Forton Primary School

119128 Unique Reference Number Lancashire Local Authority 291330 Inspection number 7 November 2006 Inspection date Heather Evans 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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School Lane School address Primary Type of school Forton, Preston Community School category Lancashire, PR3 0AS 4 °11 Age range of pupils 01524 791188 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01524 791188 Fax number 90 Number on roll (school) Mrs Janet Huddart Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Ms Holly Huset Headteacher 1 November 2002 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection date Age group 291330 7 November 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 one Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

This is a small school and most of the pupils live close by. All of the pupils are White British and have English as their first language. The proportion claiming an entitlement to a free school meal is low. The overall percentage of pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities is below the national average but the distribution of these pupils is higher in some classes than others. On entry to the Reception class, the children’s attainment is close to what would be expected for children of the same age nationally. The new headteacher took up her post in September 2005.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Forton Primary School, 7 November 2006

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Grade: 1

This is an outstanding school. Parents and pupils speak highly of the school’s success in meeting their aspirations and expectations. When asked what was good about the school one group of boys said, ‘There is nothing good here! Everything is brilliant.’ The care provided for pupils is outstanding and pupils understand how to keep themselves safe and healthy. They become confident young people who can make informed, sensible and healthy choices. Pupils develop their social skills in all classes and in every curriculum subject. They care for one another and recognise their responsibility to the wider community by raising funds for local and national charities. The way that art, music and poetry are woven into the life of the school, exploiting the talents of local artists, is exemplary. Pupils have a strong voice in school and have been instrumental in making plans to enhance the environment and to make use of

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Grade: 1

the school grounds for practical work in science. Involvement in decision making in this way has helped to raise the pupils’ self-esteem and, combined with their impressive academic achievement, ensures that they are very well prepared for the future. The curriculum is stimulating and imaginative. Learning is enriched by an interesting range of visits, clubs and activities, which adds to the pupils’ obvious enjoyment in learning. Provision in the Foundation Stage is very good. Outstanding teaching enables children to make rapid progress and all reach the level expected for this age by the time they are ready for Year 1. This fast rate of progress is sustained throughout Key Stages 1 and 2 because of the consistently high quality of teaching. At the end of Year 2, standards are above average. Work to enhance enjoyment and purpose in reading and writing is particularly well planned in all subjects and a drive for applying the pupils’

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Grade: 1

excellent writing skills is proving to be very successful. In the class for older pupils, the push for additional challenge and high academic standards sets the pace for the rest of the school. In Year 6, standards are very high in English, mathematics and science. Leadership and management are outstanding. The headteacher provides excellent and visionary leadership, which is shared by governors and staff who have welcomed her new ideas, which have added to the previously established strengths. Self-evaluation is very effective and all staff have an accurate view of what works well and what could be improved. The school has made a good improvement since the previous inspection and the teachers are determined to continue to improve. Consequently, the school still has the will and an excellent capacity to improve further.

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What the school should do to improve further

• This outstanding school has no significant matters to improve. 2 Inspection Report: Forton Primary School, 7 November 2006

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Grade: 1

Pupils’ achievement is outstanding and overall standards are consistently high. From an average attainment on entry to the school, pupils make very good progress and reach above average standards by the end of Year 2. The national test results in reading, writing and mathematics in 2005 were above average overall. They were well above average in reading and writing but only a little above average in mathematics. In 2006, the results were similar to those of the previous year.

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Grade: 1

Pupils’ personal development is outstanding. The pupils enjoy coming to school; they arrive early and use the enhanced play facilities very well. They have very good attitudes to learning and think the rich range of activities provided are interesting and fun. They say that there is no bullying. Attendance is above average. The Year 6 pupils are very confident and are eager, independent learners. Excellent relationships, leading to mutual trust and confidence, reflect the school’s very positive ethos. The pupils relish their responsibilities as citizens and members of their community. The school council plays an important role in the everyday life of the school and it gives members good experience of responsibility and decision-making. The pupils are keen to improve the outdoor environment and are seeking ways to fund their plans. Pupils contribute to the smooth running of the school; for example, when acting as buddies to younger

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Grade: 1

children at playtime or helping to organise assemblies. They know how to keep safe and choose to follow a healthy lifestyle. The pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding. Their awareness of other cultures is particularly good and is much better than it was at the time of the previous inspection. The children regularly raise money for charities in support of those less fortunate than themselves and have an excellent understanding of right and wrong. They respect the different beliefs and values of others and show a good awareness of the community in which they live. Pupils are developing excellent personal and academic skills that will be valuable to them in the next phase of their education and in adult life and work.

