Turton Belmont Community Primary School

Turton Belmont Community Primary School Inspection report

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119201 Unique Reference Number Blackburn with Darwen Local Authority 313219 Inspection number 21 January 2008 Inspection date Mary Sewell 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 4 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 78 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Stephen McCall Chair Mr Chris Hoddle Headteacher 1 June 2004 Date of previous school inspection Ryecroft Lane School address Belmont Bolton Lancashire BL7 8AH 01204 811226 Telephone number 01204 811138 Fax number

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4-11 Age group 21 January 2008 Inspection date 313219 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:

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Introduction

Evidence was gathered from the school’s self-evaluation, national published assessment data, the school’s own records of pupil progress, and the school’s plans for further development. All classes were observed by the inspector and the Foundation Stage was also observed by the headteacher. Other aspects of the school's work were not investigated in detail. The inspector found that the judgements made in the school’s self-evaluation form were justified and these have been included where appropriate in this report.

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Description of the school

This is a smaller than average primary school situated near to two major towns. It serves an area with above average socio-economic deprivation. Pupils are of predominately White British heritage. The school has a smaller than average number of pupils who take free school meals. It also has a smaller than average proportion of pupils who are from ethnic minority groups or who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities. There are currently no pupils with English as an additional language. There are significantly more girls than boys in school.

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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: Turton Belmont Community Primary School, 21 January 2008

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Grade: 2

This is a good school with outstanding features. Belmont has a very warm friendly atmosphere in which pupils are very well cared for and their individual talents recognised and developed. This caring school has been highly successful in creating an environment where pupils feel secure and learning flourishes. As a result, they settle quickly and make good progress in both their academic and personal development. The school knows its pupils well and provides them with a high quality education which represents good value for money. This is because teaching is good and the curriculum is enriched with a wide range of extra clubs and visiting speakers. Pupils particularly enjoy dance, music and art and were keen to describe how they had used these to fully experience Indonesian culture. Parents are overwhelmingly supportive and say their children love coming to school; this is well reflected by pupils’ above average attendance. Provision for the safeguarding and

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Grade: 2

personal welfare of pupils, including child protection procedures, are firmly in place and reviewed regularly. Achievement is good for all pupils including those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and standards are above average. In their time in school, pupils make good progress and generally achieve well. Extremely rapid progress occurs in the Foundation Stage and after starting school with levels of development typical for their age, most children reach standards that exceed the expectations for their age by the end of the Reception. Progress continues at very good rate in Key Stage 1 and good rate in Key Stage 2. In the 2007 national tests, pupils in Year 2 reached well above average standards in reading and mathematics and above average standards in writing. In the Year 6 test results, standards were above average in English, mathematics and science with many of the pupils achieving the highest levels. The school has

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Grade: 2

evaluated its assessment data well and has recognised that pupils do not achieve as well in writing. It quickly introduced a range of strategies and these have already begun to raise standards, but too much writing is still based upon simple responses to reading. There are too few opportunities for pupils to write longer pieces of work or to write extensively in subjects other than English. Current standards are similar to the 2007 test results and pupils in Years 2 and 6 are well on course to achieve their predicted levels. Progress is good because pupils enjoy their lessons. They say it is ‘brilliant here’ and they work hard to please their teachers. Teaching is of a high quality, particularly in Key Stage 1, and results in high quality learning. This is because lessons are well planned and thoroughly prepared teaching assistants support the pupils well. Pupils’ work is carefully marked and pupils receive

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Grade: 2

high quality oral feedback on how well they have achieved an understanding of the topic in a particular lesson. However, pupils are not always sure what their learning target is or what they need to do to achieve it. This means that some pupils do not always have sufficient individual challenge, particularly in English. Personal development is outstanding. Pupils respond well to the school’s clear values and their social, moral, spiritual and cultural development is excellent. Their attitudes and relationships with others are of the highest order which means their behaviour in and around school is exemplary. They enjoy lessons and are highly motivated. Pupils relish the opportunity to take up responsibilities and are very proud of their achievements as a school council. They are particularly pleased with the new system of pre-ordering lunch which has ensured that all pupils are able to choose their own menu. Pupils know how to stay safe and healthy and are keen to

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Grade: 2

4 of 9 Inspection Report: Turton Belmont Community Primary School, 21 January 2008 take up a wide range of clubs and activities. As a result of their excellent attitudes and positive relationships, they develop quickly into mature and articulate young people who have the confidence to express an opinion. Leadership and management are good. The priorities for development are absolutely appropriate. They centre on providing high quality information for parents and pupils by refining the assessment process further to ensure individual pupils know their learning targets. The school knows its strengths and takes rapid action to remedy its weaknesses. There has been good improvement, especially in writing, since the last inspection. The leadership team works hard to balance a teaching commitment with school development and they are well supported by knowledgeable and committed governors. The school has good capacity to improve further.

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Grade: 1

The quality of provision in the Foundation Stage is outstanding. The phase is very well led by an enthusiastic and energetic teacher who works hard to provide well structured and interesting experiences for the children. They benefit from an outstanding curriculum which means that although they join the Foundation Stage with skills which are broadly typical for their age they make exceptional progress and finish the Reception year with skills and knowledge above expectations. Planning, assessment and record keeping are all outstanding. It is this meticulous attention to detail which ensures that the teaching assistant is very well prepared and the two work seamlessly together to support children’s development.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Ensure pupils know what their learning target is and what they need to do to achieve it.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Raise standards in writing and create opportunities for extended writing across the curriculum. 5 of 9 Inspection Report: Turton Belmont Community Primary School, 21 January 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: Turton Belmont Community Primary School, 21 January 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 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?

1 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 1 How well learners enjoy their education 2 The attendance of learners 1 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. 7 of 9 Inspection Report: Turton Belmont Community Primary School, 21 January 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? 8 of 9 Inspection Report: Turton Belmont Community Primary School, 21 January 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

22 January 2008 Dear Pupils Inspection of Turton Belmont Community Primary School, Blackburn with Darwen, BL7 8AH Thank you so much for making me so welcome when I visited your school. I enjoyed talking to you and your teachers and finding out what makes your school a good school with outstanding features. The governors, headteacher and teachers take great care to watch what works well in your school and change things if they are not helping you. It is because your teachers know you all very well and because they do everything possible to ensure that you are well cared for and kept safe that you are all so relaxed and happy. Your behaviour is excellent and you all looked very smart in your uniforms. I thought that the way in which you did jobs around the school, took responsibility and developed self-confidence was excellent. The school council were keen to tell me of the changes they had made to lunches

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

and that you were now all able to order what you wanted to eat the day before. I was so pleased to hear how you all enjoyed school particularly music, dance and art. You are all doing well at school and making good progress. This is because you work hard and are well taught. However, you need to have more practice at writing longer pieces of work and this would help you develop excellent writing skills. I think it would also help you to do even better if your school gave you all learning targets which could be shared with your parents who would help you meet them. I thoroughly enjoyed hearing you all sing so well in assembly. It made such a lovely start to the day. I wish you all the very best in the future. Yours sincerely Mary Sewell Lead inspector 9 of 9 Inspection Report: Turton Belmont Community Primary School, 21 January 2008

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