Goodyers End Primary School

Goodyers End Primary School Inspection report

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130897 Unique Reference Number Warwickshire Local Authority 315651 Inspection number 28 °29 February 2008 Inspection dates Andrew McDowall 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 317 School The governing body Appropriate authority Maria Ellott Chair Rosemary Jean Daniels Headteacher 3 June 2003 Date of previous school inspection Bowling Green Lane School address Bedworth CV12 0HP 02476 364448 Telephone number 02476 364198 Fax number

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4-11 Age group 28 °29 February 2008 Inspection dates 315651 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

This is a larger than average-sized school with a slowly falling number on roll. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is above average. The percentages of pupils who are learning English as additional language or who are from minority ethnic groups are below average. In recent years, the school has had difficulties in recruiting and retaining staff and staff turnover has been very high.

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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: Goodyers End Primary School, 28 °29 February 2008

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Grade: 3

The school provides a satisfactory quality of education. In recent years, very high staff turnover and pockets of poor teaching have affected achievement, particularly in Key Stage 2. Staffing is now more stable and the quality of teaching is satisfactory and improving. This has enabled the school to improve behaviour and successfully tackle underachievement. The school provides pupils with good care and academic guidance that is raising standards and helping them to make good progress in their personal and social development. When they start at the school, children have skills and abilities that are below those expected nationally, particularly in language and communication. They settle quickly into school and get off to a good start in the Foundation Stage, where progress is good. Pupils make satisfactory progress in Key Stage 1. Here, standards are rising steadily and are broadly average, although

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Grade: 3

too few pupils are reaching the higher levels in writing. Past underachievement and the consequent gaps in pupils' learning have resulted in below average standards in Key Stage 2. Achievement is now satisfactory and standards are rising, but too few pupils are reaching the higher levels in English, mathematics and science. Pupils have positive attitudes to learning and behave well in school. They have a good understanding of how to eat healthily and enjoy the increased opportunities that they have to exercise. Pupils know how to keep themselves safe. They make a good contribution to the school and local community and make regular contributions to a range of charities each year. Their ability to work constructively with others, and their satisfactory progress in literacy and numeracy, mean they are soundly prepared for their future. Their capacity to demonstrate initiative is limited because they have too few opportunities to do so in lessons.

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Grade: 3

Staff have worked together well to improve the quality of teaching. There are now common approaches to the management of pupils' behaviour. Consequently, classrooms are calm and pupils are focused on learning. Good relationships between staff and pupils fosters positive self-esteem and helps pupils to tackle new learning confidently. In Years 1 to 6, pupils are only making satisfactory progress because planning for their learning in the activity part of the lesson is not always matched closely enough to their particular needs. Higher attaining pupils sometimes spend too much time practising what they already know when they could be tackling more difficult work. The curriculum provides interesting things for the pupils to do and they appreciate the good range of clubs and enrichment activities provided by the school. The curriculum is not as good as it could be because the planning for English, mathematics and science does not sufficiently

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Grade: 3

meet the needs of different groups of pupils. The good academic guidance provided by the teachers has been instrumental in helping the school to tackle previous underachievement. The headteacher has correctly focused the school on raising standards and the school has worked well with the local authority to improve achievement in Key Stage 2. Some of the ways in which the school evaluates its own performance lack the precision necessary to help the school move to the next level. For example, the monitoring of teaching and learning does not always provide the clear advice individual teachers need to enable them to reflect on their practice and identify precisely what they need to do to improve further. Long-term financial planning has been difficult due to high staff turnover and uncertainties about pupils numbers. This has resulted in the school having a large carry forward budget. However, action could have

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Grade: 3

4 of 11 Inspection Report: Goodyers End Primary School, 28 °29 February 2008 been taken to allocate some of this funding to raising achievement or improving parts of the school building that are in need of redecoration. The school has a satisfactory capacity to improve because achievement in both the Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 has strengthened in recent years, and phase leadership is developing well. It is only satisfactory because some of the school's monitoring lacks the necessary rigour to promote good progress.

