Prospect Hill Junior School

Prospect Hill Junior School Inspection report

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122730 Unique Reference Number NOTTINGHAMSHIRE Local Authority 292490 Inspection number 26 °27 April 2007 Inspection dates Joanne Harvey 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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Junior Type of school Community School category 7 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 195 School

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The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Stewart Hutchinson Chair Mrs Sue Osborn Headteacher 15 April 2002 Date of previous school inspection Maple Drive School address Worksop Nottingham S81 0LR

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01909 472465 Telephone number 01909 530644 Fax number

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7 °11 Age group 26 °27 April 2007 Inspection dates 292490 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 two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

This is an average size school serving an area of private and rented housing to the north of Worksop. The attainment of pupils on entry to the school varies but currently is above average. Nearly all come from White British backgrounds and the proportion of pupils who are in the early stages of learning English as a second language is below average. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is similar to that found in most schools, and the proportion with a statement of special educational need is below average. The percentage of pupils known to be entitled to free school meals is below average. The school has Healthy Schools Status at Gold Level.

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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: Prospect Hill Junior School, 26 °27 April 2007

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Grade: 3

This is an improving school with some good features and some areas for further development. It is providing a satisfactory standard of education for its pupils. A recent period of staffing turbulence resulted in a decline in achievement and standards. However, in a short time since taking up her post, the headteacher has brought together a staff team of senior managers. They are working hard to achieve their stated aim to help pupils 'Prosper at Prospect'. Rigorous measures have been put in place to check on the work of the school and to improve academic achievement. As a result, the school has turned a corner and is back on track. The school provides satisfactory care and guidance for pupils but meets their pastoral needs well. Consequently, pupils' personal development, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. They enjoy all the experiences the school has to offer and, apart

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Grade: 3

from 'everything', say that they particularly like their teachers! Pupils know how to keep safe. Lots of physical activity and work to achieve the Healthy Schools Award has resulted in them making healthy lifestyle choices. They enjoy helping others. Pupils take the lead in fundraising activities and are proud to take on responsibilities through their many roles in school. Academic guidance is satisfactory. Systems to check how well pupils are progressing and to provide targets for learning are not fully embedded across the school. Not all pupils know their targets or what they need to do to improve. However, their well developed personal skills, along with their sound basic skills, prepare pupils satisfactorily for the next stage of their education and future lives. Improvements to teaching and learning have ensured that it is now good. Consequently, many pupils are now progressing well. Teachers promote positive relationships and attitudes and

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Grade: 3

ensure that pupils think and work hard. Most teachers are making good use of assessment information to plan activities which challenge and support pupils to achieve well, though this is not always the case. The curriculum is satisfactory. It promotes good personal development and offers enrichment and enjoyment. Teachers are beginning to link subjects in creative ways but curriculum planning across school does not ensure the progression of skills. Leadership and management are satisfactory. Swift action has been taken to tackle the underachievement apparent in the results of the Year 6 national tests in 2006. Pupils are currently making satisfactory and sometimes good progress and are on target to achieve satisfactory standards. Pupils with learning difficulties or for whom English is not their first language also make satisfactory progress. Leadership teams are new and are not yet having a full impact on school improvement. However, the improvements that have already been made,

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Grade: 3

and the determination to do even better, demonstrate that the school has satisfactory capacity to improve further. It offers sound value for money. A small proportion of the schools whose overall effectiveness is judged satisfactory but which have areas of underperformance will receive a monitoring visit from an Ofsted inspector before their next Section 5 inspection.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Ensure that the standards pupils reach, and the progress that they make, are consistently at least in line with those found nationally. • Develop whole-school curriculum planning to ensure that pupils across the school continue to build on their skills. 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Prospect Hill Junior School, 26 °27 April 2007 • Ensure that all pupils are clear about the next steps of learning in reading, writing and mathematics and know what they need to do to improve. • Ensure that leaders at all levels play their full role in self-evaluation and school improvement.

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Grade: 3

Achievement is satisfactory. Standards have fluctuated over recent years. The standards reached in the national tests at the end of Year 6 were high in all subjects until 2004 when they fell to below average. They rose again in 2005 but fell in 2006 when they were below average overall, representing underachievement for a significant number of these pupils. There is still a legacy of this underachievement in the standards that older pupils reach but inspection evidence confirmed that it has been successfully tackled. Achievement across school is improving, largely due to prompt action to improve the quality of teaching and sharper systems for checking on how well pupils are doing. Pupils in Year 6 are on target to reach broadly average standards. This represents satisfactory progress for this group, who entered the school with attainment similar to the national average. Pupils from Year 3 to Year 6 are now making satisfactory and

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Grade: 3

sometimes good progress. Because of the effective and carefully targeted support they receive, pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities and those in the early stages of learning English make similar progress to their peers.

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Grade: 2

Pupils' personal development, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. They are polite, articulate, friendly and self-confident. The caring ethos encourages them to empathise with others less fortunate; they are enthusiastic fund raisers for charities at home and overseas. There is a wealth of opportunities for pupils to take responsibility, from handing out work to training to lead playground games. Pupils take their responsibilities seriously and discharge them well. Rules are well respected and behaviour is good. Bullying is rare. Attendance is satisfactory because the school does all that it can to improve this, but a few families still take holidays during term time. Pupils work together in pairs or teams, so their co-operative skills are good. Classes and the school council lead assemblies most competently and pupils reflect quietly. Pupils are tolerant and show great understanding of cultural and

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Grade: 2

other differences. Many are competent Makaton signers which supports a small number of pupils with communication difficulties.

