Chellaston Infant School

Inspection Report Chellaston Infant School

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112754 Unique Reference Number City of Derby Local Authority 289396 Inspection number 8 March 2007 Inspection date Gill Broadbent 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 Lane School address Infant Type of school Chellaston, Derby Community School category Derbyshire DE73 6TA 4 °7 Age range of pupils 01332 700 298 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01332 703 551 Fax number 360 Number on roll (school) Mr Gavin Henderson Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Fiona McLaughlin Headteacher 22 April 2002 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection date Age group 289396 8 March 2007 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 an Additional Inspector over one day.

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Description of the school

This is a popular, large infant school, which serves a mixed but generally advantaged area. The school has expanded over recent years and currently has a large number of mobile classrooms. Pupils come from a variety of social and cultural backgrounds. The majority of pupils are White British and a well below average proportion come from minority ethnic groups. The proportion of pupils who are entitled to receive free school meals is below average. Children usually enter the Reception classes with skills slightly lower than expected for their age. Below average proportions of pupils have learning difficulties or disabilities. A new headteacher was appointed in September 2006 and a new deputy headteacher will take up her appointment in the summer term.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Chellaston Infant School, 8 March 2007

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Grade: 2

This popular school provides pupils with a good education. The governing body have managed the recent changes of leadership very effectively so that a smooth transition has taken place. The new headteacher is working very well with staff, governors and parents to accurately identify the school's strengths and planning how to build upon them. From a good starting point the headteacher, well supported by the school and its community, is aiming for excellence. Throughout the school, from Reception to Year 2, all pupils make good progress and achieve well. Standards are now above average, the slight dip that took place in reading and mathematics standards from 2004 has been halted. This is because a better system has been introduced for tracking pupils' progress in reading, writing and mathematics. Senior staff are making good use of this system to make sure pupils have the support they need to reach challenging targets. Consequently, all groups of pupils, including

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Grade: 2

those who have learning difficulties or disabilities, achieve well because their needs are assessed and catered for effectively. The new system is not being used efficiently by all staff currently although they assess pupils' needs well and teaching and learning are good. Pupils especially enjoy lessons which include challenging, creative activities. As a result they concentrate, work hard and their attendance and behaviour are good. The personal development and well-being of pupils are good as is their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Pupils are well prepared for their future lives through the good standards they reach in literacy and numeracy. They learn how to work in teams and to respect the views of others. Consequently, pupils from all backgrounds and cultures enjoy each other's company as they play happily together in the playground. They are encouraged to lead healthy lives through eating fruit at snack

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Grade: 2

time and making full use of the plentiful playground equipment to play team games. They develop some good skills to help them be independent learners, but, as the school is aware, more opportunities should be provided to extend pupils' independence further. Leadership and management are good. The headteacher has communicated her vision for the school effectively so that everyone is clearly focused on making this good school even better. Parents are actively involved with a group of staff and governors to enhance further the good communication between school and home. Pupils are encouraged, through the school council, to play their part in school improvement. All subject leaders have contributed strongly to school improvement through their annual audits of their subjects. The school has made good improvement since the last inspection. It has developed a more creative curriculum and improved its provision for

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Grade: 2

information and communication technology (ICT). The governors fulfil their roles and responsibilities well by identifying accurately, with the headteacher and staff how things can be further improved. Although some of these initiatives are new and their full impact is yet to be seen, there is evidence of good progress especially in improving standards and achievement in reading and mathematics. The school therefore has a good capacity to improve and provides good value for money 2 Inspection Report: Chellaston Infant School, 8 March 2007

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What the school should do to improve further

• Raise achievement even further by ensuring that teachers use the improved checks on pupils' progress efficiently to set and help them reach even more challenging targets in reading, writing and mathematics. • Provide more opportunities for pupils' to learn independently.

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Grade: 2

Children usually enter the Reception classes with skills slightly lower than those expected for their age, but this varies from year to year. Children make good progress given their different starting points. By the time they enter Year 1 almost all achieve the levels expected nationally and some do even better. Throughout Years 1 and 2 this good rate of progress is maintained so that pupils achieve well and reach above average standards in reading, writing and mathematics. Over time standards have always been at least above average but they have fallen slightly each year since 2004. Standards, although still above average, fell in reading but more so in mathematics. This was partly due to lower standards on entry, but also to imprecise targets. The new headteacher has taken action to improve reading comprehension and problem-solving in mathematics because these were weaker aspects which had been identified as priority areas for attention. Currently pupils are on track to reach

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Grade: 2

challenging targets. Achievement is good and standards have improved in reading, writing and mathematics.

