Lawn Primary SchoolOfsted inspection, 9 Oct 2008

112779 Unique Reference Number City of Derby Local Authority 325684 Inspection number 8–9 October 2008 Inspection dates David Speakman Reporting inspector

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. The registered childcare, managed by the governing body, was inspected under section 49 of the Childcare Act 2006.

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Primary Type of school Community School category 4–11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 398 School (total) 0 Government funded early education provision for children aged 3 to the end of the EYFS 59 Childcare provision for children aged 0 to 3 years The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Yvonne Woods Chair Mrs Penny Bennett Headteacher 6 October 2005 Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous funded early education inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous childcare inspection Norbury Close School address Allestree Derby Derbyshire DE22 2QR 01332 550 178 Telephone number 01332 550178 Fax number

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4–11 Age group 8–9 October 2008 Inspection dates 325684 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. 2 of 11 Inspection Report: Lawn Primary School, 8–9 October 2008

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by three Additional Inspectors

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Description of the school

This large primary school is situated in an advantaged area to the north of Derby City. The proportion of pupils claiming a free school meal is well below average. Children start school in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) at the beginning of their Reception year. Their attainment on entry is above and sometimes well above that typical for children of this age. The proportion of pupils identified with learning difficulties or disabilities is below average, as is the proportion of pupils with a statement of special educational need. Identified learning difficulties include dyslexia, social, emotional and behavioural difficulties, autism and physical disabilities. The majority of pupils come from White British families, although a few are from minority ethnic backgrounds and are at the early stages of learning English. During the headteacher's absence, the deputy headteacher took on the post temporarily for

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Description of the school

much of the previous year. The school has Silver Arts Mark, Activemark, Basic Skills Quality Mark and has recently gained Healthy School Status.

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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: Lawn Primary School, 8–9 October 2008

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Grade: 3

The effectiveness of the school is satisfactory. Pupils' progress and achievement are satisfactory overall and children do well in the EYFS. Academic standards are consistently well above the national average. The care and welfare to ensure pupils' well-being and their personal development are good. Pupils achieve well at Key Stage 1. Consequently, by the time they reach the end of Year 2, standards in reading, writing and mathematics are consistently well above average. Achievement over Key Stage 2 is satisfactory, and by the end of Year 6, standards are still well above average. Although still above average, standards in writing are not as good as in other subjects. The uneven progress pupils make as they move through the school matches the quality of teaching and learning, which is good at Key Stage 1 and in the EYFS, but mostly satisfactory at Key Stage 2. Pupils' progress has varied as they move through Key Stage 2, some doing well, whilst

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Grade: 3

other groups make satisfactory progress. Parents of a significant number of current Year 5 pupils expressed great concern over the disruption to teaching their children experienced during the previous academic year, and the resulting lack of progress. Evidence confirms that many of these pupils made inadequate progress. The school has taken effective action to remedy the situation and to help these pupils make up for lost time. The school provides a good quality of care, guidance and support. Pupils' personal development is good. They show positive attitudes to learning and enjoy lessons best when they are fully involved in discussion or investigation work, and when they can see a real purpose in completing tasks. Most pupils enjoy school and look forward to it every day; they feel safe and know they can talk to friends, their teachers and other staff if problems arise. Attendance is above average.

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Grade: 3

Pupils choose healthy options at lunchtimes and know the importance of physical activity. They take part in a good range of physical activities, both in lessons and in after-school clubs. The headteacher provides strong and purposeful leadership. Working with the deputy headteacher, she has evaluated the school's performance, accurately and honestly identifying its strengths and the key areas that are in need of improvement. The deputy headteacher, during a successful period as acting headteacher, initiated strategies to check school performance and to hold teachers to account for the progress of the pupils in their classes towards the end of the last academic year. These initiatives show significant signs of success, and are continuing this year. A new senior leadership team is in place and, although early in the life of the team, members have already devised further appropriate strategies aimed to secure school

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Grade: 3

improvement. New processes have not yet had time to demonstrate impact on provision to raise achievement at Key Stage 2. The school therefore has a satisfactory capacity to improve.

