Cutenhoe Hill Primary School

Age group 4–11 Inspection dates 19–20 November 2008 Inspection number 324982 Surrey Street Primary School Inspection report

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Unique Reference Number 109571 Local Authority Luton Inspection number 324982 Inspection dates 19–20 November 2008 Reporting inspector George Falconer 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 .

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Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number on roll School (total) 198 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Ms Ann Binks Headteacher Mrs Denise Meadows Date of previous school inspection 28–29 September 2005 School address Surrey Street Luton LU1 3BZ Telephone number 01582 729489 Fax number 01582 798909 Email address surrey.street.primary.head@luton.gov.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 and held meetings with the headteacher, the chair of governors, staff, groups of pupils and the local authority representative. They observed the school’s work, and looked at the school’s documentation including attainment data and the school’s monitoring and tracking of pupil progress. The team also scrutinised the school’s work on behaviour, safeguarding, child protection and bullying and harassment.

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Introduction

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

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Introduction

 pupils’ achievement and the quality of teaching and learning and the curriculum  the effectiveness of assessment and academic guidance in meeting the needs of individuals and groups of pupils  the overall personal development and well-being of pupils and the quality of support, guidance and care  the quality of the leadership and management.

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Information about the school

The school is described as being unique and is situated in a relatively disadvantaged area and within the oldest remaining school building in Luton. The school’s catchment area is varied, with a mix of housing accommodating a wide range of people from different backgrounds and cultures. The school’s intake has a high ethnic mix with many pupils from vulnerable or disadvantaged backgrounds. A minority of pupils are from refugee backgrounds and some are asylum seekers. Attainment on entry to the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is well below expectations. Many children have poor language and social skills. There is a high number of pupils moving in and out of the school at times other than the beginning and end of the year, and the mobility levels impact on the attainment. The school has the Healthy Schools accreditation for Physical Activity. In 2006 and 2007 it achieved Activemark Status. Currently, it is working towards Healthy Schools Status.

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other schools

School size 198 Below average Free school meals 60% Well above average Proportions of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities 33% Well above average

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other schools

Proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups 58% Well above average

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other schools

Proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language 28% Well above average

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other schools

Proportion of pupils with a statement of special educational needs 0 Below average

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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

This is a good school with outstanding features. It knows itself very well. Surrey Street is an inclusive school that caters for all pupils from a wide range of different cultures and backgrounds. It serves its community in many good ways. The school is well led and managed by the headteacher who is very knowledgeable, strategic and diligent in her work. There is a comprehensive understanding of the needs of the full range of pupils. Staff work effectively to raise rates of progress and attainment levels. Children get a really good start to their education in the stimulating EYFS. All teachers continue to develop their knowledge and understanding as they progress throughout the year groups. The school has a good capacity for sustained improvement based on the successful progress made since the last inspection.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise standards in the core subjects, paying particular attention to reading in Key Stage 1 and writing across the whole school by:

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 the implementation of the new literacy framework which has greater emphasis on reading and speaking and listening  developing phonics throughout the school using letters and sounds, to monitor stage 2 of phonics implementation  undergoing training on shared/modelled writing.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 To develop the strategic role of the governing body by:

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 taking full advantage of local authority courses  experienced governors mentoring new governors  developing robust systems for governors to monitor school effectiveness.

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2

Achievement is good for the majority of pupils and in some instances it is exceptional. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and pupils with English as an Additional Language (EAL) achieve as well as others in this fully inclusive school, where the teachers treat all pupils as individuals and successfully meet pupils’ individual needs. Pupils also make their own valuable contribution to their learning and respond positively to the good quality teaching that is evident in the school. Attainment by the end of Key Stage 1 is below the national average, but by the time they reach the end of Key Stage 2, the gap is closing and attainment is broadly average. This is as a result of the effectiveness of all staff, including the hard working administrative staff and the teaching assistants.

