Kingsfold Primary School

Kingsfold Primary School Inspection report

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119278 Unique Reference Number Lancashire Local Authority 301752 Inspection number 24 °25 April 2007 Inspection dates Jackie Barnes 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 3 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 138 School

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The governing body Appropriate authority Mr John Mathieson Chair Mrs Linda Clement Headteacher 1 October 2003 Date of previous school inspection Martinfield Road School address Penwortham Preston Lancashire PR1 9HJ

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01772 743531 Telephone number 01772 750882 Fax number

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3 °11 Age group 24 °25 April 2007 Inspection dates 301752 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 an Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

The school serves a mixed area of privately rented, local authority and owner-occupied housing on the outskirts of Preston. The number of pupils on roll has been falling steadily over the last few years. Attainment on entry to the Nursery is variable but tends to be below average. The Nursery serves a wider area and many children leave to attend other schools when they are due to enter the Reception year. The proportion of pupils entitled to free school meals is above average and rising. Almost all pupils are from White British grounds and speak English as their first language. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is similar to other schools but the number with a statement of special educational need is higher than average.

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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: Kingsfold Primary School, 24 °25 April 2007

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Grade: 4

In accordance with section 13 (3) of the Education Act 2005, HMCI is of the opinion that this school needs special measures because it is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the persons responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvements. Achievement and standards are inadequate. Children make good progress in the Nursery and Reception years, often from a low start. By the time they enter Year 1 many are approaching the expected attainment for their age. Over the next two years pupils do not make enough progress and standards by the end of Year 2 are below average. The school’s national assessments show a sharp decline in the number of pupils attaining the expected levels for their age in reading and writing. Improvements have been made in mathematics although results remain below average. No Year 2 pupil has attained above-average results in any of the subjects

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Grade: 4

for the last two years. A small minority of pupils make satisfactory progress through the school and some attain above-average standards by Year 6. However, the school has a poor record of ensuring that all pupils make the sustained progress they should and many are underachieving. Standards by Year 6 are too low. National test results for Year 6 pupils have been significantly below average for several years. There was some improvement in results in 2005 but this was not maintained in 2006, when almost a half the pupils did not attain the expected Level 4 in English or mathematics. The value added between Year 2 and Year 6 was amongst the lowest nationally and the school did not meet its targets. Inspection evidence shows that standards and achievement in Year 6 are still below average. School leaders have not acted quickly enough to bring about sustained improvement. The school does not have sufficient capacity to improve

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Grade: 4

and value for money is unsatisfactory. The teaching is satisfactory but not effective enough overall to ensure that pupils’ progress improves rapidly throughout the school. Lessons are carefully prepared, often with interesting resources and activities, and behaviour is managed well. The positive relationships with staff successfully encourage pupils to be co-operative and keen to learn. However, the planning of lessons rarely takes sufficient account of the school’s information on pupils’ attainment and progress. Teaching and tasks are not regularly matched well enough to the wide range of pupils’ abilities in each class to enable pupils to achieve as well as they should over time. Pupils’ personal development is good. The leadership and senior staff have focused successfully on improving this aspect of the school’s work over recent years. Pupils’ confidence in staff and the specific guidance they receive, in lessons and individually, contribute strongly to their

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Grade: 4

positive attitudes to learning and good behaviour. They enjoy school and have fun. Staff take good care of pupils’ welfare and they feel safe in school. Their social, moral spiritual and cultural development is satisfactory, and they are knowledgeable about how to stay healthy and safe. Pupils’ future well-being is well supported by their skills in working co-operatively with other pupils in lessons and in the wider school community but many lack sufficient competence in literacy and numeracy to make the best of the next stage of their education. The curriculum is satisfactory, with good enrichment opportunities especially in sport and other physical activities, but it does not fully meet the needs of all its pupils. The opportunities and guidance for pupils to develop their basic skills are not yet planned well enough to enable each of them to achieve as well as can. 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Kingsfold Primary School, 24 °25 April 2007

