Moira Primary School

Inspection Report - Amended Moira Infant School

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119906 Unique Reference Number Leicestershire Local Authority 291564 Inspection number 12 September 2006 Inspection date Mike Capper 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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Blackfordby Lane School address Infant Type of school Moira Community School category Swadlincote DE12 6EX 4 °7 Age range of pupils 01283 217450 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01283 217450 Fax number 68 Number on roll (school) Mark Lomas Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Allena Gannon Headteacher 8 May 2001 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection date Age group 291564 12 September 2006 4 °7

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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

This small infant school takes most of its pupils from the local village. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is below average, as is the number identified as having learning difficulties and disabilities. Pupils' attainment on entry to the Reception class varies from year to year but is usually slightly below average. The current headteacher took up her post in April 2006.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Moira Infant School, 12 September 2006

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Grade: 3

This is a satisfactory school with good features, especially in pupils' personal development. Pupils' achievement is satisfactory. In the Foundation Stage, good quality provision helps children to make good progress and standards are broadly in line with those found nationally by the end of the Reception year. In the Reception class, good teaching and an exciting curriculum make learning interesting and children quickly acquire new skills. In Years 1 and 2, satisfactory teaching means that pupils make satisfactory progress from their different starting points. Standards by the end of Year 2 have been rising steadily and are broadly average. Teachers have good relationships with the pupils and make good use of resources. Teaching assistants give good support to pupils with learning difficulties, enabling them to make good progress. However, teachers do not always have high enough expectations of the more able and this slows the pace at

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Grade: 3

which they improve. This is especially evident in reading, where too few pupils have reached the higher levels by the end of Year 2. Parents are right in their fulsome praise of the way that teachers take care of the children and the school is successful in its aim to promote self-esteem and self-worth. The new children in the Reception class have settled very quickly and are excited about starting school. Pupils enjoy school, have good attitudes towards learning and behave well. There is a good curriculum that helps pupils to learn how to look after themselves and to stay safe. Learning is enhanced further by an outstanding range of activities outside lessons. These help to make school fun. Pupils take responsibility well and make a good contribution to the local community. However, they rarely take the initiative in lessons, and they are not clear about what to do to improve their work. Teachers sometimes set targets for pupils but these are often too wordy for them to

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Grade: 3

understand. Leadership and management are satisfactory. The new headteacher has made a good start by quickly establishing a clear understanding of the school's strengths and weaknesses. Development planning is sharply focused on raising standards so that this can be sustained without the need to put in a lot of additional support. Subject leaders are enthusiastic but their monitoring lacks rigour and priorities are not always followed through with effective action. This hinders the pace of improvement. Governors receive good quality information from the headteacher about how well the school is doing. However, they have rightly identified that they do not do enough to find out things for themselves. Nonetheless, this is a school that is moving in the right direction and has a good capacity to improve further.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Improve teaching in Years 1 and 2 by raising teachers' expectations of what more-able pupils should achieve, especially in reading. • Increase opportunities for pupils to take responsibility for their learning by setting child-friendly targets and improving the quality of marking. 2 Inspection Report: Moira Infant School, 12 September 2006 • Ensure that subject leaders take greater responsibility for monitoring their subjects and see that effective action is taken to deal with weaknesses.

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Grade: 3

Pupils' achievement is satisfactory, although progress is not consistent across the school. Children make the best progress in the Reception year and, by the end of the year, standards are broadly in line with those found nationally. Children in the Reception year make especially good progress in developing reading skills and in personal, social and emotional development. Pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities make good progress throughout the school. This is reflected in the way that most of these pupils reach nationally expected levels by the end of Year 2. Progress in Years 1 and 2 is satisfactory overall and by the end of Year 2, standards are broadly average. There has been a steady rise in national assessments at the end of Year 2 and results increased significantly in 2006 when a more capable year group benefited from a great deal of additional support from the headteacher and teaching assistants. This had a good

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Grade: 3

effect on the progress of these pupils in their last year in school. However, the current Year 2 is more typical of the school's intake and is not on target to sustain these improved results of 2006. In reading, too few pupils reached the higher Level 3 in 2006 and the school has correctly identified that more-able pupils need greater challenge in this area of the curriculum.