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Grade: 2

The school's priority to develop children's personal, social, emotional and early literacy skills is paying dividends, as standards in the Foundation Stage are rising. Good teaching is enabling children to make big steps in their learning. For example, standards in early reading and writing have been below average but are improving due to recent changes in the way the children are introduced to letters and sounds. The staff work well as a team to provide a good range of activities that motivate the children to learn. Because the staff provide good care, the children feel safe in school and enjoy playing with their friends. The outside area is used well to support learning; this helps the children to make good progress in their physical development. Sometimes, the children spend too long on the carpet when they could be involved in active learning. Although assessment is sound, the school records could be managed more effectively to provide

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Raise standards in English, mathematics and science, particularly for higher attaining pupils in writing in Key Stage 1 and all pupils in Key Stage 2, by matching work more closely to children's learning needs and expect more of higher attaining pupils throughout the school. ■ Improve the quality and consistency of the school's monitoring and evaluation of teaching and learning to enable teachers to receive precise guidance as to what they need to do to continue to improve. ■ Improve the long-term financial planning to ensure the financial reserves are used to improve the school. A small proportion of the schools whose overall effectiveness is judged satisfactory but which have areas of underperformance will receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before the next section 5 inspection.

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Grade: 3

When the pupils start Year 1, standards in mathematics are in line with national expectations, although reading and writing are below expected levels. Pupils make satisfactory progress in Key Stage 1. By the end of Year 2, standards in reading and mathematics are broadly average, but standards in writing are below average because too few pupils are reaching the higher levels. Progress in Key Stage 2 has been inadequate, but the more stable staffing situation and improvements to the quality of teaching are raising achievement. Pupils are currently making satisfactory progress in English, mathematics and science in Key Stage 2. Previous underachievement has left some pupils with gaps in their learning. Consequently, standards are below average. Too few pupils are reaching the higher levels in all subjects. Pupils with 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Goodyers End Primary School, 28 °29 February 2008 learning difficulties and/or disabilities and those from minority ethnic groups make satisfactory

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Grade: 2

Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Because pupils get along well together, the school is a calm and orderly place where pupils enjoy their education and have positive attitudes to learning. They understand the importance of healthy eating and engage enthusiastically in physical activities and games. Pupils feel safe and secure in school. They report that there is some bullying, but are confident that the staff will help them if they are concerned about anything. Attendance is satisfactory and is affected by parents taking their children on holiday in term time. Pupils make a good contribution to the life of the school and this is demonstrated by the responsible way they act as helpers and monitors. The school council effectively promotes pupils' views about the school. It has been involved in projects to improve the school environment, such as the redecoration of the school toilets and the provision of

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Grade: 2

litter bins. Pupils contribute well to the wider community through their participation in activities such as the school choir and the local arts festival.

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Grade: 3

The new teaching teams have worked hard to ensure that lesson planning is consistent in parallel classes. Procedures for checking how well pupils are doing are well thought through and this makes it easy for staff to share information. There is particularly good assessment of writing through 'The Big Write' project. The next steps in writing are clearly identified and pupils are very clear about what they need to do to improve. Teaching assistants are well deployed and make a positive contribution to pupils' achievement and personal development. Classrooms are well organised, with useful prompts to help pupils in literacy and numeracy. However, a few are cluttered and untidy, which detracts from the quality of the learning environment.

