Grainthorpe Junior School

120450 Unique Reference Number Lincolnshire Local Authority 327284 Inspection number 3 March 2009 Inspection date Mary Hinds 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 55 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 Robert Lidstone-Scott Chair Mr Christopher Brady Headteacher 6 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 Fen Lane School address Grainthorpe Louth Lincolnshire LN11 7JY 01472 388248 Telephone number 01472 388248 Fax number

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4–11 Age group 3 March 2009 Inspection date 327284 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 10 Inspection Report: Grainthorpe School, 3 March 2009

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by two Additional Inspectors. The inspectors evaluated the overall effectiveness of the school and investigated the following issues:

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Introduction

■ What progress do all pupils make particularly in the Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1?

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Introduction

■ Is the quality of teaching consistently good?

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Introduction

■ Is the school's self-evaluation and management at all levels providing the school with good capacity to improve? Evidence was collected from the school's self-evaluation, lesson observations, discussions with staff, governors and pupils, the school's performance data and documentation and parent questionnaires. Other aspects of the school's work were not investigated in detail, but the inspectors found no evidence to suggest that the school's own assessments, as detailed in its self-evaluation, were not justified, and these have been included, where appropriate, in this report.

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Description of the school

Grainthorpe is a small village primary school. The number of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is higher than average. The proportions of pupils from minority ethnic groups and of pupils eligible for free school meals are well below average. Attainment on entry is broadly average. There have been recent changes in staffing, including a new headteacher who took up the post in September 2008.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 10 Inspection Report: Grainthorpe School, 3 March 2009

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Grade: 3

This is a satisfactory and rapidly improving school. The headteacher is providing strong and effective leadership. He has created a new sense of energy and focus, ensuring a shared vision amongst staff, governors, pupils and parents. The headteacher has a good understanding of the school's strengths and areas for development. Many improvement strategies are new and have not yet had sufficient time to raise standards and improve progress in all Key Stages, particularly in the Reception class and Key Stage 1. Pupils' achievement is satisfactory overall because the progress they make throughout the school is uneven. Pupils make satisfactory progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1. At Key Stage 2, pupils make good progress due to very effective teaching, which enables them to catch up rapidly in their learning. Pupils enter the school with skills which are broadly average. Standards at the end of Key Stage 1 in reading, writing and mathematics have

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Grade: 3

varied from being well below average to currently being broadly average. Writing remains the weakest subject in both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. At Key Stage 2, standards have remained above average for several years and although unvalidated data for 2008 shows a slight dip, they remain above average. English is the strongest subject, because standards in reading are well above average. The 2008 data shows that more pupils achieved the higher levels in both English and science. Teaching and learning are satisfactory overall. The most effective teaching is in Key Stage 2 and results in accelerated progress in Years 3 to 6. Pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make good progress because their individual education plans are improved and teaching assistants are used effectively to support their learning. Effective teaching is characterised by good subject knowledge and enthusiasm which engages all pupils. Teachers

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Grade: 3

have high expectations and the pace is lively, which challenges pupils' thinking. In these lessons, activities are well planned, interactive and meet the needs of all pupils. Teachers enthusiastically implement initiatives to raise standards still further. Targets are clearly displayed in these classes and are referred to throughout lessons. Pupils know their targets and are beginning to assess their own learning, which increases enjoyment and progress. One pupil said 'Aiming for your targets is more fun and the traffic lights work really well because they make you feel proud'. Where pupils make only satisfactory progress, teaching does not provide sufficient opportunities for pupils to be actively and independently involved in their own learning because it is too teacher-led. The curriculum is satisfactory; it does not provide sufficient opportunities for pupils to practise and develop their skills in other subjects.

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Grade: 3

The school provides good pastoral care for pupils and all safeguarding requirements are met. The school's family ethos enables pupils to feel safe and gives them a strong sense of belonging, as one pupil said 'School is a place where you can never feel lonely'. However, although a good start has been made on tracking pupils' progress and there are now regular assessments which inform planning and target setting, marking procedures are not consistently applied across the school. Pupils' personal development and well being is good overall. Pupils' social and moral development are the strongest elements. They behave responsibly and have good attitudes to their learning, working well together. They have good cooperative skills. Pupils form positive relationships and show care and consideration to others. The recently formed school council is successful in developing a greater sense of responsibility and involvement in decision-making.

