Jesse Gray Primary School

Jesse Gray Primary School Inspection report

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122597 Unique Reference Number NOTTINGHAMSHIRE Local Authority 292454 Inspection number 24 °25 May 2007 Inspection dates Glynn Storer 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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Primary Type of school Community School category 4 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 421 School

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The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Joanna Thomas Chair Miss Sarah Law Headteacher 14 January 2002 Date of previous school inspection Musters Road School address West Bridgford Nottingham Nottinghamshire NG2 7DD

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0115 9748002 Telephone number 0115 9748003 Fax number

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4 °11 Age group 24 °25 May 2007 Inspection dates 292454 Inspection number .

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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 three Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

This very large primary school serves a socially and economically advantaged area on the outskirts of Nottingham. Most pupils are from White British backgrounds. About one in five pupils comes from a minority ethnic background, with families of Pakistani and Indian origin forming the largest groups. The number of pupils who speak English as an additional language is about average. Children's attainments on entry to Reception are above those normally expected of four-year-olds. A below average proportion of pupils has learning difficulties or disabilities and only one pupil has a statement of special educational need. This is very low in a school of this size.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 11 Inspection Report: Jesse Gray Primary School, 24 °25 May 2007

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Grade: 2

Jesse Gray Primary gives its pupils a good all round education. The headteacher, senior leaders and governors, are striving for excellence in all aspects of the school's work and the school already achieves this standard in some areas. The school works extremely well with partner schools and others and provides good value for money. As one parent reported; 'This school cares for all aspects of my daughter's development and welfare but, at the same time, it challenges her to achieve - and believe.' Children get a good start in the Foundation Stage and pupils of all abilities achieve well at all stages of their education. Consequently, standards at the end of Year 6 have been considerably above the national average for the last five years. Pupils of all abilities make good progress because teaching, learning and the curriculum are effective. Teachers have high expectations of their pupils and set challenging work that moves them on. They promote excellent attitudes

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Grade: 2

and constructive learning behaviour so that pupils play a positive part in their own learning. The outstanding strength of the curriculum is the range and quality of cross-curricular links and additional activities that give added meaning and purpose to pupils' work. They add considerably to pupils' enjoyment in learning and result in high standards in subjects such as design and technology, art and music. The school has addressed weaknesses in provision for information and communication technology (ICT), identified by the previous inspection, but resources and facilities do not yet allow pupils to use ICT as an aid to learning in all subjects. The curriculum also embodies a very systematic approach to promoting pupils' personal development which, along with excellent standards of care, guidance and support, results in outstanding levels of personal development and well-being. In this respect, there are particular

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Grade: 2

strengths in pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and the extent to which pupils adopt healthy lifestyles and contribute to the school and wider community. Procedures for safeguarding pupils are exemplary and the excellent pastoral care that pupils receive ensures that they grow in confidence and self-esteem. Pupils receive effective academic guidance. Personal and group targets have been a powerful force in raising achievement. However, the school rightly sees this as a priority area for further development because there is scope for teachers to provide clearer guidance through their marking of pupils' work. Leadership and management are good. The excellent leadership provided by the headteacher, with effective support from senior staff, has been the driving force behind the school's strong improvement since the last inspection. Procedures for monitoring and evaluating the work of

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Grade: 2

the school are rigorous, yet entirely supportive. They effectively underpin staff and whole-school development because they give a strong, clear and accurate direction to all of the school's work. The school, therefore, has a good capacity to improve further, even though the work of recently appointed leaders is still to have its full impact.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Improve resources and facilities for ICT so that pupils can use computers and other devices to support their learning in all subjects. • Improve the academic guidance that pupils receive by developing further the diagnostic marking of pupils' work. 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Jesse Gray Primary School, 24 °25 May 2007

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Grade: 2

Children in the Foundation Stage achieve well and so, by end of Reception, most exceed national expectations. Pupils make good progress in Years 1 and 2. In 2006, almost all pupils attained the nationally expected level for their age and, in writing and mathematics, the proportion of pupils attaining above average levels was higher than that in schools nationally. By the end of Year 6, standards are often well above average. Pupils' achievements in Key Stage 2 are good and so many pupils, including those with learning difficulties, make better than the expected rate of progress. In 2006, girls did extremely well. Boys' progress was generally good, but somewhat less than that of girls. Pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds also did less well, although many, including pupils speaking English as an additional language, reached standards above those attained by similar pupils nationally. Consequently, standards in English and

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Grade: 2

mathematics were exceptionally high and in all core subjects almost two thirds of all pupils attained the higher level 5. Standards in the current Year 6, though lower than in 2006, are again likely to be above average on current performance. The school's thorough tracking shows clearly that these pupils, of all abilities, have also achieved well during their time in the school. Standards in music, art and design and technology also exceed national expectations.

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Grade: 1

Pupils' personal development and well-being are outstanding. They have excellent attitudes. They thoroughly enjoy coming to school and so attendance is exceptionally good. They always give of their best and take pride in their achievements. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding because it is embedded in the life of the school. Pupils grow in self-awareness, think in moral terms and reflect upon their feelings and actions. Behaviour is good and pupils are invariably courteous and polite to one another, adults and visitors. They are very respectful and supportive of one another, sharing and celebrating other's achievements. Pupils have an excellent understanding of healthy lifestyles, which has helped the school to achieve a 'Healthy Schools Gold Award'. They develop a good understanding of personal safety and, as a result, work and play safely and look after one another very well. They raise funds

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Grade: 1

for charities and contribute extremely well to their school in practical ways, for example as 'trouble busters' or school councillors, who readily offer ideas to improve lessons, the school and its grounds. Pupils are building excellent foundations for later life and learning the skills they need for future well-being.