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Grade: 4

The leadership and management of the school are inadequate. There are clear improvements led by the headteacher and senior staff, especially in pupils’ behaviour and attitudes, and the day-to-day management of the school has produced a calm and orderly atmosphere. However, this is not balanced by improvements in pupils’ academic attainment. The senior leadership has not acted quickly enough in dealing with the persistently low achievement and below-average standards. The school’s weaknesses are not fully understood by all those involved in leadership and management. Development plans and priorities are not challenging enough to improve the school’s effectiveness.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Increase the pace of pupils’ progress towards higher standards, particularly in English and mathematics. • Use accurate assessment information to plan pupils’ learning in lessons and to check they are making the best progress they can. • Set more ambitious targets and timescales for improving the school’s effectiveness with the full involvement of all those responsible for the leadership of the school.

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Grade: 4

When children join the school in the Nursery their attainment tends to be below average for three-year-olds but individual children differ considerably in what they know and can do. They make good progress in the Foundation Stage. During the next two years the pace of their progress declines. The results of the 2006 national assessments for Year 2 pupils show that considerably less than half attained the expected level for their age in reading, and only a quarter did so in writing. The most able pupils did not make the gains expected; no pupil has attained above average results in the last two years. By the end of Year 2 standards are below average. Unsatisfactory progress continues through Key Stage 2, although some individual pupils do make suitable gains. For example, among the 2006 Year 6 pupils about a quarter attained above-average results in mathematics but almost half the class did not reach the basic

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Grade: 4

level expected for their age. Overall, the value added between Year 2 and Year 6 was amongst the lowest nationally and the school did not meet its targets. Inspection evidence shows that standards and achievement in Year 6 are still below average. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities generally achieve slightly better than other pupils, although this varies considerably between pupils. Although the school has faced staffing difficulties and problems with pupils’ behaviour since the last inspection, the inadequate achievement is mainly due to the unsatisfactory quality and use of the school’s assessment systems.

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Grade: 2

Pupils make good progress in their personal development. They enjoy taking on responsibilities. Many older pupils have a mature approach to their work and relationships. The ability of pupils to work well together, to adjust their ideas and make concessions is discussions and their awareness of the needs of other people contribute well to their future well-being, although some pupils’ weaknesses in basic skills remains a concern. They contribute well to the positive atmosphere in school. Progress in social, moral, spiritual and cultural development is satisfactory. Behaviour has improved significantly throughout the school and is now good, with exclusions a rarity. Attendance is close to national figures and most pupils clearly enjoy school. In the 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Kingsfold Primary School, 24 °25 April 2007 Foundation Stage they quickly learn to respond to the school’s expectations for working in a

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Grade: 2

large group and taking some responsibility for their own learning. In the older year groups, pupils tend to be less involved in making decisions about improving their own work, although there are new initiatives on setting targets to develop these skills. The award for being a healthy school reflects the pupils’ good knowledge of how to keep safe and healthy.

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Grade: 3

Teaching and learning are satisfactory overall. Recent initiatives to make lessons more interesting have succeeded in keeping pupils motivated and most enjoy their lessons. In the Foundation Stage their enthusiasm for learning, and the rapid development in their personal skills and their knowledge, is due mainly to good teaching. Rigorous assessment of their progress is clearly linked to the planning of opportunities and activities which effectively support their continuing achievement. This focus on planning and checking individual pupils’ improvement is much less evident throughout the remainder of the school and the effectiveness of the teaching and learning is too variable. Lessons are usually planned in line with national guidance and the purpose of each lesson is clearly identified. However, there is often a lack of clarity about what pupils with different abilities are intended to learn. The work in pupils’ books indicates that

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Grade: 3

tasks are often very similar in what they demand of pupils. This results in some pupils showing too little improvement over time. Occasionally pupils across the ability range make good progress in lessons because individual teachers systematically provide the guidance and opportunities to help them improve. In these lessons: there is excitement and a brisk pace; teachers plan to teach small groups as well as the whole class; good use is made of teaching assistants throughout the lesson; and tasks challenge pupils to work hard in order to succeed. The weaknesses in pupils’ literacy and numeracy skills at the end of Year 2 provide a substantial challenge to teaching in Key Stage 2. The school’s systems for linking the information about pupils’ attainment and the planning of their progress in lessons are not sufficiently developed to support the steady acceleration needed.

