Frenchwood Community Primary School

Frenchwood Community Primary School Inspection report

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119231 Unique Reference Number Lancashire Local Authority 313225 Inspection number 10 °11 October 2007 Inspection dates Sue Sharkey 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 275 School The governing body Appropriate authority Ms Valerie Wise Chair Mr Meyrick Kitchen Headteacher 1 January 2004 Date of previous school inspection Frenchwood Knoll School address Preston Lancashire PR1 4LE 01772 253244 Telephone number 01772 250317 Fax number

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3-11 Age group 10 °11 October 2007 Inspection dates 313225 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

Frenchwood Community School is a larger than average sized city primary school in an area of significant social and economic disadvantage. The proportion of pupils entitled to free school meals is above the national average. The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds is over four times the national average, and over 80% of these pupils start school at a very early stage of learning English. The number of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is twice the national average. When children start school, their knowledge and skills are well below that expected for children of this age.

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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: Frenchwood Community Primary School, 10 °11 October 2007

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Grade: 3

Frenchwood Community Primary School provides satisfactory education. Good features can be seen throughout the school, including in the Foundation Stage. The school is a calm, purposeful, caring environment in which pupils enjoy learning and develop their personal qualities. Typical comments from parents refer to the commitment of staff and how much their children enjoy school. Good relationships between staff and pupils underpin the good behaviour seen throughout the school. This is also reflected in the way pupils behave towards each other. Pupils with learning difficulties and or/disabilities make satisfactory progress. Achievement is satisfactory. Pupils make satisfactory progress in Key Stage 1 and by the end of Year 2, standards are below average. During Key Stage 2 a high number of pupils join and leave the school at various points during the year, nevertheless pupils make satisfactory progress,

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Grade: 3

though standards by the end of Year 6 remain below average. The most able pupils at this key stage do not do as well as they should and girls do better than boys. Provisional data for 2007 suggests that achievement remains satisfactory and the school has recently sought support from the local authority to help raise standards. Pupils learning English as a second language make good progress in Key Stage 1 because of the effective support form teaching assistants. Pupil’s personal development and well-being, including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, are good. Pupils say they enjoy school and the activities they carry out. The school provides a wide range of activities to encourage pupils to learn about the importance of healthy lifestyles. Links with the community are good and pupils have plenty of opportunity to raise funds for projects in other countries, for example, Farm Africa and Oxfam. Attendance

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Grade: 3

is satisfactory and gradually improving. The school continually works hard to ensure that parents are aware of the importance of good attendance and punctuality. Teaching is satisfactory and sometimes good. This includes some good support from teaching assistants who work with pupils of all abilities. In a minority of lessons there is good pace and teachers and teaching assistants give clear instructions and ask good questions to move pupils on. However, lesson planning is not always effective and the match of work does not always match pupils’ abilities. The quality of marking is not consistent throughout the school, and this leads to pupils not being aware of how to improve their work. The curriculum is satisfactory with some good links to outside agencies who bring their skills into school. This is exemplified through sports and art projects. Art work around the school is excellent and work has been

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Grade: 3

displayed in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Pastoral care is a strength of the school. Leadership and management are satisfactory. The school’s leaders are very caring and foster an ethos in which pupils can achieve well in their personal development. The senior leadership team work well together and is committed to raising academic standards. Governors work closely with this team and ensure that links with the community are good. Monitoring and evaluating systems are in place but the school is not sufficiently rigorous in the way these are used to check the impact in terms of raising standards. The school provides satisfactory value for money and has a satisfactory capacity to improve

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Grade: 2

Children achieve well in the Foundation Stage, the majority coming from a very low starting point, particularly in communication, language and literacy and calculation in mathematics. 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Frenchwood Community Primary School, 10 °11 October 2007 Despite their good progress, significant numbers of children leave the Foundation Stage with below the level of knowledge and skills normally expected for children of their age. They make good progress because of the good relationships and the good quality teaching, which includes careful checking on children’s progress. The curriculum is well planned and meets the needs of young children, with an appropriate emphasis on speaking and listening. Staff engage the children well, providing them with exciting activities that match all ages and ability levels. One good example of this is the ‘pass the parcel’ activity, which offered good opportunity to enhance

