Littletown Junior Infant and Nursery School

Littletown Junior Infant and Nursery School Inspection report

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107670 Unique Reference Number Kirklees Local Authority 309467 Inspection number 18 March 2008 Inspection date Susan Walsh 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 130 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mr M Bland Chair Mrs S Fenton Headteacher 23 February 2004 Date of previous school inspection Bradford Road School address Liversedge West Yorkshire WF15 6LP 01274 335245 Telephone number 01274 335245 Fax number

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3-11 Age group 18 March 2008 Inspection date 309467 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 Additional Inspector. The inspector evaluated the overall effectiveness of the school and investigated the following issues: teaching and learning; care, guidance and support; and the leadership and management of the school. Evidence was gathered from the school's self-evaluation, national published assessment data and the school's own assessment records; observations of the school at work; discussions with pupils and representatives of senior staff and the governing body; a scrutiny of school documents; and parents' questionnaires. Other aspects of the school's work were not investigated in detail, but the inspector found no evidence to suggest that the school's own assessments, as given in its self-evaluation form were not justified, and these have been included where appropriate in this report.

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Description of the school

The school is much smaller than the average sized primary school. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is almost twice the national average. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is above average and the school caters for some pupils with complex additional needs and an increasing number of looked-after children. A significant number join the school after the Reception class and others leave early reflecting the mobile nature of the local population. The school has achieved a Healthy Schools' award, and the FA Charter Mark for schools.

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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: Littletown Junior Infant and Nursery School, 18 March 2008

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Grade: 1

This is an outstanding school that successfully combines the achievement of high academic standards with warmth, compassion, care and huge amount of fun. The relentless drive of the headteacher, governors and staff including a school-wide passion for wanting the very best has seen the school rapidly improve since the previous inspection. Pupils now make outstanding progress in both their academic achievement and personal development. They love their school and many say, 'It's one big family.' Parents are thrilled with the quality of their children's education typically talking about 'the warm friendly atmosphere' and they often quite rightly use the words 'brilliant' and 'terrific' to describe the school. Very strong links with parents, including regular workshop sessions, the local community and neighbouring schools reflect the school's outward looking nature. Pupils' personal development is outstanding. When children join the school they often have

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Grade: 1

limited social skills but by the time they leave they are sensible mature individuals who are willing to take responsibility for themselves and for others. There is some falling out among younger ones but pupils say if there is a problem teachers sort it out 'in a good and nice way.' As they grow older, the school helps pupils to be increasingly aware of the needs of others and as a result older pupils get on very well together and have lots of friends. Pupils want to be very good citizens. This is reflected in their good behaviour and good attendance at school. Pupils are very keen to contribute to the school community, for example through their roles as play leaders. The school council works well with teachers to develop the school. Council members feel their work is highly valued and are involved in some exciting initiatives such as developing an athletics club and increasing the range of non-fiction books available for pupils.

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Grade: 1

Although pupils' spiritual, moral and social development is outstanding, their cultural awareness is less well developed. They have a limited understanding of other cultures because there are too few opportunities for pupils to build positive relationships with people from different backgrounds. The quality of care, guidance and support is outstanding. Procedures for safeguarding meet government requirements. The school caters for some very needy children but ensures that they are carefully nurtured so that they gradually start to overcome their difficulties and begin to blossom. Very effective work with external agencies helps to make sure that these vulnerable pupils are very well supported but the dedicated support staff also make a significant contribution to securing their well-being. Pupils join the Nursery with skills that are well below the levels expected for their age but by the time they reach the end of Year 6 they are reaching standards that are above average. Many

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Grade: 1

reach the higher Level 5 in national tests. Their achievement is outstanding because of outstanding teaching. Teachers' expectations are always high and work is very well matched to pupils' needs. Resources are used particularly well to support learning directly and to make sure lessons are interesting and relevant. The school noticed that pupils were making slower progress in writing than in other subjects and focused its efforts on improving the way writing is taught. As a result, pupils are now making excellent progress and are producing brilliant pieces of lively writing as early as Year 3. The marking of pupils' writing is very precise and clearly tells pupils how to improve their work. This has been an important factor in raising standards. The school makes very good provision for pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and as a result they make similar progress to their classmates. Pupils' very positive

