Roberttown Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior and Infant School

Age group 5–11 Inspection date(s) 3–4 March 2009 Inspection number 324634 Roberttown Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior and Infant School Inspection report

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Unique Reference Number 107721 Local Authority Kirklees Inspection number 324634 Inspection dates 3–4 March Reporting inspector Clive Moss HMI

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This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005 under pilot arrangements; it was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act . The registered childcare, managed by the governing body, was inspected under section 49 of the Childcare Act 2006.

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Type of school Primary School category Voluntary controlled Age range of pupils 5–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number on roll School (total) 227 Government funded early education provision for children aged 3 to the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Ms S Eckford Headteacher Mrs J Laycock-Smith Date of previous school inspection June 2006 School address Church Road Roberttown Liversedge West Yorkshire WF15 8BE Telephone number 01924 325723 Fax number 01924 325724 Email address office.roberttown@kirklees-schools.org.uk Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk 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 pilot inspection was carried out by one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors and one Additional Inspector. The inspectors visited 11 lessons, in every year group, and held meetings with governors, staff, pupils and parents. They observed the school’s work, and looked at the school’s records of the support provided to pupils, data on pupils’ progress and attainment, policies and procedures for safeguarding and 95 parental questionnaires.

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Introduction

The inspection team reviewed many aspects of the school’s work. It looked in detail at:

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Introduction

 the progress made by pupils in lessons and in their work  the impact of additional support provided to pupils who need it  the impact of the opportunities provided by the school in developing pupils’ personal skills and attitudes.

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Information about the school

The school is an average-sized primary school that serves a relatively affluent area. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is well below average. The pupil population of the school is very stable, with a much lower than average proportion entering or leaving other than at the usual times. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is below average. The proportion of pupils with a statement of special educational needs is well below average. The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is below average. There are no pupils for whom English is not or is believed not to be the first language. The school makes provision for the Early Years Foundation Stage in its Reception class and joint Reception/Year 1 class. The school has achieved a number of awards for the quality of its work, including the Activemark, Healthy Schools Award and Investors in Pupils.

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Inspection judgements

Grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

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Main findings

Roberttown Church of England is a highly effective school in which pupils make good progress and regularly reach high standards. It does some things exceptionally well. Children make a good start in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Pupils continue to make good progress through the school as a result of consistently good teaching and learning, a varied curriculum that captures the interest of the pupils, and meticulous work to ensure that individuals receive high quality support, guidance and care appropriate to their needs. Pupils enjoy their learning greatly, but lessons and activities do not consistently provide the most able with sufficient challenge.

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Main findings

The headteacher, senior staff and governors demonstrate determination and persistence in bringing improvements at the school. With the full support of the staff, they have tackled the areas for improvement at the last inspection successfully. This is the result of thorough use of well-constructed systems for monitoring performance. The school evaluates the quality of its work accurately. Since the last inspection, standards of attainment at both Key Stage 1 and 2, which were already high, have risen at a faster rate than nationally.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that the most able pupils are consistently provided with appropriately challenging work and activities that extend their thinking skills and capacity to work independently and creatively.

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1

Pupils enjoy their learning greatly. This is shown in their response to lessons; their comments on the opportunities provided by the school; and in the results of surveys, including interviews carried out with them by governors. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make good progress, given their starting points. Other pupils who face significant barriers to their learning are enabled to take full advantage of the wide variety of opportunities provided by the school and they also make good progress. The school has been successful in eliminating the gap in performance between boys and girls as a result of carefully targeted work. Overall, standards are consistently well above average, including at the higher levels.

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1

The curriculum includes many well-planned opportunities for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. As result, pupils become very reflective young people with a strong awareness and deep understanding of the needs of others. Pupils have good knowledge about keeping safe and being healthy, but do not always put this into practice. A very high proportion of pupils feel safe at the school. Pupils say there is almost no bullying and that instances are dealt with swiftly and very effectively. There are very few instances of racism. Pupils are taught well how to deal with conflicts themselves. They are very cheerful, extremely polite and helpful to each other and adults. They contribute considerably to the excellent relationships, smooth running and improvement of the school by taking on many and various responsibilities, including acting as ‘Befrienders’ for others who are having problems.

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1

The behaviour of pupils during the inspection was excellent. There have been no exclusions at the school for more than two years. Excellent attendance, attitudes and the high standards they reach mean that pupils are very well prepared to make the most of the next stage of their education.

