Broughton-in-Amounderness Church of England Primary School

Broughton-in-Amounderness Church of England Primary School Inspection report

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119563 Unique Reference Number Lancashire Local Authority 313341 Inspection number 10 January 2008 Inspection date Dave Byrne 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 Voluntary aided School category 4 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 232 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Mike Anson Chair Mr David Fann (Acting) Headteacher 1 March 2004 Date of previous school inspection Church Lane School address Broughton Preston Lancashire PR3 5JB 01772 862788 Telephone number 01772 866145 Fax number

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4-11 Age group 10 January 2008 Inspection date 313341 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

This was a reduced tariff inspection 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

■ The achievement of pupils across the school and the impact of the curriculum on learning.

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Introduction

■ The involvement of pupils in their own assessment and learning.

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Introduction

■ The effectiveness of leaders and managers in monitoring the school’s performance so that pupils do as well as they can. Evidence was gathered from performance data and other school documentation, observations of teaching and learning, the work produced by pupils (including how pupils interact with each other and their response to what is provided for them), parents’ questionnaires and discussions with pupils, staff and governors. Other aspects of the school's work were not investigated in detail. The inspector found that almost all of 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

The school is of average size and is set in an area which is much more socially advantaged than most. The proportion of pupils who claim a free school meal is much lower than the national average. A below average proportion of pupils have learning difficulties and/or disabilities. Most pupils are of White British heritage with very few from minority ethnic backgrounds. At the time of the inspection, the school was led by an associate headteacher supported by a well-established senior leadership team.

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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: Broughton-in-Amounderness Church of England Primary School, 10 January 2008

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Grade: 2

This is a good school which provides a good quality of education. It has some outstanding features in terms of academic standards in English, mathematics and science, in the quality of care, guidance and support given to pupils and in their levels of personal development and well-being. The school is held in high regard by the community. Very close and productive relationships with parents benefit the pupils’ education. Parents are virtually unanimous in their admiration for the school. They quite rightly feel that the school has a family atmosphere in which pupils, ‘thrive and are given the confidence to learn and develop both personally and academically’. Standards are exceptionally high in English, mathematics and science. They have been significantly above the national average in recent years at the end of both key stages. The school met its demanding targets in 2007 and inspection evidence demonstrates that it is likely

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Grade: 2

to do so again in 2008. When children start school in Reception, the large majority have skills that are better than those typical for their age. They are particularly adept at communication, language and literacy and mathematics, have a good knowledge and understanding of the world and possess very good personal and social skills. The school recognises the advanced skills children bring from home and successfully extends them in their time in school. Pupils make good progress across the school. By the end of Year 6, pupils are articulate speakers, very able readers and competent writers. They have a very good knowledge and understanding of mathematics and develop good skills of information and communication technology (ICT). Given their good starting point, children’s achievement is good. It could be even better, however, if pupils were given more opportunities to apply their advanced skills in a variety of challenging

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Grade: 2

situations across the curriculum. The good progress made by pupils is a result of good teaching and a good curriculum. Very positive relationships exist between pupils and staff and high expectations are the norm in terms of effort and behaviour. Pupils love learning because teachers usually make lessons fun. Teachers successfully combine the benefits of whole class teaching with using group work so that the needs of individuals can be successfully met. Some use of specialist teaching, for example in mathematics in upper Key Stage 2, accelerates pupils’ learning by exploiting the teacher’s very good subject knowledge. The pace and challenge in most lessons mean that learning often zips along enabling the large majority of pupils to achieve their full potential. Teaching assistants work very effectively to support pupils' learning, and contribute strongly to the good progress of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. Pupils have the

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Grade: 2

potential to develop good skills in evaluating their own learning and acquiring a good knowledge of how they can do even better. This is not yet fully exploited through effective and consistent use of marking across the school. As a result, the rate of learning for some pupils is held back slightly. Pupils understand the code of conduct. In all that they do, they are polite, friendly and usually wear a smile. They love learning and this is one reason why attendance is so good, coupled with the good support parents provide. Pupils benefit from excellent levels of pastoral care including rigorous safeguarding procedures, guidance and support. The school is safe and secure. Valuing others is embedded in the school's ethos and pupils develop good levels of spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Pupils demonstrate a mature understanding of how to treat others. They develop excellent moral and

