Crigglestone Dane Royd Junior and Infant School

Crigglestone Dane Royd Junior and Infant School Inspection report

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108212 Unique Reference Number Wakefield Local Authority 309620 Inspection number 12 November 2007 Inspection date Philip Cole 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 260 School The governing body Appropriate authority Ms F Crosland Chair Mrs J Barry Headteacher 24 May 2004 Date of previous school inspection Stoney Lane School address Hall Green Wakefield West Yorkshire WF4 3LZ 01924 303500 Telephone number 0 Fax number

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3-11 Age group 12 November 2007 Inspection date 309620 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: achievement and standards, teaching and learning, and leadership and management. Evidence was gathered from national published data, the school's own assessment and evaluation records, observations of lessons and interviews with senior members of staff, a governor and pupils. The views of parents were also taken into account through the parents' questionnaire and interviews with parents. Other aspects of the school's work were not investigated in detail, but the inspector found no evidence to suggest the school's own assessments, as given in its self-evaluation, were not justified, and these have been included where appropriate in the report.

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Description of the school

This is an average-sized primary school serving a suburb of Wakefield that has a mixture of owner occupied and rented housing. Almost all the pupils are White British. The proportion of pupils entitled to free school meals is average, as is the proportion with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, although more have statements of special educational need than in most other schools. The school has achieved Investors in People, Investors in Pupils, Charter Standard, Activemark, Artsmark Gold and the Healthy School awards.

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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: Crigglestone Dane Royd Junior and Infant School, 12 November 2007

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Grade: 1

'I want to smile every time I come here,' sums up what pupils think of this outstanding school. All pupils thrive and make excellent progress because everyone, from the headteacher and governors through the senior members of staff to the teachers and their helpers, want the best for them. Pupils are eager to talk about their school and do so with enthusiasm, confidence and maturity. They enjoy school so much because the excellent care they receive ensures that they feel they are listened to and are safe and secure. They are very appreciative of the fact that their teachers work very hard to make learning fun. Everyone gets on exceptionally well together and the pupils help each other without having to think twice about it. They relish the responsibilities they are given and are proud of the plans they have to improve their play facilities, having successfully secured the help of the school in matching the funds they have

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Grade: 1

raised for this. They clearly enjoy the good opportunities they have to exercise and have a very good understanding of what they need to do to keep healthy. Pupils' outstanding personal development provides an excellent platform for their learning and ensures that they are exceptionally well placed to face life's future challenges. For several years standards have been exceptionally high and pupils' achievement has been significantly better than the average for schools nationally. There was a dip in writing in the 2007 Year 6 tests. This has been thoroughly investigated and the action taken is ensuring that, this year, pupils are again on course to do exceptionally well. High quality teaching across the school underpins the impressive progress made by all pupils from overall starting points that are usually below average when the children enter the Nursery. There are consistent strengths in the excellent matching of work and challenge that teachers provide to the different groups

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Grade: 1

in each class. This is based on regular and rigorous assessment and tracking of pupils' progress. Lessons are taught at a brisk pace and excellent use is made of practical activities and the interactive whiteboards to ensure that pupils' understanding is secure. Teachers provide pupils with very helpful guidance when they mark their work and set appropriate targets to help them to take the next steps in their learning, although there is some variation in the way this is done by different teachers. The needs of vulnerable pupils are particularly well met through the excellent support they are given, both in and out of class, and this enables them to make excellent progress. Regular reviews of the school's outstanding curriculum ensure that it meets the needs of all pupils and promotes enjoyment and enrichment in their learning. The high standards seen across the curriculum reflect the value placed on all subjects and the effectiveness with which

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Grade: 1

links are made between them. Pupils love learning French and enthusiastically participate in the wide range of clubs available to them. The well established and extensive programmes for personal, social, health and emotional development, together with the extremely robust and effective arrangements for the care, guidance and support of pupils, ensure that all aspects of pupils' personal development and well-being are promoted exceptionally well. It is no surprise that parents feel that they can approach the school whenever they need to and that any problems will be quickly and effectively dealt with. The sustained success of the school results from the outstanding leadership and management provided over many years by the headteacher, the energetic and excellent professional approach of senior staff and governors and the commitment, skill and hard work of teachers and their helpers. There is no complacency and everyone is committed to further improving standards

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Grade: 1

and the quality of the school's work. Their efforts are successful because they are based on 4 of 9 Inspection Report: Crigglestone Dane Royd Junior and Infant School, 12 November 2007 thorough, rigorous and accurate, if sometimes over-modest, self-evaluation. As a result the school has clear and very appropriate plans agreed by all, which it implements extremely well. The challenging targets the school sets are consistently met. Improvement since the last inspection has been strong and the school has an outstanding capacity to improve. It provides excellent value for money.

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Grade: 1

The Foundation Stage shares the same strengths as the rest of the school. Excellent induction arrangements ensure that children settle quickly into Nursery. Their different needs are quickly identified and activities are very well matched to these. There is a good balance between activities that are led by adults and those that children can choose. The latter are always purposeful and add to the richness of the learning environment. The very good progress made here is very effectively built on in the mixed Reception/Year 1 classes. Here, the particular needs of the younger children are taken fully into account, with teachers adding real challenge to their learning. As a result, children make excellent progress across the Foundation Stage. Leadership and management are extremely effective and ensure that learning is seamless between the Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1.

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What the school should do to improve further

There are no significant areas for improvement. 5 of 9 Inspection Report: Crigglestone Dane Royd Junior and Infant School, 12 November 2007 .

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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: Crigglestone Dane Royd Junior and Infant School, 12 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? 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? 1 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?

1 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 1 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: Crigglestone Dane Royd Junior and Infant School, 12 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 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: Crigglestone Dane Royd Junior and Infant School, 12 November 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you for making me so welcome when I inspected your wonderful school. I enjoyed talking to you and what you said was a great help to me in making my judgements. Many of you said how much you enjoy coming to school because the teachers and their helpers are so friendly and make your learning so interesting. I understand why you think this. All the adults look after you exceptionally well and your lessons are extremely well taught. I was impressed with the wide range of interesting things you do, such as learning French and going on exciting visits. As a result, all of you make outstanding progress and produce excellent work. I was also really impressed with how well you behave and get on with each other. You have a very good understanding of what you need to do to keep fit and healthy, although I noticed that some of you still prefer to have crisps rather than fruit in your lunchboxes! I am glad that

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

the school listens to what you have to say and I am impressed with your plans to make the play facilities better. Many of you said how useful you found the comments that teachers made when they marked your work. You also appreciate the targets that help you to understand what you need to do next. Some of you said that it would be even more helpful if all your teachers gave you this feedback in the same way and I have talked to your teachers about that. You can then help of course by always trying to do what the teachers suggest. I think that one of the reasons your school is outstanding is because you have an excellent headteacher who is helped exceptionally well by senior teachers and the governors. It is clear that all the adults in school do their utmost to make sure your school is the best it can possibly be. It is little wonder that your parents are so glad that you come to this school. 9 of 9 Inspection Report: Crigglestone Dane Royd Junior and Infant School, 12 November 2007

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