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Grade: 3

Pupils are interested in their work because the school makes good use of visits and visitors to bring the curriculum alive. A good example of this is the annual residential visit for older pupils. The curriculum is also enhanced well by a range of planned events and activities. For example, there are the opportunities for older pupils to learn to play a musical instrument, French is taught throughout the school and there are termly 'focus' weeks when the school concentrates on a particular theme. All these, together with the good programme for pupils' personal development, underpin pupils' positive attitudes to learning. There are also some weaknesses in the two-year rolling programme of themes and topics. In some year groups, and especially in science and history, time intervals between work on subjects is too long for pupils to build on previous learning. 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Goodyers End Primary School, 28 °29 February 2008

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Grade: 2

Strong provision is the cornerstone for pupils' good personal development and positive attitudes towards learning. Pupils are supported and cared for well by staff who know and respect each individual. Staff are checked for suitability to work with children and there are good arrangements to guarantee child protection. All reasonable steps are taken to ensure that pupils have a positive experience at school and are kept safe. Pupils are clear about what they have to do to improve. This information is shared with parents on a regular basis, but some of the targets use too much technical language to make them readily understandable. This makes it more difficult for parents to work with the school in effectively supporting their children at home.

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Grade: 3

The headteacher has established a team of staff who share her commitment to raise standards in the school. Phase leaders are growing in confidence. They provide sound support to teachers in identifying those pupils who are not making enough progress, and planning interventions to help these pupils to catch up. The leadership team has an accurate picture of the school's strengths and weaknesses and whole-school weaknesses in teaching and learning are being tackled. Challenging targets are set for each pupil and their progress is carefully monitored. The governors provide good support to the school and have an accurate picture of achievement. They visit regularly and have a sound understanding of the day-to-day issues facing the school. However, their role in monitoring the work of the school is limited. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Goodyers End Primary School, 28 °29 February 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: Goodyers End Primary School, 28 °29 February 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: Goodyers End Primary School, 28 °29 February 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: Goodyers End Primary School, 28 °29 February 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

3 March 2008 Dear Children Inspection of Goodyers End Primary School, Bedworth CV12 0HP. I would like to start by saying a big thank you to everyone for making us feel so welcome when we visited your school recently to see your work and talk to your teachers. Your school has had many teacher changes recently and this has affected the progress you make. At the moment your school provides you with a satiafactory education. The good news is that it is improving and your school is getting better. We were pleased to see how well you behaved and how you all got along well together. You told us you feel safe in school. Like you, we think your school is providing a good range of clubs and activities for you to join in with, and this is helping to keep you fit and active. You told us you enjoy school and we could see this in the way you work hard in lessons. We have asked your school to do these things to help it improve.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ The first is help you all to improve your work in literacy, numeracy and science and set harder work for those of you who find work easy so you can make more progress and reach the higher levels by the time you leave school. ■ We have asked your headteacher to make sure the teachers know what they need to do to continue to improve their teaching so you can all make good progress. ■ Finally, we have asked your headteacher and the school governors to spend some of the extra money they have to help your education. You can help by remembering your targets whenever you are doing any work and by always checking your work for yourself to see if it is as good as it can be. Thank you again and good luck for the future. Yours sincerely Andy McDowall Lead inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Goodyers End Primary School, 28 °29 February 2008

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Annex B

Inspection of Goodyers End Primary School, Bedworth CV12 0HP.

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Annex B

I would like to start by saying a big thank you to everyone for making us feel so welcome when we visited your school recently to see your work and talk to your teachers.

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Annex B

Your school has had many teacher changes recently and this has affected the progress you make. At the moment your school provides you with a satiafactory education. The good news is that it is improving and your school is getting better.

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Annex B

We were pleased to see how well you behaved and how you all got along well together. You told us you feel safe in school. Like you, we think your school is providing a good range of clubs and activities for you to join in with, and this is helping to keep you fit and active. You told us you enjoy school and we could see this in the way you work hard in lessons.

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Annex B

We have asked your school to do these things to help it improve.

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Annex B

• The first is help you all to improve your work in literacy, numeracy and science and set harder work for those of you who find work easy so you can make more progress and reach the higher levels by the time you leave school. • We have asked your headteacher to make sure the teachers know what they need to do to continue to improve their teaching so you can all make good progress. • Finally, we have asked your headteacher and the school governors to spend some of the extra money they have to help your education.

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Annex B

You can help by remembering your targets whenever you are doing any work and by always checking your work for yourself to see if it is as good as it can be.

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Annex B

Thank you again and good luck for the future.

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