Granby Primary School

120006 Unique Reference Number Leicester City Local Authority 313476 Inspection number 11 °12 March 2008 Inspection dates Frances Gillam 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 433 School The governing body Appropriate authority Richard Shaw Chair Peter Fowler Headteacher 22 September 2003 Date of previous school inspection Granby Road School address Leicester LE2 8LP 01162 832013 Telephone number 01162 832013 Fax number

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3-11 Age group 11 °12 March 2008 Inspection dates 313476 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

Most pupils at this large primary school come from a White British background. The proportion of pupils with specific physical, emotional and behavioural needs, as well as those with learning difficulties, is below average. The number of pupils entitled to free school meals is below average.

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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: Granby Primary School, 11 °12 March 2008

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Grade: 3

Granby Primary provides pupils with a satisfactory standard of education. Pupils' achievement is satisfactory and they reach average standards by the end of Year 6. Pupils enjoy school. They say it is a friendly place and that they feel safe and well cared for. Parents echo this view; the comments of one parent summed up the view of many that, 'Granby is a lovely school, I always feel safe in the knowledge that my child is well looked after.' Pupils behave well and work hard. Pupils' progress is satisfactory but no better than this. This is because of predominantly satisfactory teaching and activities that do not always challenge the more able pupils to do their best, particularly in Years 3 to 6. Writing has been a priority for the school for some time. Some of the action taken to improve pupils' literacy skills, especially in reading, is showing success. However, the school is not having the same level of success in writing. This is because

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Grade: 3

writing activities across subjects do not provide enough opportunities for pupils to express their ideas and write at length, notably for the more able. In whole class mathematics discussions, learning support assistants ensure that pupils who struggle with their work take a full part in the lessons but this is not always the case for the more able pupils. This is because teachers' questioning does not always challenge and engage these pupils well enough. These are not features found in the teaching of science or in lessons in the younger classes. This is because in science, the Foundation Stage, and in Years 1 and 2, teachers use assessment information well. They plan activities that challenge pupils of all abilities and this enables the pupils to make good progress. Procedures for evaluating the school's work enable senior managers, governors and staff to understand the school's strengths and to identify the right priorities for improvement. This has

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Grade: 3

led to an increased rate of progress in pupils' reading and, since the last inspection, in the progress pupils make now in Years 1 and 2. These features show the school has the satisfactory capacity to improve. Senior leaders have a clear understanding of how well individual pupils are doing. However, the procedures for tracking pupils' progress are not yet systematic enough to identify clearly any differences in the progress that pupils of different abilities make. Nor do these procedures identify any disparities between pupils' progress in one class compared to another and from one year to the next. This means that senior leaders are not in a strong enough position to pick up quickly on any particular group of pupils that may be in danger of underachieving, and to identify any comparative weaknesses in teaching. Pupils take good care of themselves and others. They say their teachers are kind and that they

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Grade: 3

encourage them to work and play together constructively. These features soon help to build strong and trusting relationships. The school forges strong links with parents. Parents are pleased with the good level of care and support and are particularly appreciative of the learning programmes the school provides. They say that these give them the confidence to support their children's learning at home. Pupils take on responsibility well. They make a good contribution to their local and wider community. They are keen to raise charitable funds because they want to help people less fortunate than they are. Pupils thoroughly enjoy the extensive range of activities on offer outside normal lessons. They make good use of the sporting clubs because they understand the value of exercise. The choices they make about their diet are sensible because the school does a good job of teaching them about healthy lifestyles.

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Grade: 3

4 of 11 Inspection Report: Granby Primary School, 11 °12 March 2008

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Grade: 2

Children settle quickly in the Foundation Stage because staff pay close attention to their personal needs. Children of Nursery age in Foundation 1 soon learn the classroom routines and eagerly explore the exciting activities on offer. Children of Reception age in Foundation 2 are confident and they persevere with tasks because they find them interesting. Teachers work hard to promote children's language skills and they provide good opportunities for them to talk about their experiences. For example, one child spoke at length about the house he had built, excitably explaining how he had made it. Learning support assistants successfully engage children in conversation and ensure they know what they are doing. This helps to build confidence and ensures that children who struggle with their work take a full part in lessons. Teachers make careful assessments of children's achievements and plan work that meets the

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Grade: 2

differing needs of children successfully. This enables the children to make good progress. The Foundation Stage leader provides good direction for the staff and this enables them to work effectively as a team

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Provide better opportunities, especially in Years 3 to 6, for pupils to develop their writing skills across all subjects. ■ Ensure teachers provide activities that challenge the more able pupils to do their best.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Strengthen the systems for tracking pupils' progress to provide a clearer view of how well different groups of pupils are doing from one year to the next and within classes.

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Grade: 3

Pupils' achievements and their progress are satisfactory. However, the more able pupils in Years 3 to 6 do not always do as well as they can. Children make a good start to school. Even though their attainment is below average on entry to Year 1, children make good progress having entered the school with skills that are well below those expected for three year olds. Teaching in Years 1 and 2 capitalises on this positive start, pupils continue to do well, and this enables them to reach average standards by Year 2. Standards are average by Year 6. More challenging targets are helping to improve standards, notably in science, where test results in 2007 were the highest for some years. Pupils' achievements in reading are improving but in writing and mathematics, they remain weaker. Writing opportunities across the curriculum do not enable pupils to make best use of their writing skills to improve and do better. The school also tends

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Grade: 3

not to reach its Level 5 targets in mathematics because activities for more able pupils are sometimes not demanding enough.

