Mundy CofE Junior School

Mundy Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School Inspection report

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112829 Unique Reference Number DERBYSHIRE LA Local Authority 311021 Inspection number 31 October °1 November 2007 Inspection dates Sheelagh Barnes 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 153 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs K. Hutchinson Chair Mr K. Gibbs Headteacher 22 March 2004 Date of previous school inspection Lockton Avenue School address Heanor Derbyshire DE75 7EQ 01773 713427 Telephone number 01773 713427 Fax number

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7-11 Age group 31 October °1 November 2007 Inspection dates 311021 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. 31 October °1 November 2007

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

This is a smaller than average school. Virtually all pupils are from White British backgrounds and speak English at home. An average proportion of pupils are eligible for free school meals. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities is above average and a bigger proportion of pupils than nationally have statements of educational need. The school moved into a new building in 2005, with spacious grounds. It has reorganised so that there are now six classes and Year 6 is taught in two, mainly single age, classes. There have been significant staff changes and virtually all of the classes are taught by teachers who are new to the school. Pupils come mainly from one feeder infant school but a significant proportion come from further afield and start at times other than the start of the academic year. Attainment on entry to the school was below average at the time of the previous inspection, but changes to the intake

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Description of the school

mean that pupils starting in Year 3 currently come in with standards in line with those generally expected for their ages. The school has developed a nurture group. It was awarded 'Artsmark' status in June 2006 and has been judged a 'Health Promoting School', receiving both bronze and silver environmental awards, and is part of the 'Grounds for Change' project.

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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: Mundy Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School, 31 October °1 November 2007

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Grade: 3

The school's overall effectiveness is satisfactory. It has made satisfactory improvement since the previous inspection and provides satisfactory value for money, preparing pupils acceptably for the next stage in their school career. School leaders have a realistic view of the school's strengths and areas for improvement and the school has a satisfactory capacity to improve still further. The leadership and management of the school are satisfactory. They have improved because skilled and enthusiastic key staff have now joined the management team, bringing a renewed sense of purpose and a drive to raise standards in all areas. As a result, the school is beginning to address the backlog of underachievement, particularly of the oldest pupils. Assessment and monitoring have been improved and are accurate and undertaken regularly. Teachers' planning is undertaken in groups so that the skills and expertise of staff are shared

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Grade: 3

and new staff members supported effectively. There are clear signs of improvement across the whole school in literacy and numeracy. Standards in numeracy are now average by the end of Year 6 and achievement is satisfactory. Achievement in literacy is also satisfactory, but the standards by Year 6 are below average and remain, consequently, a priority for improvement. The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory overall, but there is great variation, from satisfactory to excellent. Teachers and support staff, including those new to the school, work together well, enjoy good relationships with all pupils and do their best to make learning purposeful and fun. This is demonstrated by pupils' obvious enjoyment, regular attendance and wholehearted attention in lessons. Pupils come into school happily, behave well and relate very well to each other; their good personal development is a strength of the school.

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Grade: 3

The curriculum is satisfactory and there are a suitable number of trips and visitors to enrich learning. Teachers make regular and accurate assessments to track the progress of each pupil. They share information with pupils about what they have achieved and their next target. However, the way that information is recorded makes it difficult for managers to spot developing trends and patterns in the progress of classes or groups of pupils, reducing their ability to take any necessary remedial action. Many pupils remain unsure of exactly what it is that they have to do next to improve their work and reach their target, although they are enthusiastic and keen to learn.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Refine assessment as a management tool to monitor and improve the rate of pupils' progress.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Involve pupils more in identifying what they need to do next to improve their work.

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What the school should do to improve further

A small proportion of schools whose overall effectiveness is judged as satisfactory but which have areas of underperformance will receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection.

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Grade: 3

Standards are average and achievement is satisfactory. Achievement and progress in the core areas of reading, writing and mathematics have been inadequate in the recent past. This was identified by the school and efforts made to resolve the issue. These have already had a positive impact, although the school acknowledges there is still much work to do. The standards pupils 4 of 10 Inspection Report: Mundy Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School, 31 October °1 November 2007 attain in mathematics are now in line with those expected across the whole school and achievement is satisfactory. In reading and writing, standards are below those expected, although current achievement is satisfactory. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities are supported well and achieve in line with their peers. Suitably challenging targets are set and pupils are making satisfactory progress towards these.

