Pear Tree Infant School

Inspection Report Pear Tree Infant School

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112728 Unique Reference Number City of Derby Local Authority 289388 Inspection number 10 °11 October 2006 Inspection dates Andrew Cook HMI 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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Pear Tree Street School address Infant Type of school Derby Community School category Derbyshire DE23 8PN 4 °7 Age range of pupils 01332 767244 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01332 767244 Fax number 222 Number on roll (school) Mr Ranjodh Sund Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs K M Clark Headteacher 5 February 2001 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 289388 10 °11 October 2006 4°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 one of Her Majesty's Inspectors and an Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

Over the last few years the number of children who attend this school has increased. The proportion of children who are eligible for free school meals is nearly three times higher than the national average. Most of the children in school come from minority ethnic backgrounds. Many children who attend school do not have English as their first language. A significant proportion of children start at school with levels of knowledge that are well below those expected. A significant proportion of children join the school part way through the taught year. The proportion of children with learning difficulties and disabilities is just above average and those with statements of special educational need are just below average.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Pear Tree Infant School, 10 °11 October 2006

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Grade: 3

The school accurately judges its overall effectiveness to be satisfactory. At the heart of this school is a determination to get it right for the rich diversity of children's cultural backgrounds. Staff, governors and children all work well together and see their school as part of the community. Most children who join the school have starting points that are well below expectations. This is the case for children who start school when they are four and those who arrive at other ages. Children get off to a sound start in their education in the Reception class. As children go through school they make at least satisfactory achievement in reading, writing and mathematics and make good progress in their personal development. Standards in Year 2 are significantly below average. This is partly because of the proportion of children who join the school part way through the taught year and those with learning difficulties and disabilities which is

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Grade: 3

slightly above average. The good progress children make in their personal development can be seen in children's good behaviour and in the positive way they play and work together. Children make a sound contribution to the community. They are prepared satisfactorily for the next stage of education. Attendance is a real success story for the school. During the few weeks before the inspection attendance improved significantly and is now satisfactory. Teaching is satisfactory and responds well to the experiences that children bring to school. Teaching is better than satisfactory when it is more closely matched to what is expected of children at certain ages and of different abilities. When expectations are this high teaching is lively and focused on helping children to make good progress. The school is aware that teaching needs to target improving children's speaking and listening skills. In some lessons teaching

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Grade: 3

addresses this need well through asking children clear questions and giving them time and support to answer. Children are not clear about how to attain their English and mathematics targets and parents do not have a comprehensive understanding of their child's targets. Satisfactory support is given to those children who speak English as an additional language. The effective use of teaching assistants varies and at times it is good. The curriculum reflects the cultural diversity of the community the school serves. There is a good range of clubs, including a football club that meets twice weekly. The school has successfully organised the curriculum to help children learn, for example the 'carousel' days when children in two year groups are taught by different teachers. The senior management team, made up of the headteacher, deputy headteacher and chair of governors, provide sound leadership and management. Along

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Grade: 3

with other key members of staff the school effectively evaluates how well it is doing and demonstrates that it is clear about the direction it needs to go to keep on improving. The school provides satisfactory value for money and has satisfactory capacity to improve further.

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What the school should do to improve further

- Improve standards in reading, writing and mathematics so that they reflect better progress made by children of all abilities. - Match more teaching to what is expected of children at certain ages. 2 Inspection Report: Pear Tree Infant School, 10 °11 October 2006

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Grade: 3

By the end of Year 2 children reach considerably below average standards. However, when taking children's starting points into account the amount of progress they make is satisfactory. The school has good ways of checking how well different groups of children are doing. Children in the Reception class achieve satisfactorily from a low starting point but standards are significantly below average by the start of Year 1.

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Grade: 2

Children's personal development is good. Their well-being is of the utmost importance. Positive attitudes, good behaviour and strong relationships are key to the school's success in achieving high levels of racial harmony amongst children from a wide variety of cultures. Children enjoy school, behave well and treat each other with care and respect. Their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. The school uses its wealth of cultural diversity particularly well to give children a deeper understanding of different cultures. It provides satisfactory opportunities for children to develop taking responsibility and independent skills by, for example, organising fund raising events. The school council takes its role very seriously and is proud of its involvement in, for example, playground improvements. Most children understand the importance of adopting a safe and healthy lifestyle effectively and the school promotes

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Grade: 2

healthy eating well. Children take regular exercise and enjoy lunchtime activities, such as the 'tyre park', a great deal. Thanks to effective monitoring by the school, in particular that of the Inclusion Mentor, there has been a significant improvement in attendance, which has risen to average levels. This is a real success story and all staff are on board, including the site supervisor who, on 'early bird' days, dresses up as a chicken to promote children getting to school on time!

