Perton First School

124177 Unique Reference Number Staffordshire Local Authority 314833 Inspection number 11 December 2007 Inspection date Rashida Sharif HMI 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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First Type of school Community School category 3 °9 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 287 School The governing body Appropriate authority Sian Rudling Chair Benita Toth Headteacher 2 November 2004 Date of previous school inspection Manston Drive School address Perton Wolverhampton WV6 7LX 01902 750006 Telephone number 01902 745087 Fax number

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3-9 Age group 11 December 2007 Inspection date 314833 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 one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors, who evaluated the overall effectiveness of the school and investigated the following issues. • The extent to which pupils make consistent progress in different year groups • How well pupils are made aware of how to improve their work • The quality of teaching, particularly in writing • The way tracking is used to help pupils reach challenging targets • The specific impact of middle managers on school improvement. Evidence was gathered from lesson observations, the scrutiny of pupils’ work, and assessment data on pupils’ progress. Other aspects of the school’s work were not investigated in detail, but the inspector found no evidence to suggest that the school’s own assessments, as detailed in its self-evaluation, were not justified, so these have been included where appropriate in this report.

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Description of the school

Perton is relatively large for a first school. Pupils enter the school with skills in communication and reading that are broadly as expected for their age, but their skills in mathematics are more limited. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals and that of pupils identified with learning difficulties and/or disabilities are below average. Almost all pupils are of White British heritage.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 10 Inspection Report: Perton First School, 11 December 2007

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Grade: 2

Perton First School is a good school with outstanding features. The immense enjoyment and enthusiasm of all pupils are reflected in good attendance. Parents' views of the school are overwhelmingly positive and mirror those of pupils, who say they look forward to coming to school and also staying after school to join the many extra-curricular activities they are offered. The school places the highest priority on helping pupils feel valued and on developing their self confidence, and this ensures that their personal development is outstanding. Pupils thoroughly enjoy school and feel very safe within its supportive environment. Their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding. Parents and pupils welcome the high priority given to promoting healthy lifestyles. Pupils make very good informed choices in relation to a balanced diet. Many participate in a wide range of sports and games at breaks, lunch times

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Grade: 2

and after school clubs, as well as in regular physical education lessons. Pupils are not afraid to make mistakes and have the confidence to take risks in their learning. They are passionate about the contribution they make to the life of the school through the school council and the value they add to the lives of other pupils through their playground pals and special person of the week. The pupils' exemplary behaviour, excellent attitudes to learning and commitment to the well-being of others, both within the school and internationally through the links with Gambia, are a credit to the school. Pupils' academic achievement is good. By the end of Year 2, standards are above average in reading, writing and mathematics as a result of the numerous initiatives that have been put into place and the effective use of data to inform planning of lessons to meet the needs of pupils. In Years 3 and 4, pupils continue to make good progress overall. In Year 3, boys have

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Grade: 2

performed better than girls except in writing but, in Year 4, girls are now outperforming boys across the board as a result of the school's identification of this issue. The school is aware that pupils' progress in writing is not as good as in reading and mathematics, but there are some promising signs of improving confidence and understanding from both the teachers and the pupils in the way they approach their written tasks. The effectively deployed and experienced support staff work closely with teachers to ensure that the needs of individual pupils are met. Pupils' highly developed personal qualities and good grounding in key skills ensure that they are well prepared for the next stage of their education and later life. Teaching is good. Teachers and support staff know their pupils extremely well and tailor their work with a good balance of challenge and support. Teachers have good subject knowledge

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Grade: 2

and clearly aim for high standards. Pupils know and understand what they are expected to learn. Lessons are made interesting through the creative use of interactive whiteboards. Pupils particularly enjoy their practical lessons, for example conducting experiments in science and making christmas cakes in design and technology. They say such lessons are 'even more fun'. Consequently, pupils make good progress. Pupils who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities participate fully in all lessons and have good support; consequently they achieve as well as their peers. Teachers work hard to provide very precise teaching and learning activities that meet the needs of all individuals. Some lessons however lack the range of learning approaches seen in some of the outstanding lessons and, as a result, activities do not challenge individuals of all abilities to do their best. The school is engaged in a healthy debate about the effectiveness

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Grade: 2

of different teaching and learning styles for its pupils with the aim of developing more teaching that is outstanding. 4 of 10 Inspection Report: Perton First School, 11 December 2007 Pupils benefit from an outstanding curriculum. It is broad and creative with inspirational music provision. The curriculum is further enhanced through a wide range of well attended extra-curricular activities. As some of the pupils said, 'There are so many things to do it's finding the time to do them.' Its particular strengths have been recognised through the recently acquired Quality Mark in information and communication technology, geography Gold Mark, the Healthy School award and more recently Dyslexia Friendly full status. The school takes exceptional care of its pupils and this underpins all of its work. Child protection procedures are fully in place. Arrangements for ensuring safety and welfare are robust and risk

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Grade: 2

assessments are regularly undertaken. The school recognises the importance of developing a wide range of social skills in preparation for the next stage of the pupils' education. There are very good partnerships with the middle school that pupils transfer to. Teachers from the two schools work closely together to ensure that pupils continue to succeed at a similar rate by the time they reach Year 6. The school enjoys good partnerships with the local churches and outstanding relationships with parents. Procedures for academic guidance are robust. The teachers' in-depth knowledge of individuals ensures that pupils' targets are both realistic and challenging. However, marking in books is not consistent in informing pupils of how to improve their work. Leadership and management are good. The headteacher sets a clear direction and is very well supported by a committed deputy headteacher, senior management team and governing body.

