William Austin Junior School

William Austin Junior School Inspection report

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109560 Unique Reference Number LUTON LA Local Authority 310024 Inspection number 17 °18 April 2008 Inspection dates Stephen Walker 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 481 School The governing body Appropriate authority Rev Stan Boelman Chair Mr Ian Ward Headteacher 12 July 2004 Date of previous school inspection Austin Road School address Luton Bedfordshire LU3 1UA 01582 572100 Telephone number 01582 564275 Fax number

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7-11 Age group 17 °18 April 2008 Inspection dates 310024 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 three Additional inspectors.

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Description of the school

The school is larger than most other junior schools. The majority of pupils are of Pakistani heritage, although there are a significant number from Bangladeshi, Kashmiri, Black and White British backgrounds. A high percentage of pupils do not have English as their first language and the most common first languages spoken are Urdu and Bengali. Most pupils start at school with levels of knowledge and understanding that are below the average for their age. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is above the national average. The percentage of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is also above the national average. The school has Investor in People status and been awarded the Basic Skills Quality Mark, the Activemark and has National Healthy School status.

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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: William Austin Junior School, 17 °18 April 2008

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Grade: 2

This is a good school. It has some outstanding features. The headteacher provides strong and sensitive leadership so that there is a clear vision for improvement. Parents, teachers and governors greatly respect and share his focused approach to promoting extremely high standards of behaviour, real enjoyment in learning and exceptionally high levels of care. The school is over-subscribed and parents speak highly of it. One parent wrote, 'We are happy that our child attends this school. William Austin Junior is a very good school.' Most pupils leave the school with at least average attainment, which represents good progress from their starting points. As the majority of pupils do not have English as their first language, the emphasis on literacy continues to be an essential focus in the school. The personal development of the pupils is outstanding mainly because of the very high quality of care and guidance provided. Pupils are exceptionally well behaved and are very proud to be part of the

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Grade: 2

school; consequently attendance and punctuality are good. Pupils thoroughly enjoy their time at school and develop into positive, confident and friendly individuals. A key strength of the school is the outstanding level of respect and tolerance for different cultures and religions. The school has developed very positive links with the ethnically diverse local community. Good teaching ensures most pupils are actively involved in lessons and want to do well. The school acknowledges that the challenge is now to increase the proportion of good and outstanding lessons. Curriculum provision is good with a wide variety of enrichment experiences that engage the pupils leading to good progress. However, the school is not yet fully providing for the gifted and talented pupils. There is an excellent system in place to track pupils' progress in order to identify underachievement. Intervention provides very effective support for pupils

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Grade: 2

who are not making sufficient progress. The school runs very smoothly and calmly because leadership and management are effective. The school development plan is a very effective working document with clear priorities and action plans for improvement. Governors support the headteacher and senior management team well and are aware of the challenges for the school. However, they are not always fully involved in the planning and monitoring of whole-school improvement. Self-evaluation is accurate and the school is aware of areas for development. The school has made good progress since the last inspection. Recent building works are preparing the school well for an imminent expansion in pupil numbers. It has good capacity to improve even further as it moves towards the next stage of its development.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Improve the overall quality of teaching and learning in order to increase the proportion of good and outstanding lessons ■ Develop the role of governors to involve them more in the planning and monitoring of whole-school improvement ■ Extend the provision for the gifted and talented pupils so that they are always fully challenged.

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Grade: 2

By the time they leave the school pupils have made good progress to reach average standards. The school is successful in supporting pupils who are at the early stages of learning English as 4 of 10 Inspection Report: William Austin Junior School, 17 °18 April 2008 an additional language. Consequently, the majority of pupils in Year 6 gain at least the expected level in English, mathematics and science and a significant number gain the higher levels. The emphasis on developing reading and writing skills is enabling pupils to make good progress in their work. Evidence from pupils' work shows most classes are making good progress. The effective tracking system identifies underachieving pupils, who receive very good support through a range of high quality intervention strategies. Pakistani and Bangladeshi pupils, who form the majority population in the school, make good progress. The school is providing

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Grade: 2

additional support for Kashmiri pupils who are not progressing in line with the other pupils. The school is also targeting some underachievement by boys of middle ability in mathematics and science. In addition, extra support for pupils who find learning more difficult ensures that they also make good progress.

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Grade: 1

The spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils is outstanding. Pupils of all ages and ethnicities get along exceptionally well developing into socially aware and polite young people. Pupils behave extremely well and speak highly of their school. They are very keen to do everything they can to improve it further, making an outstanding contribution to life within the school and wider community. For example, they help to run the school shop, raise money for charity and invite senior citizens to their Christmas celebrations. Pupils are enthusiastic to assume responsibility, keenly applying to become prefects or class monitors in order to 'make a difference' in the school. School councillors and play leaders also help to supervise the playground and help pupils to resolve their differences if they fall out with their friends. Pupils have an excellent understanding of how to stay safe and are well aware of the importance of

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Grade: 1

eating healthily. Many pupils participate in the wide range of additional sporting activities during the school day. Strong personal qualities and sound basic skills prepare the pupils well for the next stage of their education.

