Bonneygrove Primary School

Bonneygrove Primary School Inspection report

p.1

117366 Unique Reference Number HERTFORDSHIRE Local Authority 290811 Inspection number 13 June 2007 Inspection date Godfrey Bancroft Reporting inspector

p.1

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

p.1

Primary Type of school Community School category 3 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 404 School

p.1

The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Andrea Harrington Chair Miss Annemarie Cowdell Headteacher 29 October 2002 Date of previous school inspection Dark Lane School address Cheshunt Waltham Cross Hertfordshire EN7 5ED

p.1

01992 307900 Telephone number 01992 307903 Fax number

p.1

3 °11 Age group 13 June 2007 Inspection date 290811 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 one Additional Inspector.

p.3

Description of the school

This is a much larger than average sized primary school. The prosperity and social make up of the area served by the school is mixed, although the percentage of pupils known to be entitled to a free school meal is below average. Skill levels on entry is broadly in line with that expected for three year olds. The percentage of pupils who come from minority ethnic groups is below average and few speak English as an additional language. The proportion of pupils who have learning difficulties or disabilities is broadly average. The school is host to the area base for pupils who have specific learning difficulties. The school has been awarded Investors in People status and holds the National Healthy Schools Award. It is also recognised as a centre for good practice by the National Association for Professional Teaching Assistants (NAPTA). The school is popular and over-subscribed.

p.3

Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 10 Inspection Report: Bonneygrove Primary School, 13 June 2007

p.3

Grade: 1

The school tends to be modest in the evaluation of its own performance. It is an outstanding school in which teaching and learning are excellent, resulting in exemplary progress and high standards. It is also a school that is not in any way complacent and is striving constantly to become even better. Because of excellent leadership and management there is also a clear vision for how future improvement will be brought about. Children in the Foundation Stage benefit from excellent provision and make exceptional progress. Overall, pupils achieve outstandingly well and, by the time they leave, standards in English, mathematics and science are well above average. Whilst pupils make very good progress in English, there is a slight tendency for standards to lag behind those in mathematics and science. Pupils' personal development and well-being are outstanding. This is because the school provides them with exceptional care, guidance and support. As a result, pupils emerge from the school

p.4

Grade: 1

as articulate and mature young people, possessing the skills that will help them to be successful in their future education. One pupil said, 'We behave well because we are happy.' This observation is absolutely right. Another commented, 'I love this school and don't want to leave.' Teaching and learning are excellent. Lessons are exciting and invariably inspire pupils to learn exceptionally well. Teachers are also very good at modifying what they teach to meet their pupils' needs and to ensure that they make as much progress as possible. The curriculum and the range of additional activities provided to enhance pupils' learning are outstanding and meet pupils' learning needs very well. Leadership and management are outstanding. The leadership of the headteacher is exceptional. In partnership with the staff she is dedicated to ensuring that every pupil makes the progress of which they are capable. Governors are immensely supportive of all aspects of the school's

p.4

Grade: 1

work and fulfil their duties well. Even so, visits by governors do not focus closely enough on evaluating the school's progress in meeting initiatives designed to bring about further improvement. Parents and carers are very supportive and have very positive views of the school. One parent commented: 'I am very proud that my child attends Bonnygrove School. It is an excellent school.' This comment is typical of the views expressed by many other parents and carers. Improvement since the school's last inspection is outstanding, as is the capacity for future improvement. The school provides exceptionally good value for money.

p.4

What the school should do to improve further

• Promote an even stronger focus on the development of pupils' writing in order to raise standards in English to an even higher level. • Focus visits by governors even more closely on evaluating the areas identified by the school as in need of further improvement.

p.4

Grade: 1

Skill levels on entry to the Nursery are close to that expected. Whilst in the Nursery and Reception classes children make exceptional progress and attain standards that exceed those expected for their age in all areas of their learning. In Years 1 and 2, pupils continue to achieve very well. By the end of Year 2 standards in reading, writing and mathematics are well above average, a pattern which has been sustained over recent years. Pupils continue to achieve exceptionally well in Years 3 to 6 and by the end of Year 6 standards in English, mathematics 4 of 10 Inspection Report: Bonneygrove Primary School, 13 June 2007 and science are well above average. Even so, there is a tendency for standards in English to lag slightly behind standards in mathematics and science. The school is eager to build on its current good practice and is researching ways of improving standards further. Lower attaining pupils,

p.4

Grade: 1

those who have learning difficulties or disabilities, and the very few who speak English as an additional language also do extremely well. The school sets exceptionally challenging targets for attainment, which pupils are usually successful in achieving. High standards are evident in several other subjects, including information and communication technology (ICT) and music.

p.5

Grade: 1

Pupils' behaviour and their attitudes to their learning are outstanding. Pupils co-operate very well and are very supportive of each other. They are courteous and thoughtful and older pupils are very good at caring for the younger ones. For example, they are very proud when asked to fulfil the role of 'peer mediator'. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding, as illustrated by the high quality of pupils' work in art and design, dance and music. The school has worked well to improve attendance, which is now good. Pupils are very aware of how to stay safe and are very knowledgeable about the value of eating healthily and of taking regular exercise. Pupils are very aware of the importance of caring for the environment. This is exemplified by their work in the 'Growing Club', which includes tending water butts and composting. There are many examples of pupils caring for those less fortunate than themselves and giving generously to

p.5

Grade: 1

charities. Pupils are also very enterprising. Independently, they organise stalls on sports day to raise funds for their end of year dinner, which is held at the local golf club.

