Waulud Primary School

131850 Unique Reference Number LUTON Local Authority 293865 Inspection number 7 °8 December 2006 Inspection dates Joyce Cox 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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Wauluds Bank Drive School address Primary Type of school Luton Community School category Bedfordshire LU3 3LZ 5 °11 Age range of pupils 01582593469 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01582 565151 Fax number 406 Number on roll (school) Mr Robert Denison Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Ms Patricia Griffin Headteacher 5 March 2001 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 293865 7 °8 December 2006 5°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 three Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

Waulud is a very large primary school situated in Luton, serving an area with considerable social and economic disadvantages. Almost half of the pupils are eligible for free school meals. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties, including statements is greater than usually found. Over a quarter of the pupils are learning English as an additional language and a small but increasing number of families have chosen to identify themselves as asylum seekers. A relatively high proportion of pupils move in and out of the school during the course of the year, causing disruption to their education. Children start in the Nursery at three years old with very limited knowledge and skills. The school has Healthy School status and an Investors in People award.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Waulud Primary School, 7 °8 December 2006

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Grade: 2

This is a good school with several outstanding features. Pupils thoroughly enjoy the exciting activities on offer and parents are very pleased with the quality of care and education their children receive. One parent wrote, 'My eldest daughter left the school with excellent grades in all her studies thanks to all the staff.' When considering their low starting points, pupils achieve well in all subjects by the time they reach the end of Year 6. Pupils do well to attain standards that are below average by the end of Year 2 and broadly average by the end of Year 6. Good teaching, particularly in Key Stage 2, and an interesting curriculum, are key factors in the progress made by all pupils. The quality of teaching and learning varies in the infants, especially in the extent to which teachers encourage pupils to practise their speaking skills. The way teachers mark pupils' work in literacy is excellent but this is not the case in other

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Grade: 2

subjects. Teachers are provided with very good assessment information which tells them how well pupils are achieving. Children are given a good start to their education in the Nursery and Reception classes. There is an effective emphasis on developing the early skills of literacy and numeracy although, as in the infant classes, more could be done to encourage children to communicate. Foundation Stage staff work hard to make sure children feel safe and enjoy their learning and they establish the basis for pupils' excellent personal development throughout the rest of the school. Leadership and management are good. The headteacher provides outstanding leadership. Year 2 pupils say, 'She is the very best because she sorts out any naughtiness.' The headteacher is passionate about ensuring that all pupils have the best possible start in life and is determined that they see themselves as confident, successful learners. Whilst keeping a close eye on standards and achievement, the

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Grade: 2

school is successful in its desire to provide pupils with a rich curriculum. Strong, charismatic leadership, coupled with very high expectations of staff and pupils, has enabled the school to make very good progress since the last inspection and ensure it is very well placed to improve even further. The school provides very good value for money and has a very clear understanding of what it needs to do to improve.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Increase the opportunities for Foundation Stage children to communicate in all lessons. • Ensure that the high quality of marking in literacy books is extended to other subjects.

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Grade: 2

The standards attained in tests at the end of Year 2 and Year 6 show that pupils achieve well. In 2005, standards were below average at the end of Year 2 and broadly average 2 Inspection Report: Waulud Primary School, 7 °8 December 2006 at the end of Year 6 and the assessment information shows that pupils made exceptionally good progress between Year 3 and Year 6, particularly in mathematics. Results in 2006 were similar. Pupils learning English as an additional language do well because of effective support and guidance. In Nursery and Reception, children make good progress, even though their attainment on entry to Year 1 is below the expected level for their age. The school sets increasingly challenging targets, which are normally met in national tests. There is no significant variation in the achievement of different groups of pupils, and those who find learning hard achieve as well as their peers.

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Grade: 1

Pupils' personal development and well-being are outstanding and pupils really enjoy all the school offers. They are happy, confident and keen to succeed. They feel safe in a school free from bullying and racism and are able to express themselves openly. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding as a result of rich and rewarding learning opportunities. They are very clear about right and wrong and treat each other with kindness and consideration. Pupils' social skills are extremely well developed as they move up through the school, showing increasing maturity and a willingness to accept responsibility. Pupils have some golden opportunities, such as being prefects, to make a positive contribution to both the school and local community. School council representatives are proud of what they achieve. A high priority is placed on promoting healthy lifestyles and pupils really benefit from this. Although attendance

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Grade: 1

remains stubbornly below the national average, the school works hard to promote good attendance and punctuality.

