Chaloner Primary School

Chaloner Primary School Inspection report

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131644 Unique Reference Number Redcar and Cleveland Local Authority 315845 Inspection number 28 °29 February 2008 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 276 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Graham Telford (Vice Chair) Chair Mrs Angela Hull Headteacher Not previously inspected Date of previous school inspection Wilton Lane School address Guisborough North Yorkshire TS14 6JA 01287 635728 Telephone number 01287 610115 Fax number

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3-11 Age group 28 °29 February 2008 Inspection dates 315845 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 large, split site school is the amalgamation of two schools in the town. It has been open since September 2006 and is in an area of above average levels of social and economic disadvantage. The proportion of pupils entitled to free school meals is twice the national average. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is above the national average. Foundation Stage is a single unit for Nursery and Reception.

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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: Chaloner Primary School, 28 °29 February 2008

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Grade: 3

This is a satisfactory and improving school giving satisfactory value for money. The headteacher provides strong leadership. The school has several good features. It is a caring place in which pupils grow in confidence. This contributes well to their good personal development. Many parents are positive in their praise, and say they are happy to send their children to the school. Good relationships between staff and pupils underpin the good behaviour. This has meant that pupils are confident to express their views and have good personal skills that equip them well for the future. Achievement is satisfactory but varies between years because of inconsistencies in the quality of teaching. It is better in Key Stage 2 than Key Stage 1. Children enter Year 1 with standards that are below those expected for their age, particularly in communication and language skills. Despite satisfactory progress standards at the end of Year 2 are below national expectations.

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Grade: 3

Progress accelerates in Key Stage 2 so that standards by the end of Year 6 are broadly average. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make good progress because links with outside agencies are used successfully. Pupils’ personal development and well-being, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, are good. Some pupils participate in the school council and this gives them an awareness of taking responsibility in the community. The school provides a wide range of activities to encourage pupils to learn about the importance of healthy lifestyles. Through extended services parents are also able to attend courses to help them learn about healthy eating and packed lunches. Although the quality of teaching and learning is inconsistent, it is satisfactory overall and sometimes good or outstanding. There is some good support from teaching assistants who work well with pupils of all abilities. In some lessons there is good pace; teachers plan well to

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Grade: 3

provide challenge and ask good questions in order to move pupils on. In other lessons teachers do not have high enough expectations and tasks are not sufficiently challenging. The marking of pupils work does not always help pupils to know how to improve. The curriculum is satisfactory. There is a wide range of well supported extra curricular activities including sport, music, gardening and information and communication technology (ICT). Nevertheless, the curriculum is not always rich enough to provide pupils with activities in the classroom that excite and encourage them to always achieve well. Parents have the opportunity to develop their knowledge and enjoy courses that help them support their children. Leadership and management are satisfactory. The school leaders are caring and foster an environment in which pupils can achieve well in their personal development. The senior leadership team is committed to raising standards. The headteacher has worked diligently to

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Grade: 3

ensure that the amalgamation of the two schools has been successful. The leadership team is not currently at full capacity and as a result it can be difficult for leaders and managers to have enough opportunity to fulfil their management responsibilities. Governors work closely with the school and provide support when needed. The school provides satisfactory value for money and has a satisfactory capacity to improve. 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Chaloner Primary School, 28 °29 February 2008

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Grade: 2

The effectiveness of provision in the Foundation Stage is good and children make good progress. Children enter the Foundation Stage with levels of skills that are lower than is typical for their age, particularly in speech and language. Despite their good progress, many children still leave the Reception year with skills below those expected for their age. Children show increasing levels of confidence and independence and make particularly good progress in their personal development. Attractive, spacious surroundings and a range of interesting activities mean children enjoy coming to school, behave well and soon learn to share and take turns. Teaching and learning are good because adults plan exciting activities that link closely to children’s needs. Children are keen to talk about their work linked to pirates, they are able to use computers to play pirate games and tell stories about the adventures at sea. The school has an appropriate focus on

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Grade: 2

extending outdoor opportunities to include all areas of the Foundation Stage curriculum, particularly writing. Leadership and management of the Foundation Stage are good. Children who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities are supported effectively by teaching assistants and achieve well.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Improve the quality of teaching, particularly in relation to marking and ensuring lessons are consistently sufficiently challenging. ■ Make the curriculum more stimulating so that pupils are more motivated and inspired.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Ensure that staff with management responsibilities have more opportunities to fulfil these roles. 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 their next section 5 inspection.

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Grade: 3

Achievement is satisfactory. It is variable year on year and between key stages because of the inconsistencies in the quality of teaching. When pupils start in Year 1 many have not reached the learning goals expected for their age at the end of the Foundation Stage. Most pupils make satisfactory progress in Years 1 and 2. Current standards reflect the school’s results of assessments in 2007 for pupils at the end of Year 2 which were below average in reading, writing and mathematics. In Key Stage 2 pupils’ progress increases and by the end of Year 6, standards are broadly average in English, mathematics and science. Last year’s results in Key Stage 2 showed above average standards, but inspection evidence showed that current standards overall are broadly in line with average. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities are well supported and they make good progress towards the targets set for learning.