p.5

Grade: 1

Teachers plan extremely effectively to meet the needs of all their pupils. Lessons are invariably challenging and exciting and capture pupils' interests very effectively. As one pupil said, 'My teacher said she would make all our lessons fun and she has kept her promise.' Teachers have outstanding knowledge of all the subjects they teach. They also have high expectations of pupils' behaviour and of the progress pupils are capable of making. Pupils, for their part, respond very well. They rarely disappoint either in their very positive approach to their work or in the excellent progress they make. Teaching also focuses very effectively on helping pupils to acquire the skills they need to make them very good learners. For example, teachers use ICT very effectively to support the learning of pupils who find visual images very helpful in enhancing their understanding. Arrangements to assess pupils' attainment and progress are very good.

p.5

Grade: 1

The marking of pupils' work is very thorough, providing pupils with detailed information about how to make their work even better. Teaching assistants make a very effective contribution to pupils' learning and especially to the learning of pupils who have learning difficulties or disabilities.

p.5

Grade: 1

The school provides an outstanding curriculum, including the provision it makes for children in the Foundation Stage. The school also provides an outstanding range of additional activities 5 of 10 Inspection Report: Bonneygrove Primary School, 13 June 2007 that enhance pupils' learning very well. These activities include a wide range of musical and sporting activities and educational visits. There is a very good choir that has performed at the Royal Albert Hall and the school experiences frequent successes in competitive sports events. The excellent provision made for pupils' personal development, opportunities for pupils to be enterprising, and the development of their skills in literacy, numeracy and ICT all mean that pupils are exceptionally well prepared for the next stage of their education. The use of ICT to support pupils' learning has improved greatly since the last inspection, to the extent that it is

p.5

Grade: 1

now a significant strength of the provision.

p.6

Grade: 1

Child protection procedures are robust and current requirements to ensure that pupils are safe and secure are met in full. Support for pupils' emotional and social development is exceptional and pupils are unwavering in their conviction that teachers will provide for their academic and for their personal development. Arrangements to track pupils' academic development and to intervene if any shortfall in their progress is identified are very strong. Pupils are also extremely well informed about the targets for their learning, how well they are making progress and what they need to do to improve further. The school has very well established arrangements to respond to the views of parents and carers and pupils. For example, the school council does an excellent job and is very knowledgeable about the school. When the school appointed its headteacher and deputy-headteacher pupils were involved fully in the interview process.

p.6

Grade: 1

The headteacher works very effectively to ensure that everything the school does is clearly focused on enabling every pupil to do as well they possibly can. As one governor commented, 'Our headteacher is passionate about the school.' Some of the subject leaders are relatively new in post, but already their work is having a positive impact on maintaining high standards. Arrangements to monitor and evaluate all aspects of the school's provision are robust and there are strong links between evaluation and planning for further improvements. The full involvement of subject leaders in this aspect of the school's work enables them to make a very positive contribution to school improvement. Arrangements for staff development, at all levels, are also strong and very effective. Governors are immensely supportive and well informed about the work of the school. Many are regular visitors, although visits are currently not focused as closely as they could be on

p.6

Grade: 1

monitoring the school's progress in addressing identified areas for improvement. Financial management is very effective, ensuring that resources are used wisely and the school gets very good value from its expenditure. A good example of this is the allocation of funds to maintaining the lowest possible teacher/pupil ratio. Administrative staff make an exceptional contribution to the smooth day-to-day running of the school. 6 of 10 Inspection Report: Bonneygrove Primary School, 13 June 2007 .

p.6

Grade: 1

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 7 of 10 Inspection Report: Bonneygrove Primary School, 13 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? 1 The quality and standards in the Foundation Stage 1 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 1 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

1 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 1 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 2 The attendance of learners 1 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?

1 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: Bonneygrove Primary School, 13 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: Bonneygrove Primary School, 13 June 2007

p.9

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

12 June 2007 Dear Pupils Inspection of Bonneygrove Primary School, Cheshunt, EN7 5ED I would like to thank you for all the help you gave me during my recent visit to inspect your school. I very much enjoyed listening to what you all had to say. Your school council are one of the best informed groups of pupils I have ever had the privilege of meeting. Many of you told me how much you enjoy attending school. I can see why you feel this way. Your headteacher and school governors are working very effectively and, as a result, Bonneygrove is an outstanding school. Your teachers and all the other staff do an excellent job of taking care of you and making sure that you are able to do your best. You also play your part. Your behaviour is exemplary, you work very hard and you achieve high standards. I was particularly impressed by how much you know about the targets for your learning and about what you need to do to

p.10

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

make your work even better. To help Bonneygrove to maintain the high quality of education it provides I have asked Miss Cowdell, the staff and governors to: • look very closely at ways of helping you to improve your writing in order to raise standards in English to an even higher level • make sure that visits by your school governors look very closely at how successful the school is being in its work to make itself even better. Well done. I am sure you will all continue to be successful in your future education. Yours sincerely Godfrey Bancroft Lead Inspector 10 of 10 Inspection Report: Bonneygrove Primary School, 13 June 2007

p.10