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Grade: 2

Children's good progress in the EYFS is due to meticulous planning, abundant resources, good teaching and exciting, challenging activities both indoors and outside. There is a good balance of experiences that children can choose independently and those led by adults, supported by the effective use of resources. This safe environment allows children to gain confidence in the choices they make. In the best lessons, children are stimulated and fully engaged in the activities. Their excellent behaviour contributes to the good progress they make. For example, they learnt how to use speech bubbles during a dramatic re-telling of 'The Little Red Hen'. During this 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Lawn Primary School, 8–9 October 2008 session the teacher used her 'many voices' and the interactive whiteboard effectively to illustrate the story and to show children what they were to do afterwards. Most children cooperate well.

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Grade: 2

Relationships are good and adults use informed day-to-day assessment to match tasks accurately to children's needs. This strategy ensures that they progress easily in their next steps in learning. Leadership and management of the EYFS are satisfactory because the leader has limited opportunity to monitor provision, leading to some variation in practice.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Monitor the progress that the current Year 5 pupils are making and ensure that they make up the ground lost previously. ■ Ensure the quality of teaching is consistently of a good or better standard so that all groups of pupils progress equally well, especially in improving their writing. ■ Further refine the monitoring and evaluation process, particularly by checking pupils' progress, and take effective action to improve achievement at Key Stage 2. 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

Pupils who find learning difficult and those at an early stage in learning English achieve satisfactorily. By the end of Reception, children reach above average standards. Their good progress is maintained through Key Stage 1 and national test results and assessments made at the end of Year 2 are consistently well above average in reading, writing and mathematics. Although achievement is satisfactory at Key Stage 2, it varies from year-to-year, across the year groups and in different subjects. Standards at the end of Year 6 generally remain well above average. In 2008, indications are that standards are well above average in mathematics and science but above average in English, particularly in writing. Tracking the progress of these pupils from the time they were in Year 2, shows they made satisfactory progress in reading, mathematics and science, but progress in writing was weak.

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Grade: 2

Relationships are good between pupils and staff and among pupils, who are well mannered and listen to each other and to teachers. Pupils in Year 6 have opportunities to share responsibilities, for example, as 'mini-leaders', 'playground buddies' and monitoring duties around the school. Behaviour is good both in lessons and around the school. Pupils have a good understanding of right and wrong. When they are fully involved in learning, for example in discussion lessons, or when they are finding out for themselves, they show strong levels of enthusiasm and enjoyment. Pupils feel the school is a safe place to be and they are confident that any minor disputes during playtimes will be quickly resolved and dealt with effectively. They understand how to be healthy, choosing to participate in physical exercise and generally making good food choices. Through the school council, pupils feel that they have a good say in how the school develops,

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Grade: 2

for example, in decisions to purchase new playground equipment. The school responds satisfactorily to pupils' needs and makes appropriate provision to raise their awareness of the 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Lawn Primary School, 8–9 October 2008 local and wider communities. Pupils' awareness of global issues is promoted through special days, in which pupils learn about issues such as global deprivation. Their ideas for charity fundraising are taken up, such as raising money for children in other countries or sending gifts to Africa for Christmas. There are good links with the local church and at festival times such as harvest and Christmas, the school outreaches into the local community. These include supporting a centre in Derby that aids the homeless and socially deprived. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Spiritual development reflects pupils' understanding and respect for each other in and around the school and during 'silent reflection' time in assemblies.

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Grade: 2

They are curious and like learning about different cultures and religions.

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Grade: 3

Teachers use interactive whiteboards well to make some lively, interesting graphic presentations, which clearly demonstrate the skills that pupils are to learn. Lesson planning is thorough, but sometimes lacks challenge, particularly for the more able. Pupils' work is marked regularly and effectively, with useful comments made detailing what they do well and what they need to do to improve. However, pupils do not always take note of the good advice and do not consistently put the recommendations into practice. There is little evidence to suggest that staff check this. Occasionally, teachers talk for too long at the beginning of lessons, leaving pupils inactive and showing signs that they are disengaging from the learning process. Where teaching is at its best, teachers question pupils effectively and encourage them to discuss and search for answers themselves. Some good practice involves pupils in assessing their own progress, for example,

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Grade: 3

the older ones write comments at the end of a piece of work.

