Belbroughton CofE Primary School

Inspection Report Belbroughton CofE Primary School and Nursery

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116782 Unique Reference Number Worcestershire Local Authority 290632 Inspection number 20 °21 November 2006 Inspection dates Tom Shine 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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Bradford Lane School address Primary Type of school Belbroughton Voluntary controlled School category Stourbridge DY9 9TF 3 °11 Age range of pupils 01562 730208 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01562 731319 Fax number 146 Number on roll (school) Bridget Nisbet Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Rebecca Raybould Headteacher 30 April 2001 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 290632 20 °21 November 2006 3°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 two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

This is a smaller than average primary school that has close ties with Holy Trinity parish church. There is a maintained nursery on site that operates in the morning and a private nursery that uses the same facilities in the afternoon. Extended care facilities such as a breakfast club and an after school club are also available. The movement of pupils in and out of the school at other than the usual times is higher than average. The school has close ties with the local High School that enhance its curricular provision.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Belbroughton CofE Primary School and Nursery, 20 °21 November 2006

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Grade: 2

'A caring ethos and an enthusiastic, helpful and impressive attitude of all the teachers' is how one parent accurately described this good school. The leadership of the school has ensured that the quality of provision, particularly teaching, is good. As a result, pupils make good progress throughout the school. They achieve well in relation to their capabilities when they enter the school, and standards are well above average at the end of Year 6. Pupils enjoy coming to this friendly school and like their teachers because 'they help us with all our work'. They are keen therefore to attend school. In the Foundation Stage, children make a good start in developing their literacy and numeracy skills. In the Nursery, they listen well and in the Reception they follow carefully the literacy and mathematics sessions and make good progress in these areas. However, there are marked differences in planning and how these classes are organised, for example, in

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Grade: 2

the opportunities children are given to develop their skills and independence to enable them to make even better progress. In the rest of the school, the curriculum is good. Most teachers plan relevant activities that challenge pupils and gain their attention. They ask probing questions and pupils are confident in answering them and asking questions themselves. The quality of teachers' marking is good in some classes and helpful to pupils in showing them how to improve their work, but this is not consistent throughout the school. Pupils' personal development and well-being are good. Pupils feel safe and secure as a result of initiatives from the strong leadership and management in the school. The school provides good care, guidance and support for its pupils. It has dealt outstandingly with bullying, examples being the annual anti-bullying week and a prominent 'Worry Box'. As one pupil put it: 'I feel safe because we now have an

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Grade: 2

anti-bullying week and it's now quite safe.' As a result, their behaviour is good. They have a good awareness of the importance of keeping fit and enjoy sport. They particularly enjoy the range of after school sports clubs that have been provided in response to the comments from parents. They are also aware of how important it is to eat healthily and enjoy the hot dinners which they say have improved. Members of the school council take their responsibilities seriously and make a good contribution to the school community. Older pupils also appreciate the Buddy system, where they are expected to look after the younger ones in and around the school. Leadership and management are good. The vision and drive of the headteacher have ensured that the school's levels of care and support are good. Since her appointment less than four terms ago, the headteacher has developed a very good understanding of the school's strengths and areas for development. For example, through robust

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Grade: 2

procedures for checking on the quality of teaching and learning, she has a good awareness of where improvements need to be made. She is supported well by her senior staff, some of whom are new to their roles, and are increasingly effective. The governors, ably led by the newly appointed chair, are not afraid to call the school to account, and together with the headteacher, have a clear understanding of what needs to be done to improve further. As a result, the school's capacity to improve is good. 2 Inspection Report: Belbroughton CofE Primary School and Nursery, 20 °21 November 2006

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What the school should do to improve further

• Ensure teachers' planning in the Foundation Stage meets the needs of all children, including the development of their independence, to improve their progress further. • Ensure that marking gives more consistent guidance to pupils on what they need to do to improve their work.

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Grade: 2

Achievement and standards are good. Children start school with levels of attainment that are above average. They make good progress and achieve well in communication, language and literacy and mathematical development by the end of the Reception Year but they are capable of even better progress. Standards at the end of Year 2 in 2006 were above average in reading, writing and mathematics. In Year 6, standards were well above average in English, mathematics and science, and all pupils, including those of higher attainment, achieved well. There were fewer pupils with learning difficulties than usual in this small cohort. Throughout the school, pupils are confident in speaking and listening. Pupils' very good basic skills in literacy and numeracy prepare them well for the next stage of their education and beyond.

