Sharrow Nursery, Infant and Junior School

Inspection Report Sharrow Nursery, Infant and Junior School

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134302 Unique Reference Number Sheffield Local Authority 295463 Inspection number 15 °16 November 2006 Inspection dates Jane Hughes 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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Sitwell Road School address Primary Type of school Sheffield Community School category South Yorkshire S7 1BE 3 °11 Age range of pupils 0113 2551704 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 0114 2553649 Fax number 404 Number on roll (school) Mr David Baker Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Ms Lynne Lee Headteacher Not previously inspected Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 295463 15 °16 November 2006 3°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

This large school opened in April 2006, following the amalgamation of Sharrow Nursery/Infant school and Sharrow Junior school. The current headteacher was also headteacher of both former schools. A far less than average number of pupils are of White British heritage, and a much larger than average proportion speaks a language other than English as their mother tongue. A large proportion of pupils is eligible for free school meals and an unusually high number arrive or leave part way through their education. An average proportion of pupils has learning difficulties and/or disabilities or a statement of special educational need. A new school building and Children's Centre are under construction on the old infant school site and the school is due to move into this new building in September 2007.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Sharrow Nursery, Infant and Junior School, 15 °16 November 2006

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Grade: 3

Sharrow Nursery, Infant and Junior school is a satisfactory and improving school with good elements to its work. Inspection findings reflect the school's own evaluation of its performance. The headteacher has successfully steered the school through the recent amalgamation. This has been a difficult time as the whole school has taken up temporary residence on the old, cramped, junior school site until the new school building is ready. Parents and pupils agree that the move has been handled well by the staff. There is satisfactory leadership and management by the headteacher, senior leaders and governors. Their first priority is to raise levels of attainment and the rate of pupil achievement and so improve pupils' potential future economic well-being. The school has introduced a number of new systems and modified others that were used by the separate schools pre-amalgamation. It is too early in the life of the school

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Grade: 3

for initiatives to show consistent and measurable impact. Governors have a clear overview of the school's key priorities. However, they readily accept that the school does not meet the statutory requirement to provide a daily act of collective worship for pupils. With its very brief history, the school shows a satisfactory capacity to improve and provides satisfactory value for money. Standards are very low in English, mathematics and science by the end of Reception, Year 2 and Year 6. The high frequency of pupils moving in and out of the school helps to depress the overall picture of standards at the end of each key stage. Pupils' achievement is satisfactory in Years 1 to 6 and this links closely with the quality of teaching. Within the overall satisfactory picture of teaching and learning, there is also some outstanding teaching that provides a model for others. Children enter the Nursery with very low level skills. They achieve well in the Foundation Stage because provision

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Grade: 3

is good and the quality of teaching is consistently strong. Tracking systems throughout the school monitor pupils' progress but staff do not yet make the best use of the data these generate to move pupils' learning on at a fast enough rate. Pupils have targets but are not always sure what these mean and do not have a clear enough understanding of how to improve their work. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and those with complex special educational needs are offered skilful support from teaching assistants and this helps them to make similar rates of progress to other pupils. Pupils who speak English as an additional language benefit from daily bilingual support from skilled teaching assistants. This valuable feature of the school's work extends to families, helping them to become more involved in their children's learning. The good curriculum places a strong focus on creativity through the arts and music. This is a

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Grade: 3

successful approach, particularly in terms of meeting, through visual media, the needs of the many pupils who do not speak fluent English or who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities. As a result, pupils enjoy their learning. A good range of clubs and sporting activities after school enriches pupils' learning. The school values and includes all pupils equally. Pupils with complex special educational needs are welcomed into school and included in all aspects of its life. Pupils say they like school and that, 'everyone is very friendly'. Pupils' personal development is good because adults encourage pupils to make increasing contributions 2 Inspection Report: Sharrow Nursery, Infant and Junior School, 15 °16 November 2006 to school and community life and to learn from the multicultural mix within school and the locality. Overwhelmingly, parents are happy with the school. Comments such as, 'The school is a happy, safe and supportive environment for my child', reflect the

