Belvedere Infant SchoolOfsted inspection, 9 May 2008

Belvedere Infant School Inspection report

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101438 Unique Reference Number Bexley Local Authority 307685 Inspection number 9 May 2008 Inspection date Margaret Coussins 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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Infant Type of school Community School category 3 °7 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 278 School The governing body Appropriate authority Councillor Margaret O'Neill Chair Mrs Linda Mulley Headteacher 24 November 2003 Date of previous school inspection Mitchell Close School address Belvedere DA17 6AA 020 8311 9092 Telephone number 020 8311 9666 Fax number

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3-7 Age group 9 May 2008 Inspection date 307685 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. The inspector evaluated the overall effectiveness of the school and investigated the following issues:

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Introduction

Evidence was gathered from performance data, observation of teaching and learning, school information and records, and pupils' work. Parents' questionnaires, and discussion with pupils, staff and the Chair of Governors also contributed to the judgements. Other aspects of the school's work were not inspected in detail, but the inspector found no evidence to suggest that the school's own assessments, as given in its self-evaluation, were not justified and these have been included, where appropriate, in this report.

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Description of the school

Belvedere is a large infant school. 52 children attend the Nursery part time. The percentage of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds is higher than found nationally. The largest groups are from Black or Black British African backgrounds and Asian or Asian British Indian backgrounds. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is higher than that found nationally as is the proportion with learning difficulties or disabilities. These relate mainly to moderate learning, speech, language and communication and behavioural, emotional and social needs.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 9 Inspection Report: Belvedere Infant School, 9 May 2008

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Grade: 3

Belvedere Infants is a satisfactory school. Although not inspected in detail, it is clear that its strongest features are good care, guidance and support and, as a result of this, pupils' good personal development and well-being. Most parents praise the school for helping their children to enjoy their early education. The school's friendly and positive ethos and good relationships between staff and pupils, contribute much to pupils' good behaviour and their good social, moral, spiritual and cultural development. One child said, 'It's interesting to listen to people who do different things and believe in different things and we can all learn from each other'. Pupils make satisfactory progress in Key Stage 1 and by the end of Year 2 standards are average in writing and very close to average in reading and mathematics. Teaching is satisfactory and recent improvements are helping pupils to make more rapid progress. However this is not yet

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Grade: 3

consistent across the classes. More remains to be done by leaders to keep improvements moving forwards at a good pace and build on pupils' success. The school knows how well individual pupils are doing but procedures to keep a check on pupils' progress and achievement have not been helpful to teachers or leaders in keeping track of the attainment of different groups of pupils. The headteacher identified this weakness and a new system has just been introduced. Standards in writing are better than those in reading, mathematics or science because of additional support and many opportunities for pupils to write independently. The initiatives that senior school leaders have established to raise standards in reading, mathematics and science are working well and beginning to have a positive impact on pupils' achievement. There is now a consistent approach to teaching pupils to link sounds and letters from the Nursery

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Grade: 3

through to Year 2 and teaching assistants are providing good support to guide small groups in their reading to help their comprehension. Mathematics remains a weaker area and so teachers are providing more opportunities for pupils to use and apply their numeracy skills. A heightened focus on developing pupils' speaking and listening skills is beginning to have a positive impact on their learning in all subjects, including scientific enquiry, although sometimes teachers miss opportunities for developing these. Teaching assistants provide good support and work well with individuals or small groups. As a result, pupils with a range of learning needs and those who are learning English as an additional language make similar progress to others and their work is well matched to their needs. The headteacher has made sure that there are good policies and procedures to ensure pupils' safety and well-being. Parents feel that their children are well cared for. One parent wrote, 'I

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Grade: 3

believe the school has the best interests of the child as the basis for its decision making.' Attendance is well below average. The majority of pupils attend school regularly, but the persistent absence of pupils from a small number of families brings down the overall attendance figures. The school works hard to promote better attendance and works well with other agencies to support the children and their families. Discussions with pupils show that most enjoy their lessons and have positive attitudes to learning. They listen carefully, enjoy answering questions and like to use computers and interactive whiteboards. They are very enthusiastic about participating in the wide range of clubs and extra activities available. Children in the Reception classes were bubbling with enthusiasm about their visit, on the day before the inspection, where they had seen lots of animals. Pupils are proud of being a Healthy School and were confident

