Crabtree Farm Primary School

Inspection Report Bonington Junior Community School

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122476 Unique Reference Number CITY OF NOTTINGHAM Local Authority 292412 Inspection number 15 °16 January 2007 Inspection dates Lynne Blakelock 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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Steadfold Close School address Junior Type of school Crabtree Road, Crabtree Road Community School category

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Nottingham, Nottinghamshire NG6 8AX 7 °11 Age range of pupils

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0115 9155737 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 0115 9155738 Fax number 201 Number on roll (school) Mr John Honcock Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Robert Dunbar Headteacher 30 September 2002 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 292412 15 °16 January 2007 7°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 two Additional Inspectors over two days.

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Description of the school

This is a smaller than average school situated in an area of considerable social deprivation and unemployment. Therefore, more pupils than average are entitled to free school meals. Most start school with standards in reading, writing and mathematics which are well below those of most children nationally. There are no pupils with a statement of educational needs but a higher than average number has learning difficulties or disabilities. Most pupils are White British and their first language is English. The school has been awarded Investors in People status. It has also achieved Artsmark Silver, the Football Association Chartermark Award (2005) and the Eco School Award and has been awarded the Basic Skills Award Two for the second time. It was the first school in Nottingham City to achieve Healthy School Gold status. The school is used by the local authority as a model of good practice in some areas of its work.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Bonington Junior Community School, 15 °16 January 2007

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Grade: 2

Inspectors confirm the school's evaluation that this is a good school with a number of particular strengths. It is also such a happy and ambitious school that pupils, staff, parents and the wider community are proud to be a part of it. A common sense of purpose results in great teamwork and commitment. Thus, standards continue to rise. Almost all pupils make good progress from well below average starting points. They achieve well because staff make good use of accurate assessments of their attainment on entry in Year 3 to kick-start progress in Key Stage 2. In 2006, standards were at their highest ever. Results in English remained below the national average but pupils' performance was an improvement on previous years. Standards in mathematics rose to a level just above the national average, while science results were broadly average. Contrary to the national trend, boys made better progress than girls, because a good

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Grade: 2

range of practical activities motivate them to learn. The quality of teaching and learning are good. Planning is thorough and tasks that match pupils' learning closely enable them to make good progress. Pupils' good understanding of the levels at which they are working in English, mathematics and science adds to the progress that they make. However, this understanding does not yet extend to all subjects, so that their ability to move forward is somewhat restricted. An increasingly diverse range of activities is enlivening learning, although there are too few opportunities for pupils to be independent in their learning. A good curriculum has been important in promoting progress. The emphasis on literacy and numeracy has been strengthened by themes which link subjects and reinforce learning. Pupils' use of information and communications technology (ICT) as a tool for learning in other subjects is improving their ICT skills and has made learning more interesting and varied

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Grade: 2

in other subjects. Excellent enrichment activities are expanding pupils' horizons and making them more ambitious for their futures. In this inclusive school, good provision extends to those with learning difficulties or disabilities and gifted and talented pupils. Consequently, all pupils feel valued. They also feel secure because there are good procedures for protecting them and for helping them if they have worries. The good pastoral support is matched by academic guidance which ensures pupils, where relevant, are supported by knowledgeable teaching assistants to achieve challenging targets. Pupils' personal development is outstanding. They increasingly eat healthily and relish the many opportunities to sustain a healthy lifestyle. Their attitudes towards learning are excellent because there is a mutual respect between staff and pupils. This reflects in outstanding behaviour, care for their peers and empathy towards those from other cultures. Pupils follow the example in

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Grade: 2

the way that they cooperate very well in leadership and decision making roles. The school is well led and managed by the head and his deputy, with governors strengthening improvement planning by their strong support and challenge. Pupils are at the centre of every initiative; every system exists to support their achievement. Wide ranging and robust monitoring procedures, together with increased layers of management, mean that the school has a good capacity to improve. The school benefits 2 Inspection Report: Bonington Junior Community School, 15 °16 January 2007 greatly from the outstanding contribution that staff make to community cohesion through their strong links with parents and the wider community.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Raise standards in English so that all pupils attain nationally expected standards by the time that they leave the school. • Ensure that pupils know the levels at which they are working in all subjects so that they know how to move on in their learning. • Increase independent learning activities for pupils to encourage them to learn for themselves.

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Grade: 2

The progress that pupils make through the school is good. This includes those with learning difficulties or disabilities. The standards that pupils attain have risen steadily over the last three years from well below average starting points. Results in national tests were the highest ever in 2006 because most pupils reached challenging targets that the school set for them. As a result, an increasing number of pupils reached expected levels in English, mathematics and science. Standards were very near to the national average in science and rose to just above average in mathematics. Results in English also improved but standards remained below the national average overall because the number of pupils attaining above average levels fell. Boys continued to make better progress than girls, because of the school's effective use of practical activities that boys enjoy and benefit from. Pupils' good progress owes much to

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Grade: 2

accurate, early evaluations of their literacy and numeracy levels and to the consequent good quality support provided by teachers and teaching assistants.

