Westfield Junior School

Westfield Junior School Inspection report

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119928 Unique Reference Number Leicestershire Local Authority 298575 Inspection number 3 °4 July 2007 Inspection dates Pat Walsh HMI 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 °10 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 274 School

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The governing body Appropriate authority John McGinley Chair Paula McSorley Headteacher 16 May 2006 Date of previous school inspection Westfield Road School address Hinckley LE10 0LT

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01455 637437 Telephone number 01455 618656 Fax number

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7-10 Age group 3 °4 July 2007 Inspection dates 298575 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 one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors and two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

This is an average sized junior school and most pupils transfer from the local infant school. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is above average. The school includes a unit for up to 20 pupils with moderate learning difficulties. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is below average. A small, and growing, number of pupils are from minority ethnic backgrounds and almost all pupils speak English as their first language. The school recently gained the national Healthy School award.

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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: Westfield Junior School, 3 °4 July 2007

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Grade: 3

In accordance with section 13 (4) of the Education Act 2005, HMCI is of the opinion that the school no longer requires significant improvement. Westfield Junior is a satisfactory and improving school with some good features. It is a happy, friendly place where pupils enjoy school life. They particularly appreciate the help and support they receive from staff and the very good range of activities beyond lessons. The majority of parents are happy with the school. One parent commented, 'The school is much better now, I can see the difference in my son, he wants to learn.' Pupils' achievement has improved and is now satisfactory. Standards have improved since 2006, when they were well below average in the tests for Year 6. The school is getting to grips with providing challenge and support for pupils who have underachieved in the past. The headteacher and other leaders in the school are now using the range of assessment information available to them on pupils' progress more

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Grade: 3

effectively to target where improvements need to be made. This is particularly the case in the core subjects of English, mathematics and science, but this good practice is not yet in place in other foundation subjects. The provision for pupils in the special unit is good because they receive good teaching and support that is carefully matched to their complex needs. Pupils' personal development and well-being are good and the contribution pupils make to the wider community is a particular strength. The reorganised senior leadership team has contributed to improving performance through more effective monitoring of pupils' progress. Leaders and managers now call teachers to account for the progress of pupils in their class and regularly review the impact of any additional support provided. This more rigorous approach has led to some improvements in teaching. Overall, teaching and learning are satisfactory and there are

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Grade: 3

an increasing number of good lessons. However, teachers' marking of pupils' work is not consistently effective in showing pupils what needs to be done to improve. The school's curriculum is satisfactory, increasingly providing opportunities for pupils to see how their literacy skills can be used in other subjects. When pupils can see connections between one subject and another, such as using their writing skills in history, their learning becomes more meaningful. This happens regularly in the better lessons in Years 5 and 6. However, the planning of these links in learning for mathematics and information and communication technology (ICT) is less well developed. The school provides good care, guidance and support. The staff know their pupils well, relationships are positive, and there is good empathy with pupils' personal and emotional needs. The issues surrounding pupils' safety raised at the last inspection have been fully resolved.

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Grade: 3

Leadership and management are satisfactory. The school now has a plan of clear, well focused actions to ensure that pupils' learning is at the heart of all improvements. The newly formed governing body gives a satisfactory level of support and challenge. Given the early stages of development and the lack of time for recent changes to have fully impacted across all year groups, the school has satisfactory capacity for further improvement.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Improve the quality of teaching so that all lessons provide good learning opportunities for all pupils. ■ Develop the recently established assessment system to include the foundation subjects.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Ensure that teachers' marking is consistent in all classes.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Plan for more effective links between mathematics, ICT and other subjects in the curriculum. 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Westfield Junior School, 3 °4 July 2007 A small proportion of the schools whose overall effectiveness is judged satisfactory but which have areas of underperformance will receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection.

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Grade: 3

Pupils make satisfactory progress. They enter the school with standards that are below average. In the past, pupils have not achieved well enough in English, mathematics and science. The results of national tests in 2006 show that pupils' standards were well below average, with particular weaknesses in writing. Recent improvements, including additional support in Year 6 and improved systems to track pupils' progress, have contributed to better performance overall. The indications are that pupils are on track to exceed the more challenging 2007 targets. This would represent a significant increase in the number of pupils reaching an average standard for their age. The school's records and the work in pupils' books show that most pupils are now making progress at the rate they should and standards are broadly average. Some, however, have to catch up lost ground, and more remains to be done to lift standards further especially

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Grade: 3

for the more able. Pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities make satisfactory progress when working alongside others in lessons. The progress of the pupils in the unit, although in very small steps, is good.

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Grade: 2

Pupils' social, moral, spiritual and cultural development is good. Pupils enjoy school and behave well. They spoke with enthusiasm about the range of activities offered, and the educational visits that broaden their horizons. As one boy commented, 'It's fun here, we do lots of good stuff.' Pupils' enjoyment is reflected in the school's attendance rate, which is above the national average. Pupils speak confidently of feeling safe. They have a secure understanding of healthy lifestyles because there is good provision for sport and a strong emphasis given to healthy eating. Pupils make a good contribution to the school community by taking responsibility for decisions in the school council and acting as behaviour monitors and peer mediators. The part they play in the wider community is excellent, for example planning and designing the community garden, raising money for charities, and taking part in the local carnival. Pupils' satisfactory

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Grade: 2

progress in developing basic skills and their good personal qualities means pupils have a sound foundation for their future education and beyond.

