Lakeside Primary School

Inspection Report Lakeside Primary School

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115594 Unique Reference Number Gloucestershire Local Authority 290267 Inspection number 2 °3 October 2006 Inspection dates Lorna Brackstone 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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Hatherley Road School address Primary Type of school Cheltenham Community School category GL51 6HR 4 °11 Age range of pupils 01242 524756 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01242 524756 Fax number 408 Number on roll (school) Pat Kearsey Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Steve Moss Headteacher 1 July 2001 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 290267 2 °3 October 2006 4°11 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 above-average-sized school serves a mixed residential area in Cheltenham. The number of pupils eligible for free school meals is low. The proportion of pupils who have learning difficulties is below average. A small percentage of children do not speak English as their first language.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Lakeside Primary School, 2 °3 October 2006

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Grade: 3

The school provides a sound education. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good because pupils' personal development is well planned and is an integral part of school life. Consequently, they are well prepared for their future life. The good standard of care provided is appreciated by most parents, who feel that 'the school has a warm, welcoming atmosphere for which all staff should take credit'. Pupils are kept secure and they know how to keep healthy and fit and explain the importance of eating sensibly and exercising regularly. Parents are pleased that their children 'look forward to going to school each morning'. Pupils are confident that 'most of the pupils are kind and friendly' and behaviour is good. The school council enables pupils to have a say in making their own community better and this has already resulted in the provision of new playground markings and sports equipment. Pupils organise

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Grade: 3

fund-raising activities and manage their pocket money during their residential visits. They are successfully learning a range of skills and acquiring attributes that will serve them well in the future. Standards are above the national average and pupils' achievement is broadly satisfactory. Children do well in the Foundation Stage and achieve good standards because of the high quality teaching and the good range of activities. The good quality teaching in Years 1 and 2 ensures that the pupils continue to progress well and achieve above-average standards. This progress slows to a satisfactory pace in Years 3 to 6, although overall standards remain at an above-average level by the end of Year 6. The rate of progress slows in Years 3 to 6 as not all lessons fully meet the needs of all the pupils because activities do not stretch or challenge pupils enough. Whilst test results are analysed, the information gained is not used

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Grade: 3

enough in Years 3 to 6 to support individual pupils' progress by planning work that is at the right level to ensure good progress. Pupils do not fully understand how they can improve their learning because when their books are marked, teachers do not advise them on how they can improve their work. In the past twelve months the school has experienced staffing difficulties, including long-term absence of the headteacher. Whilst parents unanimously agreed that 'the whole school pulled together,' several areas of development have been 'on hold'. This has included the deferment of activities to check on the quality of lessons and tackling any teaching weaknesses. The senior leadership team are aware of this and have reflected this accurately in their self-evaluation of the school. The school has made satisfactory progress since its last inspection and has identified the right areas for development. Consequently, it is in

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Grade: 3

a sound position to secure further improvements.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Establish a more consistent approach to marking work so that pupils clearly understand what they need to do to improve. • Make better use of assessment information to make sure all pupils, especially the more capable, are effectively challenged. • Improve the monitoring and evaluating of teaching and take effective steps to tackle weaknesses. 2 Inspection Report: Lakeside Primary School, 2 °3 October 2006

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Grade: 3

Children start school with standards that are in line with national expectations. Achievement is satisfactory overall but there are variations within the school. It is good in Reception and, by the start of Year 1, children have attained standards in most areas of learning that are above national expectations. This good level of progress is successfully maintained through Years 1 and 2 and pupils start Year 3 with above-average standards in reading, writing and mathematics. Achievement through Years 3 to 6 is satisfactory, with standards remaining above average in English and mathematics, and average in science. However, pupils in Years 3 to 6 could achieve more. The progress they make is hindered by some of the work they are given that is not sufficiently challenging. The school has identified the need to improve progress in science and has introduced a more practical approach based around problem-solving

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Grade: 2

Personal development is good. Pupils like school and attend regularly because they enjoy 'the exciting lessons and interesting clubs'. The good provision for social and moral development ensures that pupils behave well and understand the consequences of anti-social behaviour. They feel safe and secure because adults help them if they have a problem. Pupils take increasing responsibility as they get older and proudly prepare the hall for assembly and look after younger children. The good spiritual development is a strong feature of the school, notably through the 'spirituality that the ethos and assemblies evoke….My children have become better people for their contact with the staff of the school'. Studying different religions, such as Hinduism, and participating in specific events such as a Mexican Day provide pupils with a satisfactory awareness of cultural diversity.

