Thornton Cleveleys Manor Beach Primary School

Thornton Cleveleys Manor Beach Primary School Inspection report

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119346 Unique Reference Number Lancashire Local Authority 327007 Inspection number 21–22 May 2009 Inspection dates David Edwards 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 317 School (total) 0 Government funded early education provision for children aged 3 to the end of the EYFS 0 Childcare provision for children aged 0 to 3 years The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Paul Ruston Chair Miss Jane Mason Headteacher 1 February 2006 Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous funded early education inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous childcare inspection Manor Drive School address Thornton-Cleveleys Lancashire FY5 1EU 01253 853879 Telephone number

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4–11 Age group 21–22 May 2009 Inspection dates 327007 Inspection number 01253 859870 Fax number

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4–11 Age group 21–22 May 2009 Inspection dates 327007 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. 3 of 12 Inspection Report: Thornton Cleveleys Manor Beach Primary School, 21–22 May 2009

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by three additional inspectors.

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Description of the school

This primary school is significantly larger than average. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is below the national average. The percentage of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds is low, as is the number of pupils for whom English is an additional language. The percentage of pupils who have a statement of special educational need is higher than the national average, but the proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities overall is lower than average. The Early Years Foundation Stage provision consists of two Reception classes. The school has achieved Healthy School Status and Activemark in sport. Childcare is provided by Lancashire County Council and consists of a breakfast club and an after-school club during weekdays and a day-time holiday club. This provision is inspected and reported upon separately by Ofsted.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 4 of 12 Inspection Report: Thornton Cleveleys Manor Beach Primary School, 21–22 May 2009

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Grade: 3

This satisfactory and improving school is highly valued by parents who appreciate the care and concern shown to their children. As one parent said, ‘My child is a happy and confident child who is well cared for by the hard-working and dedicated staff. The school is always approachable’. The strong sense of community and the harmonious ethos results in good pastoral care and support that contributes well to pupils’ good personal development. The school works well with other partners to enhance the provision for all pupils. Pupils maintain average standards from Year 1 to Year 6, representing satisfactory achievement. Insufficient challenge, particularly for higher attainers, has led to some underachievement. Writing is a weaker area than other subjects throughout the school. Stronger, more effective teaching in upper Key Stage 2 means that current Year 6 pupils are on track to achieve challenging targets.

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Grade: 3

The quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory overall and some lessons are good. In the more lively and stimulating lessons pupils understand well what they are learning through detailed and challenging targets. Such good practice means that pupils know what they need to do to improve and have a suitable level of guidance and challenge. This practice is not consistent across the school and this limits the rates of progress in some classes particularly in Key Stage 1 and lower Key Stage 2. Well-trained teaching assistants contribute to pupils’ learning. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities are well-supported and make satisfactory progress. Pupils’ personal development and well-being, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, are good. Their behaviour, attendance and punctuality are good. They sustain good behaviour in and out of lessons and persevere well with their learning. They respect each

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Grade: 3

other and their teachers, and are eager to take on responsibilities, such as being a school councillor or a playground buddy. These duties are taken seriously and have a positive impact on school life. Care, guidance and support are satisfactory. Pastoral care is particularly strong. The procedures for assessing and tracking pupils’ progress have improved since the last inspection and academic guidance is satisfactory. Teachers and teaching assistants assess pupils’ needs sensitively and give them support where necessary. Procedures for safeguarding pupils meet requirements. The curriculum is satisfactory. Pupils are encouraged to take part in educational visits and residential activities. Staff use schemes of work in ways that ensure pupils’ creativity and engagement. The school uses its local community well to enhance learning for pupils and has frequent visitors. The wide range of extra-curricular activities enriches pupils’ experiences of

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Grade: 3

school life. Leadership and governance are satisfactory. The headteacher and senior leaders have improved monitoring arrangements, particularly in mathematics and English. This has helped the school to focus on raising standards and achievement in these areas. In subjects where the leaders’ roles are less well developed the school does not have such a clear picture of how it can raise standards quickly. Given the impact so far of recent developments, the clear plan for future improvement and the governing body’s support, the school has satisfactory capacity to improve and provides satisfactory value for money.

