Bounds Green Junior School

Bounds Green Junior School Inspection report

p.1

102080 Unique Reference Number Haringey Local Authority 307896 Inspection number 12 °13 February 2008 Inspection dates Martin Beale Reporting inspector

p.1

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

p.1

Junior Type of school Community School category 7 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 240 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Nick Samuels Chair Mr William Wawn Headteacher 10 November 2003 Date of previous school inspection Bounds Green Road School address London N11 2QG 020 8888 8838 Telephone number 020 8365 7986 Fax number

p.1

7-11 Age group 12 °13 February 2008 Inspection dates 307896 Inspection number .

p.1

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.

p.2

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.

p.2

Introduction

The inspection was carried out by two Additional Inspectors. Bounds Green Infant School was inspected at the same time as part of a co-ordinated inspection.

p.3

Description of the school

This average sized junior school serves a culturally diverse community that includes some areas with high levels of social deprivation. A high proportion of the pupils are from minority ethnic backgrounds and the largest groups are Turkish, Somali and Black Caribbean. The majority of the pupils have a home language other than English and the most common home languages spoken are Turkish, Albanian and Somali. The school roll also includes a significant number of children from refugee families. Since September 2006, the school has been in a federation with the neighbouring infant school under a single governing body. A new headteacher has been responsible for both schools since January 2007. There are advanced plans for the building of a Children's Centre on the school site.

p.3

Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 11 Inspection Report: Bounds Green Junior School, 12 °13 February 2008

p.3

Grade: 3

The headteacher and governors are realistic in their view that Bounds Green Juniors is a satisfactory and improving school, largely because the vision and drive of the headteacher are placing it on an upward trend of improvement. Teachers and governors all speak about how he has transformed their expectations of what the pupils can achieve. The federation has been in place for only a short time, but benefits are already emerging. Closer working and a shared vision for the schools is leading to greater continuity in the teaching and to pupils' learning, with a common approach to expectations of pupils' behaviour. The strong and successful focus on the pupils' personal development and the aim of 'Co-operation for all' are visible throughout the school. The pupils' good behaviour and support for each other help to generate the happy atmosphere immediately apparent to the visitor. Pupils understand how to stay safe and healthy, and enjoy the range of sports clubs available

p.4

Grade: 3

to them. They contribute considerably to school life and to the wider community, such as through the design and construction of an allotment for the residents of a local senior citizens' home. These personal qualities prepare the pupils well for the next stage of their education, helping them to grow into mature and responsible young people by the time they leave in Year 6. Teaching is satisfactory and improving under the watchful eye of the headteacher. Through careful monitoring of assessment data, teachers are now clear about the standards pupils should achieve, but do not always match their lessons to the learning needs of all. Consequently, progress varies but is satisfactory overall given their below average starting points. Standards are generally below average but current Year 6 pupils are on track to meet more challenging targets and higher levels than in 2007. Teachers and other staff show how they genuinely care for the pupils by helping them to feel

p.4

Grade: 3

safe, secure and valued in school. As one parent said, 'The teachers are dedicated, strong and sympathetic. My child has always been, without exception, very happy with her teacher in each year group'. In spite of this, the headteacher and governors recognise that there is still some way to go to meet their aim of 'realising each child's unique potential'. The individual support for pupils with statements of special educational needs is effective, but there are insufficient teaching assistants for pupils needing general language and literacy support. This slows learning in many classes. Teachers' marking helps pupils understand how to improve a particular piece of work, but pupils are not always clear about how to achieve their new targets for writing and mathematics. There is a strong focus on developing pupils' basic skills but learning in is not linked and pupils are not getting enough opportunity to use their reading, writing, mathematics

p.4

Grade: 3

and information and communication technology (ICT) skills in different areas. Governors have played a major part in helping the school through recent changes, but the headteacher only has a small core of subject leaders to contribute to school improvement. Self-evaluation, largely carried out by the headteacher gives an accurate picture of the school's qualities and a satisfactory platform from which to tackle its future challenges including the development of the Children's Centre.

p.4

What the school should do to improve further

■ Bring greater consistency to learning by ensuring that teachers plan to meet the needs of all pupils and provide targets for improvement for individual pupils. 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Bounds Green Junior School, 12 °13 February 2008 ■ Develop programmes that provide greater opportunity for pupils to develop their basic skills across all subjects. ■ Ensure that leadership at all levels supports the drive to raise standards and accelerate pupils' achievements. A small proportion of the schools whose overall performance is judged satisfactory but which have areas of underperformance will receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection.

p.4

Grade: 3

Attainment on entry in Year 3 varies, but is rising and is close to the national average for the current intake; however, it is below average in some year groups. Pupils make satisfactory progress during their time at the school, and this is more rapid in the upper years where teaching is more effective than in Years 3 and 4. National test results show that the pupils' performance in English, mathematics and science has generally been below average but fell in 2007. Targets have not been high enough in the recent past and account in part for the slower progress of pupils in 2007. The new headteacher has raised everyone's expectations by making targets more challenging and monitoring individual progress to make sure targets are being achieved. The result is that more pupils are now on track to meet higher targets, which is leading to an improvement in standards and the rate of pupils' progress. Pupils make satisfactory progress

p.5

Grade: 3

in ICT from a low baseline. By sharing resources and expertise across the federation, pupils' skills are well placed to improve further.

