Bottesford Junior School

Bottesford Junior School Inspection report

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117727 Unique Reference Number North Lincolnshire Local Authority 312684 Inspection number 27 °28 March 2008 Inspection dates Carole Cressey 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 245 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mr David Thomson Chair Mr Alan West Headteacher 1 January 2005 Date of previous school inspection Manor Road School address Bottesford Scunthorpe DN16 3PB 01724 867906 Telephone number 01724 867906 Fax number

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7-11 Age group 27 °28 March 2008 Inspection dates 312684 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 two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

This is a larger than average school. Most children come from White British backgrounds. The number of pupils eligible for free school a meal is below average as is the number of pupils with 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 11 Inspection Report: Bottesford Junior School, 27 °28 March 2008

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Grade: 2

This is a good school which provides a stimulating, well ordered and safe environment in which all pupils, including those who are especially vulnerable, are helped to become successful and confident learners. The long serving headteacher is well respected by parents. His knowledge of each pupil is self-evident as he walks around the school greeting each one by name and being met in return by ready smiles and exchanges. If there isn’t a smile he wants to know why! The care that pervades all of the school’s work is reflected in the comment of one of the school council who said, ‘We are a caring school and we like to make sure we look after each other.’ They show how well they do this through their enthusiasm to be playground buddies and their fervent commitment to preventing anyone in their school being bullied. Parents greatly value the fact that the school nurtures their children, especially those with learning difficulties and

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Grade: 2

disabilities, helping them to become confident learners and happier individuals. This high quality of care is a key factor in pupils’ consistent success as learners. This is reflected in the good attendance and consistently good behaviour seen in lessons in and around the school. Pupils enter the school with standards which are broadly average. Current pupils are performing well and most are reaching or exceeding the challenging targets set for them. Overall, pupils leave the school in Year 6 having achieved well and reaching standards which are above average. Through the rigorous monitoring of all aspects of the school’s provision, including pupils’ progress and attainment, leadership at all levels has a very clear understanding of what needs to be done to maintain these high standards and enable all pupils to continue to achieve well. Teaching is good across the school. Pupils themselves say they have no time to be bored or to

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Grade: 2

misbehave because lessons are interesting. The level and quality of support for all pupils is high, ensuring pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities are able to take a full part in all the school has to offer them. Assessment systems are being used effectively to spot when pupils are not doing as well as they should so that additional support can be provided. There is evidence of good marking in literacy but this is not consistent and in mathematics pupils are not always clear about what they need to do to improve or how well they are doing towards their long term targets. In mathematics, an over reliance on work sheets limits pupils’ opportunities to develop problem solving skills. The curriculum is good. There are challenging activities both in and out of school to develop pupils’ enthusiasm for learning and their secure understanding of how they can stay healthy, keep themselves and others safe and become responsible members of their school and local

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Grade: 2

community. The good emphasis on teaching the basic skills of literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology (ICT) is providing pupils with necessary skills to be life long learners. However, the opportunities for pupils to be independent learners are underdeveloped. The overwhelming confidence of the majority of parents in the leadership and management of the school is very well placed. The school has made good improvement since the last inspection, provides good value for money and is well placed to improve further.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Provide more opportunities for pupils to develop skills of problem solving especially in mathematics. 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Bottesford Junior School, 27 °28 March 2008 ■ Ensure all pupils know how to improve their work and know how well they are doing in relation to their long term targets. ■ Provide more opportunities for pupils to be independent learners.

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Grade: 2

Achievement is good and standards are above average. Pupils enter the school with standards which vary from year to year but overall are broadly average. Pupils make consistently good progress. This is reflected in the results of national tests in Year 6 which in recent years have been above or significantly above average. Standards in English have been consistently very high. In 2007, standards were significantly above average in all three subjects. Standards in the present Year 6 are not as high because this year group were a lower attaining group on entry to the school. However, pupils have made good progress and the majority are reaching the expected levels in reading, writing and science. Those who are able are reaching the higher levels. Standards in English are especially high with over 90% of pupils on target to reach the expected level in reading and over 75% in writing. The proportion of pupils reaching the expected levels in mathematics, although average, is not as high as in

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Grade: 2

other subjects. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities receive good support and as a result they make good progress.

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Grade: 2

Personal development and well-being are good. The spiritual, moral and social aspects of their development are good. Cultural development is not as strong as pupils have too few opportunities to learn about the diversity of British society. Pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around school is good and reflects the sense of calm and well being enjoyed by them. Attendance is good and pupils are punctual and eager to get into school in the morning. Pupils enjoy school, work hard and when given the chance eagerly work independently but opportunities are missed to fully develop these skills. Pupils know how to keep healthy and safe and are learning why it is sensible to have a balanced diet. They make healthy choices at lunch time and break times and participation rates for extra-curricular sports are high. Pupils make a real contribution to the life of their community. In Year 6, they take on responsibilities, such as ‘Playground Buddies’ to ensure that everyone

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Grade: 2

feels safe and happy. The school council is promoting a competition for a new playground design and more equipment for playtimes. Pupils are enthusiastic fund raisers and a school corridor is lined with thanks from a wide range of local and national charities. Pupils’ good social development and their secure basic skills in literacy, numeracy and ICT prepare them well for the next stage of their futures.