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1

These are the grades for pupils’ outcomes Pupils’ attainment 1 1 The quality of pupils’ learning and their progress 2 The quality of learning for pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and their progress How well do pupils achieve and enjoy their learning? 1 To what extent do pupils feel safe? 2 How well do pupils behave? 1 To what extent do pupils adopt healthy lifestyles? 2 To what extent do pupils contribute to the school and wider community? 1 Pupils’ attendance 1 How well do pupils develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being? What is the extent of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development? 1

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The quality of the school’s work

The quality of teaching is good. Lessons are consistently planned and prepared well. Teachers use detailed assessment information well to plan interesting activities and set clear targets for pupils’ learning. Most pupils say they find the work they are given interesting and appropriately challenging. The most able pupils, however, sometimes find the work easy. Careful selection of topics and use of more active learning styles has improved the progress made by boys. As a result, boys’

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The quality of the school’s work

1 Grades for attainment are: 1 is high; 2 is above average; 3 is broadly average; 4 is low achievement has improved and they now do as well as girls. The marking of pupils’ work in all subjects provides them with clear guidance on how to improve. Pupils are clear about what they need to do and describe teachers’ marking as helpful. Good use is made of pupils’ self-assessment and opportunities to comment on each other’s work. This increases pupils’ understanding of how to improve.

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The quality of the school’s work

The curriculum provides pupils with a rich variety of opportunities for learning, which they value highly. Careful planning has ensured that pupils are able to make purposeful connections between the different subjects they study. They develop an excellent understanding of different cultures through, for example, links with another local school with a very different social mix from Roberttown and with a school in South Africa. Pupils spoke articulately about their experience of ‘Community Week’, which clearly contributed significantly to their appreciation of their own and others’ environments. Residential experiences involve activities that provide a significant challenge to pupils and improve their confidence and self-esteem. Pupils respond well to a wide variety of activities to increase their understanding of health and safety, including weekly awards made by the caretaker to the class keeping the

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The quality of the school’s work

tidiest classroom. Most pupils take part in the wide variety of extra-curricular activities provided by the school. These activities are valued highly by both pupils and parents.

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The quality of the school’s work

The school provides excellent support and guidance to pupils. Pupils feel well cared for as a result of the strong relationships between themselves and adults. Pupils find the learning environment welcoming and stimulating. There are many small touches that contribute to this, including flowers on the dining tables at lunchtime. Most pupils say they are very happy and are clearly proud of their school. In many ways the very popular breakfast club exemplifies the ethos of the school by providing a civilised and purposeful experience that contributes directly to pupils’ welfare and personal growth and creates an excellent start to the school day. Careful use of assessment data along with other information about pupils ensures that the school identifies pupils who would benefit from additional support at the earliest opportunity. These pupils are provided with well-constructed programmes of support, involving parents and carers, and determined efforts to obtain the help of outside

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The quality of the school’s work

agencies when appropriate, that enable them to make good progress and become fully integrated with the school. The school has used the Investors in Pupils scheme to develop a well-structured approach to involving pupils in the life of the school and, as a result, they make a significant contribution to its work and development. Arrangements for the transition of pupils from pre-school into the Early Years Foundation Stage, through the school and on to secondary schools work smoothly.

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The quality of the school’s work

These are the grades for the quality of provision High quality teaching and purposeful learning 2 Effective assessment 2 An appropriate curriculum which meets pupils’ needs, including, where relevant, provision through partnership with other organisations Support, guidance and care 1

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How effective are leadership and management?

The governors, headteacher and staff at the school are well motivated and committed to improving the school further. The strong teamwork they have developed is producing consistently good practice throughout the school. The school promotes equality of opportunity very well. This can be seen in improvements in the attainment of boys so that they now perform as well as girls, and in the full integration into the school of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, and others who face particular challenges to their learning.

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How effective are leadership and management?

The school makes good use of data about the progress and attainment of pupils to monitor and evaluate the quality of teaching. This has led to improvements in the quality of teaching and learning since the last inspection and increasingly high standards reached by pupils. Governors have a good knowledge of what goes on in school gained through, for example, effective use of classroom visits to learn in detail about the work of the teachers. They use the knowledge gained constructively to support the school’s monitoring and evaluation of its work and to promote improvement by insisting on the setting of challenging targets even for this high- attaining school. The partnership between the governors and the staff at the school ensures that high expectations are sustained. This is reflected in the continued high attainment of pupils. Policies and procedures for safeguarding are in place, including health and safety checks, and detailed risk assessments. The school has carefully

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How effective are leadership and management?

identified the needs of pupils to promote community cohesion and is implementing a well thought out response through the curriculum, which is having a clear impact on pupils’ learning. The school has achieved the Financial Management Standard in Schools.

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How effective are leadership and management?

The school has good knowledge of the views of parents, including through an annual survey. Governors ensure that these views inform decision making. As a result, for example, the range of extra-curricular activities has been increased, to provide more attractive opportunities for children who were not participating in physical activities. Parents are provided with and many take advantage of various opportunities to be involved in their children’s education. A small minority do not, however, feel well- engaged with the school.

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How effective are leadership and management?