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Grade: 2

children’s speaking and listening skills. The school keeps in close touch with parents, who appreciate the open door policy of the school and the high level of care for children’s well-being. There are good arrangements to help new children to settle. The school currently has an appropriate focus on developing the outdoor learning environment.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Raise standards and achievement across the school.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Improve the quality of teaching, particularly by ensuring that all lessons are well planned, work is carefully matched to pupils’ abilities and marking informs pupils how to improve. ■ Bring greater rigour to the monitoring and evaluation of new initiatives to check that there is positive impact on pupils’ standards. A small proportion of the schools whole overall effectiveness is judged satisfactory but which have areas of underperforming will receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection.

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Grade: 3

Pupils’ achievement is satisfactory. From below average starting points standards are still below the national average by the end of Year 6. From the early stage the performance of girls is better than boys in reading, writing and mathematics. Teachers are working to make improvements and these are more noticeable in writing and mathematics. Pupils learning English as a second language are well supported by teaching assistants and they make good progress learning English. All pupils make satisfactory progress in Key Stage 2. By the end of Year 6 standards remain below average and with the girls still outperforming the boys. However, the most able pupils do not achieve as well as they should. Early indication of 2007 national tests results show that results are not as high as last year because fewer pupils exceed the level expected for their age. The school has put measures in place to address this. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or

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Grade: 3

disabilities make satisfactory progress.

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Grade: 2

Pupils are well behaved, welcoming to visitors and positive about school. They enjoy learning, developing new skills and taking part in all activities. The school council is making a positive contribution, for example, in deciding the need for playground equipment. They eat healthily and get plenty of exercise, which they know is important. Pupils are not concerned about bullying or harassment because they are aware of the impact of their actions. The school is working successfully to improve attendance, which is now broadly average. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. They have a good sense of right and wrong, 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Frenchwood Community Primary School, 10 °11 October 2007 relate well to each other and to adults and have a good understanding of how to keep safe and healthy. Pupils make a good contribution to the wider community, such as through their support

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Grade: 2

of various charities. For example, pupils are donating to Farm Africa to provide bee hives and bee keeping equipment. Pupils develop self-esteem and confidence because their efforts and achievements are valued and rewarded, such as through the school’s ‘Achievement Awards’. Pupils develop satisfactory skills to equip them later for the world of work.

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Grade: 3

The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory. Typical features include good relationships between teachers and pupils, and the way in which staff encourage pupils to try hard. Teachers demonstrate effective classroom management that leads to good concentration and few disruptions for learners. A bonus is the excellent work from classroom assistants, particularly for those pupils with extra learning or language needs and the most vulnerable. The best lessons are exciting because teachers share their enthusiasm and make tasks interesting. Teachers confidently use the interactive whiteboard and this sustains pupils’ interest. In less effective lessons, teachers do not actively involve pupils at the start of the lesson and opportunities to develop speaking and thinking skills are missed. Teachers’ planning is not sufficiently detailed and what pupils are to learn is not made clear to them. Procedures are in place for target setting

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Grade: 3

and assessing pupils' progress but their use is inconsistent and pupils do not always know how to improve their work. Likewise, good use is not always made of this information resulting in tasks that are too easy, especially for more able pupils, or too hard.

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Grade: 3

The curriculum is satisfactory. The school has begun to adapt its curriculum to more closely match the needs of its pupils and attempts to start each topic area with a ‘hands on’ experience for the pupils. This is beginning to have a positive impact, but it is not yet fully embedded throughout the school. There are adequate opportunities for pupils to practise the basic skills of literacy and numeracy across the curriculum. These have recently been extended to include more opportunities to link writing across the curriculum and to engage and motivate boys to learn. However, it is too early for this work to have had a clear impact on standards. Recent changes to curriculum planning have led to teachers working together to ensure that planning is consistent for the mixed aged classes. Pupils in both key stages have the designated use of their own information and communication technology (ICT) suite, ensuring access for all pupils during timetabled

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Grade: 3

sessions. There are opportunities for curriculum enrichment through links with secondary schools and the School’s Sports co-ordinator programme. The school runs creativity weeks through the year, there are a variety of visitors and older pupils have the opportunity to attend a three-day residential trip.