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Grade: 2

Pupils' personal development and well-being are good, ensuring Mundy is a happy and friendly school which welcomes all who come into it. Pupils say they are treated fairly, that adults listen if they have problems and help to sort these out. They enjoy their time in school and develop positive attitudes to learning and each other. This is because staff model good attitudes and high expectations. The children's spiritual, moral and social development are good and their successes are recognised though the 'passport' system to reward effort. This raises their self-esteem well. Pupils know why rules are important and are clear about what the school expects of them. The school council is effective and recently led the design of new play equipment. Pupils' awareness of different cultures is satisfactory. They can describe basic details of festivals from different faiths, but lessons do not always identify opportunities to develop

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Grade: 2

cultural understanding. Staff help children to understand how to keep healthy and this is reinforced when, for example, children make healthy choices for their midday meal.

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Grade: 3

The overall quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory. It is frequently good for the oldest pupils. There is a range of expertise among teachers, which the school is starting to use effectively. Teachers plan and prepare lessons together conscientiously and often make good use of resources such as the interactive white boards and video clips to engage the pupils' interest. Lessons are well controlled and relationships are good. All staff have high expectations of behaviour and their own enthusiasm frequently motivates pupils to do well. Teachers make good use of teaching assistants to help individuals, particularly those with learning difficulties, or to lead learning in small groups. Teachers assess pupils regularly and accurately and use the information gained well when planning lessons, but assessment systems still do not give a speedy overview to school managers of emerging patterns in achievement. Teachers' marking

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Grade: 3

is regular and helpful but varies in quality across the school. The school has recently started to share with pupils the next steps they need to take in their writing, reading and mathematics.

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Grade: 3

A satisfactory curriculum provides the pupils with an appropriately balanced range of subjects to learn. All of the required aspects of information and communication technology (ICT) are taught and ICT equipment is often used effectively to enhance pupils' learning. However, opportunities to use it to develop skills in other subjects, such as writing, are sometimes missed. Pupils' physical development is provided for well because the outside areas are used effectively and sufficient time is given to physical education activities. A satisfactory range of lunch-time and after school clubs is available but children indicate that they want to visit more places to 5 of 10 Inspection Report: Mundy Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School, 31 October °1 November 2007 enliven their learning. Pupils are effectively encouraged to take on responsibilities in the school, both for each other, and the whole school community.

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Grade: 3

The quality of care, guidance and support for pupils is satisfactory overall. The school provides a safe and secure environment to learn in and pupils who have learning difficulties or disabilities are identified early and supported well. However, many pupils do not clearly understand the next steps they need to make in their lessons to improve. The school works closely with external agencies to ensure the needs of all pupils are met and a well understood culture of tolerance and fairness means pupils learn to manage difficult situations well. Teachers and teaching assistants know all pupils well and work effectively to ensure they are safe and healthy. Procedures for child protection are effective and appropriate checks are carried out on all staff before they start working in the school. Most parents speak positively of the school and its teachers and say that their children feel well looked after. One parent commented 'We would not want our daughter educated anywhere

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Grade: 3

else!', and this is reflected in the pupils' enthusiasm for school and willingness to learn.

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Grade: 3

Leadership and management are satisfactory overall. There have been significant changes to the senior management structure in the past two years and this has brought enthusiasm and a renewed determination to raise standards. The management is starting to maximise the skills and vision of new members of the leadership team to good effect but they do not yet exert sufficient influence on learning across the whole school. Systems for monitoring and tracking pupils' progress have been improved but are still too cumbersome to allow curriculum leaders to spot developing trends or to help management to identify where groups are falling behind or could improve. Governors are very supportive of the school. Resources are managed satisfactorily overall. 6 of 10 Inspection Report: Mundy Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School, 31 October °1 November 2007 .

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Grade: 3

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 7 of 10 Inspection Report: Mundy Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School, 31 October °1 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? 3 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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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

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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: Mundy Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School, 31 October °1 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 3 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: Mundy Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School, 31 October °1 November 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

2 November 2007 Dear Children, Inspection of Mundy Church of England, Voluntary Controlled Junior School, Heanor, Derbyshire, DE75 7EQ. Thank you for welcoming us to your school when we visited recently and for being so polite and friendly. We really enjoyed meeting you all and talking to you. There are many things that we really liked about your school.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You like coming to school, you behave well and work hard.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Your teachers make lessons interesting, especially using the interactive white boards, so that you enjoy learning. ■ You have good opportunities to learn about staying healthy and making healthy choices.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You have a beautiful school with lots of space to learn and play and we know you are very proud of it and take care of the resources you have. The things I have asked your school to do next are to ensure teachers do the following.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Help you to learn even more about writing and reading.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Make sure that the records they keep of how well you are all doing are easy for them to use to spot if some of you need more help. ■ Make sure that you all know exactly what it is you need to do next to get on quickly and do really well. We really enjoyed talking to you at lunchtime and watching you learn. We wish you all well for the future. Yours sincerely Mrs Barnes Lead inspector 10 of 10 Inspection Report: Mundy Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School, 31 October °1 November 2007

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