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Grade: 2

The quality of provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage is good. Children enter Reception with levels of development that are below those typical for children of this age. By the end of 5 of 12 Inspection Report: Thornton Cleveleys Manor Beach Primary School, 21–22 May 2009 the year most children are working securely at age-related expectations. Staff support learning effectively and there is a good balance between activities directed by adults and those initiated by children. They use every opportunity to set children challenges in each area of learning. Children show good levels of concentration when working independently. Basic skills are well taught and children learn how to cooperate with others and show consideration. They obviously enjoy their learning and make good progress. The limited space outdoors is used in a variety of ways to enhance the learning. The Early Years Foundation Stage manager leads a closely

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Grade: 2

knit team that consistently focuses on improving outcomes for children. She has worked with staff and the local authority to identify strengths and areas for development. As a result there has been a clear emphasis on developing children’s early writing skills through stimulating first-hand experiences and role-play. There are motivating opportunities for children to develop writing skills and many choose to write independently. Staff place high priority on children’s personal, social and emotional development. They have good links with the local Early Years Foundation Stage settings, visiting them to tell stories and meet children and their families. Parents and carers spend time in school with their children and are encouraged to stay to help them settle in September. Parents and carers are very positive about induction procedures and the way their children settle quickly into school.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Improve writing across the school so that pupils reach higher standards and make better progress. ■ Improve the quality of teaching and learning consistently across the school so that all pupils, particularly higher attaining pupils, make good progress and achieve higher standards. ■ Develop the role and understanding of subject leaders to raise standards and achievement in all subjects. A small proportion of 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 and pupils attain average standards. They make good progress in the Reception class and move from levels below those typical for their age up to national expected levels. In Key Stage 1 pupils make satisfactory progress and at the end of Year 2 standards remain in line with national averages. By the time pupils leave the school at the end of Year 6 standards have continued to meet national expectations, though performance in writing and attainment at the higher levels in all subjects have been below that seen nationally. Currently, the progress of pupils is accelerating in upper Key Stage 2 because of good teaching and learning. Year 6 pupils are on track to achieve more challenging targets. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make satisfactory progress throughout the school. There is supportive provision for pupils with hearing impairments, sight impairments and with autism.

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Grade: 3

Skilled teaching assistants and effective teaching interventions help them make satisfactory progress in their learning. 6 of 12 Inspection Report: Thornton Cleveleys Manor Beach Primary School, 21–22 May 2009

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Grade: 2

Pupils work hard and cooperate well with each other. They enjoy having visitors and taking part in special events such as historical celebrations and anti-bullying week. They talk to adults confidently about how proud they are of their school. Behaviour in lessons and around school is good. Pupils show respect and consideration for others. They willingly accept responsibility such as acting as buddies to younger pupils. School council members represent their classmates conscientiously. For example, they are proud that they made a significant contribution towards getting part of the school decorated. Pupils say they enjoy school. Their attendance is above average. Spiritual, social and moral development are good. Pupils’ awareness of different cultures is improving and some very good work in Year 5 is developing understanding of customs in Kenya. The school celebrates pupils’ achievements in lessons and assemblies. Pupils have a

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Grade: 2

good understanding about the importance of being safe and having a healthy lifestyle. They say they feel safe in school because ‘teachers sort out their problems.’ Pupils make a good contribution to life outside school by their involvement in many local events. The development of workplace and other basic skills for pupils’ future economic well-being is satisfactory.

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Grade: 3

Teaching and learning are satisfactory. Some good teaching is evident where teachers are knowledgeable and enthusiastic about their subjects. In the more effective lessons, teachers use assessment data effectively to assess pupils’ starting points and learning needs. They plan well and make sure pupils understand what they are learning and why. The use of a variety of teaching approaches captures pupils’ interest and pupils respond by concentrating hard and working with enthusiasm. In less successful lessons, there are fewer opportunities for pupils to be active in their own learning or to have time to share and discuss ideas. In some year groups teaching is not always matched closely enough to the wide range of pupils’ capabilities and needs and there is insufficient challenge for higher attaining pupils. The standard of teaching is not consistently good enough across the school to raise standards and achievement quickly

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Grade: 3

enough. In the classes that have pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities their needs are well understood and they receive effective support from skilled teaching assistants to help them make satisfactory progress.