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Grade: 2

Staff have warm relationships with pupils and in most classes make good use of resources to create a productive climate for learning. As a result, pupils study conscientiously and with much interest. They eagerly respond to questions and opportunities to take part in practical and team activities. Lessons generally include activities that are closely matched to meet the needs of different pupils. The teachers choose and vary their methods skilfully to maintain pace and to build pupils' understanding and skills. Assessment is used extremely well to check pupils' progress and plan the next steps in learning. They also provide pupils with helpful advice, practical targets and encouragement to continue their learning out of school. Teaching assistants often give strong support for learning. Many lessons meet pupils' needs well but in some classes, the work does not fully engage all the pupils. Activities are not always varied to match the

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Grade: 2

pupils' individual needs and fully promote independent learning. The school acknowledges the need to develop the overall quality of teaching and learning in order to increase the proportion of good and outstanding lessons. 5 of 10 Inspection Report: William Austin Junior School, 17 °18 April 2008

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Grade: 2

The curriculum meets statutory requirements and is balanced well to meet most pupils' needs. There is strong provision for literacy and numeracy as well as providing good support for pupils with additional learning needs. Information and communication technology skills are taught well and the school is increasingly using new equipment to promote learning in a wider range of subjects. An extremely effective programme of personal, social and health education steadily extends pupils' awareness and understanding of important topics including health, safety and relationships. The school makes good use of displays to create an informative and stimulating learning environment. Learning is further enriched by visits, visitors and brief periods devoted to special themes. The staff also provide a wide range of enjoyable sport and other club activities, though there is still scope for greater participation. The effective curriculum enables most of

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Grade: 2

the pupils to achieve well, but the recently reviewed provision for the school's gifted or talented pupils has not yet had time to become sufficiently embedded or demonstrate its impact.

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Grade: 1

This popular school enjoys considerable support and confidence from the local community and the overwhelming majority of parents feel their children are very well looked after. Inspectors wholeheartedly support these positive views. A very high standard of care, support and guidance helps to put pupils in a positive frame of mind for learning and this underpins their good achievement and outstanding personal development. The school also attaches great importance to pupils' regular attendance and high standards of behaviour, which have improved significantly since the last inspection. Adults also provide very good support for pupils at the early stages of learning English. Health and safety, child protection and staff recruitment procedures all meet national requirements. Rigorous procedures for monitoring the standard of pupils' work and outstanding use of the assessment information helps to ensure that the majority of pupils

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Grade: 1

achieve well. Pupils who are not making the expected progress are rapidly identified and provided with effective support. During lessons, teachers also provide short-term targets for improvement which clearly state what pupils need to do to improve their work.

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Grade: 2

The perceptive and thoughtful leadership of the headteacher enables all staff to work together in the interest of the pupils. The school is setting challenging targets to raise standards. The senior management team provide strong support for the continuing improvements across the school. Clear direction through the school development plan provides detailed action plans and monitoring arrangements. Subject leaders are increasingly effective in their planning, supporting and monitoring roles though their action plans have yet to include whole school priorities. An imaginative programme of professional development supports teachers well in their work and provides opportunities for sharing of good practice. Support staff are valued and well integrated into the school. Governors are well informed about the school's progress and areas for development. They are very supportive of the headteacher and staff. However, they are not

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Grade: 2

involved enough in the monitoring or planning of whole-school improvement. 6 of 10 Inspection Report: William Austin Junior School, 17 °18 April 2008 .

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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: William Austin Junior School, 17 °18 April 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? 2 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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Achievement and standards

2 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 2 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 2 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. 8 of 10 Inspection Report: William Austin Junior School, 17 °18 April 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 2 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: William Austin Junior School, 17 °18 April 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

21 April 2008 Dear Pupils Inspection of William Austin Junior School, Luton, LU3 1UA Thank you for making us so welcome and talking to us during the inspection. We really enjoyed meeting you and seeing you working and playing together. Yours is a good school with some outstanding features. It is providing you with a very good standard of education. Some of the positive things about your school are:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ you try hard and make good progress in your work to reach the expected standards

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ you feel very safe and happy at school

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ you behave extremely well and are very keen to learn

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ you show outstanding respect for all the cultures and religions in your school

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ you readily volunteer to take on responsibilities in and out of the school

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ the teachers and staff provide excellent support and care for you

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ teaching is good and makes you very interested in the work

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ the school is tidy and your display work in classrooms is excellent

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

We have asked your headteacher, the staff and the governors to do the following things to make the school better:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ encourage teachers to share their best ideas so that all teaching and learning are very good

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ make sure that the governors are fully involved in planning improvements

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ ensure that pupils who have particular talents in certain subjects are challenged to strive for excellence. Inspectors would like you to work hard and continue to enjoy learning at William Austin Junior School. We wish you every success in your future education. With very best wishes, Stephen Walker Lead inspector 10 of 10 Inspection Report: William Austin Junior School, 17 °18 April 2008

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