St Paul's Church of England Primary School

Inspection Report - Amended St Paul's Church of England Primary School

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115605 Unique Reference Number Gloucestershire Local Authority 290272 Inspection number 12 °13 September 2006 Inspection dates Arnalena Bee 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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New Street School address Primary Type of school Gloucester Voluntary controlled School category GL1 5BD 4 °11 Age range of pupils 01452 521872 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01452 385847 Fax number 196 Number on roll (school) R Bown Chair The governing body Appropriate authority H Hutchison Headteacher 27 January 2003 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 290272 12 °13 September 2006 4°11

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Amended Report Addendum

Report updated to resolve formatting inconsistency

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Amended Report Addendum

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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Amended Report Addendum

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 two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

The school is average in size. The majority of pupils are from White British backgrounds and a higher than average proportion of students from minority ethnic groups. The children's attainment on entry to Reception is well below the expected level and particularly low in language development. The number of pupils eligible for free school meals is above average. The school receives extra funding from the Excellence Cluster because it is situated in an area of social need. The headteacher has recently been appointed after a year as acting headteacher. The proportion of pupils identified with learning difficulties and disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language, is above average.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: St Paul's Church of England Primary School, 12 °13 September 2006

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Grade: 4

The school provides an inadequate education for its pupils. In accordance with section 13 (3) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires special measures because it is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the persons responsible for leading and managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvements. Senior managers and governors do not monitor the work of the school thoroughly enough. Issues identified during the last inspection have not been effectively dealt with. The headteacher started to tackle weaknesses in teaching, learning, standards and achievement during the last academic year and has a clear vision of what the priorities are for raising achievement. In addition, she identified that the senior managers, subject co-ordinators and governors needed training to enable them to work alongside her

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Grade: 4

and move the school forward. This has begun and senior staff and the governors are now more aware of the need to look at and act upon information about the school's performance. The situation is beginning to get slightly better. Standards have improved in Year 2 and these pupils have achieved well. Unfortunately, there has not been enough time for improvements to make enough impact on pupils' achievement right across the school. As a result, standards are inadequate. The exceptionally low standards that pupils reach by the end of Year 6 do not help them in their future lives. Achievement is inadequate due to inconsistencies in teaching and learning. As a result, too many pupils do not do as well as they could do. By the end of Reception, although most children do not reach the expected levels, achievement is satisfactory in relation to their low starting points. Teaching and learning are inadequate. Not enough use is made of assessments about

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Grade: 4

how well pupils are doing to plan challenging enough activities. Marking is not used effectively to show pupils what they need to do to improve. Teaching is satisfactory in Reception and good in Year 2. It is variable throughout the rest of the school and results in pockets of underachievement, particularly as pupils move through the upper part of the school. A strength of this school is the personal, social and health education programme (PSHE). There is good emphasis on the need to eat healthily and take daily exercise in the form of 'Wake and Shake', which encourages all pupils to keep fit on a daily basis. Parents say that the school provides a safe and happy environment for the children to learn and the inspectors agree. All teachers develop good relationships with their pupils. Members of staff are kind and caring and, as a result, pupils enjoy coming to school and are keen to learn. However, attendance is below average and

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Grade: 4

continues to be an issue from the previous inspection. The below average attendance is the result of a few families whose children do not attend regularly. Behaviour and attitudes to learning are generally good but when lessons lack interest or excitement or work is too hard or not challenging enough, pupils' responses are not so good. 2 Inspection Report: St Paul's Church of England Primary School, 12 °13 September 2006

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What the school should do to improve further

• Ensure that work consistently meets the needs of all pupils, in order to raise achievement in English, mathematics and science, particularly in Years 3 to 6. • Improve the quality of teaching, in all year groups, apart from Year 2, so that all lessons are good and underachievement is eliminated. • Develop the expertise of the senior managers, the subject co-ordinators and governors to enable them to monitor the work of the school rigorously and deal more effectively with weaknesses. • Develop attendance procedures so that all parents and carers become more aware of the importance of attending school regularly.

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Grade: 4

Pupils' achievement is inadequate. Standards in Year 6 have declined and are now exceptionally low at the end of Year 6. Progress is satisfactory in Reception and Year 1 and good in Year 2. As a result, standards have improved from well below average on entry to school, to below average at the end of Year 2. Progress is satisfactory at this point because of improvements in teaching. In spite of this, progress is erratic in Years 3 to 6 and as a result, standards are low by the time pupils leave school in Year 6. Pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities make similar progress to other pupils. When pupils who speak another language other than English are supported by one of the two specialist teachers, either in class or in withdrawal groups, they achieve at least satisfactorily and sometimes better. This is because these specialist teachers have a clear idea of what these pupils need to do to improve. Targets for attainment in

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Grade: 4

English were met in 2005 but those for mathematics were not. Academic targets for the current year are realistic and challenging but continue to be low.

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Grade: 3

Pupils' personal development and well-being are satisfactory. Pupils know that staff have their best interests at heart and most are keen to learn. At times, pupils' interest wanes because they are expected to listen to their teachers for too long or the work set for them is not well matched to their needs. In the main, pupils' behaviour is good. Provision for pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is satisfactory, with some good features. Christian values are emphasised well and there is a high degree of racial harmony. Relationships are good, with older pupils benefiting from a 'Learning for Living' programme. Consequently, pupils work together amicably, respect the feelings of others and have a clear understanding of fair play. They respond positively when given responsibility, for example, as members of the school council. 3 Inspection Report: St Paul's Church of England Primary School, 12 °13 September 2006

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Grade: 3

Pupils really enjoy their daily exercise and have a good understanding of the importance of healthy eating. They make a positive contribution to the community by fund raising for good causes, and helping others locally. The low levels that pupils' reach in literacy and numeracy do not prepare them well for their next stage in education and their future lives.