p.5

Grade: 2

Pupils enjoy school, are keen to learn and behave well. They collaborate well with each other in lessons, and take responsibility for their behaviour by helping to construct their classroom rules. The many cultures represented within the school community are valued and respected. As one child said, 'I like the way we work as a community and we're all inclusive'. Relationships between pupils and adults are very good, which contributes to the school's cohesiveness. Pupils say that any disagreements are rare and that there are systems in place to deal with these swiftly. Rigorous action such as tracking persistent absentees has led to improved attendance since the last inspection; it is now satisfactory. Pupils enjoy the nutritious school meals and most bring healthy snacks and packed lunches, but only Year 6 pupils have the recommended two hours of physical education lessons each week. Pupils are proud of their impact on

p.5

Grade: 2

developments through the school council and undertake responsibilities seriously such as when acting as 'buddies' for the infant pupils at lunchtime.

p.5

Grade: 3

Rigorous monitoring of teaching and carefully structured support for teachers is bringing greater consistency and quality to lessons and to pupils' learning. Teaching is good in a significant number of lessons and a small number have outstanding features. Teachers make these lessons lively and interesting, gaining an enthusiastic response from the pupils. They engage the pupils and support well those learning English as an additional language through discussion and drama 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Bounds Green Junior School, 12 °13 February 2008 activities. Because pupils are keen to learn and teachers show how they value their contributions, classrooms are calm and well organised. Interactive whiteboards are used well to stimulate the pupils' thoughts and interests, such as when using film clips to generate ideas for writing. The major reason why some lessons have only a satisfactory impact on pupils' learning is that

p.5

Grade: 3

teachers do not plan their lessons carefully enough to provide tasks that are pitched at the right level for all pupils. Consequently, the pupils are unclear about their learning because targets are not challenging enough and this slows the pace of learning in some lessons.

p.6

Grade: 3

The curriculum meets the needs of most pupils and gives appropriate priority to literacy and numeracy. Pupils enjoy taking part in a wide range of additional activities, including street dance, choir and football clubs made possible, in part by links with the local secondary school and other providers. The 'Creative Partnership' project in which pupils in the federation work together on art activities is valuable as a way of extending their creative and social skills. All pupils are taught Spanish and visits to places of educational interest, including a residential visit help add interest to pupils' learning beyond the classroom. Where the curriculum is weaker is that time is not used well enough to link subjects and ICT is not planned consistently to support learning across subjects.

p.6

Grade: 3

Parents are confident that their children are secure and well looked after, and feel that the school is friendly and welcoming. Pupils say that they feel safe and they are confident that they know where to turn if they need help. Procedures to ensure the safety of pupils are in place and meet requirements. The school's efforts to work with parents and its good links with other agencies helps ensure that vulnerable pupils are cared for well. Assessment data in English and mathematics is now being used well to monitor the pupils' progress and identify the support needed if they are falling behind. However, the lack of sufficient teaching assistants means that pupils who need additional literacy or language support do not always get consistent attention. Teachers' marking generally helps pupils understand what they need to do to improve their work, although the newly introduced 'learning ladders' in writing and mathematics are

p.6

Grade: 3

only just starting to provide pupils with the guidance they need to achieve their targets.

p.6

Grade: 3

The headteacher has high expectations of staff and pupils, but is realistic about the pace at which he can achieve change. He has quickly developed an atmosphere in which teachers are keen to improve, and by setting challenging targets has raised their expectations of what they and the pupils can achieve. He has greatly increased the accountability of teachers for the achievement of pupils in their classes. Where he has identified shortcomings, carefully planned training and guidance are already showing signs of improved performance. The literacy and numeracy subject leaders are playing an increasing role in the improvement of their areas and of the school in general. Their skills have developed considerably under the headteacher's guidance so that they have a clearer understanding of the pupils' performance and the steps they need to take to meet subject targets. However, this is not the case in other areas where

p.6

Grade: 3

6 of 11 Inspection Report: Bounds Green Junior School, 12 °13 February 2008 developing the leadership skills of teachers is a school priority in order to generate greater capacity to improve. Governors played a valuable role during the establishment of the federation. They are quite aware of where improvements are needed, and challenge the headteacher to meet their aspirations for the two schools. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Bounds Green Junior School, 12 °13 February 2008 .

p.6

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: Bounds Green Junior School, 12 °13 February 2008

p.8

Inspection judgements

School Overall Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

p.9

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 capacity to make any necessary improvements

p.9

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

p.9

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 3 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

p.9

and interests of learners?

3 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

p.9

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: Bounds Green Junior School, 12 °13 February 2008

p.9

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 2 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? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: Bounds Green Junior School, 12 °13 February 2008

p.10

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

29 February 2008 Dear Pupils Inspection of Bounds Green Junior School,London,N11 2QG I am writing to thank you very much for the warm welcome you gave to us when we visited your school. You were all very helpful and polite. We enjoyed talking to you and your teachers and watching you learn. Your school is satisfactory and improving. You make satisfactory progress during your time at school. You enjoy school, attend regularly, work hard and behave sensibly. You clearly enjoy the clubs, trips and visits provided for you. You have a good understanding of the importance of diet and exercise for a healthy lifestyle, and make a valuable contribution to school life. Your headteacher, teachers and governors are trying hard to make the school better. We think that there are things that can be even better so we have asked your teachers to:

p.11

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ push your learning forward more rapidly in all classrooms by matching the work more closely to your targets ■ help you to develop your basic skills in more subjects

p.11

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ take a greater part in helping the headteacher to move the school forward.

p.11

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

You can play your part in this by continuing to attend regularly and trying hard to improve your work. We wish you every success in the future. Yours sincerely Martin Beale Lead Inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Bounds Green Junior School, 12 °13 February 2008

p.11