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Grade: 3

5 of 11 Inspection Report: Chaloner Primary School, 28 °29 February 2008

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Grade: 2

Pupils’ personal development and well-being are good. Pupils are growing into confident and sensible individuals who show they are able to carry out responsible roles as prefects, school councillors and playground buddies for the younger children. Pupils actively try to keep themselves healthy through regular exercise in school and through healthy eating. Pupils have an excellent understanding of these aspects of their development. Attendance is satisfactory; the school is successfully working with parents and pupils to further improve this. Pupils say they like school, particularly the support they give to special fund raising events in the community and after-school activities. In the gardening club pupils are enthusiastic about growing their own vegetables especially when these become part of their healthy school lunch. These experiences help them to develop the responsibilities of young adults. Pupils generally feel safe and secure and have confidence in the staff to provide the

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Grade: 2

right help. They have good attitudes to learning, are respectful towards staff and try hard to meet expectations in lessons. Pupils have good relationships with each other, they work well together in lessons and playtimes are friendly occasions. Pupils’ behaviour is good.

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Grade: 3

Teaching and learning are satisfactory. A positive feature of all lessons is the good relationships staff have with their pupils, which ensures pupils’ behave well and have good attitudes to their work. In lessons where learning is good, and on occasions outstanding, teacher’s expectations are high and pupils are sufficiently challenged. In less effective lessons expectations are too low, and activities and resources are limited so pupils do not achieve as well as they could. Teachers confidently use the interactive whiteboard and this sustains pupil’s interest. The quality of marking of pupils’ work is inconsistent. Teachers do not always explain to pupils how they can improve their work. Teaching assistants make a good contribution to children’s learning because they are well trained and are fully integrated into the staff team. Provision in lessons for pupils with learning difficulties is good and accounts

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Grade: 3

The curriculum is satisfactory overall, although some aspects make a good contribution to pupils’ personal development. The school is at an early stage of linking subjects together and providing more creative opportunities in lessons to make sure that pupils are motivated to learn. These changes have not yet influenced the quality of teaching or raised standards. Pupils enjoy the wide range of activities after school. There are enrichment opportunities locally and Year 6 pupils have an opportunity to take part in a residential visit. Art work across the school is a strength, especially ribbon weaving and life-sized models of animals. This work is led by a visiting artist. Links with the local secondary school provide opportunities for activities such as outdoor pursuits or street dance. The school is successfully implementing a programme to support children’s emotional development. 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Chaloner Primary School, 28 °29 February 2008

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Grade: 3

Care, guidance and support are satisfactory. All the required procedures for safeguarding, including child protection, are in place. There are good links with other agencies and organisations that ensure all children, especially the most vulnerable, are well cared for. Pupils are regularly assessed but this information is not used often enough to check on pupils’ progress and so ensure all work matches pupils’ abilities. The school takes full advantage of the opportunities to provide support for families and children through the extended care facilities on the site. Parents have a positive view about the school although a small number expressing concern about incidents of bullying. The school is doing everything possible to resolve their concerns.

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Grade: 3

Leadership and management, including governance, are satisfactory overall. The headteacher provides strong leadership and has a clear focus on raising standards. At the time of the inspection the senior leadership team was smaller than usual due to unavoidable absence and a vacancy for a senior post. This has understandably had an impact on the work of the leadership team who are sharing the management work and do not always have enough opportunities to put in place the strategies needed to continue school improvements. Self-evaluation is effective and identifies strengths and weaknesses. Arrangements for tracking pupils’ progress are not yet robust enough to ensure that leaders and staff can regularly see how well pupils are performing. Commitment to pupils’ all-round development has contributed to their good personal development. Subject leaders are developing their understanding of their subjects

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Grade: 3

and carry out monitoring and planning for school improvement. The governors bring a range of skills to their role and support the school effectively. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Chaloner 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: Chaloner 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? NA 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 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 3 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?

3 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: Chaloner 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: Chaloner 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 Pupils Inspection of Chaloner Primary School, Redcar and Cleveland, TS14 6JA We are writing to thank you for making us feel very welcome when we visited your school. We really enjoyed talking to you and have good memories of how friendly you are, not just towards us but also towards each other and your teachers. Your school provides you with a sound education and you achieve as well as other pupils nationally. We were impressed with how keen you were to talk to us, telling us about your many activities. We saw how well behaved you are in lessons, in the playground and as you moved around school. Year 6 pupils have important responsibilities in school and we were delighted to see how they enjoyed helping to care for the younger children at Kings base. All the adults work very hard to help your school and whilst you have some teachers absent we have suggested that your headteacher tries to look for more

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

opportunities for some of the adults who lead the school to do their work. 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 were pleased to tell us how much you knew about the importance of the healthy food, regular exercise and how to keep safe, as well as the food some of you grow, cook and eat. We thought your art work was brilliant; you must have really enjoyed creating the enormous animals that are now on the walls. When we came into lessons we were pleased to see how well behaved you were. Your teachers work very hard and we have asked them to make sure your work is not too easy or too hard, and also to think about different ways of marking your work so that you know more about how to improve. We have also asked the staff to think about how to make the topics you study even more exciting and interesting.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you for all your help we know how proud the school is of all you do. Well done. Best wishes Sue Sharkey, Lesley Richardson, Wendy Richardson Additional Inspectors 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Chaloner Primary School, 28 °29 February 2008

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