Bramhall Park Primary School

Nevill Road Junior School Inspection report

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106063 Unique Reference Number Stockport Local Authority 309016 Inspection number 13 °14 November 2007 Inspection dates Peter Toft 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 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 239 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mr D Cobb Chair Mr D Watson Headteacher 10 June 2003 Date of previous school inspection Nevill Road School address Bramhall Stockport Cheshire SK7 3ET 0161 4394598 Telephone number 0161 4394598 Fax number

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7-11 Age group 13 °14 November 2007 Inspection dates 309016 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 one Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

This junior school serves a suburban area to the west of Bramhall. One third of the pupils live outside the area. They come from a mix of social backgrounds. There are more boys than girls on roll. Pupils start at the school with attainment above the national average. Six percent of pupils come from other than White British backgrounds and 3% have a first language other than English. Twelve per cent of pupils have learning difficulties and/or disabilities.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 10 Inspection Report: Nevill Road Junior School, 13 °14 November 2007

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Grade: 2

This is a good school with many considerable strengths. It has a track record of steady and well considered improvement and a good capacity to improve further. It is well led and managed by an experienced headteacher and deputy headteacher, assisted by very capable middle managers and class teachers. The governing body is well informed about the school's performance. It carries out its duties well and is effectively supported in this by the headteacher and the local authority. Planning is detailed and concentrates appropriately on supporting teaching and learning and ensuring that the curriculum is broad and balanced. The extra-curricular activities provided are varied and extensive. Performance is evaluated carefully and managers have a very clear picture of strengths and weaknesses. The formal process of self-evaluation is helping the school to sharpen and document the monitoring of its performance,

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Grade: 2

although it has yet to be tightly linked to the annual process of improvement planning. Standards are above average. Pupils make good progress in relation to their starting points in Year 3 and achieve well throughout the school, though there was a dip in performance in 2007. Managers have a clear view of pupils' achievement and the school carefully measures children's progress in writing. However, although satisfactory, this is less well developed in other subjects. A very good atmosphere for learning has been created. The vast majority of pupils are highly motivated to learn. The school is particularly successful in motivating the minority of pupils who are not initially inclined to take learning seriously. Those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities are given good levels of additional support and they do well throughout the school. Pupils of all abilities are taught at levels which challenge them to make progress. Their personal

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Grade: 2

development is good and they enjoy their time here. A large majority of parents are highly satisfied with the school's good provision. Pupils feel safe and well supervised. They are cared for very well and taught about how to live healthily. The academic guidance they receive on their progress and how to improve their work is satisfactory overall, with some good practice in parts of the school. Teaching is good and staff are conscientious in ensuring that all pupils concentrate in lessons. The teachers use a wide range of very effective teaching methods. Very competent use is made of computers and interactive whiteboards to strengthen learning. The specialist teaching, which features in some subjects for older pupils, leads to very rigorous subject coverage.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Analyse the attainment of pupils on entry to the school and develop consistent procedures for the regular monitoring of their academic progress throughout the school. ■ Strengthen improvement planning by linking it more clearly to the findings of school self-evaluation.

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Grade: 2

Pupils achieve well because effective teaching helps them make good gains in their knowledge and understanding. Standards have been consistently above average in English, mathematics and science for five years, but dipped to average in 2007. They were affected by a small group of pupils who joined the school in Years 4 and 5: their progress in mathematics was slow and the challenging target for the number of pupils reaching National Curriculum Level 4 or higher was missed. Pupils in 2007 got close to the English target. Initiatives in writing have proved 4 of 10 Inspection Report: Nevill Road Junior School, 13 °14 November 2007 successful and standards have improved markedly in recent years, partly aided by the close termly checking of the pupils' progress. Standards in writing were very high in 2006 but fell back to average in 2007. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities are well supported

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Grade: 2

and achieve well because tasks are set accurately to meet their needs. They get good additional support from well trained teaching assistants.

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Grade: 2

Pupils' personal development, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, is good. They are confident, articulate and friendly. They enjoy school, saying that teachers are helpful, they have good friends and they do 'a lot of exciting things'. Attendance is above average. Behaviour is usually good and sometimes outstanding. Pupils are very clear about what is right and wrong and their moral development is especially strong. Some of them report that there have been incidents of bullying, but they add that these were dealt with promptly and effectively, often by the headteacher. The pupils' healthy school committee has been active in promoting a healthy lifestyle and more widely in giving pupils a chance to play a part in the running of the school. Pupils contribute to their school in other ways, like helping out in class and being play-leaders. Their strong social skills and their desire to learn ensure that they are

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Grade: 2

well prepared for their next school. Many pupils choose the healthier options at lunchtime and opt for fruit instead of crisps for health reasons. They are also well aware of the need to exercise and enjoy the many opportunities available, for example, during physical education lessons and after school clubs.