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Grade: 3

views of many. The school understandably prides itself on the good quality of care, guidance and support it offers pupils. Staff work well with a number of external agencies and community representatives to ensure pupils' well-being and to increase their understanding of how to live safe and healthy lives.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Raise standards and pupils' achievements in English, mathematics and science ensuring that more pupils attain the expected levels. • Use assessment data more effectively to identify exactly what pupils need to do to improve and so accelerate their progress. • Involve pupils more consistently in setting and evaluating their own targets so they know clearly what to do next to improve their work. • Fulfil the statutory requirement to provide a daily act of collective worship.

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Grade: 3

Children's skills when they join the Nursery are very low. Many do not speak any English. Children get off to a good start in the Foundation Stage and achieve well, particularly in terms of their personal, social and emotional development, with some reaching nationally expected levels. This is because teaching in the Nursery and Reception classes is carefully matched to the needs of individual children. Even so, standards at the end of Reception remain very low because children's starting points are so low and many children join or leave during the course of the school year. At Key Stages 1 and 2, the achievement of all groups of pupils, including pupils learning to speak English and those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, is satisfactory. Standards remain well below average throughout the school. Few pupils attain the higher levels in tests, although small group teaching for mathematics with a maths

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Grade: 3

coordinator is contributing to higher attainment for the older pupils. Pupils' low levels of basic skills are not strong indicators for their favourable future economic well-being.

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Grade: 2

Pupils enjoy lessons and work together well. Their behaviour is good and they are aware of their own personal safety through personal, social and health education lessons. Pupils understand how to lead a healthy lifestyle. The school council has been instrumental in developing healthy eating initiatives as part of the work towards gaining the Healthy Schools award. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Although there is no daily worship, pupils reflect on some spiritual issues through circle time and religious education. Many opportunities are taken to celebrate pupils' rich cultural diversity. Parents remark, 'the school is genuinely multicultural.' 3 Inspection Report: Sharrow Nursery, Infant and Junior School, 15 °16 November 2006 Attendance is average because the school promotes regular attendance well. For example, staff discuss each planned absence with parents. Pupils have been directly

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Grade: 2

involved in the planning of the new school. They visited the site, toured other recently completed schools to look at facilities then met with architects and planners to report their preferences. Other pupils have taken on the role of 'playground friends'. They applied in writing, telephoned the office to arrange an interview, underwent the interview, and accepted appointment to the role. This has provided them with a useful insight into the future world of work.

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Grade: 3

The school is working to improve consistency of teaching through its internal training and support programme. This is helping to raise the quality of learning. In particularly successful lessons, teachers bring vibrancy to their teaching but make sure pupils keep their targets in mind. Pupils enjoy their lessons. For most pupils, the work is well matched to their prior learning, but expectations of the higher attaining pupils in normal class activities are sometimes not high enough. Individual pupil targets in English are consistently set from teachers' marking of selected pieces of work. This process helps them to gain a good knowledge of the achievement levels of their class in this subject. However, pupils are not involved enough in measuring their own progress or setting their own targets. Teaching assistants are used effectively to make sure that pupils, who have limited English skills, and those with learning difficulties

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Grade: 3

and/or disabilities, learn as well as other pupils. The high level of adult support helps pupils with difficulties to develop their social skills and work effectively with others. These are useful skills to promote their future well-being in the workplace.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum offers a broad range of activities. Planning places an appropriate emphasis on numeracy and literacy. There is good provision for higher attaining pupils in Years 5 and 6 with special mathematics lessons for small groups. This helped some pupils to reach higher levels in the national tests at the end of Year 6 in 2006. Overall, there is good provision for physical education that encourages pupils to develop healthy lifestyles. However, the restrictions of the current temporary building make it difficult for some physically disabled pupils to have full access. The school is doing all it can to minimise the problem. Good use is made of visits and residential experiences. Pupils talk enthusiastically about these trips which help them develop their social skills and make learning more exciting. 4 Inspection Report: Sharrow Nursery, Infant and Junior School, 15 °16 November 2006

