Greenway Primary and Nursery School

Greenway First and Nursery School Inspection report

p.1

117276 Unique Reference Number HERTFORDSHIRE Local Authority 290780 Inspection number 14 °15 June 2007 Inspection dates Sheelagh Barnes Reporting inspector

p.1

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

p.1

First Type of school Community School category 4 °9 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 258 School

p.1

The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Anne Gold Chair Ms Bobby Cadwallander Headteacher 11 February 2002 Date of previous school inspection Crossways School address Berkhamsted Hertfordshire HP4 3NH

p.1

01442 866249 Telephone number 01442 874252 Fax number

p.1

4 °9 Age group 14 °15 June 2007 Inspection dates 290780 Inspection number .

p.1

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.

p.2

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.

p.2

Introduction

The inspection was carried out by three Additional Inspectors.

p.3

Description of the school

This is an average sized school but due to the numbers in each year group there are some mixed age classes. Attainment on entry is above average and there are fewer pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities than found nationally. Two pupils have a statement of their need. Few pupils come from minority ethnic groups or speak English as an additional language. A very small minority of pupils are eligible for free school meals. The school has many awards including Healthy School's award, Investors' in People, for the second time in April 2006, NAACE mark, ARTS mark silver, Hertfordshire Quality Standard, the intermediate International Award and Information Communication and Technology (ICT) mark. There have been a number of staff changes in recent years and several of the teachers are at early stages in their career.

p.3

Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 10 Inspection Report: Greenway First and Nursery School, 14 °15 June 2007

p.3

Grade: 2

This is a good school that is well led and managed. The strong and effective leadership, of the headteacher in particular, has resulted in the school having a clear view of its strengths and areas for improvement. As a consequence, improvement since the previous inspection has been good and the school provides good value for money. Teaching and learning are good overall. Teachers' planning is good and builds effectively on previous work. Relationships in classes are good and staff work together well to create a positive learning environment for all pupils. Assessment is good but there are inconsistencies in marking and the exemplary marking in some classes is not replicated across the school. This is something the school has identified. Children have a good start to their education in the Foundation Stage. Provision in the Nursery and Reception classes is good. The great majority of children reach,

p.4

Grade: 2

and often exceed, the goals expected for their ages before they transfer to Year 1. Progress and achievement overall throughout the school is good and overall pupils are especially well prepared for the next stage in their academic career. They make particularly good progress and standards are well above average. Pupils attain high standards in reading across all year groups. In writing and mathematics progress and achievement, while good overall, vary across the school. The leadership has identified these as areas of focus for the school's development plan. The school provides good systems for the care, guidance and support for all pupils. Pupils' personal development, including their moral and social development is excellent. As a result, behaviour is outstandingly good and attendance is very high. Parents are very supportive of the school and agree that their children are happy and learn very effectively about staying safe

p.4

Grade: 2

and adopting healthy lifestyles. The curriculum is good with fine features. The school has strong links with the community and outstanding international links through staff visits to China, Thailand and Australia. These links enhance pupils' educational experiences through them becoming pen pals and through teachers developing new initiatives, such as focussing on thinking skills. They also enable pupils to make a very positive contribution to both the local and the larger community. The school has a very positive attitude to professional development of all staff, which helps to forge a strong team approach through striving to provide the highest quality education for all.

p.4

What the school should do to improve further

• Strengthen the teaching of writing and mathematics so standards are more consistently good across the school. • Use the exemplary practice that already exists in the school to improve the quality of marking.

p.4

Grade: 2

Boys and girls of all levels of ability do well at Greenway. Children settle well into the Nursery and Reception class and make good gains in their learning. This is due to the good Foundation Stage leadership and the good quality of the provision. By the time they enter Year 1, standards are above those normally expected for children of that age. Standards are well above those expected at the end of Year 2 and Year 4. Here, standards in reading are consistently very high and pupils' achievement is good. Progress and achievement in writing and mathematics is good overall but has greater variation across the school. Pupils from all groups, including those with 4 of 10 Inspection Report: Greenway First and Nursery School, 14 °15 June 2007 learning difficulties and disabilities, make good progress towards their targets because of the good support they receive.

p.4

Grade: 1

Pupil's personal development, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding. Pupils say they thoroughly enjoy school and they demonstrate a very positive attitude to their learning. Not surprisingly, this is reflected in their above average attendance. Behaviour in classes and around the school is excellent. Pupils say bullying is very rare. They are confident that any poor behaviour is dealt with well by staff. Older pupils successfully take on the many opportunities created for them to accept responsibility within the school community, including the 'buddy' system to support younger children, an effective school council and the 'ECO' council. An effective partnership with a local care home brings great benefits to both the children and the residents. Pupils also benefit from the school's international links, which has raised their understanding of other cultures. They are involved in a wide range of charitable

p.5

Grade: 1

fund-raising activities. Most pupils have a very good understanding of healthy lifestyles and make healthy choices. Their good social skills, allied to their high standards in English and mathematics provide an extremely strong platform for their future economic well-being.