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Grade: 3

The curriculum is satisfactory and successfully supports most aspects of pupils’ personal development. All the required subjects are taught and enhanced by visits, visitors and after-school activities. Pupils enjoy most of their work. However, despite the school’s clear intentions to give every pupil the best attention, the systems for planning pupils’ learning are not sufficiently geared to the wide range of abilities in each year group. The assessment information teachers need to plan individual pupils’ progress well is often not readily available. Some pupils have better opportunities to make progress than others, particularly where they have regular support from a specific adult.

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Grade: 3

Staff take good care of pupils’ welfare. The school has sound arrangements for risk assessments; health and safety procedures are well known and the procedures for safeguarding pupils meet government guidance. Pupils say they feel safe in school. The adult support provided for pupils 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Kingsfold Primary School, 24 °25 April 2007 with a statement of special educational need is effective, with good records and often ambitious targets. Where teaching assistants are used to support pupils in lessons, their guidance clearly improves the pupils’ learning as they help pupils to complete their tasks. Academic guidance is generally most effective when pupils are working in small groups with an adult. The marking in books is not yet well linked to targets or to opportunities for pupils to practise the suggestions for improvement that are sometimes included in the marking. There is often a lack of clarity in

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Grade: 3

the planning of lessons about what pupils in the different ability groups are expected to learn, which reduces the effectiveness of both the support and the guidance.

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Grade: 4

Leadership and management are inadequate. The clear leadership and sense of purpose that are evident in improving the pupils’ personal development are less effective in improving their progress and standards. The school’s self-evaluation, although conscientiously undertaken, lacks the rigour needed to generate the key priorities for improvement. As a result, the targets and timescales in the school improvement plan tend to be imprecise and so the pace of some planned improvements is slow. The school does not yet have an effective approach to assessing pupils’ progress through the school and consistently matching work to their individual needs. Although there is a common commitment to improving the school among all those involved in its leadership, including the governors, there is not a common understanding about the school’s effectiveness and the key steps needed for further improvement. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Kingsfold Primary School, 24 °25 April 2007

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Grade: 4

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: Kingsfold Primary School, 24 °25 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? 2 The quality and standards in the Foundation Stage 4 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 4 The capacity to make any necessary improvements No Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

4 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?

3 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: Kingsfold Primary School, 24 °25 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? Yes Does this school require special measures? No Does this school require a notice to improve? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: Kingsfold Primary School, 24 °25 April 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

29 April 2007 Inspection of Kingsfold Primary School, Penwortham, PR1 9HJ Dear Children Thank you for helping me to see that you enjoy school and have confidence in your teachers. You behave well and are keen to learn. You particularly enjoy physical activities and sport, and you know about healthy eating and how to keep safe. Most of you have good attendance records and are punctual. I was delighted to see that many of you have the confidence to share your ideas in lessons and to listen to other opinions when you were working in small groups. You help to make the school a calm and orderly place. Staff take good care of you and you say you feel safe. Your school is not yet making sure that you all make the best progress you can. Standards are not high enough. Many of you could do much better so I have asked your headteacher and governors to help you make quicker progress. I have also asked them to make sure your teachers

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

have better information about how well you are doing so they can use this to plan your lessons. I have also asked for the school to have extra help called ‘special measures’ so that it can improve as quickly as possible. Inspectors will also return to check that your school is making progress. I know you will also help them by keeping up your good behaviour and, when you have targets, you will look for ways to achieve them as quickly as you can. Best wishes for the future. Yours sincerely J M Barnes Lead Inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Kingsfold Primary School, 24 °25 April 2007

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