in their lives well. Pupils make a telling contribution to the school and local communities. Their involvement in enterprises such as the 'Tooty Fruity' company, where they make and sell smoothie fruit drinks, provides an example of how the school is ready to go the extra mile to help pupils develop skills that will hold them in good stead in their future lives.

p.5

Grade: 2

Good teaching has led to significant improvements in pupils' learning. Lessons generally meet the range of abilities in each class through well-planned and very well-supported group work. Planning always identifies the skills pupils are expected to develop but they are not always defined clearly to challenge potentially more able pupils to achieve more. During lessons teachers ask questions that probe and push thinking, giving pupils time to have a go themselves before they are offered help. Learning objectives are shared with pupils at the start of lessons and reviewed together at the end. In this way pupils are clear about what they are expected to learn and what they have achieved. Comments when some teachers mark work gives good feedback on what each pupil has done well and identifies clearly what they need to do to improve. This good practice is not yet consistent across the school. The interactive whiteboards and ICT

p.5

Grade: 2

resources are used highly effectively to engage interest and enable pupils to develop key skills 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Anthony Bek Primary School, 21 °22 June 2007 they will need in later years. Adults working in each class make very positive contributions to learning.

p.5

Grade: 2

Teachers have worked together to plan and implement a curriculum that ensures all subjects and areas of learning are delivered in an interesting and meaningful way from Nursery to Year 6. Personal, social and health education and citizenship helps pupils to make a good contribution to the school community and develop an astute awareness of how to keep themselves healthy and fit. In Nursery and Reception, learning is a well-balanced mix of adult-led tasks and activities that the children choose themselves. In older classes, learning across subjects is linked so knowledge and skills learned and developed in one subject are applied and practised in another, especially in pupils' use of computers and other technological equipment. The school is now evaluating the curriculum to make sure work gets even harder as pupils move up through the classes. Pupils are excited by the exceptional range of after-school activities, enrichment days

p.6

Grade: 2

and visits and visitors that help to make learning fun. These meet the needs of pupils with particular gifts or talents especially well.

p.6

Grade: 2

The care, guidance and support for pupils are good. The pastoral care and welfare of all pupils is outstanding. Staff know and meet the social and emotional needs of all pupils in a highly caring, sensitive and effective manner. This is done through the schools' own support mechanisms and the very good links with outside agencies. Pupils with learning difficulties benefit from well-targeted and effective support. Pupils feel very safe and secure in school and they have a voice that is both valued and respected. As one pupil said, 'The school lets us make a difference.' Procedures for safeguarding pupils, child protection and health and safety are rigorous and assiduously applied. Academic guidance is good. The school keeps a very close eye on how well all pupils are progressing. Targets to help pupils assess their own learning and subject targets for different ability groups guide learning well, but they are not always tailored closely enough to individual

p.6

Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good. The headteacher's outstanding leadership has brought a vibrancy to school life. He has tackled weaknesses with urgency and rigour bringing all staff, pupils, parents and governors with him. The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation is excellent because actions taken have significantly and rapidly transformed the quality of education provided and improved achievement of all pupils. The senior leadership team provide good support and, across the school, all staff play their part to the full in ensuring all pupils achieve well. The good procedures for monitoring teaching, learning and assessing pupils' progress in key subjects have led to improvements in standards. The school recognises that this good practice needs to be spread to other subjects. Governance is good because governors 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Anthony Bek Primary School, 21 °22 June 2007 support, question and challenge the school in equal measure. Good management of resources

p.6

Grade: 2

ensures improvement priorities are met effectively. The school gives good value for money. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Anthony Bek Primary School, 21 °22 June 2007 .

p.7

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: Anthony Bek Primary School, 21 °22 June 2007

p.8

Inspection judgements

School Overall Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

p.9

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 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

p.9

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

p.9

learners?

2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2 The behaviour of learners 2 The attendance of learners 1 How well learners enjoy their education 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 1 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

p.9

and interests of learners?

2 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

p.9

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: Anthony Bek Primary School, 21 °22 June 2007

p.9

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: Anthony Bek Primary School, 21 °22 June 2007

p.10

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

22 June 2007 Dear Pupils Inspection of Anthony Bek Community Primary School, Pleasley, Mansfield, NG19 7PG Thank you for making us feel so welcome when we inspected your school recently. Thank you especially to those of you who talked to us about what you liked most and how much your school has improved over the last few years. Inspectors think you go to a good school. We particularly like the way you all encourage each other to do well. You should be proud that you behave so well and that you come to school everyday if you can. You are growing into sensible young people who are helping to make a positive contribution to your school. You have lots of opportunity to eat and drink healthily, to play sport and take part in regular physical education lessons and so you are very aware of how to stay safe and keep fit and healthy. We loved the smoothie drink, a fun way to make sure you 'eat' the right number of portions of fruit. You are learning about how people in this

p.11

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

country and around the world live but we think you could find out even more. You are now making good progress in English, mathematics, science and ICT because you have good teachers. We think you are now ready to have your own targets based on your personal learning needs. We have asked your headteacher and teachers to think of ways to do this. You can help by working with teachers to decide your targets and making sure when you review your work at the end of lessons you check it against these. We also think some of you could do harder work so we have asked them to make sure the skills you develop get even more difficult as you get older. Mr Freeston is an excellent headteacher. He works very hard with all members of staff to make sure you are safe in school and that you have fun while you learn. To do this, the adults have planned a curriculum and lessons that are interesting yet safe. The extra activities such as

p.11

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

special days and weeks, clubs, visits and visitors are exceptionally good. The garden is lovely. We hope that you continue to do well and wish you all the best for the future. Yours sincerely Georgie Beasley Lead Inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Anthony Bek Primary School, 21 °22 June 2007

p.11