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Grade: 3

The school has rightly placed a strong emphasis on the development of pupils' basic skills. Provision for English and mathematics is satisfactory. However, strategies for promoting numeracy, literacy, and particularly writing, across other subjects are still at an early stage of development. Planning from year-to-year is coherent. A carefully thought out programme of personal, social, health education and citizenship contributes well to pupils' personal development, and helped the school to win a national award as a 'Healthy School'. Appropriate support for pupils who find learning difficult helps them make satisfactory progress. Pupils enjoy the extra activities outside lessons, particularly the sports, and the opportunities to learn a musical instrument and a modern foreign language. A suitable range of relevant visits and visitors to school add further enrichment.

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Grade: 2

The school provides good quality care, guidance and support for learners. Safeguarding procedures, including those for child protection and to ensure the safety of pupils in school, are in place and reviewed regularly. A learning mentor gives valued, good quality personal support to pupils and their families when the need arises. Courses in French are run for parents so they can help their children learn; these are popular and oversubscribed. Pupils receive good academic guidance. However, the school acknowledges that more could be done to develop 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Lawn Primary School, 8–9 October 2008 its systems for assessing pupils' progress. There is insufficient analysis to pinpoint areas where it could be improved. Parents would appreciate more regular and detailed information about how their children are progressing.

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Grade: 3

The leadership and management of the school have just entered a new phase. The senior leadership team was created at the beginning of the current academic year, with new roles being taken on and others reviewed. Under the strong and well-focused leadership of the headteacher, ably supported by her deputy headteacher, a clear vision for school improvement is emerging. The priority is rightly on improving the progress pupils make at Key Stage 2. The school's self-evaluation accurately identifies what needs to be done next. Its effectiveness is currently satisfactory, as the impact of initiatives is not fully evident. Areas for improvement are detailed in the school development plan and targets for pupils' performance are challenging. As staff are increasingly held to account for their pupils' achievement, targets for their own performance are equally challenging. Governors' work in the school is satisfactory. They have

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Grade: 3

recently completed an evaluation of their own work, and prepared an action plan to increase their involvement in the life of the school and in the monitoring and evaluation process. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Lawn Primary School, 8–9 October 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: Lawn Primary School, 8–9 October 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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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? 3 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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EYFS?

2 How well do children in the EYFS achieve? How good are the overall personal development and well-being of the children in the EYFS? 2 How effectively are children in the EYFS helped to learn and develop? 2 How effectively is the welfare of children in the EYFS promoted? 3 How effectively is provision in the EYFS led and managed?

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Achievement and standards

3 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 3 How well learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make progress

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Achievement and standards

1 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: Lawn Primary School, 8–9 October 2008

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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 The extent to which learners enjoy their education 2 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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learners' needs?

How well do the curriculum and other activities meet the range of needs and interests of learners? 2 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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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 3 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination eliminated 3 How well does the school contribute to community cohesion? 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: Lawn Primary School, 8–9 October 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

10 October 2008 Dear Pupils Inspection of Lawn Primary School, Derby DE22 2QR Thank you all for making us so welcome when we visited your school recently. With your help, we managed to find out a lot about your school. We enjoyed meeting you and your teachers, visiting lessons and speaking to you to find out what you think about the school and how you contribute to making it an enjoyable and pleasant place to be. The school provides a sound education and so you make satisfactory progress. The children in Reception do well. Your reading, writing and mathematics are better than pupils in most other schools. The school takes good care of you and your welfare. Your well-being and your personal development are good. Mrs Bennett and all the adults working in the school have a clear picture of what is done well and what needs to be improved. They are determined to improve the school and are working very hard to achieve this. Those of you now in Year 5 suffered some disruption last year and

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

as a result, your progress suffered. The quality of care shown to you is good, and many of you copy this example by caring for other children in a very thoughtful way. You help to make others feel safe in school and your behaviour is good. We are asking your teachers to:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ keep a watch over the progress that those of you in the current Year 5 are making to be sure that the support provided helps you make up last year's lost ground ■ make sure that teaching is at least good throughout the school so you all make good progress in lessons, especially in improving your writing ■ find out what those of you in Key Stage 2 do well and where you need help so that they can help you improve further. We wish you all the best in the future and we are confident you will play an important part in the school's improvement by continuing to cooperate with your teachers. David Speakman Lead inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Lawn Primary School, 8–9 October 2008

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