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Grade: 2

Personal development and well-being are good. Relationships and behaviour are also good, making the school a happy and safe place. Pupils are proud to be members of the school council but some say they would like more class time to raise or discuss council issues. They like the close ties the school has with the parish church and the village community. Pupils are benefiting from new initiatives to help them think about their learning; for example, pupils are beginning to learn from their mistakes and to keep trying to get better at their work. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. They show a clear understanding of right and wrong, so that school is an orderly, friendly place in which pupils thrive. Pupils think deeply about others less fortunate and fund raise for many deserving charities. They learn more about the world of work, for example, when devising stalls for the school fayre.

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Grade: 2

Teachers have good relationships with their pupils and manage their classes well. In the Foundation Stage, teachers do not plan well enough together. This results in these able children, not making as much progress as they are capable of in some areas of 3 Inspection Report: Belbroughton CofE Primary School and Nursery, 20 °21 November 2006 learning, because there is not enough planning between the two classes. In the rest of the school, good questioning challenges pupils to think and reflect upon their learning. While teachers carefully focus on small groups of pupils, some miss opportunities to check on other pupils during the lesson, resulting in mistakes going unnoticed. Teachers' subject knowledge is generally good and they make effective use of interactive whiteboards to demonstrate and explain new concepts to pupils.

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Grade: 2

Children in the Foundation Stage benefit from a wide range of learning opportunities and, in Reception particularly, from small structured steps in learning. However, the differences in planning between the classes reflect inconsistent expectations of how to develop children's skills and independence to enable them to make even greater progress. In Years 1 to 6, very good provision is made for the development of pupils' literacy and numeracy skills because work is planned to build on new skills in a consistent way. The satisfactory range of extra-curricular activities focuses on participation in sport, in response to comments from parents. Exciting visits and visitors enrich the curriculum effectively. Attractive, well organised outdoor facilities complement provision; for example, pond dipping in science or the use of the grass mounds for history role play.

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Grade: 2

The school takes good care of its pupils. This is appreciated by parents, one of whom wrote, 'I feel privileged that my child attends this school.' Pupils know where to go for advice, feeling confident of adult help. Because of positive action taken by the school, pupils say it is now a friendly, happy place free from bullying. Child protection and health and safety procedures are good and records are rigorously maintained. Those new to the school receive good support, settling in quickly. Pupils with learning difficulties receive good support from teachers and knowledgeable teaching assistants who vigilantly follow pupils' learning plans. The marking of pupils' work varies between classes. At its best, pupils know how well they have achieved and what they must do to improve. Pupils value the personal targets they are set, particularly in literacy and numeracy. However, in some classes, pupils are not given

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Grade: 2

enough information about how well they are progressing towards them.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good. A significant strength is the way in which it regularly seeks the views of parents and pupils about the school's work. The headteacher leads and manages the school effectively and is supported well by the senior staff, including subject leaders. Both these staff and governors share a clear 4 Inspection Report: Belbroughton CofE Primary School and Nursery, 20 °21 November 2006 vision and a commitment towards continuing to raise standards. They are particularly good at including all pupils in the life of the school. Partnerships with other schools and outside bodies are good and extend pupils' learning experiences well. In the relatively short time she has been in post, the headteacher has engendered a good team spirit among her staff as a result of her good communication within the school, including weekly staff meetings. Governance is good. The governors are very

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Grade: 2

supportive and committed and work effectively for the school. The school has good knowledge of its strengths and areas for development. 5 Inspection Report: Belbroughton CofE Primary School and Nursery, 20 °21 November 2006 .

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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: Belbroughton CofE Primary School and Nursery, 20 °21 November 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 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: Belbroughton CofE Primary School and Nursery, 20 °21 November 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: Belbroughton CofE Primary School and Nursery, 20 °21 November 2006

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you very much for all the help you gave to the inspectors when they came to your school recently. We liked talking to you and to your teachers and coming to your school assembly. Your school provides you with a good education. You are making good progress because you are well taught. These are the things we liked most about your school • You achieve very well in English, mathematics and science. • You are all very friendly and polite. • You are well cared for and you told us you feel safe and well supported. • Your headteacher, the staff and the governors run the school very well and make sure those of you who need extra help get it. • You enjoy school and attend regularly. • You also behave and get on well with each other and with all members of staff. • You have a good understanding of the importance of exercise and healthy eating. • You enjoy the wide range of out-of-school activities and clubs.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

But, to make things even better, we have suggested some things that we think will help • We think younger children would make even better progress in their lessons if they were sometimes given harder work and sometimes given more opportunities to develop their independence. • It would be helpful if you each had a clearer idea of what you need to do to improve your work. We really enjoyed talking to you about your work and watching you learn and wish you all well for the future. 9 Inspection Report: Belbroughton CofE Primary School and Nursery, 20 °21 November 2006

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