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2

In the majority of lessons, pupils are engaged in active learning and demonstrate good levels of enjoyment. Most make good progress. They are supportive of each other and show respect to each other and to the teaching staff. Behaviour is good overall and pupils are polite. They are open and friendly and confident in talking about their work. Out of lessons, pupils demonstrate that they enjoy taking on responsibilities and this serves them well for their future lives. They are given lots of opportunity to develop a wide range of skills as well as their personal attributes. Relationships are excellent and there is a very strong feeling of being proud of their school community within the wider community. The pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding.

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2

The vast majority feel very safe in the school and look forward to school everyday. There is a minority whose attendance is not as good as it could be but this is improving. Very few incidents of bullying are reported and there are equally very few incidents of racism in this very multi ethnic school community. Any incidents are dealt with effectively.

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2

These are the grades for pupils’ outcomes How well do pupils achieve and enjoy their learning? 2 The quality of pupils’ learning and their progress 2 The quality of learning for pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and their progress Pupils’ attainment 1 3 To what extent do pupils feel safe? 1 How well do pupils behave? 2 To what extent do pupils adopt healthy lifestyles? 2 To what extent do pupils contribute to the school and wider community? 2

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2

1 Grades for attainment are: 1 is high; 2 is above average; 3 is broadly average; 4 is low How well do pupils develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being? Pupils’ attendance and punctuality 3 What is the extent of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development? 1

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The quality of the school’s work

Lessons are generally well planned to meet the wide ranging needs of the pupils in this multicultural school where there are 15 different languages spoken. In the good lessons, this enables teachers to spend time effectively because work is pitched at the right level and resources are carefully prepared for different learners. Teaching is enthusiastic and pupils respond very positively, showing high levels of interest, no matter what subject they are learning about. In a minority of instances, planning and timing are not as good as they could be. Pupils gain confidence as they settle into the school and move through the year groups. Some pupils who have been with the school since Reception have demonstrated excellent levels of achievement and pupils joining the school at other times are extremely well integrated. In this way, they can quickly begin to make good progress.

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The quality of the school’s work

The effectiveness of assessment and academic guidance is excellent. Pupils’ achievements are closely monitored and tracking progress is very effective. Teachers in most instances carefully analyse progress and, where necessary, set up relevant intervention strategies to boost learning. Reading in Key Stage 1, and writing across the school, are now, rightly, coming under scrutiny by the school. The systems are very tight and no pupil goes unnoticed. Pupils also contribute to their own progress by taking a keen interest in their own development, including their targets for learning. The ‘learning logs’ used by pupils to evaluate their learning are very supportive to their development and are used effectively by teachers in the assessment process.

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The quality of the school’s work

The curriculum is good and developing well with a varied approach to learning, including interesting and exciting topic work and activities in individual subjects. It is stimulating and delivered with enthusiasm as well as a good level of subject knowledge. This is evident in the high levels of enjoyment displayed by the pupils.

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The quality of the school’s work

Support, guidance and care are outstanding and impact directly on the quality of pupils’ well-being and learning. Behaviour management is a strong feature of the school and is respected by both pupils and parents alike. There is a very strong community feel to this school which has a very strong, positive ethos.

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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 and academic guidance 1 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 headteacher provides excellent leadership. The vision of a happy school in which pupils feel safe, secure and where achievement is good, is a reality. The headteacher is passionate about the school and what it can do for its pupils. The staff share this passion and work effectively, as a team, to fulfil pupils’ needs. Challenging targets are set and are met by the majority of pupils. The school is pro-active in drawing on expertise from outside when necessary. This is a strength that serves pupils and their families well. The chair of governors works conscientiously with the headteacher and involves herself in the life of the school. She is supported appropriately by other key governors although the governing body, as a whole, is at an early stage of developing strategic approaches to their work.

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How effective are leadership and management?

Monitoring and evaluating the work of the school by the headteacher and staff are outstanding because of the effective use of the detailed information on every pupil to bring about good and sometimes exceptional achievement. The senior management team is well focused on areas for improvement and speak confidently about their roles in terms of what needs to be done. Subject co-ordinator roles are developing well and are becoming stronger under the head teacher’s leadership and management.

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How effective are leadership and management?

Safeguarding processes are effective and regularly updated. Parents feel the school does a really good job and are full of praise for the work of the staff. The school goes that extra mile to include parents as much as possible, even running drop-in sessions and a number of workshops such as using digital photography and computers.

