Delapre Primary School

Inspection Report - Amended Delapre Primary School

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122069 Unique Reference Number Northamptonshire Local Authority 292310 Inspection number 14 September 2006 Inspection date Gerald Griffin 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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Rothersthorpe Road School address Primary Type of school Far Cotton Community School category Northampton NN4 8JA 4 °7 Age range of pupils 01604 761456 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01604 768833 Fax number 200 Number on roll (school) Vacant Position Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Robert Buntine Headteacher 8 May 2001 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection date Age group 292310 14 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

Delapre was re-designated as a primary school in September 2003 opening with Reception children who are now in Year 3. It is a smaller than average school because currently it has no pupils in Years 4, 5 and 6. The school serves an area of considerable economic disadvantage. The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is below the national average and a few of them are at the early stages of learning English when they start school. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities is above the national average as is the number of pupils who join and leave the school at times other than the start of the school year.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Delapre Primary School, 14 September 2006

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Grade: 2

Delapre is a good school. Pupils really enjoy school and their behaviour is outstanding. They report that lessons are 'fun' and that they were really looking forward to their return after the summer holidays. One reason for this is the outstanding curriculum that really engages pupils and greatly contributes to their enjoyment of school, their wish to learn and their personal development. The school makes very good use of visits and visiting speakers to extend pupils' experiences and aspirations. Such subjects as French and violin lessons add real breadth and interest to learning. The lively gifted and talented programme is successfully stretching the most able pupils. Pupils thrive in the school's friendly and purposeful environment. Parents are extremely happy with all aspects of the school and rightly think that the care, guidance and support of pupils are outstanding. Typically they say 'I am more than pleased with my

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Grade: 2

children's progress and have never had any concerns about their welfare'. The school is held in high regard within the locality because of its successful community work and pupil numbers are rising. The school's leadership and management are good. The headteacher's very good leadership provides clear direction and purpose and this has ensured Delapre has made a good start to its life as a primary school. The school has a largely accurate view of its effectiveness because it regularly monitors its performance and makes good use of evaluation to raise standards in most aspects of its work. Evaluation of academic outcomes is less secure and improvement plans do not address some relative weaknesses in pupils' work. The school recognises this and has good capacity to make improvements. When children start school their knowledge and skills are below national expectations. Good provision in the Foundation Stage ensures they make good progress in Reception

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Grade: 2

and reach nationally expected standards. This good progress continues as pupils move up the school and standards at the end of Year 2 are average. In the new Year 3, standards are average and pupils continue to make good progress. This represents good achievement over pupils' starting points. Pupils' good achievement is the product of good teaching and learning. Classes are very well managed and pupils work hard. Teachers regularly assess pupils' work and provide extra help when pupils fall behind. However teachers' planning does not take sufficient account of relative weaknesses in pupils' academic work. Pupils' writing is a strength. While pupils read satisfactorily they do not always fully understand the meaning of the words or text on the page.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Sharpen the evaluation of academic data to direct development plans and teachers' planning. • Strengthen pupils' understanding of the words and text they are reading. 2 Inspection Report: Delapre Primary School, 14 September 2006

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Grade: 2

In Reception, children achieve well and attain standards in line with national expectations. They exceed expectations in their linking of letters to sounds, in their understanding of shape and of music, but progress is slower in solving mathematical problems and understanding the meaning of words. In Key Stage 1, good progress continues so that at the end of Year 2 pupils attain average standards. When reading, pupils readily recognise words but cannot always describe their meaning especially when they are used in a new or different context. In Year 3, standards in mathematics are rising because pupils are undertaking more problem solving work. All pupils, including those with learning difficulties, make similar progress. Those pupils at an early stage of learning English consolidate the good start they make as a result of specialist language support in the early years, and go on to make progress similar

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Grade: 2

Pupils' personal development, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, is good. Children in Reception classes make good gains in their personal development and well-being. All pupils reflect maturely on such issues such as beauty in art classes. Pupils respect and value each other and the world around them. They clearly understand right from wrong and their outstanding moral code underpins their behaviour. Pupils' understanding of their place in a multicultural society is less well developed. Pupils have a good understanding of healthy lifestyles. They understand the need for regular exercise and do their best to keep fit. Pupils are less clear about the pitfalls of a poor diet and not all choose a healthy lunch box! Pupils feel very safe and report no bullying. They are very safety conscious. They are confident in approaching a member of the school's staff if they have a worry and say their concerns are quickly

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Grade: 2

and effectively dealt with. Pupils' active involvement in charity work, along with their sound development of basic skills, equips them well for later life. The lack of an appropriate forum limits the opportunities for pupils to say how they think school could be made better. Attendance is improving and is average. The school has robust and effective measures to secure attendance. 3 Inspection Report: Delapre Primary School, 14 September 2006