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Grade: 2

Pupils and their parents value the school's high levels of pastoral support. Pupils say they feel safe in school and that they know who to turn to when they need help. There are good opportunities for pupils to learn about safe practices through community links such as the police. Learning mentors play a key role in ensuring all pupils have full access to the curriculum, and receive appropriate additional support, whatever their individual need. Relationships between staff and pupils are good; each pupil's contribution is celebrated. Appropriate procedures are in place to safeguard pupils and to ensure their health, safety and general well-being. Pupils say bullying is rare and any instances are speedily addressed by staff. Good systems are in place to identify and support vulnerable pupils and additional help is frequently given to parents. For example, learning mentors visit parents in their homes to offer support. The school is

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Grade: 2

still developing its use of data and does not yet guide pupils consistently well enough in what they need to do next to improve their progress and achieve their targets.

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Grade: 3

Even though there has been little time for many initiatives to show significant impact, the headteacher and senior leaders demonstrate a clear vision of how they want the school to develop. Concerted effort has resulted in the successful unification of two separate schools into one committed staff team, particularly in terms of leadership and management. Conscientious administrators, caretaking and lunchtime staff carry out their duties efficiently and help the school to run smoothly. Parents are gradually becoming more involved in school life and in their children's learning, although staff organise social and fundraising events as there is no parent organisation to take this on. Family learning programmes are becoming more popular as parents realise the benefits they offer in terms of their own skills' development and in helping with their children's learning. Effective partnerships with outside agencies help the school in its

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Grade: 3

work. The newly constituted governing body knows what the school is aiming for and offers strong support to the headteacher and staff. Financial management is sound. There is no daily act of collective worship and few planned opportunities for reflection, particularly for pupils in Key Stage 2. Parents express their pleasure in the new school, saying, 'The atmosphere is positive and inclusive'. 5 Inspection Report: Sharrow Nursery, Infant and Junior School, 15 °16 November 2006 .

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Grade: 3

set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Sharrow Nursery, Infant and Junior School, 15 °16 November 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 3 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 3 The capacity to make any necessary improvements NA 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? 4 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?

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: Sharrow Nursery, Infant and Junior School, 15 °16 November 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: Sharrow Nursery, Infant and Junior School, 15 °16 November 2006

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you for your friendly welcome during our recent visit to your school. We enjoyed listening to your views and seeing how well you have become one big new school in such a short space of time. There have been many changes for you recently but you told us how much you enjoy school and we could see that. We found your school to be satisfactory and improving. There are many things for your school, you and your parents to be pleased about. You behave well and are interested in your lessons. We agree with you and your parents that everyone gets on well and helps each other. These are important skills for the future. More of you are taking responsibility around school as school councillors or 'playground friends'. You work hard and try your best. All the adults and children are good at making sure anyone with particular difficulties is included in every part of school life. Your teachers organise lots of exciting trips and visits that help you learn more about the

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

subjects you study in lessons. You also told us how much you enjoy all the clubs and sports activities. One of the reasons for our visit was to see what your school can do to improve. We have asked your headteacher and all the adults to help you do better in English, mathematics and science so you reach higher standards in your work and make faster progress. We have also asked them to make better use of the information they collect about how much you understand and use this to help you learn even more. We would also like your teachers to give each of you a clearer idea of how to make your work even better. The last thing we have asked your school to do is to make sure you all meet as a whole school every day, as you do on Fridays, to celebrate and reflect together. We hope you all enjoy learning and playing in your brand new school building in September. 9 Inspection Report: Sharrow Nursery, Infant and Junior School, 15 °16 November 2006

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