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Grade: 2

Teaching is good. Teachers have good relationships with their pupils and lessons are peppered with good humour and fun. Pupils appreciate this and as one of them said lessons are ‘not exactly boring’. This was evident in one successful lesson when pupils donned chefs’ hats to 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Bottesford Junior School, 27 °28 March 2008 cut up pizzas and reinforced new learning about equivalent fractions. Teachers model new learning well, building up confidence and encouraging younger pupils that it is good to have a go, and that getting an answer wrong helps to learn. Teachers are less successful at providing opportunities for pupils to work independently and follow their own line of thought. The assessment and tracking of pupils’ attainment and progress are effective tools in planning future learning and identifying where pupils need extra support or challenge. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities receive high levels of support which enable them to

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Grade: 2

make good progress towards their targets. Marking is often used well to help pupils understand what they need to do to improve their particular piece of work, especially in literacy. However, in mathematics pupils are not given sufficient guidance to know how to improve. There is an over reliance on work sheets which do not challenge pupils thinking and limits opportunities to develop problem solving skills. Most parents are very supportive of their children’s learning and some would enjoy more opportunities to share in activities in school with their children.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is good and prepares pupils well for the next stage of their education. A rich programme of social and health education provides the pupils with the necessary tools to develop personal safety, care and healthy living. Adapting areas around the school to provide for a variety of initiatives, such as the Eco club, is enabling the school to develop exciting activities for pupils. Visits to a local organic farm underline the importance of healthy eating and a good diet. French is now well established for all pupils. Pupils also enjoy opportunities to learn to play a musical instrument. The provision for ICT is good and improving. However, opportunities are missed to use computers effectively in some lessons and pupils say that they don’t often use them for independent learning. Pupils enjoy a wide range of after school clubs. In addition, specialist physical education teaching and good links with partnership schools offer

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Grade: 2

pupils many high quality opportunities to participate in a wide variety of sporting activities. Study sessions for Year 6 pupils make a good contribution to pupil’s positive achievements in their national tests which pupils and their parents’ value.

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Grade: 2

Care, guidance and support are good. Procedures for safeguarding pupils’ welfare, health and safety are in line with statutory requirements. Staff work closely with outside agencies to give strong support to vulnerable pupils and those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. Support staff are well informed about the precise needs of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and this ensures that pupils make good progress. Many parents commented on particular ways that the school had helped their children through difficult times and of how much it meant to them that their children were happy and secure in school. The school’s assessment data effectively tracks the progress of individual pupils throughout the year. Information is used well to spot when pupils need extra support and also to set targets for pupils. However, not all pupils are clear on how well they are progressing towards their

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Grade: 2

personal targets or what they should do to improve their work. 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Bottesford Junior School, 27 °28 March 2008

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good. Leadership continually and accurately identifies what needs to be done to bring about further improvements. School leaders, including the effective and supportive governing body, work together with the local authority and a range of other partners to implement effective systems to create a challenging curriculum which grasps the interest of the pupils. Assessments, the tracking of pupils’ progress, test results, the quality of teaching and learning are all monitored regularly to ensure that the school provides what the pupils need to be effective learners. Subject leaders have effectively introduced key developments into lessons to enhance learning. This has been especially successful in improving the teaching and learning of English and in raising standards in writing. The head teacher, staff and governors are determined to continue to strive to maintain high standards and make

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Grade: 2

improvements where they are needed. For example, in raising standards even higher in mathematics. This school has a good capacity to continue to improve. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Bottesford Junior School, 27 °28 March 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. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: Bottesford Junior School, 27 °28 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? 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 2 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?

2 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. 9 of 11 Inspection Report: Bottesford Junior School, 27 °28 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 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? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: Bottesford Junior School, 27 °28 March 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

29 March 2008 Dear Pupils Inspection of Bottesford Junior School, North Lincolnshire, DN16 3PB Thank you so much for being so friendly and welcoming when we visited your school a short while ago. We were so pleased to see how very well behaved you are, how much you enjoy school and how regularly you attend school. You are becoming very responsible caring children. Not only do you look after each other, being playground buddies and school councillors, but you collect such a lot of money for charities. Well done! You also know a lot about other countries and their ways of life and we have asked that you are taught more about people in Britain who have traditions and religions that are different from yours. You all seem to know the importance of eating healthy foods and taking part in lots of exercise. Your daily ‘Wake Up Shake Up’ activity is a fun way to stay healthy and is also a good way to make sure your brains are ready for lessons. Do keep up all that sensible eating and exercise

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

because it is so important to staying healthy and fit. We could see by the work in your books and displays around the school that you are all doing well in reading, writing, mathematics and science. In order to make your school even better, you need more help to know how well you are doing and what you need to do to improve your work further especially in mathematics. So listen carefully and pay attention when your teachers talk to you or write comments in your books. You are so good that you could do even more work on your own, for example working on computers or using library books. We know your mathematics is good but it could improve even more if you had more interesting problems to solve. You go to a good school and most of you are reaching the standards expected for your age. Your headteacher and teachers make lessons fun and help you learn such a lot. We hope you will continue to enjoy school as much as you do now and that it will help you to become happy

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

and successful adults. Yours sincerely Carole Cressey, Lead inspector Roberta Mothersdale 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Bottesford Junior School, 27 °28 March 2008

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