p.5

Grade: 2

The quality of teaching and learning is good, with examples of outstanding teaching seen. However, there is some variation across the school. Pupils enjoy their learning because lessons are usually interesting and work is matched appropriately to their particular needs. The purpose of each lesson is shared with pupils so that they know what they are going to learn. Marking of work is good overall and sometimes exemplary, but inconsistent. Sometimes, teachers' handwriting is not clear enough for pupils to read, which makes it difficult for them to know what they are being asked to do to do to improve their work. Relationships throughout the school are very good and this contributes to the overall good progress that pupils make. However, there are times at the start of lessons where pupils sit on the carpet for too long. As a result, they lose concentration and begin to fidget. When this happens their progress slows

p.5

Grade: 2

and they do not achieve enough. The school's leadership has made an accurate assessment of the quality of teaching and learning and has identified the issues that need to be tackled. Parents make a significant contribution to pupils' learning by helping them at home and by coming in to school to support in classrooms.

p.5

Grade: 2

The school provides a rich curriculum that has many extra activities to enrich pupils' experiences. There are many clubs for pupils to attend and these cover a range of sporting and cultural opportunities, including cross country running and musical activities. However, these are mainly for the older pupils in the school, with fewer activities for pupils in Years 1 and 2 than is usually seen. The school has been particularly successful in increasing the opportunities pupils have to develop their ICT skills. Pupils exchange emails with pupils in other countries as part of their international work and this makes a significant contribution to their cultural development. 5 of 10 Inspection Report: Greenway First and Nursery School, 14 °15 June 2007 Pupils have benefited from visitors from other countries and as a result, have a very good understanding of a range of cultures and beliefs. The programme for personal, social and health

p.5

Grade: 2

education is good and pupils report that they know their concerns are listened to and that they learn about the issues they will face as they grow up. The school rightly plans to develop the outdoor curriculum for children in the Nursery as part of the structural improvements which are planned for the summer.

p.6

Grade: 2

The school provides good standards of care, support and guidance to its pupils. Procedures for ensuring pupils' safety and security, including child protection, are robust. There are appropriate systems for recording incidents. Pastoral care is good. Staff know individual pupils very well and the friendly atmosphere within the school helps pupils to feel secure and to settle to their learning. Pupils say they feel safe in school and are confident that they can discuss any problems that might arise with members of staff. Teachers check pupils' progress in English and mathematics regularly, set appropriate targets and help them understand what they should be learning next. Pupils know what their targets are and what they have to do to meet them. Pupils are starting to be involved in assessing their own, and others' work, but this is at an early stage and is being further developed by the school. The relatively small number of pupils who have

p.6

Grade: 2

learning difficulties or disabilities are supported well by able teaching assistants working in partnership with the teachers.

p.6

Grade: 2

The headteacher leads the school well and has a good knowledge of the school's strengths and areas for improvement. The leadership and management of subject coordinators are good. The literacy and numeracy coordinators have undertaken monitoring of their subjects and have a clear view of what to target to raise standards still further. The governing body offer good support to the school and know it very well through regular monitoring visits and active participation in all activities such as clubs. There has been good progress since the previous inspection and the school has a good capacity to continue this. Parents are very supportive of the school. However, while the school has good systems of communication, a significant minority of parents said they would like their views to be taken into account more when decisions are made. 6 of 10 Inspection Report: Greenway First and Nursery School, 14 °15 June 2007

p.6

Grade: 2

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 7 of 10 Inspection Report: Greenway First and Nursery School, 14 °15 June 2007

p.7

Inspection judgements

School Overall Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

p.8

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

p.8

Achievement and standards

2 How well do learners achieve? 1 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

p.8

learners?

1 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 1 The behaviour of learners 1 The attendance of learners 2 How well learners enjoy their education 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 1 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 1 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

p.8

and interests of learners?

2 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

p.8

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. 8 of 10 Inspection Report: Greenway First and Nursery School, 14 °15 June 2007

p.8

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? 9 of 10 Inspection Report: Greenway First and Nursery School, 14 °15 June 2007

p.9

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

18 June 2007 Dear Children Inspection of Greenway First and Nursery School, Crossways, H44 3NH Thank you for welcoming us to your school when we visited recently. We really enjoyed meeting you all and talking to you. What we liked most about your school. • Teachers do a good job and teach you well. • You learn to get along with others, make friends and behave very well. • You make especially good progress in your reading and reach high standards. • The school looks after you well and you learn to be healthy and to make wise choices. • School provides lots of really exciting and interesting things to help you, like pen pals in Poland. These are the things we have asked your teachers to do which we think will make your school even better. • To help you to make the same really good progress in writing and mathematics that you do in reading. • We have asked all teachers to try to mark your work to the same excellent standard that is

p.10

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

seen in much of the school. We really enjoyed talking to you about your work and watching you learn and we wish you all well for the future. Yours sincerely Mrs Sheelagh Barnes Lead Inspector 10 of 10 Inspection Report: Greenway First and Nursery School, 14 °15 June 2007

p.10