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Grade: 3

The curriculum is satisfactory. The headteacher has made the tackling of underachievement a priority throughout the school. This has led to staff focusing on improving pupils’ basic skills in reading, writing, mathematics and information and communication technology (ICT). She is well supported by the subject leaders for English, mathematics and science, and has accessed additional support from the local authority. As a result pupils are now making progress at a faster rate, although many are still not working at age-related expectations. Special events help to enrich learning. For example, the recent ‘Bygones Day’ enhanced pupils’ speaking and listening skills and understanding of the past. The school is at an early stage of developing a broader curriculum that will be responsive to local circumstances and match the full range of learners’ needs. The wide variety of out-of-hours learning, enthusiastically attended by pupils,

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Grade: 3

7 of 12 Inspection Report: Thornton Cleveleys Manor Beach Primary School, 21–22 May 2009 gives them opportunities to broaden their skills and enhances their enjoyment of school life. Pupils are enthusiastic about these additional activities available to them. Year 6 pupils have a residential visit early in September each year. This enables staff and pupils to establish relationships which are built on during the year. Local resources and historic buildings are used effectively to enhance the curriculum and help to promote community cohesion at a local level.

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Grade: 3

Care, guidance and support are satisfactory. Pastoral care is good. Child protection and safeguarding arrangements meet requirements. Parents are happy with arrangements for settling children into the Reception classes and feel their children are well cared for throughout their time in school. Pupils know there is always someone they can turn to for help. Good levels of adult supervision are a feature of morning and lunchtime outdoor activities. Good provision supports the needs of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. The work of skilled and caring teaching assistants is effective in helping these pupils participate in lessons. Staff work well with outside agencies to support the needs of vulnerable pupils. Academic guidance is satisfactory overall, but there are weaknesses in supporting pupils’ academic development in some classes. In these classes the way pupils’ work is assessed, the use of assessment to plan

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Grade: 3

teaching and help pupils understand how well they are doing is not yet sufficiently effective. This leads to a lack of appropriate challenge for higher attaining pupils in particular. As a result, some pupils do not do not make as much progress as they should.

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Grade: 3

Leadership and management are satisfactory. The headteacher has assembled an effective senior leadership team which focuses clearly on identifying issues for improvement and putting plans into place to raise standards and achievement. Staff have a shared vision for the school’s future development and work well together as a team. The school has effective procedures for assessing, monitoring and evaluating the quality of the education it offers to pupils and in determining whole school trends. This ensures that self-evaluation is realistic, balancing strengths and weaknesses. These systems and procedures have not yet had an impact on raising standards and achievement across the school, particularly for higher attaining pupils. There are effective procedures for identifying the strengths and weaknesses in mathematics and English and setting priorities for development. Other layers of management are less effective such as in other

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Grade: 3

subjects where roles and responsibilities are insufficiently developed to assist the drive to raise standards and achievement. The promotion of community cohesion is satisfactory. Links at the local level are good and pupils are beginning to develop understanding of cultures different from their own in accordance with the school’s plans for this aspect of its work. Satisfactory governance supports and challenges decisions made and increasingly holds the school to account. It has a clear picture of the school’s strengths and shortcomings. The impact of its work is not yet reflected in higher standards and achievement of pupils. 8 of 12 Inspection Report: Thornton Cleveleys Manor Beach Primary School, 21–22 May 2009 .

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Grade: 3

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 9 of 12 Inspection Report: Thornton Cleveleys Manor Beach Primary School, 21–22 May 2009

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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? 2 How effectively is provision in the EYFS led and managed?

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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/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. 10 of 12 Inspection Report: Thornton Cleveleys Manor Beach Primary School, 21–22 May 2009

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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? 3 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? 11 of 12 Inspection Report: Thornton Cleveleys Manor Beach Primary School, 21–22 May 2009

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

23 May 2009 Dear Pupils Inspection of Thornton Cleveleys Manor Beach Primary School, Lancashire, FY5 1EU Thank you for making us so welcome at your school during our recent inspection. We were impressed by your friendliness, politeness and the respect you show to each other and your teachers. Your behaviour is good in lessons and during break-times. We like the way that you work hard in class and always try your best and help each other. It was obvious that most of you enjoy coming to school and that your parents think that it is a caring school. You have lots of after-school clubs that are helping you to stay fit and healthy and these add to your enjoyment of school. We were also impressed by the care shown by teachers and teaching assistants for those of you who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities. Overall, the school provides you with a satisfactory standard of education. We have asked your

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

school to improve three things in particular. These are:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ to help you reach higher standards in writing

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ to make sure that all teaching leads to good progress in every class, especially for those pupils who need extra challenge ■ to help the teachers who are in charge of different subjects to check that you are making good progress in every area of learning. I am sure that you will all want to help with these areas for improvement by working as hard as you can every day. Thank you once again for welcoming us so warmly into your school and I wish you all the very best for the future. Yours faithfully David Edwards Lead inspector 12 of 12 Inspection Report: Thornton Cleveleys Manor Beach Primary School, 21–22 May 2009

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