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Grade: 2

This aspect is good with some strong features. Pupils say they feel very safe and secure in school and know there is always an adult to turn to if they have any worries. This is because 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Frenchwood Community Primary School, 10 °11 October 2007 there is a very caring ethos, safe environment and very good relationships. Pupils’ academic progress is monitored enabling teachers to identify where extra support or challenge is needed at different times throughout the year. Systems are not used consistently across the school, and this limits their effectiveness. A caring pastoral team ensures the needs of any vulnerable pupils are sensitively met. Pupils say they feel well supported in lessons by adults who reward successes and boost self esteem. Pupils with specific language or learning needs are well supported by highly skilled staff and outside agencies. Pupils make a happy transition to and

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Grade: 2

from school because of good liaison with outside agencies and parents. Child protection and all other risk assessments are in place.

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Grade: 3

Leadership and management are satisfactory. The headteacher and the senior leadership team work together effectively and are well supported by staff and governors in their quest to raise standards. Commitment to pupils’ all-round development and success has contributed to pupils’ good personal development. School leaders and managers have a strong commitment to school improvement and have recently introduced strategies with the aim of raising standards. Governors are proactive in their links with the community as seen through working with parents to make them more aware of the importance of attendance and punctuality. The schools self-evaluation is accurate. Subject leaders are involved in monitoring, mostly through the scrutiny of pupils’ book and folders. The school has a range of systems in place to monitor and evaluate the quality of its work. However these is not sufficiently rigorous, so that when the school puts a new initiative in

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Grade: 3

place checks are not then consistently carried out to ensure impact on pupils’ standards. The school’s bursar works well with the headteacher and governor finance committee so that the budget is well managed. Most parents have positive views about the school, saying how well achievement is celebrated, encouraging pupils to do their best. Progress since the last inspection is satisfactory. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Frenchwood Community Primary School, 10 °11 October 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. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: Frenchwood Community Primary School, 10 °11 October 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? 2 The effectiveness of the Foundation Stage 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 3 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: Frenchwood Community Primary School, 10 °11 October 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? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: Frenchwood Community Primary School, 10 °11 October 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

12 October 2007 Dear Pupils Inspection of Frenchwood Community Primary School, Lancashire, We are writing to thank you for making us feel very welcome when we visited your school. We really enjoyed talking to you and were very impressed by how friendly you are, not just towards us but also towards each other and your teachers. We were impressed with how keen you were to talk to us, telling us how much you enjoy school and how you help other people and raise money for charities. We saw how well behaved you are in lessons, in the playground and as you moved around school. We looked at other parts of school life, including how teachers help you to understand about being healthy. When we asked you about this you knew the importance of the right food and exercise. We agree with you that your headteacher and teachers help you feel safe and secure in school, and help you when you have problems. Your new buddies, who have successfully

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

passed their training, will be able to help you in the playground. When we came into lessons we looked at the work you were doing and were very impressed with the fabulous art you have displayed in the corridors and classrooms. You must have enjoyed doing these. We think that your school provides you with a satisfactory education and that you make satisfactory progress. There are some things that the school can do better. We have suggested that when you are given work it takes more account of your abilities so each of you will have challenging tasks to do and that when your work is marked it shows you clearly how you can improve it. Both these things will help you to reach higher standards. We have also asked the school to check carefully when new things are introduced to ensure these are helping you to improve. You can help your teachers with this by talking sensibly with each other in lessons and continuing to work hard.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Yours sincerely Sue Sharkey Lead inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Frenchwood Community Primary School, 10 °11 October 2007

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