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Grade: 4

There are variations in the quality of teaching and learning across the school, in particular as pupils move between Years 3 to 6. In too many lessons, learning is not as good as it should be for all pupils. In Reception, teaching and learning are satisfactory. Good teaching in Year 2 enables the pupils to learn well. A strength in teaching is the way that all teachers develop good relationships with their pupils and generally manage their classes well. The school has started to collect more information about how well pupils are doing but staff are not using it effectively to plan lesson activities. Teaching assistants often support pupils with learning difficulties, and those who speak another language other than English. Their job is made particularly difficult when class teachers plan activities that are too difficult for the pupils they work with. At other times, teachers talk for too long and some pupils have difficulty sustaining

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Grade: 4

concentration. The marking of pupils' work varies across the school. There are few examples of consistently helpful marking, which informs pupils about what they need to do to improve.

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Grade: 3

The curriculum is satisfactory. The time spent on developing literacy and numeracy skills is satisfactory, although groups of pupils are making insufficient progress in most classes. A significant strength is the way that the curriculum is enriched and learning is made interesting as a result of well planned visits and visitors being invited into school. Activities such as these promote the development of personal and social skills well. Parents say that the school does this particularly effectively. Pupils in Year 5 enthusiastically recalled the day a special visitor, who was a 'Roman Soldier', came to school and brought history to life. The personal, social and health education programme is good. It successfully promotes the need to develop a healthy lifestyle, exercise regularly and keep safe. As a result, older pupils speak confidently about the dangers of smoking and taking drugs and younger pupils speak knowledgeably about why they

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Grade: 3

eat apples during break. The exercises all pupils do during morning registration puts the importance of keeping fit and healthy on high profile each day. 4 Inspection Report: St Paul's Church of England Primary School, 12 °13 September 2006

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Grade: 4

The school cares for its pupils well. Personal support is satisfactory whereas academic guidance is weak and has a negative impact on the pupils' achievement. As a result, care, guidance and support are inadequate. Pupils say that they feel safe and secure. Carefully considered procedures help to ensure that children settle quickly into the Reception class, while older pupils know that they can take any worries they may have to the staff. The school's learning mentor provides valuable support for pupils who are experiencing difficulties, including liaising effectively with their families and outside agencies. Child protection procedures are thorough and there are regular health and safety checks. Academic guidance is inadequate because information about how well pupils are doing is not used to support pupils' differing needs. As a result many pupils underachieve, particularly as they move through Years 3 to 6, and older pupils in Years

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Grade: 4

5 and 6, for example, say that they do not really know how well they are doing.

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Grade: 4

The leadership and management of the school are unsatisfactory. The procedures for checking how the school is doing lack rigour and have too little impact on the quality of education provided for the pupils. The role of the senior management team is underdeveloped and too much responsibility for setting and achieving the school's goals rests with the headteacher. School governance is unsatisfactory. Governors have had some recent training but this has not yet impacted on standards. Statutory requirements are not met. Those relating to performance management are only partly in place. Governors have not been effectively monitoring how well the school is doing. The headteacher has a clear idea of what is needed to improve the quality of provision. She has been in post for two weeks following her appointment as acting headteacher in July 2005. She successfully promotes effective teamwork, and has established a

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Grade: 4

clear sense of direction for staff, and identified appropriate priorities on the school development plan. In addition, she is fully aware that inadequate teaching has not been totally eliminated. She identified early on that behaviour was an issue and has successfully improved this. When pupils were asked what had changed in school during the last year they said that 'the new headteacher had sorted out behaviour,' and that 'pupils behaved well now because everyone expected them to'. 5 Inspection Report: St Paul's Church of England Primary School, 12 °13 September 2006 .

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Grade: 4

set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: St Paul's Church of England Primary School, 12 °13 September 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 4 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 4 The capacity to make any necessary improvements No Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

4 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 4 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 4 The attendance of learners 3 How well learners enjoy their education 3 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?

4 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: St Paul's Church of England Primary School, 12 °13 September 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? Yes Does this school require special measures? No Does this school require a notice to improve? 8 Inspection Report: St Paul's Church of England Primary School, 12 °13 September 2006

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you for making us so welcome when we came to visit your school. You were all very polite and friendly. We were pleased to find some good things in your school, but feel that it needs to improve so that you can do even better. • What we liked most about your school: • We are very pleased that you enjoy school so much and that you behave so well. • All adults who work in your school look after you well. • The school offers you many fun activities to do out of school time as well as planning interesting visits for you and inviting visitors to come into school to make learning exciting. • Those who care for you at home are happy that you come to this school. What we have asked your school to do now: • Make sure that teachers give you work that is not too easy or too hard for you, particularly in English, mathematics and science. • Improve teaching so that you all work hard enough and making enough progress.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

• All staff and governors need to help the headteacher more in managing the school. • Remind everyone how important it is to come to school every day. Best wishes for the future. 9 Inspection Report: St Paul's Church of England Primary School, 12 °13 September 2006

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