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Grade: 2

The quality of teaching and learning is good. It has outstanding features, for example, in the use of teachers' specialist subject knowledge in modern foreign language, music, information and communication technology (ICT), and science. This adds to pupils' enjoyment of school. Pupils want to learn and this is fostered in class by staff who treat them fairly and with respect and who generally plan stimulating lessons. For instance, Year 5 pupils learned about the orbit of the inner planets of the solar system through a simulation of their movements using play equipment, such as hoops and skipping ropes on the playground. Teachers make good use of their day-to-day assessments and, where necessary, modify future planning so that pupils can consolidate learning rather than moving on too soon. Pair and small group work is encouraged, for example, in a Year 6 geography lesson pairs used the Internet to find out about European

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Grade: 2

Union countries and worked sensibly and conscientiously throughout. Teachers ensure that tasks are set to meet the needs of pupils of differing abilities but occasionally mathematics tasks are insufficiently challenging for some groups. Teachers' marking is particularly strong in English but in mathematics, though satisfactory, it does not always sufficiently help pupils to move forward.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is good, broad and balanced. The core subjects of English, mathematics and science are well provided for and their coverage is well sequenced throughout the school. They 5 of 10 Inspection Report: Nevill Road Junior School, 13 °14 November 2007 are complemented by the full range of other National Curriculum subjects and a wide provision of extra-curricular and sporting activities. Most pupils are properly catered for by the different levels of challenge which the staff plan for their teaching. Those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities are well provided for. Planning is thorough and is made widely accessible to all staff on the computer network. This helps them to see their own plans in the wider context of the whole curriculum. The pupils' personal and academic development is well served by the curriculum. They are well informed about ways to live safely and healthily. Older pupils benefit

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Grade: 2

from a very effective policy of providing specialist teaching, where feasible. This supports high standards in such areas as ICT, music and French, which all pupils study.

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Grade: 3

This aspect is satisfactory rather than good because pupils' academic guidance is inconsistent across the school. The inspection agrees with the parents' view that their children are well cared for by a staff who are sensitive to the needs of individuals. Safeguarding procedures are in place. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities are promptly identified and their parents are kept well informed of additional provision for their child and the progress they are making. School reports keep parents well informed about their child's attainment and effort in English, mathematics and science. The school has welcomed, and generally works effectively with, disaffected pupils from other schools. The use of learning targets and pupil self-assessment is at an early stage and so not all pupils know enough about how to improve their work further. English targets are used effectively in Year 4 and have raised standards, whilst pupils in Year

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Grade: 3

6 sometimes assess their own learning. However, these are not common practices across the school.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good. The school's well thought out aims are clearly outlined for parents in the prospectus. The staff of the school work very effectively and with obvious enthusiasm and team spirit to ensure that they are achieved. This underlies the school's very good ethos for learning. The headteacher and deputy headteacher work together as a strong and complementary team to lead the staff, whose morale is high. They are well supported by a very effective group of subject coordinators who between them, and with the skilful support of class teachers, manage the curriculum well. The headteacher and staff have managed improvement well since the last inspection, especially in the pupils' writing skills and their use throughout the curriculum. School managers have responded to new initiatives with care in order to ensure that new procedures are carefully thought through before they are implemented.

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Grade: 2

This has promoted the continuing smooth running of the school. The school improvement plan for the current year has not yet been updated to include the priorities for development which emerged in the school's recent extensive self-evaluation exercise. The governors are effective. They provide well informed support and act appropriately as 'critical friends' to the staff of the school. Classroom management and the control of pupils' behaviour are very good. The school consults with parents and pupils about developments, although a small minority of parents believe this to be too little. Financial and accommodation management are very efficient. The school works carefully within its tight budget and gives very good value for money. 6 of 10 Inspection Report: Nevill Road Junior School, 13 °14 November 2007 .

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Grade: 2

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 7 of 10 Inspection Report: Nevill Road Junior School, 13 °14 November 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? 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? 2 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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Achievement and standards

2 How well do learners achieve? 2 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 2 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 2 The attendance of learners 2 The behaviour of learners 3 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. 8 of 10 Inspection Report: Nevill Road Junior School, 13 °14 November 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 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? 9 of 10 Inspection Report: Nevill Road Junior School, 13 °14 November 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

I visited your school with another inspector a few days ago to see how well you are doing. Thank you to those who talked to us and told us about what you do and how well you get on in the school. I promised to let you know what we thought about what we saw. We think that Nevill Road Junior is a good school with a lot of strengths. The staff teach you and look after you well. Your behaviour is good, and often very good, and you are keen to learn well. The subjects you study and the other activities run by the school are very interesting and they give you plenty of chances to develop and learn. You are well prepared to move onto secondary school by the end of Year 6. The school is well managed by the hardworking senior staff, teachers and other staff. We know that you appreciate how well they run the school for you and how much they do to ensure that you learn well and enjoy your work and play. The headteacher and staff are always looking at

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

how well the school is doing and how to make it better. To help it to get even better, they will need to consider how to improve:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ the regular checking of how well you are making progress in some subjects

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ how school planning is linked to school evaluation.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Best wishes for the future at Nevill Road Junior School. 10 of 10 Inspection Report: Nevill Road Junior School, 13 °14 November 2007

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