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Grade: 3

4 of 10 Inspection Report: Grainthorpe School, 3 March 2009 Pupils enjoy coming to school and attendance is consistently above average. Recent improvements in the sports provision has been aided by an effective partnership with a sports specialist secondary school. Better links with other local schools to enable pupils to participate in team sports, and more opportunities for extra curricular sporting activities, have contributed to the pupils' understanding of how to keep healthy. These have improved community cohesion, further supported by improved links with the local community, such as opportunities for pupils to have a hot lunch at the village hall with the local luncheon club and a toddler group (run by the Friends of Grainthorpe School) in the school hall. Pupils' good basic skills by the time they reach Year 6 ensure that they are well prepared for the next stage of their education. Overall leadership and management are satisfactory. The headteacher provides strong and

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Grade: 3

determined leadership in order to improve further the school's provision. He has begun to address the need for more rigorous monitoring and has introduced a new system for tracking pupil progress. However, more work needs to be done in developing the role of subject leaders so that they take on greater responsibility in monitoring their subject and raising standards, particularly at Key Stage 1. Governance is satisfactory and all statutory requirements are met. Governors now have a clear understanding of their monitoring and strategic role. The headteacher has created very effective links for both governors and staff with local schools so that they are all professionally challenged. Although it is too early for all the new initiatives to have had an impact, recent improvements, for instance more effective assessments, demonstrate the school's satisfactory capacity to improve.

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Grade: 3

Children enter the Reception class with skills and abilities that are broadly typical for their age. They make satisfactory progress so that the majority enter Year 1 having met expected goals. Children are well settled and happy and their behaviour is good. Teaching and the curriculum are satisfactory overall. Adults plan a satisfactory balance of activities between those which are teacher-led and opportunities for children to choose for themselves. However, some of the planned child-initiated activities lack purpose and challenge, and consequently do not fully support children's learning. In turn, interventions by adults are not as effective in child-led activities and, as a consequence, learning opportunities are missed. The school does not yet have an adequate outdoor learning area, although children do have opportunities to carry out some activities outdoors. The class teacher plans lessons well and, in this mixed aged class,

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Grade: 3

some lessons for the group of Reception children are led by the teaching assistant, who makes a valuable contribution to the children's learning. Arrangements to ensure the health, safety and welfare of children and staff are satisfactory. The safety and welfare of the children is a priority of the staff, with a secure and safe indoor environment. Leadership and management are satisfactory. Adults work well together to ensure the well-being of the children. The new assessment procedures are being used effectively to keep comprehensive records of the progress children make and to identify strengths and areas for development. Partnerships with the pre-school groups and with parents are satisfactory, although opportunities for parents to become fully involved in their children's learning are not adequately developed.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Improve overall provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage so that all children are suitably challenged. 5 of 10 Inspection Report: Grainthorpe School, 3 March 2009 ■  Improve achievement in Key Stage 1 by ensuring that teaching and learning are in line with Key Stage 2. ■  Develop the role of subject leaders so that they are fully involved in school self-evaluation and raising standards. 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. 6 of 10 Inspection Report: Grainthorpe School, 3 March 2009 .

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What the school should do to improve further

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 7 of 10 Inspection Report: Grainthorpe School, 3 March 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?

3 How well do children in the EYFS achieve? How good are the overall personal development and well-being of the children in the EYFS? 3 How effectively are children in the EYFS helped to learn and develop? 3 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 2 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. 8 of 10 Inspection Report: Grainthorpe School, 3 March 2009

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learners?

3 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 3 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? 9 of 10 Inspection Report: Grainthorpe School, 3 March 2009

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

4 March 2009 Dear Children Inspection of Grainthorpe School, Lincolnshire LN11 7JY Thank you for making us feel so welcome when we spent the day in your school. We learned a great deal from you and your thoughts are an important part of the inspection. We were very impressed with how you all get along with one another and how you are beginning to take responsibility for your own learning by knowing your targets for success. We were also very pleased to see how confident you are and I thought that your assembly was very entertaining, particularly the 'little elves' who were so good at the role play! We also agree with you that it is very important that you now have a school council and that you can help Mr Brady and the governors in making decisions about how the school is run. Your school is satisfactory and is improving very quickly. This is because Mr Brady has some good ideas about what the school needs to do to get even better. In fact, one of his ideas is

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

your 'assessment for learning' targets, which help your teachers and you to know how much you have learned and what your next learning targets are. You also have teachers and adults who make you feel safe, confident and make sure that you succeed. Mr Brady, with the governors, has also changed other things and they have many good ideas for the future. We have asked Mr Brady, the teachers and governors to do three things to improve your school in order to make it more successful.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Make sure that the children in the Reception class have exciting activities both inside and outside the classroom so that they make even more progress. ■ Help children in Years 1 and 2 to make better progress through activities that really make them think for themselves and provide them with opportunities to have a go on their own or with a partner. ■ Build on Mr Brady's great ideas and get the leaders for literacy and mathematics to help him make sure that your school continues to improve in these subjects. Best wishes for the future. Yours sincerely Mary Hinds Lead inspector 10 of 10 Inspection Report: Grainthorpe School, 3 March 2009

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