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Grade: 3

Teaching overall is satisfactory. Teachers and teaching assistants work well together and always try to respond to the complex range of learning needs that children have. Teaching expectations are not always high enough to ensure that children of different abilities make as much progress as they should. For example, in some classes, expectations of what children should learn by the end of each half term and term are not clear. During the inspection most of the teaching observed was satisfactory. However features of good teaching were seen where children were engaged in their learning and the activities they were given were enjoyable and carefully matched to their specific needs. The school has correctly identified that it needs to improve children's speaking and listening skills and has made it a whole school target. In some 3 Inspection Report: Pear Tree Infant School, 10 °11 October 2006 lessons the focus on speaking and listening results in children being asked very clear

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Grade: 3

questions and given time to answer fully. In many classes good use is made of bilingual staff. These staff help children to feel confident to learn and use English by sometimes asking questions or explaining tasks in the children's first language.

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Grade: 3

The school provides a satisfactory curriculum. In the Reception classes, a strong emphasis on personal development, combined with the right balance of class and group learning, give children a secure start to their school life. When talking about favourite subjects, older children rate science and numeracy highly. They also enjoy exciting initiatives, such as 'Carousel Day', that effectively make learning fun. A recent 'Talking Day' supported work successfully on improving children's language skills. The introduction of ability groupings has gone some way towards ensuring work matches children's needs, but current activities do not always provide real challenge for the more able. Many children take part enthusiastically in the good range of clubs and sporting activities which add to children's enjoyment of learning. Visitors, ranging from professional musicians to dancers, successfully bring the curriculum alive.

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Grade: 2

The quality of care, support and guidance is good. Children know they are part of a very caring community. Strong relationships are an important part of school life. Formal procedures that underpin this caring attitude are thorough, ensuring children's safety. Staff know what to do if they have concerns, and children know they can confide in a trusted adult. Rare incidents of inappropriate behaviour are dealt with promptly and effectively. A satisfactory partnership is in place between the school and others. The school works well with outside agencies and parents value the work that is done. Children with learning difficulties and disabilities and those who are still learning English receive an appropriate level of support. Systems for tracking how well children are doing are effective and give an accurate overview of progress. Although some children have targets for English and mathematics they are unsure of what these mean.

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Grade: 3

Leadership and management are sound. The school is proud of their head teacher because they know she wants the best. She is supported well by her deputy headteacher and a team of staff. Some areas of leadership and management have recently been taken over by staff and a satisfactory start has been made. The chair of governors is part of the senior management team and this, along with other governor involvement in school, helps to ensure that governors are involved satisfactorily in making decisions that influence school improvement. The school is good at evaluating how well it is doing and knows that areas of teaching could be better. Having identified these areas, 4 Inspection Report: Pear Tree Infant School, 10 °11 October 2006 the senior management team is providing satisfactory support and guidance for teaching and regularly checks on improvement. Based on the evidence of how well the school has responded to new challenges, for example meeting the needs of children

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Grade: 3

who have recently arrived from Eastern European countries, the school has satisfactory capacity to improve further. 5 Inspection Report: Pear Tree Infant School, 10 °11 October 2006 .

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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: Pear Tree Infant School, 10 °11 October 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? 3 The quality and standards in the Foundation Stage 2 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 3 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 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?

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: Pear Tree Infant School, 10 °11 October 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: Pear Tree Infant School, 10 °11 October 2006

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

12 October 2006 Dear Children Pear Tree Infants, Pear Tree Street, Derby, Derbyshire, DE23 8PN I am writing to tell you about our visit to your lovely school. We had a great time meeting you all and seeing you working and playing together. It was great to hear children and adults talking in different languages and helping each other to learn. We thought that your behaviour was good - well done! We were also impressed with how all the adults in your school make sure you are happy and cared for. One of the best things we found out was how all of you are making sure you go to school everyday. We think this is an important thing to do, so keep it up. To make your school an even better place we have asked Mrs Clark to do some jobs: - make sure your teachers give you work that will help you learn more quickly - make sure you know all about your targets for English and mathematics and ask your parents to help you. Your school

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

demonstrates very well that children and adults from different backgrounds can all get on with each other, help each other and be proud to be together. With very best wishes for the future. Andrew Cook HMI 9 Inspection Report: Pear Tree Infant School, 10 °11 October 2006

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