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Grade: 2

Pupils' activities and behaviour are managed exceptionally well in lessons. This leads to a calm and busy working atmosphere and positive attitudes to learning which contribute to pupils' good achievement. Teachers provide imaginative work that often makes good links between subjects. For example, in a Year 1 mathematics lesson, excellent use was made of pupils' information and communication technology skills to increase and develop their knowledge and understanding of numbers and shapes. Such work excites pupils, promotes good learning and contributes to their enjoyment of school. Teachers' planning is not sharply enough focused on rectifying areas of relative weakness in learning that have been identified through the school's monitoring. This slows the pace of learning in some areas, such as pupils' understanding of the meaning of words they read.

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Grade: 1

The exciting and very varied curriculum meets statutory requirements. It really stimulates pupils' interests and greatly enhances their enjoyment of school and their good achievement. The Foundation Stage curriculum gets children off to an outstanding start and lays a secure basis in all the areas of learning and especially in their personal, social and emotional development. In Years 1 to 3, the range of learning activities is very broad. Every aspect of the school's life is considered to be part of the curriculum and every effort is made to make learning interesting. There is rightly a strong focus on the basic skills, which enables pupils to achieve well from below average starting points. Extra-curricular activities flourish. They are popular and make an outstanding contribution to pupils' interest and aspirations.

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Grade: 1

Sensitive support and care is provided for pupils with learning difficulties or medical problems, or who are at an early stage of learning English. This enables all pupils to participate fully in lessons and make good progress. The school cares for vulnerable children well by making excellent use of external agencies and specialists to promote their welfare when the need arises. The learning mentor and family support worker provides outstanding support for families which is helping to secure the standards of behaviour, achievement and attendance. Child protection procedures and health and 4 Inspection Report: Delapre Primary School, 14 September 2006 safety arrangements are robust. Very effective procedures ensure pupils who arrive part way through the academic year quickly settle and integrate into school life. Assessment and tracking procedures are good. Pupils meet the challenging targets set for them. The school provides effective remedial support for individual pupils who

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Grade: 1

underperform but is slower to react to relative weaknesses in the progress of groups of pupils shown by its tracking.

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Grade: 2

The headteacher has been instrumental in establishing a happy community with a very positive outlook. His drive to improve standards as the school's principal focus is supported well by middle managers. As a result, teaching is good and pupils achieve well throughout the school. The monitoring and evaluation of many aspects of performance, such as personal development, are good. This has led to policies that have successfully improved pupils' behaviour and pupils' social development. However, the evaluation of academic data and of lesson observations is not accurate enough to identify some of the relative weaknesses in learning. This means that plans to raise academic standards and improve achievement are not entirely secure and do not sufficiently guide teachers' long-term planning. Governors also have a clear picture of the strengths and weaknesses of the school through their monitoring visits and their understanding of data. They challenge the

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Grade: 2

school on its performance and are thoroughly committed to raising standards. 5 Inspection Report: Delapre Primary School, 14 September 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: Delapre Primary School, 14 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 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? 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 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 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?

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: Delapre Primary School, 14 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: Delapre Primary School, 14 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 being so friendly. You clearly enjoy being in a school in which and you all get on so well and help each other. We enjoyed our conversations with you about your work and the other things that you do at school. We have judged that the school provides you with a good education. Here are some of the 'highlights' • You really enjoy your learning and work hard for your teachers. • You are extremely well behaved. • You have a very interesting range of lessons and clubs. • All of the staff care for you very well. • The youngest children get off to a good start in Reception, and you all do well in writing. • Your headteacher is leading the school well. What we have asked your school to do now • Make better use of your marks and test results to plan work that will help you achieve more. • Help you in your understanding of what you read. Best wishes for your future and the future of the school.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

9 Inspection Report: Delapre Primary School, 14 September 2006

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Annex B

Delapre Primary School, Rothersthorpe Road, Far Cotton, Northampton NN4 8JA

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Annex B

Thank you for welcoming us to your school and being so friendly. You clearly enjoy being in a school in which and you all get on so well and help each other. We enjoyed our conversations with you about your work and the other things that you do at school. We have judged that the school provides you with a good education.

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Annex B

• You really enjoy your learning and work hard for your teachers. • You are extremely well behaved. • You have a very interesting range of lessons and clubs. • All of the staff care for you very well. • The youngest children get off to a good start in Reception, and you all do well in writing. • Your headteacher is leading the school well.

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Annex B

What we have asked your school to do now

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Annex B

• Make better use of your marks and test results to plan work that will help you achieve more. • Help you in your understanding of what you read.

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Annex B

Best wishes for your future and the future of the school.

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