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Grade: 1

Personal development is outstanding. Pupils love coming to a school where they feel safe and highly valued. They thrive on the many learning exciting experiences that they are offered. Their behaviour is excellent. Pupils develop a very clear sense of right and wrong and work together very successfully. These are two of the many ways that the school is providing them with the skills that they will need when they are older. They learn to offer their views through the school council and respond maturely to positions of responsibility, both in the school and the community. They gain a really good understanding of people and groups who are different from themselves. These experiences develop their spiritual,moral, social and cultural awareness extremely well. Pupils show their commitment to healthy lifestyles through choosing healthy eating options at lunchtime. Most pupils' attendance is very good, although a small number

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Grade: 1

of pupils do not attend as often as they could, despite the school's best efforts. 3 Inspection Report: Bonington Junior Community School, 15 °16 January 2007

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Grade: 2

Pupils are attentive and make good progress because teaching and learning are good. Classrooms are beautifully presented, well resourced and organised in a way that promotes effective learning. Teachers work well together in paired year group teams, producing lesson plans of good quality and consistency. Lesson objectives are clear from the outset. In outstanding lessons, very good pace and structure and imaginative presentation capture pupils' attention and imagination. Teaching assistants make a highly valuable contribution to teaching and learning and regularly teach small low ability groups successfully. Pupils understand their learning targets and good quality marking enables them to understand what they need to do next in order to improve in literacy and numeracy. However in other subjects pupils do not know the levels at which they are working and this restricts their ability to take the initiative in improving

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Grade: 2

Curriculum provision is good. Staff work very hard to meet the needs of learners, including the gifted and talented and especially those with learning difficulties or disabilities. A strong emphasis is placed on work which improves pupils' basic skills. Lessons are made more meaningful because links with other subjects are made well, particularly during the twice-termly themed weeks. Provision for foundation subjects is improving due to the work of subject leaders. Teachers plan well-resourced ICT activities within other subjects. The carefully thought-out and relevant programme of personal, social and health education (PSHE) informs pupils imaginatively about important issues. The curriculum is enriched by links with schools in Pakistan and Spain, a fantastic range of clubs and activities and access to specialist ICT, music and sports teaching for all. A wide range of day and residential visits adds to pupils'

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Grade: 2

enjoyment of work. Attractive displays in classrooms and around the school reinforce to pupils the importance that the school places on all subjects.

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Grade: 2

The school's care, guidance and support for pupils are good. They are protected by procedures that meet current requirements for safeguarding pupils' welfare. Practices are strengthened by outstanding partnerships with outside agencies. Parents hold the school in high regard and say that they are well informed about school matters. The work of staff with responsibility for vulnerable pupils is very effective and allows them to settle to learning quickly. Academic guidance is good, with well developed tracking of pupils' progress in literacy, numeracy and science and especially so for those with learning difficulties or disabilities. Assessment of pupils' achievement in other subjects, 4 Inspection Report: Bonington Junior Community School, 15 °16 January 2007 however, is patchy. Systems for pupils to assess their own work are at least satisfactory and good in the upper school.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good. This ambitious school is well led by the headteacher and deputy headteacher. It is strengthened by strong teamwork and high expectations of all staff. Everyone has a shared sense of purpose, because they all make an important contribution to strategic planning. Central to every action is the impact it will have on pupils' achievement. The school is constantly looking forward in its relentless drive to improve all aspects of school life. This has resulted, for example in extra layers of leadership, which are improving the monitoring of subjects and of pupils' learning. However, feedback following lesson observations by senior staff who are still developing their management skills is not always precise enough to bring about the quickest possible improvement. Nevertheless, the school's success in refining management systems, along with the part that staff play in spreading good practice

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Grade: 2

within the local authority, indicates that it has good capacity to improve further. Governors are knowledgeable and contribute effectively to school improvement by supportively challenging the work of the school. The school gives good value for money because financial planning is sound and pupils make good progress. 5 Inspection Report: Bonington Junior Community School, 15 °16 January 2007 .

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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: Bonington Junior Community School, 15 °16 January 2007

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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 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 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 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

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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: Bonington Junior Community School, 15 °16 January 2007

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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: Bonington Junior Community School, 15 °16 January 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

17 January 2007 Dear Pupils Bonington Junior Community School, Steadfold Close, Crabtree Road, Bulwell, Nottingham, NG6 8AX We very much enjoyed meeting you and talking with you when we inspected your school recently. Thank you for making us so welcome. We were impressed by your excellent behaviour and manners. Your school is such a happy school which you and your parents are delighted with. It is also a good school and you are making good progress here. The standards you reach in national tests are rising. This is because you all try hard, both in lessons and all the other activities you take part in. You are lucky to have teachers who always do their best for you. We do hope that the small number of you who do not attend school as often as you could, will try very hard to come to school every day so that you can do as well as possible. We could hardly believe the many out of lesson activities, clubs and visits in which you are able to participate.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

There are opportunities for you to be leaders and you respond well to these and to helping other pupils. It was good to see you enjoying the healthy eating options at lunchtime. We know you take keeping fit very seriously! There are ways in which your school can be even better. The standards that you are reaching in English need to be higher. We also want your teachers to tell you the levels that you are working at in all of your lessons so that you know exactly how well you are doing at school. Lastly, we want you to have more opportunities to find out and learn for yourselves so that you become independent learners. I send you our best wishes for a successful future. Lynne Blakelock Lead Inspector 9 Inspection Report: Bonington Junior Community School, 15 °16 January 2007

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