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Grade: 2

This aspect and pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development are good. They are well prepared for their future lives by the good standards they reach in basic skills and through learning how to work together harmoniously. Their cultural development is very good because pupils are well prepared for life in multicultural Britain and learn to respect other beliefs, faiths and cultural traditions. They learn to lead healthy lifestyles and make good contributions to the school and wider community through the school council and other activities. Pupils are caring, thoughtful and learn how to resolve difficulties in relationships sensibly and, if they need to, seek help from staff. Consequently bullying is rare and any that does take place is stopped. Behaviour is good because pupils learn, through the school council in particular, to encourage each other to be polite and discourage the very rare instances of inappropriate behaviour.

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Grade: 2

Pupils run through the gates in the morning looking forward to exciting activities that await them in their classrooms. 3 Inspection Report: Chellaston Infant School, 8 March 2007

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Grade: 2

Lesson planning is good and based thoroughly on teachers' good knowledge of their pupils so that activities meet the different needs of individuals and groups within the class. Relationships between staff and their pupils are warm and caring. The staff work well together to overcome successfully the challenges of utilising so many temporary classrooms. Some teaching is highly effective especially where drama is used in an exciting way to develop pupils' storytelling skills. This inspires pupils to act out, re-tell and write stories and enhances pupils' enjoyment and learning. Pupils' work and standards are checked regularly and used to provide support and guidance which enables them to make good progress. The recent dips in mathematics and reading have led to this information being used to set more precise individual targets that are shared with pupils and their parents. This has ensured that standards and achievement

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Grade: 2

have improved and are now good in these areas. The needs of pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities are identified early so that they are well met to ensure pupils make good progress.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is good and enriched by after school clubs such as football and drama. All subjects are planned effectively and well established so that, as time goes on, pupils' work gets increasingly challenging. Good improvements have been made in the provision of ICT since the last inspection. A small suite is used regularly to teach ICT skills and to support pupils' learning in other subjects. ICT is also used effectively by teachers to enhance teaching quality with their classes. The school is taking good account of national initiatives to widen opportunities for creativity and this is increasing pupils' enjoyment in learning. The subject leaders' annual audits are used well to refine the curriculum and this ensures it supports pupils' good progress.

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Grade: 2

Care, guidance and support are good. Pupils are well cared for by staff and they are all fully trained in first aid. Governors take parents' concerns seriously and, in conjunction with the local authority, are taking urgent action on two health and safety issues raised by parents. Governors fulfil the latest statutory requirements to ensure the safeguarding of children. Pupils are given good guidance to help them develop their personal skills through the provision of a good programme of personal, social and health education work. However the school knows that opportunities should be planned more consistently to help pupils develop their independent learning skills even more effectively. The introduction of an ICT programme to track pupils' progress enables senior staff to check quickly how well groups of pupils and individuals are 4 Inspection Report: Chellaston Infant School, 8 March 2007 doing. While current assessment systems are good, this has the potential to help all

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Grade: 2

staff intervene even more swiftly to ensure that pupils achieve even more as they have done already in reading and mathematics.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good. The new headteacher, governors and staff work well together because changes of leadership have been very well managed. Governors set aside time for the acting headteacher to work together with the newly appointed headteacher before she took up her appointment in September. This has ensured a smooth transition and the continuation of the school's development. The headteacher has refined the use of assessment information and together with the expertise of subject coordinators they have successfully improved pupils' comprehension in reading and ability to solve problems in mathematics. Governors know the school well through long established lesson observations and links with subject leaders. They are improving their knowledge through newly introduced links with individual classes. 5 Inspection Report: Chellaston Infant School, 8 March 2007 .

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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: Chellaston Infant School, 8 March 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? 2 The quality and standards in the Foundation Stage 2 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 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: Chellaston Infant School, 8 March 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: Chellaston Infant School, 8 March 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

9 March 2007 Dear Pupils Chellaston Infant School, School Lane, Chellaston, Derby, Derbyshire, DE73 6TA Thank you for helping me get to know your school when I visited you recently. This letter is to tell you the important things that I found out. Your school is good. The teachers make sure that you do well in reading, writing and mathematics. They make learning fun because they include lots of activities that you enjoy and help you to learn. You work hard and concentrate and you told me how much you love writing. You try to help each other by encouraging everyone to be sensible and reminding them not to be rude or thoughtless. That's why you behave so well. You said that you feel safe and that there is hardly any bullying. When it happens you know that if you tell a member of staff that it will be stopped. You learn a lot about other people. You understand that we are all different and learn to respect

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

each other. So, everyone plays together happily in the playground. The headteacher, staff and governors are working hard to make your good school even better with the help of you and your parents. The staff will continue to improve how they check your work to help you do well all the time. They will give you more activities that help you to learn how to work independently. You can help the adults improve the school too through your school council. I hope that you continue to do well and enjoy learning. Best wishes Mrs Gill Broadbent Lead Inspector 9 Inspection Report: Chellaston Infant School, 8 March 2007

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