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Grade: 2

The headteacher's determination to improve the school's effectiveness has been a consistently positive factor in the school's development. She has instilled staff with self belief but is not afraid to confront shortcomings when practice fails to live up to her expectations. She leads by example in dealing with pupils, staff and parents and has established a hardworking, effective and reflective team of managers. Her skills are complemented by those of her deputy, whose detailed evaluations of test results have helped the school steer a clear course towards setting challenging targets. The recently appointed senior managers with responsibilities for literacy and creativity are equally committed to raising standards and particularly in writing, which the school has found challenging. All staff are seen as leaders with curricular responsibilities and are accountable in a supportive and transparent manner for raising standards.

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Grade: 2

Senior staff have a realistic view of the school's strengths and areas for further development. Assessment information is used effectively to inform management decisions, guide pupils, and monitor the effectiveness of provision. There are robust procedures to judge and develop teaching through accurate monitoring by the senior management team. Since the last inspection, there have been good improvements. The senior management team continues in its drive to provide the best education for every pupil and the school has a good capacity to improve even further.

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Grade: 2

Children in the Foundation Stage make good progress. Behaviour is excellent and children work cooperatively in small groups and independently. The school gives high priority to developing positive attitudes to learning through excellent provision in personal, social and emotional development. Consequently, most children are working well towards their early learning goals. The children make particularly good progress in knowledge and understanding of the world. Highly effective partnerships with parents ensure that they engage fully in their children's early development. The good leadership and management of the Foundation Stage ensures that all 5 of 10 Inspection Report: Perton First School, 11 December 2007 the children are highly motivated. Play based activities are exciting, innovative, well planned and ably supported by nursery nurses.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Improve the standards in writing to bring them in line with standards in mathematics and reading. ■ Ensure that marking in books is coherent and consistent throughout the school and provides pupils with the feedback and advice they need to further improve their work. 6 of 10 Inspection Report: Perton First School, 11 December 2007 .

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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. 7 of 10 Inspection Report: Perton First School, 11 December 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 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 1 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 1 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?

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. 8 of 10 Inspection Report: Perton First School, 11 December 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 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? 9 of 10 Inspection Report: Perton First School, 11 December 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

12 December 2007 Dear Pupils Inspection of Perton First School, Perton, Wolverhampton WV6 7LX Thank you very much for making me feel so welcome when I visited your school. In particular, I would like to thank the school council members for giving up part of their dinnertime to talk to me. I very much enjoyed talking to you and watching you at work in lessons. You told me you enjoy school and I could see why. It is a good school, and you make a very good contribution to the life of the school through your work in the school council and as 'playground pals'. Here are some of the things that I liked most of all.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Your behaviour is exemplary and you have extremely positive attitudes to learning.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You get on together and listen to each other when you are working in groups and when you are sharing ideas with the whole class. ■ You are very polite and well mannered.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Adults in your school take good care of you and give you extra help if you need it.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Teachers work hard to make learning enjoyable and interesting.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Your parents are also very happy with the school.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

There are two things that I have asked your school to do to help you improve your work even more.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Improve your writing, so that you do as well in writing as you do in mathematics and reading.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Make sure that marking in books is done in the same way throughout the school and that it helps you to further improve your work. Thank you for such a lovely day and keep up the good work. With best wishes for the future. Rashida Sharif Her Majesty's Inspector 10 of 10 Inspection Report: Perton First School, 11 December 2007

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Annex B

Inspection of Perton First School, Perton, Wolverhampton WV6 7LX

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Annex B

Thank you very much for making me feel so welcome when I visited your school. In particular, I would like to thank the school council members for giving up part of their dinnertime to talk to me. I very much enjoyed talking to you and watching you at work in lessons. You told me you enjoy school and I could see why. It is a good school, and you make a very good contribution to the life of the school through your work in the school council and as ‘playground pals’.

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Annex B

Here are some of the things that I liked most of all.

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Annex B

ƒ Your behaviour is exemplary and you have extremely positive attitudes to learning. ƒ You come to school every day on time. ƒ You get on together and listen to each other when you are working in groups and when you are sharing ideas with the whole class. ƒ You are very polite and well mannered. ƒ Adults in your school take good care of you and give you extra help if you need it. ƒ Teachers work hard to make learning enjoyable and interesting. ƒ Your parents are also very happy with the school.

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Annex B

There are two things that I have asked your school to do to help you improve your work even more.

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Annex B

ƒ Improve your writing, so that you do as well in writing as you do in mathematics and reading. ƒ Make sure that marking in books is done in the same way throughout the school and that it helps you to further improve your work.

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Annex B

Thank you for such a lovely day and keep up the good work.

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