These are the grades for leadership and management Communicating ambition and driving improvement 2 Promoting equality of opportunity and tackling discrimination 1 Ensuring that safeguarding procedures are effective 2 Ensuring that the governing body provides effective challenge and support so that weaknesses are tackled decisively and statutory responsibilities are met Promoting the school’s relationship with parents and carers, including their involvement in decision making about matters relating to learning and well-being Developing partnerships with other providers, organisations and services 2 Ensuring the school contributes to community cohesion 2 Deploying resources to achieve value for money 1

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Early Years Foundation Stage

Children enter the Early Years Foundation Stage with broadly average levels of personal skills, attributes and abilities expected of children of this age. They make good progress in a short space of time as a result of good teaching and learning. By the end of the Reception Year many exceed the levels expected for their age. Good assessment procedures are used well to determine children’s next steps in learning. Close records are kept of children’s achievement using a good range of evidence, including observations, photographs and recordings of actual speech. Teachers are alert to every stage of each child’s development, so that, for example, when a child suddenly started to discuss work and chat during outdoor work for the first time, the teacher instantly encouraged her to do this further. A reading record is used well to provide a focus for keeping parents informed about and involved in their children’s

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Early Years Foundation Stage

learning. As a result of the work of the Early Years Foundation Stage, children become confident and self-reliant and their readiness to learn is exceptionally good by the time they enter Key Stage 1.

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Early Years Foundation Stage

How good are the outcomes for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage? 2 What is the quality of provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage? 2 How effectively is the provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage led and managed? Overall effectiveness: how well does the setting/school meet the needs of children in the Early Years Foundation Stage?

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Views of parents and carers

As a contribution to the inspection, 95 parents submitted questionnaires. The great majority were supportive of the school. Written comments were provided by 52 parents, many expressing considerable satisfaction with the progress made by their children and the range of activities provided by the school. 17 parents praised the approachability of the staff and their responsiveness to parental concerns. The concern raised most frequently, by 13 parents, indicated that this experience was not universal, however, and these parents felt either that concerns they had raised had not been listened to or that there was insufficient information provided by the school about their children’s progress.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding These features are highly effective. An outstanding school provides exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. In 2007-8, 15% of schools were judged to be outstanding. Grade 2 Good These are very positive features of a school. A school that is good is serving its pupils well. In 2007-8, 49% of schools were judged good. Grade 3 Satisfactory These features are of reasonable quality. A satisfactory school is providing adequately for its pupils. In 2007-8, 32% of schools were judged satisfactory. Grade 4 Inadequate These features are not of an acceptable standard. An inadequate school needs to make significant improvement to meet the needs of its pupils. Ofsted inspectors will make further visits until it improves. In 2007-8, 5% of schools were judged inadequate.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attainment: the standard of the pupils’ work shown by test and examination results and in lessons.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Progress: the rate at which pupils are learning in lessons and over longer periods of time. It is often measured by comparing the pupils’ attainment at the end of a Key Stage with their attainment when they started.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Achievement: an overall measure of the pupils’ success in their academic learning. The term combines attainment and progress. Pupils might make good progress, for example, but if their attainment remains low, inspectors may judge that their achievement is only satisfactory.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Capacity to improve: the proven ability of the school to continue improving. Inspectors base this judgement on what the school has accomplished so far and on the quality of its systems to maintain improvement.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Leadership and management: the contribution of all the staff with responsibilities, not just the headteacher, to identifying priorities, directing and motivating staff and running the school. Inspection report: Roberttown Church of England VC Junior and Infant School, 3–4 March 2009 10 of 11

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Liversedge, WF15 8BE

Thank you for talking to me and my colleague and making us welcome when we inspected your school recently. We spoke with you in lessons, around the school and in groups, looked at your work, spoke with and read the results of questionnaires filled in by your parents or carers and spoke with some of your teachers. Here is a summary of our main findings, which I hope will be of interest to you.

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Liversedge, WF15 8BE

 Roberttown Church of England VC Junior & Infant is an excellent school.  You enjoy being at school very much, particularly the many and varied activities that take place. It is obvious from the things that you say that these activities help you become confident young people who care a lot about others.  You feel safe and are confident that the adults at the school care about you a lot, which they do.  You find lessons interesting, but some of you think sometimes that the work you are given is easy.  You make good progress and do extremely well in your tests. Your behaviour and attendance are excellent. You are very polite and considerate young people.  The school is led and managed well by the adults in charge.  The headteacher, the staff and the governors at the school show considerable care and attention to detail in meeting your needs. I want them to make sure that even the most able of you get lessons and activities that you find

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Liversedge, WF15 8BE

Many of you already make an excellent contribution to the school and I am sure you will want to do everything you can to support the staff in making Roberttown Church of England VC Junior & Infant even better.

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Liversedge, WF15 8BE

Clive Moss Her Majesty’s Inspector Inspection report: Roberttown Church of England VC Junior and Infant School, 3–4 March 2009 11 of 11

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Liversedge, WF15 8BE

procedures set out in the guidance 'Complaining about inspections', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk.

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