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Grade: 3

The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory. It is consistently good in Reception and in Years 1 and 2, where relationships are strong and the focus of lessons are clear. Whilst some of the teaching in Years 3 to 6 is good, particularly in Year 6, there is too much inconsistency, resulting in only satisfactory learning over time. Skilful questioning, detailed planning and a good pace to lessons are regular features of lessons. However, not all teaching in Years 3 to 6 fully challenges the more capable pupils. At times, the same work is planned for all groups of pupils, which mean that some pupils are doing work that is too easy. This slows their rate of progress. Expectations are not consistently high enough and untidy work is sometimes accepted without question. All teachers 3 Inspection Report: Lakeside Primary School, 2 °3 October 2006 use resources well to engage pupils. This is evident when they use their interactive

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Grade: 3

whiteboards to good effect. Teaching assistants are deployed effectively and make a good contribution to the learning of all pupils.

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Grade: 3

The curriculum is satisfactory. Across the school, satisfactory emphasis is given to the development of pupils' key skills in literacy and numeracy. The school is aware that more needs to be done to improve pupils' problem-solving skills in mathematics and their investigative work in science. Provision for information and communication technology (ICT) has improved since the last inspection, and pupils now have regular opportunities to use computers to support their learning in different subjects. However, work is sometimes too easy for the most capable pupils, which restricts their progress. In Reception, children benefit from a well-planned curriculum and enriching experiences. Pupils benefit from a wide range of educational visits, visitors, themed events and clubs, and these enrich their learning. Music is well promoted in the school with nearly half the pupils in Years 3 to 6 learning to play an instrument.

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Grade: 2

Pupils, including those with learning difficulties, are cared for very well. Children are provided with good support when they start school. Staff work closely with parents to make sure they settle in quickly. Parents speak highly of the full involvement of all their children, regardless of their ability or needs. There are good procedures in place to keep the pupils safe and the well-planned programme for personal, social, health and emotional development securely supports pupils' personal development. The good links between the local secondary schools ensure that Year 6 transfers run smoothly. Academic support and guidance are satisfactory. Whilst the senior leadership team analyse test results, they do not make sufficient use of their findings to target individual pupils. Teachers explain what is to be learnt in each lesson and most pupils have an awareness of how well they are doing. However, pupils are not always clear enough

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Grade: 2

about what they need to do to improve their work. This is because most of the marking is confined to making positive comments and does not help the pupils focus on the next step of learning.

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Grade: 3

Leadership and management are satisfactory. Since the last inspection, all key issues have been successfully addressed and standards have remained above average. The headteacher has a good understanding of the needs of staff and pupils and a strong team spirit exists in the school. The senior managers provide a clear sense of direction. However, an unsettled period during the last school year, including staff restructuring and the absence of the headteacher through illness, resulted in lapses in the checking 4 Inspection Report: Lakeside Primary School, 2 °3 October 2006 up on teaching and consequently, not enough attention being given to tackling weaknesses Self-evaluation procedures are sound and appropriately involve teachers, teaching assistants and governors working well together in review teams. However, whilst subject leaders check pupils' work, they do not visit classrooms to observe teaching and learning. Consequently, this limits their ability to identify and target

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Grade: 3

areas for improvement. School governance is good. Governors keep themselves well informed, through regular discussions with subject leaders. The school has good links with parents, other schools and external agencies that support its work. 5 Inspection Report: Lakeside Primary School, 2 °3 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: Lakeside Primary School, 2 °3 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? 2 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? 2 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 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: Lakeside Primary School, 2 °3 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: Lakeside Primary School, 2 °3 October 2006

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

• Thank you for the way that you welcomed us to your school. We enjoyed talking to you and hearing about the interesting things you do. We particularly liked listening to the orchestra and hearing you sing enthusiastically in assembly. We promised that we would write and tell you about what we thought about the school. At the moment the school is doing fine, but there are some things that the school could do better. Good things about the school: • You are happy at school, enjoy learning and like your teachers. • You keep fit and eat healthily. • You join in enthusiastically with the good opportunities that the school provides out of lessons. • You are all looked after well. Things we have asked the school to do even better: • We would like to see you challenged fully in all lessons. • We have asked your teachers to make sure that they tell you how to get better at your work when they mark it. • The information the school collects on your progress could be used to pick out those pupils

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

who need extra help. Thank you again and we wish you all the very best for the future. 9 Inspection Report: Lakeside Primary School, 2 °3 October 2006

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