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Grade: 1

4 of 9 Inspection Report: Littletown Junior Infant and Nursery School, 18 March 2008 attitudes to learning and their rapid progress in acquiring English and mathematical skills have an outstanding impact on their future economic well-being. The outstanding quality curriculum effectively supports pupils' progress. There are very good opportunities for pupils to practise their numeracy and literacy skills. The strong practical element in science lessons captures pupils' interest and develops their enthusiasm for investigation. This is all reflected in pupils' high standards in science, with many of them reaching the higher levels. Pupils appreciate the good range of clubs including opportunities for sport and talk excitedly about the wide variety of visits that make learning relevant and fun. The weekly enrichment afternoon offers pupils opportunities to get in involved with music, art and drama. The excellent attention paid to personal, social and health education ensures that pupils

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Grade: 1

are extremely well informed about how to stay healthy and safe. The school judged itself to be good rather than outstanding. This reticent view reflects the school's critical approach to its work and its very rigorous self-evaluation. In fact the school is outstanding in almost every way as a result of very high aspirations and the continuous setting of very demanding targets. The monitoring and evaluation of teaching by a wide range of staff has rigorously focused on improving good teaching so that it becomes outstanding. The sharing of good practice has been very successful in securing this exceptionally high quality teaching. Pupils' progress is also very carefully checked. Those who are at risk of underachieving are quickly spotted and offered very effective support. It is this exacting approach that successfully supports individual pupils and ensures that each one is able to reach their full potential. This,

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Grade: 1

together with the consistent drive to further improve pupils' experience of school, demonstrates the school's outstanding capacity to improve.

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Grade: 1

Parents describe the early years unit as 'a fantastic start' to their children's education. They recognise that staff are 'kind, patient and experienced,' and say that their children really enjoy their time at school. Most children enter the Nursery with skills that are well below the expectations for their age and many have speech and language difficulties. They make outstanding progress through the Nursery and Reception class because of outstanding teaching combined with an outstanding curriculum. Opportunities to learn through play are exceptionally well planned and are very well matched to children's interests; the outdoors is used extremely well to provide exciting activities that grab the attention of young children. The range of activities includes those that appeal to boys as well as girls and there are ample opportunities for children to work on linking sounds and letters and to develop their writing skills. Adult

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Grade: 1

support is of a very high quality and staff work relentlessly to improve pupils' personal and social development, and communication skills. Assessment is used very well to chart pupils' progress. The information obtained is used to plan lessons that provide effective challenge for the more able children as well as focusing additional support towards those who find learning more challenging. Children make excellent progress in all areas of learning but when they leave Reception their skills in reading and writing are still below expectations, reflecting their very low starting points.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Provide more opportunities for pupils to build positive relationships with people from different backgrounds and enhance their understanding of different cultures. 5 of 9 Inspection Report: Littletown Junior Infant and Nursery School, 18 March 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: Littletown Junior Infant and Nursery School, 18 March 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? 1 The effectiveness of the Foundation Stage 1 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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Achievement and standards

1 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 1 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 1 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 1 How well learners enjoy their education 2 The attendance of learners 2 The behaviour of learners 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?

1 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: Littletown Junior Infant and Nursery School, 18 March 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 1 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 1 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: Littletown Junior Infant and Nursery School, 18 March 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

It was a delight and a privilege to visit your school. I really enjoyed talking to you all and I listened very carefully to what you had to say. You are quite right to be proud of your outstanding school. Your behaviour is good. You have good manners and make visitors very welcome indeed. It is clear that you have a great time at school because of all the interesting things you have to do. It was good to hear about your visit to Boggle Hole where you investigated the coast and had lots of fun in the rock pools. It sounded very exciting. You are looked after extremely well. You told me that your teachers always help you if you have a problem. The school council is doing a very good job helping to improve the school. I thought you were very well informed about how to keep healthy and safe. The school council members want to make your health even better by making sure that you have more chances to keep fit through

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

joining the new athletics club. I was also impressed by their work on developing the schools' stock of non-fiction books. The play leaders are also doing a super job helping at playtimes and around school. You are making outstanding progress and by the end of Year 6 many of you reach higher standards than other children of your age. I know you have worked really hard to improve your writing and I very much enjoyed reading the wonderful stories and poems you had written. Your teachers also work very hard and teaching is outstanding. You are right - lessons are interesting and enjoyable! It's clear that you love your science lessons because they are practical and exciting. I have asked your teachers to provide more opportunities for you to build positive relationships with people from different backgrounds and to enhance your understanding of different cultures. The managers in your school are doing a super job and are making sure that

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

your school gets better all the time. 9 of 9 Inspection Report: Littletown Junior Infant and Nursery School, 18 March 2008

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