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Grade: 1

Teaching and learning are outstanding throughout the school. The very good teaching identified during the previous inspection has been maintained and enhanced because assessment procedures have been strengthened. Teachers are very knowledgeable and have a complete understanding of the subjects they teach and the needs of the children. Teachers’ expectations are high; work is well matched to the pupils’ abilities 3 Inspection Report: Forton Primary School, 7 November 2006 and enables learning to be rapid and enjoyable. To raise the overall performance further in English, teachers are successfully incorporating more opportunities for exciting writing into other subjects. The school is very strongly committed to improving the learning skills of children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and the progress of these children is tracked meticulously. Strategies for teaching and marking and the use made of the school’s

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Grade: 1

assessment procedures have been revised and strengthened. Agreed systems are followed and contribute to pupils making very good and sometimes outstanding progress. Assessment information is used very well and provides vital information for planning focused work for groups and individuals.

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Grade: 1

The curriculum is excellent and it contributes to the pupils’ achievement of high standards. The curriculum more than meets statutory requirements. As well as the provision for the basic skills of literacy, numeracy, science and information and communication technology, opportunities for investigations and other practical learning experiences are considered vital. The school is very keen to make learning interesting and enjoyable for the pupils and has revised the entire curriculum to ensure that relevant links are made between subjects. In this small school everyone shares and benefits in the learning of others. There are weeks when pupils study the faiths, cultures, foods and traditions of people in other countries. The school works to involve the pupils in a wide range of cultural experiences through working alongside skilled artists and musicians. There are many enrichment activities, including sports and the arts. The school keeps

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Grade: 1

its curriculum under constant review and pupils explain how they are helped to take personal responsibility for their own learning through projects about their personal interests or school activities. These include history studies and journals about such things as visits to London or the Isle of Man. Even the youngest children are aware of what they need to do to improve and how they can make progress using the learning style best suited to them as a well supported individual.

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Grade: 1

All pupils are cared for exceptionally well. The school’s ethos is calm and supportive. Staff are very well trained and are fully committed to pupils’ welfare. Teachers encourage pupils to learn the principles of a healthy lifestyle and pupils say they feel safe and explain how adults help them to build trusting relationships. Pupils who have learning difficulties and disabilities are supported very well by staff who give pupils time to discuss problems. Teachers work well with parents to meet any individual needs. Strong and positive links with the local secondary school aid pupils’ transition to the next stage of their education. Pupils’ progress is monitored very effectively and they are helped to contribute fully in planning their learning; they 4 Inspection Report: Forton Primary School, 7 November 2006 know what they have learned already and are very clear about what they can do in order to improve. The school goes out of its way to work with other agencies and

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Grade: 1

parents. Child protection procedures are in place and risk assessments are carried out rigorously.

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Grade: 1

Leadership and management are outstanding. The headteacher is highly committed to the school and the wider community. Her vision of how the school can build on its excellent reputation is shared by all staff. All staff know the school’s strengths and are building on established traditions so as to maintain high standards and raise them even higher. The programme of monitoring and self-evaluation has produced positive results year on year. As a result of the outstanding leadership, expectations and aspirations are high. The school has gained awards for high achievement, creative and sporting attributes and for promoting an awareness of healthy living. The established pattern of shared leadership enables subject coordinators to manage their responsibilities very well. They monitor the standards throughout the school and have well conceived plans for improvement. Staff training is exemplary. The skills of

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Grade: 1

all adults are used to the maximum to benefit the pupils’ education. Finances are tight but are well managed. Governors are very skilled and experienced and are well aware of their responsibility to hold the school to account. With the headteacher, they review and evaluate the work of the school very well and have a very clear view of why initiatives are successful. They rejoice in what the headteacher and the staff have already achieved and, with their help and support, the school is well placed to achieve their desired improvements. 5 Inspection Report: Forton Primary School, 7 November 2006 .

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Grade: 1

set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Forton Primary School, 7 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? 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

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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

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learners?

1 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 1 The behaviour of learners 1 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 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?

1 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: Forton Primary School, 7 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: Forton Primary School, 7 November 2006

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Forton Primary School School Lane Forton Preston Lancashire PR3 0AS 7 November 2006 Dear Pupils Thank you for your help when I visited your school. I want you all to know how much I enjoyed looking at your books and examining your work. You are fortunate to attend such an excellent and friendly school where you learn and work together so very well. Your teachers work hard and help you to learn very well. Because of this, your work in English, mathematics, science and ICT is very good. The work in your books is very neat and your writing and poetry in subjects like history and geography is exciting and helps you to do very well in English. Pupils at Forton have done well in tests for many years and you have to work hard to match the previous success, but in every class you are doing just that. You all know what your next target is so that you can see how you are making progress towards the very highest standards. I liked the way you explained that poor work is just not expected or tolerated and

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

that you helped your friends to get things right. Teachers care for you extremely well and organise exciting visits, for example, to London. The places you visit and the many visitors to the school have helped to give you a better understanding of the wider world. You come to school every day except when you are ill and your superb behaviour helps you to have fun in lessons and still complete difficult tasks very well by helping one another. There are no really important things to improve in your school. Your plans to increase the play facilities outside and to create a learning and play area in the dell are interesting and exciting. I hope you can find ways to make them happen so that together you can build on the success of the school in all that you do. Yours sincerely Heather Evans Lead Inspector 9 Inspection Report: Forton Primary School, 7 November 2006

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