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Grade: 2

Pupils' good behaviour and the care they show each other help to establish strong friendships and positive relationships. These features contribute significantly to pupils' enjoyment of school. Pupils' attendance is satisfactory. This is owing in part to a small number of persistent non-attendees and parents taking their children away on holiday during term time. The school works closely with the parents of the former and takes a robust stance with the latter. Staff ensure that these pupils have additional work to help them catch up. The school council works 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Granby Primary School, 11 °12 March 2008 hard and pupils are pleased that its efforts have been instrumental in bringing about improvements to the playgrounds. Pupils have a strong sense of community and they support fund-raising events enthusiastically. They have a keen understanding of how to live healthy lives and show this in the wise choices they make about their food and their eager involvement

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Grade: 2

in sporting activities. Pupils' progress in developing key skills in literacy and numeracy prepare them satisfactorily for the future.

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Grade: 3

Teachers have high expectations of pupils' behaviour, they are consistent in their approach and so pupils know exactly what teachers expect of them. This ensures that lessons run smoothly with very few disruptions to learning. The demands teachers make upon pupils in order to extend their learning are not always consistent. Sometimes activities and questions are too easy for the more able pupils and this hampers their learning, especially in mathematics and writing. Good support from teaching assistants enables pupils who require extra help with their learning to cope with the activities teachers plan. Teaching in the Foundation Stage and in Years 1 and 2 is good. Teachers devote their attention to ensuring that activities cater for the differing needs of pupils. They devise well-conceived targets for improvement and have high expectations of what pupils can achieve. These features enable learning to move at a brisk pace

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Grade: 3

Efforts to increase pupils' enjoyment of the curriculum are starting to embed. Pupils say that lessons this term are more interesting than in the past. Boys are more motivated to read since the school has considered their reading preferences and purchased more boy friendly texts. The school acknowledges that there is scope to develop this approach in writing. Boys say the themes teachers ask them to write about are not always exciting or enjoyable. Opportunities for pupils to practise and consolidate their writing skills across the curriculum are not always sufficiently frequent or motivating and this does not promote good progress. The rich and exciting range of activities outside normal lessons, including residential visits, sporting, art and chess clubs, contributes successfully to pupils' enjoyment of school

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Grade: 2

Safeguarding procedures are robust. Pupils comment that they feel safe and secure. They feel staff treat them fairly, they listen to them and pupils are confident that if they have any concerns staff will take action swiftly. Staff routinely remind pupils of how to keep safe and stay healthy. Good links with health and road safety agencies and the police support this work successfully. Pupils have a good understanding of their targets for improvement. They support pupils' learning particularly well in Years 1 and 2. Here teachers regularly update the targets but in Years 3 to 6, this practice is not always consistent. This does not help all pupils to do their best. 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Granby Primary School, 11 °12 March 2008

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Grade: 3

Self-evaluation procedures are satisfactory. Senior leaders analyse test data and evaluate teaching and learning. They use this information wisely to set targets for improvement. This has halted the decline in standards seen in 2006 and has improved pupils' progress in reading and science. The school has recently introduced some new procedures for tracking pupils' progress. These are not yet fully effective because they do not provide senior leaders with a clear overview of how well differing groups of pupils are doing. This means senior leaders, including subject coordinators, do not identify well enough any disparity in the rates of progress pupils make from one year to the next and between classes. As a result, senior leaders and governors are missing the opportunity to hold staff more firmly to account for the progress pupils make. The school engages well with parents. It provides useful advice and runs events

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Grade: 3

that give parents practical ways to help their children at home. These features contribute successfully to pupils' learning. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Granby Primary School, 11 °12 March 2008 .

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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: Granby Primary School, 11 °12 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 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: Granby Primary School, 11 °12 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 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: Granby Primary School, 11 °12 March 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

13 March 2008 Dear Pupils Inspection of Granby Primary School, Leicester, LE2 8LP Thank you for making the inspection team feel so welcome when it visited your school recently. It was good to see you hard at work and to talk with you about all the interesting things you do. Your school is doing a satisfactory job. Your teachers and the people in charge help you to make satisfactory progress, and to reach average standards by Year 6. Here are some of the things we thought were good about your school.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Children get off to a good start in the Foundation Stage.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Pupils in Years 1 and 2 make good progress because their teachers help them to do their best. ■ Your behaviour is good and you get on well together.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You look out for each other and you care about people less fortunate than you are.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You make good choices about your diet and take plenty of exercise because you want to grow up fit and strong. ■ You enjoy school. You say your teachers treat you kindly and this makes you want to work hard and do your best. ■ You have many exciting things to do outside normal lessons.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Your school gives your parents good advice about how they can help you at home.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

We have asked the people in charge and your teachers to work together on three things.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ To help you do even better in your writing.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ To give you activities that challenge all of you to do your best.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ To check more carefully that all of you are progressing as fast as you should be.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Yours sincerely Fran Gillam Lead inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Granby Primary School, 11 °12 March 2008

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