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Grade: 2

Teaching and learning are good, and assessment is satisfactory. The direction and support provided by the headteacher has enabled staff to improve their classroom practice. Staff have good relationships with pupils and manage them well, so pupils are co-operative and keen to do well. Teachers prepare their lessons well; they use a good range of strategies for ensuring that work is pitched at the right level for all pupils. However, not all get this exactly right, so occasionally the most able are not sufficiently challenged. Most teaching assistants provide good support for individuals or small groups so pupils approach tasks with confidence. There are clear intended outcomes for the lessons, with success criteria that are understood by pupils. 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Prospect Hill Junior School, 26 °27 April 2007 As a result, they are aware of their progress and achievements in lessons, ensuring that many

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Grade: 2

are now making good progress. Teachers are limited in the extent to which they can use information and communication technology (ICT) in lessons as there is only one interactive whiteboard in school at present, though this is used to good effect.

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Grade: 3

The curriculum is satisfactory, although it is enriched well. In the past there has been little monitoring and no whole school overview of the curricular provision. This situation has begun to be rectified but does not yet identify how pupils will build on their skills in different subjects or how all subjects will develop literacy, numeracy and ICT skills. There is a developing practice of linking subjects to form topics that interest pupils; these are brought to life with visits, visitors and themed weeks. Pupils enjoy the weekly enrichment afternoon when they take part in a wide range of activities that includes baking and sewing. Their personal development is promoted well by a good range of extra-curricular activities, particularly sporting opportunities, and an annual residential school journey for pupils in Year 5. There is also a large number of ways in which pupils can take responsibility and work together in pairs, groups or teams.

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Grade: 3

Teachers and teaching assistants ensure that those with specific learning difficulties are able to have successful access to the curriculum.

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Grade: 3

This aspect of the school's work is satisfactory. Pastoral care is good. Pupils feel safe in school and say they would go to an adult if they had a problem. Arrangements for safeguarding pupils meet requirements. There is good support for pupils with emotional or behavioural difficulties; the 'sensory room' provides a haven for them and they appreciate the sessions held in here. Academic guidance is satisfactory. Tracking of pupils' progress is at an early stage of development; it is in place for English and mathematics and is starting in science. The school is able to identify which pupils need additional support. Pupils have recently been set targets in English and mathematics, but they are not all clear what their targets are. Marking is helpful and thorough, and pupils enjoy marking their work using identified success criteria. Homework is relevant and regular; homework diaries and workshops run for

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Grade: 3

parents help them to support their children.

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Grade: 3

Leadership and management are satisfactory. The headteacher has brought together a hardworking team in order to achieve the school's caring and inclusive ethos. More robust systems to check on the work of the school and make improvements have already resulted in better teaching and improved pupil progress. Many measures are new and it is too soon to gauge their impact. The senior leadership team and curriculum leaders carry out their responsibilities satisfactorily and are developing their role well. Improvements have been made to the environment and further work is planned to improve classrooms. The governing body is supportive and fulfils its role satisfactorily. Effective relationships are promoted with parents and other agencies to extend the range of opportunities that the school provides. One parent 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Prospect Hill Junior School, 26 °27 April 2007 volunteered that 'both of my children have been very happy at Prospect. In my opinion Prospect

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Grade: 3

is a lovely school with very good staff.' 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Prospect Hill Junior School, 26 °27 April 2007 .

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Grade: 3

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: Prospect Hill Junior School, 26 °27 April 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? 3 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 3 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 3 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?

3 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: Prospect Hill Junior School, 26 °27 April 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: Prospect Hill Junior School, 26 °27 April 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

30 April 2007 Dear Pupils, Inspection of Prospect Hill Junior School, Nottinghamshire, S81 0LR Thank you for making us so welcome, talking to us and helping us to find out so much about you and your school when we visited recently. We were pleased to meet you and all the staff and enjoyed the time we spent with you. You are lucky to go to a school where all the adults work very hard to take care of you and make sure you are happy and your lessons are fun. It is in your personal development that your teachers help you to do well. It was lovely to see you behaving so well, working hard and looking after yourselves and each other. Also, that you know so much about keeping safe and healthy. Your super sport activities and hard work to become a Healthy School have really paid off! I especially enjoyed seeing you proudly carry out your special jobs around school and hearing about how you help others by raising money and doing other helpful things. You enjoy lots of

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

visits out of school and have many interesting visitors come and work with you to make your learning more interesting. You generally make similar progress to pupils in other schools whilst you are at Prospect Hill and the standards reached have varied over recent years. We think you could do even better. All the adults at school are keen to help you do as well as you can so we have asked them to do some things to help you: • make sure the standards you reach, and the progress that you make, are always at least as good as other pupils of your age • plan your curriculum to make sure it carefully builds your skills in all the different subjects • make sure that you are all very clear about your targets, especially in reading, writing and mathematics, and about what you need to do to improve • make sure that all those who lead the school are playing their full part in checking on the school's work and making it as good as it can be.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

It is important that you do your bit to help too by continuing to work hard, behave well and come to school every day. We would like to wish you the very best for the future. Joanne Harvey (Lead Inspector) 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Prospect Hill Junior School, 26 °27 April 2007

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