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How effective are leadership and management?

The school is a haven for both pupils and parents alike. It is part of the community and works on behalf of the community. Pupils reach out to support and to bring enjoyment to many groups, including senior citizens.

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How effective are leadership and management?

These are the grades for leadership and management Monitoring, evaluating and planning for improvement to outcomes for pupils 1 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’s development in Reception is impressive, and gains in learning are good. Effective links are made with parents, and together with clear routines, help children to settle very well into school. Teaching and learning are good. Staff work well as a strong team with a clear understanding of how young children learn. Through good observations and discussion, they recognise children’s needs quickly and plan activities both inside and out which develop their interests well and support good progress. Staff recognise the need to further develop the outside area for learning. The curriculum focuses particularly well on children’s personal, social and emotional development and good progress in these areas helps children’s learning throughout. They become confident and happily work and play with others. Behaviour is good. Staff also focus well on developing children’s communication skills by widening their

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Early Years Foundation Stage

use of language and ensuring that all have plenty of opportunity to put forward their ideas. The daily sessions where children learn letters and the sounds that they make are particularly effective in developing the children’s early reading and writing skills. Children from all groups make good progress but many do not reach the expectations for their age by entry to Year 1 because they start school from a low baseline. Provision reflects good leadership and management and is reflected in the high expectations of staff.

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Early Years Foundation Stage

How effective is the provision in meeting the needs of children in the EYFS?* 2 How well do children in the EYFS achieve? 2 How good are the overall personal development and well-being of the children in the EYFS? How effectively are children in the EYFS helped to learn and develop?* 2 How effectively is the welfare of the children in the EYFS promoted?* 1 How effectively is the provision in the EYFS led and managed?* 2 * Common judgements made across all inspections of the EYFS

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Views of parents and carers

The vast majority of parents and carers responding to the inspection questionnaire were most positive in support of the school and all that it does for their children. They feel that the school is well led and managed and that the school listens to their views. One parent wrote: ‘Surrey Street is a very well run school. The pupils take a pride in the school and feel part of the family. They work very hard so each child obtains their full potential.’ The inspection team wholeheartedly agrees with these observations.

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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 2006-7, 14% 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 2006-7, 46% of schools were judged good. Grade 3 Satisfactory These features are of reasonable quality. A satisfactory school is providing for its pupils suitably. In 2006-7, 34% of schools were judged satisfactory. Grade 4 Inadequate These features are not of an acceptable standard. An inadequate school needs to make significant improvement in order to meet the needs of its pupils. Ofsted inspectors will make further visits until it improves. In 2006-7, 6% 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. 21 November 2008

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Inspection of Surrey Street Primary School, Luton, LU1 3BZ.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

I am writing to you to say what an enjoyable time we spent at your school. We were very impressed by your warm welcome and how friendly and polite you were to us and to everyone else. We were equally impressed with the very clean, tidy and stimulating classrooms, work spaces and corridors. No wonder you all like coming to school to learn. Many of you told us that you feel safe and secure in school. That must be very reassuring for you.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

The headteacher and staff are really good at what they do and they, like you, take a pride in their work. This shows in the way most of you make good progress in lessons. We noticed that you enjoy your education a great deal and many of you spoke to us about your interests. The learning logs are really good, beautifully written in many cases, and show how you think about your learning and the progress you make. They also help your teachers and parents or carers to know more about your progress. Lessons are very interesting for you. I saw a good science lesson where you were building your ideas about the solar system through ‘talking partners’ and good teaching and learning. French lessons are going really well; another language to add to the list of languages already spoken in school. The assembly was fun too. It made you think about planning and it also made you reflect on yourself and others around you. The singing was great, particularly as you were able to sing

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Common terminology used by inspectors

We had to look hard for the ways to improve your learning but with your headteacher and staff we agreed that it would be really good to improve reading, especially for you younger ones and to improve writing for everyone across the school. This will help you to do even better and to reach higher levels in your work. We also decided that all the governors of the school, that is the people who support the headteacher and staff, should be more involved in what you do and how well you do it.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Thank you once again and best wishes for the future.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

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

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