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Grade: 2

Pupils' personal development and well-being are good. Pupils enjoy coming to school and behave well. Children in the Reception class settle into school routines quickly and are enthusiastic and inquisitive. Pupils in Years 1 and 2 are keen to take responsibility for tasks such as helping lonely children at playtime, but older pupils are not involved enough in reviewing their own work so that they know what they need to do to improve. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Pupils show respect for others by 'doing something kind.' They have a good awareness of the importance of healthy lifestyles. For example, some pupils said that 'milk is good for your teeth' and 'vegetables are full of vitamins.' Older pupils demonstrated their good understanding of keeping safe by winning a local road safety quiz. Pupils make a good contribution to the community by planting bulbs, performing music and raising funds

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Grade: 2

for charity. Pupils are soundly prepared for the next stage of education and develop an awareness of the world of work from speaking to visitors with different occupations. 3 Inspection Report: Moira Infant School, 12 September 2006

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Grade: 3

Teaching and learning are satisfactory overall. Teaching is good in the Reception class, where the thorough use of assessment information and well- chosen resources enable the teacher to provide activities that interest and challenge the children, helping them to make good progress. In Years 1 and 2 teaching assistants and volunteers support groups of pupils well. This has a particularly good effect on the learning of less-able pupils or those with learning difficulties or disabilities, who benefit enormously from this skilled help. Activities are well resourced and there are good relationships between members of staff and the pupils, leading to good levels of enjoyment in most lessons. However, there are occasions in Years 1 and 2 when the pace of learning is too slow and the pupils' interest is not captured fully. Teachers do not always have high enough expectations of what pupils should achieve, especially the more able pupils in reading,

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Grade: 3

and this means that there are missed opportunities to extend skills. Marking is not used consistently to help pupils understand how they can improve their work.

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Grade: 2

The school provides an outstanding range of activities outside lessons. There are many interesting clubs covering a range of practical and sporting activities. An annual residential visit to a forest study centre is greatly enjoyed by pupils. Good use is made of other visits and visitors to make learning interesting. All these activities have a particularly positive impact on learning and the pupils' personal development. Throughout the school, there is a good focus on providing every child with a stimulating curriculum and this helps to ensure that there are good levels of enjoyment in lessons. However, there are too few opportunities for pupils to take the initiative in their learning in Years 1 and 2, for example, by working independently or sorting out resources for themselves.

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Grade: 2

Care, guidance and support are good overall. The school is particularly successful at supporting pupils' personal development. Parents rightly say that 'all members of staff do everything in their power to make the children feel safe and secure.' Pupils confidently report that they know what to do if they have a worry. Academic support is satisfactory but there are some areas that could be improved. In the reception class, members of staff have a good understanding of the children's differing needs through careful observation and meticulous record keeping. In Years 1 and 2, teachers are beginning to use assessment information to help them with planning work but the school has rightly identified that this needs developing further so that differing needs are consistently being met. Assessment information is used well to identify those who 4 Inspection Report: Moira Infant School, 12 September 2006 need additional support in English and mathematics, and this helped to improve

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Grade: 2

standards in 2006. Individual target setting is in place, but it is often too complex to be understood by the pupils, making it hard for them to know how to improve their work.

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Grade: 3

In a short time, the headteacher has established a good understanding of the school's strengths and weaknesses and an accurate picture of overall effectiveness. She has brought fresh ideas to the school and there is a good awareness that, despite recent improvements, standards should still be higher. Recent initiatives are already having a positive impact on provision. For example, the focused use of data has proved beneficial in helping to identify key areas for improvement and these are reflected in the good quality development plan and in actions already taken. There are sound systems for finding out how well the school is doing. Whilst the headteacher makes good use of performance data to find out what is going well, subject leaders and governors monitor the school's work less rigorously. Subject leaders are enthusiastic but their action planning has not always been followed through sufficiently to ensure

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Grade: 3

that it has had the desired effect. Additional training and support is beginning to address this issue and members of staff and governors work together well as a team. There is a clear and shared vision for the school and a strong commitment to improving standards further. Weaknesses from the last inspection have been dealt with and standards are improving steadily. The new headteacher has already demonstrated in the steps taken that there is a good capacity for the school's further improvement. 5 Inspection Report: Moira Infant School, 12 September 2006 .

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Grade: 3

set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Moira Infant School, 12 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? 2 The quality and standards in the Foundation Stage 3 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

3 How well do learners achieve? 3 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 3 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: Moira Infant School, 12 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? No Does this school require special measures? No Does this school require a notice to improve? 8 Inspection Report: Moira Infant School, 12 September 2006

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you for welcoming us to your school and for showing us your work. You were very polite and friendly. We hope the Year 2 children settle quickly into their new classroom. We found lots of good things in the school but also some things that need improving. • What we liked most about your school • The fun activities in the Reception class that help you to learn new things quickly. • You enjoy school and behave well. • The school is good at teaching you about the importance of staying safe and healthy and you are very aware about these things. • You are keen to take responsibility and get very involved in the local community. • Your new headteacher and governors are working hard to make the school even better. What we have asked your school to do now • Make sure that in Years 1 and 2, you are always given work that is not too easy or too hard for you, especially in reading. • Help you to understand how you can improve your work.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

• Make sure that the school does all it can to make improvements more quickly. We thoroughly enjoyed talking to you about your work and watching you learn and wish you all well for the future. We hope you continue to help your teachers by working hard and trying your best. 9 Inspection Report: Moira Infant School, 12 September 2006

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