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Grade: 2

4 of 9 Inspection Report: Broughton-in-Amounderness Church of England Primary School, 10 January 2008 social skills. These contribute to the pupils’ outstanding behaviour which has a positive impact on their academic and personal success. Bullying and incidents of racial abuse are non-existent. The school successfully encourages pupils to develop a sense of social responsibility. Older pupils in Years 5 and 6 have a much valued impact on the lives of younger ones in the Foundation Stage and Year 1. Lunchtimes are a convivial, orderly affair with pupils sitting in family groups being served good food by older pupils. The school council and house system are at the core of the school, developing amongst pupils a good sense of citizenship. Pupils have a very good knowledge and understanding of their Christian culture but only a limited understanding of the richness and diversity of modern society. Pupils are very aware of the choices required to

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Grade: 2

live safe and healthy lives. They are extremely well prepared to get the best out of their next phase of education and beyond. The school’s self-evaluation is generally accurate and demonstrates that the school is not complacent. Despite the lack of a substantive headteacher, strong leadership and management are provided by the senior leadership team, assisted by an excellent associate headteacher. Since the last inspection, the school has made good improvement and the fact that the staff and governors keep a close eye on the school’s performance means that the school has a good capacity to improve in future. The governing body is excellent. It benefits from the skilled leadership team which understands the needs of the pupils and the school community. The school gives good value for money.

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Grade: 2

The Foundation Stage is good. Leadership and management are effective. Since the last inspection the provision has been successfully improved. Resources are of a high standard and accommodation is excellent. Good teaching, with excellent teamwork between teachers and support staff, results in children making good progress and being very well cared for. By the end of Reception the vast majority of children exceed the expectations for their age. Given their good starting point, this represents good achievement. Progress is particularly good in communication, language and literacy, mathematical development and knowledge and understanding of the world. Although resources for ICT are much improved, they are not yet used imaginatively enough to support learning.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Strengthen the curriculum so that the pupils’ advanced skills in literacy, numeracy and ICT are fully exploited and they develop a better knowledge and understanding of the richness and diversity of modern society. ■ Improve the quality of marking so that all pupils know how well they are doing and understand what they need to do to improve. 5 of 9 Inspection Report: Broughton-in-Amounderness Church of England Primary School, 10 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: Broughton-in-Amounderness Church of England Primary School, 10 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? 2 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? 1 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 1 How well learners enjoy their education 1 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?

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. 7 of 9 Inspection Report: Broughton-in-Amounderness Church of England Primary School, 10 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: Broughton-in-Amounderness Church of England Primary School, 10 January 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

11 January 2008 Dear Pupils Inspection of Broughton-in-Amounderness Church of England Primary School, Lancashire PR3 5JB Thank you for the friendly welcome you all gave me when I visited your school. I am writing to inform you about my findings. I am pleased to tell you that your school gives you a good quality of education and in some ways is outstanding. I was very impressed with your behaviour which is excellent. You told me that you feel safe and that you never feel frightened or fearful of others. This is because you are all so caring to others and keen to help. You take on many responsibilities, such as helping younger ones, serving lunches, being school councillors, house captains and class monitors. I was pleased to learn that you know what you need to do to stay healthy and safe and the importance of avoiding harmful substances. Your love of school was obvious. In lessons you seem to soak up new ideas and facts and work hard.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

The school expects a lot of you. This helps you to do well in your work and to improve as you go through the school. Your standards are very high compared with those in many schools but you can do even better. I hope you can work with your teachers to find ways of enabling you to apply your advanced skills in reading, writing and mathematics, as well as in ICT, to all sorts of different subjects. Your teachers are also going to give you better advice about how you can improve your work. These things would help you to do even better. Most of you are proud and confident people and are very mature. This means that, together with your very high academic standards, you are being given an excellent foundation for the next stages of your education. Although you have a good knowledge and understanding of your Christian culture, your depth of understanding of other cultures could be better and the school is going to think of ways of doing this.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

You can look forward to a new headteacher with confidence because your teachers and school governors are doing a great job in making sure you continue to get a really good education. I wish you all luck for your future. Dave Byrne Lead inspector 9 of 9 Inspection Report: Broughton-in-Amounderness Church of England Primary School, 10 January 2008

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