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Grade: 3

in describing foods that help them stay fit and healthy. They say they feel very safe at school and are confident to talk to any adults if they have any problems. The school council takes its responsibilities seriously and is proud of its work to make the school and the local community 4 of 9 Inspection Report: Belvedere Infant School, 9 May 2008 a safer place for all the pupils. The level of pupils' basic skills means they are adequately prepared for the next stage of their education. A small number of parents who responded to the inspection questionnaire felt they lacked information about changes and developments in the school. The school and the inspector acknowledged that clearer information on the reasons for any changes would help to strengthen the partnership. Subject leaders have a good knowledge of the curriculum areas they are leading and have made plans to improve them further. Some are relatively new to their posts and though it is too early

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Grade: 3

to accurately assess their impact on school improvement, a satisfactory start has been made. The headteacher and the senior leadership team have successfully strengthened the Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 teams. As a result there are consistent approaches to learning within the stages. The school is now working to ensure continuity of teaching, learning and the curriculum as pupils move from Reception to Years 1 and 2. The school is supported by a good governing body, which understands the challenges the school faces. The school has made improvements since the last inspection, though more remains to be done to improve attendance and sharpen school improvement planning so that there is a greater focus on standards. Its capacity to improve is satisfactory.

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Grade: 3

Since the previous inspection a new Nursery has been built. Children say how much they like it. It is spacious, attractive and well resourced and enables staff to successfully provide a wide range of activities. As a result of the new building, much more space is available for children in Reception. When children start in the Nursery or Reception classes, their skills are lower than expected for their ages and many are at the beginning stages of learning English. As they move through the Foundation Stage they steadily gain basic skills and do best in developing their personal, social and communication skills. Nonetheless, when they leave the Foundation Stage standards remain lower than expected, although children achieve satisfactorily given their starting points. Teaching and learning are satisfactory. Staff achieve an appropriate balance, in all the areas of learning, between adult led activities and those where children can make

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Grade: 3

their own choices. Skilled leadership and management have successfully developed a unified Foundation Stage and as a result, children are beginning to make progress at a faster pace. The outdoor area is an impressive space which is well equipped to provide good learning opportunities but it is not used regularly enough as an extension of the classrooms.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Raise standards and accelerate pupils' progress, particularly in reading, mathematics and science. ■ Ensure that the developments in tracking pupils' progress are helpful to teachers in pinpointing pupils' next steps in learning and that information is used to rigorously evaluate the progress of different groups to raise standards. ■ Pursue further ways to improve attendance.

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What the school should do to improve further

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. 5 of 9 Inspection Report: Belvedere Infant School, 9 May 2008 .

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What the school should do to improve further

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 of 9 Inspection Report: Belvedere Infant School, 9 May 2008

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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? Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 3 The effectiveness of the Foundation Stage 3 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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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 extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 How well learners enjoy their education 4 The attendance of learners 2 The behaviour of learners 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 of 9 Inspection Report: Belvedere Infant School, 9 May 2008

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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 3 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 3 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 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 of 9 Inspection Report: Belvedere Infant School, 9 May 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

20 May 2008 Dear Children Inspection of Belvedere Infant School,Belvedere,DA17 6AA I am writing to let you know how much I enjoyed my visit to your school and what I found out. Thank you for making me welcome, for talking to me about your work and telling me what you think about your school. I found out that your school is satisfactory. There are also some good things about your school.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You enjoy your lessons and get on well with each other and all of the staff.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Everyone in the school looks after you really well.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You know lots about how to keep yourselves safe and healthy.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You listen well when your teachers are talking.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You enjoy using the computers and the interactive whiteboards in your lessons.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

These are things we have asked your headteacher and teachers to do to help improve your school.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Help you to do better in your reading, mathematics and science.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Keep a close check on how different groups are learning.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Improve attendance. You must help by coming to school every day and being ontime, otherwise you will miss important learning. Thank you again for all your help and for being so friendly, polite and interesting to talk to. Yours sincerely Margaret Coussins Lead Inspector 9 of 9 Inspection Report: Belvedere Infant School, 9 May 2008

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