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Grade: 3

The expectations teachers have of pupils' abilities have improved. This is particularly noticeable in Years 5 and 6, where pupils are now making satisfactory progress. Teachers plan lessons that are interesting and they are beginning to provide tasks that more closely match the needs of all pupils, often ensuring the higher attaining pupils are more appropriately challenged. Planning in the unit is a strong feature and provides pupils with small accessible steps in their learning so they achieve well. In the better lessons teachers' enthusiasm motivates pupils so they are well focused on their work. Questioning is used effectively to extend and reinforce learning. Lesson objectives are shared and regularly referred to, thus ensuring all pupils know what they 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Westfield Junior School, 3 °4 July 2007 are learning, why they are learning it, and how to have success. There are good relationships

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Grade: 3

between the staff and pupils, and between the pupils themselves. They work well together and are keen to share their work with their peers. Teaching assistants are generally well used to support pupils' learning in the unit and those lower attaining pupils in the main school. Assessment systems have recently been improved and are beginning to be used to identify and target those pupils who make less progress than they should. However, as yet, there has not been enough time for the procedures to be firmly embedded and have a full impact on standards across the school. Assessment in the foundation subjects remains a weaker area. Where marking is good, it provides constructive comments to help pupils improve their work but the quality of marking is not consistent across the school or across the subjects.

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Grade: 3

The improvements to the curriculum are clearly evident in the development of pupils' literacy skills, particularly in writing, through the 'Big Write'. Planning shows good use of these skills in other areas, especially history and geography. However, in some classes the use of worksheets limits how often the pupils can write for themselves. Pupils have few planned opportunities to use their numeracy and ICT skills in other curriculum areas, and this is limiting their overall progress. There is a very good range of enrichment activities available to all pupils, particularly in sport and music. An unusual choice of musical instruments is offered to the pupils, including the harmonica and the tabla. Pupils enjoy their sports and talk enthusiastically about them. Visits to places of interest, such as the Battle of Bosworth site, are used to enhance their understanding of geography and history. Provision for pupils' personal development is good and improved

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Grade: 3

through the work in some subjects. For example, learning how to live harmoniously in a community and achieving a healthy lifestyle are explored through personal, social and health education, and science.

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Grade: 2

The staff know the pupils well and are committed to providing a secure and interesting environment. Pupils are confident they can talk to any adult if they have a problem. The recently introduced 'Time to Talk' is already having a beneficial effect on those pupils who have emotional issues. Good support is provided for pupils in the unit and within the classroom. The school is a harmonious community where pupils show respect and care for each other. They work well together and older pupils wrote enthusiastically about supporting younger pupils with their writing. There are rigorous systems in place to provide good health and safety, and risk assessments are carefully made for all visits undertaken by the pupils. Child protection is well documented and all staff have had appropriate training. All pupils have literacy targets which help them to improve the standard of their work; however, targets for numeracy are not as

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Grade: 2

effective. The targets displayed in the books of younger pupils are not always as clear and focused on how to improve as those in the books of older pupils. 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Westfield Junior School, 3 °4 July 2007

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Grade: 3

A significant factor in the improvement seen since the last inspection has been the strengthening of the senior leadership team. The headteacher is well supported by a new deputy headteacher, and there is now a much sharper focus on using all available information to plan actions that will directly accelerate pupils' progress. Leaders have established a shared sense of purpose and direction for the school, and ensured that all staff understand the part they play in raising standards and improving achievement. The positive impact of these changes is seen particularly in strong teamwork and the introduction of a system for keeping track of pupils' progress and setting targets for them. As a result, support has been targeted towards those pupils who are not doing as well as they should be, although this has only proved effective so far in the core subjects. The school has benefited from good support from local authority advisors and

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Grade: 3

consultants which has had a positive effect on teaching in writing and mathematics. The new governing body is now in place, and has begun to provide effective levels of challenge and support for the school. Governors have an accurate view of the strengths and areas for development and are satisfactorily holding the school to account for its actions. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Westfield Junior School, 3 °4 July 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: Westfield Junior School, 3 °4 July 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 2 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 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. 9 of 11 Inspection Report: Westfield Junior School, 3 °4 July 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: Westfield Junior School, 3 °4 July 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

5 July 2007 Dear Pupils Inspection of Westfield Junior School, Hinckley LE10 0LT Thank you for welcoming us to your school, talking to us, and showing us your work. You told us you enjoy school, particularly all the clubs and activities. I was very impressed by the tabla drumming at the lunchtime performance. You told us that you get lots of help with your work and that you feel safe and happy in school. You know a lot about staying fit and healthy. I know you are keen to help people in the community, and I enjoyed looking at the photographs showing how you worked to make the community garden. All the staff have worked hard in the last year to help you learn as much as you can, and the school is now providing you with a satisfactory education. We think the targets that are set for you, particularly in literacy, are helping you to improve your work so that you are now making satisfactory progress. Your teachers expect you to work hard all the time and this is starting

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

to show in the results you achieve. The children in the unit are trying their best too, and getting lots of help so that they make good progress. I have asked your headteacher, the teachers and the governors to make sure that the work you get in lessons is right for everyone, and that when your work is marked it shows you how to improve. I know the school is starting to plan interesting lessons in all subjects and I have asked your teachers to make sure you get opportunities to use mathematics and ICT in your work as much as possible. I know you have lessons in lots of different subjects; your teachers are going to make sure that they know how well you are doing in those areas, in the same way that they carefully check literacy and numeracy. I am sure you will help by continuing to behave well and always doing your best. I wish you well for the future. Yours sincerely Pat Walsh Her Majesty's Inspector

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

11 of 11 Inspection Report: Westfield Junior School, 3 °4 July 2007

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