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Grade: 2

The quality of teaching and learning is good, and this, combined with excellent attitudes to learning, ensures that pupils make good progress. A strength in teaching is the skilful use of interactive white boards, which the pupils say has increased the 'fun' element in lessons, for example revising past learning through playing games at the beginning of mathematics lessons. Regular assessment and close tracking of pupils' progress help teachers to plan lessons effectively. Joint planning and realistic expectations are strengths in Key Stage 2, and progress is particularly rapid in Year 5 and Year 6, where an additional teacher is successfully employed for literacy and numeracy to reduce the size of the teaching groups. Regular periods of activity ensure that pupils come to each piece of learning afresh. High quality marking in English has supported the improvement in the standard of writing; however, this quality of marking

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Grade: 2

is not reflected in other subjects. In older classes, pupils are given good opportunities to develop their oral skills, but this is not always the case in Reception and infant classes. Teaching assistants are given effective direction and make a good contribution 3 Inspection Report: Waulud Primary School, 7 °8 December 2006 to learning. The needs of all groups, including pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities, are met effectively.

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Grade: 2

Pupils say that the interesting lessons are one of the best things about the school. These contribute to pupils' excellent attitudes to learning. The curriculum meets statutory requirements and is enhanced by special focus weeks, such as 'Black History' week in October, when a dance troupe performed and led workshops with the pupils. The large number of visitors, visits, well attended clubs and activities provide outstanding enrichment. The art curriculum is a real strength and is enhanced by highly competent specialist teaching. Pupils develop a good knowledge of how to keep themselves safe and healthy, and their health is further enhanced by an above average amount of physical activity. There is good provision for the development of literacy and numeracy. Moreover information and communication technology (ICT) is used effectively to make these and other subjects more interesting. However, pupils are

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Grade: 2

given only satisfactory opportunities to develop their own ICT skills.

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Grade: 2

The school provides good care and guidance, creating a very supportive learning environment in which pupils thrive and are very happy. Pupils have great confidence in the excellent support available should they feel at risk. Family workers provide an outstanding range of help and support for families and ensure all pupils' induction is successful. Procedures are very good for ensuring pupils' health and safety and safeguarding their welfare. Support for pupils with learning difficulties is good. Marking in literacy is best but it is inconsistent elsewhere and insufficient advice for improvement is given. Older pupils are aware of their learning targets and receive good guidance on how to improve their performance, but younger pupils are less certain about the next steps.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good. The headteacher is an outstanding leader and has established a clear vision for the school known as the 'Waulud Way'. This is shared by all staff, who consequently go out of their way to ensure that all pupils, whatever their background, gender, ability or disability, are fully included in all school activities. The family workers play a very crucial and successful role in getting parents more involved in their children's learning. The school has good systems for checking how well it is doing. These ensure it has an accurate grasp of how good it is and how to get better still. All staff are fully involved in reflecting on what is going well and what could be improved. Staff regularly seek and act upon the views of parents and their children through surveys and through the school council. There is a clear and detailed 4 Inspection Report: Waulud Primary School, 7 °8 December 2006

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Grade: 2

school improvement plan outlining priorities and how these will be tackled, although it does not say exactly how improvement actions will be evaluated. Governors are very supportive of the school and are becoming increasingly confident in checking the school's performance and asking staff challenging questions. Standards and attendance are rising and the school has successfully tackled the issues for improvement from the last inspection. Consequently it is very well placed to carry on improving. 5 Inspection Report: Waulud Primary School, 7 °8 December 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: Waulud Primary School, 7 °8 December 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?

1 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 1 The behaviour of learners 3 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 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: Waulud Primary School, 7 °8 December 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: Waulud Primary School, 7 °8 December 2006

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

11 December 2006 Dear Pupils Waulud Primary School, Wauluds Bank Drive, Luton, Bedfordshire, LU3 3LZ Thank you for making us so welcome when we came to inspect your school recently. We enjoyed joining some of you for lunch, talking with you and seeing you at work and play. This letter is to tell you what we think is good about your school and how it could be even better. We particularly like these things: • your excellent behaviour and your enthusiasm for lessons and other activities • the very good relationships you have with one another and with the staff • the interesting and wide range of activities that you all enjoy • the skilful way in which the headteacher and all the teachers make sure you love learning and make good progress in your work • the very caring way you are looked after and supported by adults in the school • the fact you are aware of the importance of eating healthily and taking lots of exercise.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

These are the things we have suggested those in charge do to make it even better: • make sure Reception and infant children are encouraged to talk more in lessons • make sure that teachers tell you how you can make your work even better. It was great to learn that you are doing so well at school and that your parents are so happy too. Your headteacher, governors and teachers have very good plans to make the school even better. You can play your part by continuing to work hard and look after each other. We wish you all the very best for the future. Joyce Cox Lead inspector 9 Inspection Report: Waulud Primary School, 7 °8 December 2006

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