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Grade: 2

The quality of teaching and learning is good overall and for the oldest pupils is often outstanding. Here staff have very high expectations, both of pupils' response in lessons and of their capacity to cope with demanding work. Because pupils are keen to live up to such expectations, they readily rise to the challenge, learn well and make consistently good, and at times excellent, progress. A strength throughout school is the good quality of relationships staff have with pupils, which result in lessons that are conducted in a friendly yet very purposeful manner. Teachers carefully plan activities that are relevant and interesting to pupils, as was 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Jesse Gray Primary School, 24 °25 May 2007 illustrated when Year 4 identified arguments for and against banning chocolate. There is a good level of challenge and so lessons not only build upon previous learning but also stretch pupils

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Grade: 2

of different abilities. Teachers ask a good range of questions but sometimes miss opportunities to get pupils to discuss their ideas with a partner or be more actively involved in their learning. The marking of pupils work is supportive but does not always clarify what needs to be improved or make links to specific targets.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is good. It has some outstanding features but other relative weaknesses. The curriculum in the Foundation Stage is good, and the school has advanced plans to extend the outdoor environment to promote children's learning even more effectively. Throughout the school, there is a good emphasis on the skills of literacy and numeracy. Provision for music is very effective because of the high level skills of the music co-ordinator. The use of effective links between subjects, especially in the creative arts, is reflected in high quality work displayed throughout the school. There are excellent activities that enrich learning, including a very good range of lunchtime and after school activities in both sport and the arts. The school modifies its curriculum effectively so that those with learning difficulties or disabilities progress at a similar rate to all others. The school has worked to keep abreast of developments in ICT and

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Grade: 2

provision has improved. However, there are still considerably fewer resources available than usual, which limits the development of high level skills and continues to restrict the day-to-day use of computers and other devices to support cross-curricular learning.

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Grade: 1

Care, guidance and support are outstanding. Jesse Gray has a strong ethos of care and support. The school meets all current requirements for safeguarding its pupils. Pastoral support is exemplary. All pupils' needs are identified quickly and 'talking groups' are an excellent example of how the school strives to meet the needs of every pupil. Provision of this quality is at the heart of the positive climate for learning which contributes to good achievement and outstanding personal development. Pupils know what to do if they feel bullied and are confident any issues will be resolved promptly. Procedures for monitoring academic progress are excellent and ensure tasks are accurately matched to the needs of each pupil. Personal targets and the use of clear success criteria are having a real impact. However, whilst marking at its most effective helps pupils improve, this is not the case in all lessons.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good. The headteacher is an outstanding leader, whose passion for the school 'rubs off' on all who work there. Her vision and her rigorous monitoring of standards and quality have been central to building a consistency of expectation and approach that have added considerably to the quality of teaching and learning since the last inspection. She has now recruited a strong team of senior staff, whose excellent work in the classroom and as managers is already beginning to make a difference. However, this team has only been together for a relatively short time and so it is too soon for their work to impact fully on provision throughout school. School self-evaluation is accurate and leaders bring a thorough, systematic 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Jesse Gray Primary School, 24 °25 May 2007 approach to school improvement. They think big but take small steps. In this way, they ensure

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Grade: 2

that new initiatives are thoroughly embedded before moving on to the next task. This approach, along with the increasing impact of recently appointed senior staff, gives the school a strong capacity to improve further. Governors give good support. They are well-informed and are becoming increasingly effective in holding the school to account for what it achieves. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Jesse Gray Primary School, 24 °25 May 2007 .

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Grade: 2

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: Jesse Gray Primary School, 24 °25 May 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 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? 2 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?

1 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2 The behaviour of learners 1 The attendance of learners 1 How well learners enjoy their education 2 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

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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. 9 of 11 Inspection Report: Jesse Gray Primary School, 24 °25 May 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? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: Jesse Gray Primary School, 24 °25 May 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

29 May 2007 Dear Pupils Inspection of Jesse Gray Primary School, West Bridgeford, Nottingham NG2 7DD You may remember that the inspectors visited your school a little while ago. Thank you for making us so welcome, for taking time to talk to us and for answering our questions. We particularly enjoyed hearing the choir sing and seeing your wonderful art and design work displayed around the school. I thought that you would like to hear what we found out, because there are many really good things happening in your school. • Almost all of you make good progress in English, mathematics and science and overall standards are high. • You enjoy school because teachers, educational visits, visitors and special events make learning interesting and very enjoyable. • You get on exceptionally well with one another and the enthusiastic way that you all 'get stuck into' your lessons is outstanding. • You are growing up to be healthy young people who really care about school and the wider

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

community. • The adults quickly sort out any problems that you have, make sure that you are safe and set targets to help you to improve the progress that you make. • Miss Law, the staff, and governors work really hard to make your school better. Because Miss Law, quite rightly, wants everything to be perfect, there will always be something that she wants to do a little bit better. Therefore, we have two things to ask the school to do. • We would like the staff to press on with their plans for providing more computers and other ICT devices to improve your learning in all subjects. • We have asked your teachers to make sure that, when they mark your books, they give you the best possible advice on how to improve your work. I hope that you all continue to be happy and to do well at Jesse Gray Primary School. Best wishes Glynn Storer (Lead Inspector) 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Jesse Gray Primary School, 24 °25 May 2007

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