Paganel Primary School

Paganel Primary School Inspection report

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134281 Unique Reference Number Birmingham Local Authority 328878 Inspection number 2–3 February 2009 Inspection dates Roger Sadler 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 235 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 D Payne Chair Martin Shufflebottom Headteacher Not previously inspected Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous funded early education inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous childcare inspection Swinford Road School address Selly Oak Birmingham B29 5TG 0121 4645040 Telephone number 0121 4645039 Fax number

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4–11 Age group 2–3 February 2009 Inspection dates 328878 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: Paganel Primary School, 2–3 February 2009

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

Most pupils are from White British backgrounds and few pupils come from homes where English is not the main language. The percentage of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is well above that found nationally. The school is situated in an area of considerable economic disadvantage and the proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is much higher than average. Early Years Foundation Stage provision is located in the Nursery and Reception classes. Children enter Nursery full time at the beginning of the school year of their fourth birthday. Most children have skills below those typically found. Skills in communication, language and literacy and in personal, social and emotional development are well below expected levels. Nine pupils aged four to eight attend the school's language and communication resource base for pupils with statements of special educational needs.

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Description of the school

The school has gained a Healthy Schools Award and the Activemark for physical education and exercise, and has also, in 2008, won the Primary Enterprise Challenge for business-related activities. It is part of an Excellence in Cities cluster of schools. A breakfast and after-school club for pupils, run by an external provider, takes place in the school daily. The current headteacher has joined the school since the last inspection.

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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: Paganel Primary School, 2–3 February 2009

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Grade: 2

This is a good school. It is well led and managed. The headteacher monitors and evaluates the work of the school and directs school improvement very effectively. The school has improved considerably since the previous inspection and standards are rising. All staff work together to ensure that pupils make good progress, achieve well, and that their personal development and well-being are good. The school regularly assesses and meticulously monitors the progress of each pupil and extra support is given to those at risk of falling behind. Good teaching and outstanding academic monitoring and guidance are key reasons why rates of progress are improving and the school has good capacity to continue to improve in the future. The school works closely with other agencies, such as the education social worker, to good effect. Excellent arrangements to assure attendance ensure that pupils attend regularly, and

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Grade: 2

the school has worked very effectively to improve pupils' behaviour, their self-esteem as learners and their attitudes to learning. All staff manage pupils consistently well. Consequently, pupils are friendly and polite and concentrate well in lessons. Their excellent behaviour and positive attitudes help them to enjoy their time in this happy and safe school. Parents' and pupils' views of the school are overwhelmingly positive. Parents are particularly appreciative of the high quality pastoral care provided. As one parent commented, 'Staff always have time to listen to any concerns, they have given my daughter so much confidence and her learning has shown that.' The curriculum is good. Pupils enjoy lessons and are very appreciative of the wide range of clubs and opportunities available to them. Lessons are well planned and during lessons pupils are given constant high quality guidance on how they might improve their work. Pupils show

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Grade: 2

impressive understanding of the level at which they are working and where they need to concentrate to move on to the next level. Much improved daily small group teaching of letters and sounds in Years 1 and 2 is helping improve pupils' confidence in reading and spelling. Frequent effective small group teaching by teachers and teaching assistants is helping raise standards throughout the school. Provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage and throughout the rest of the school is good and the vast majority of pupils progress well to attain standards expected for their ages by the time they reach the older classes. Good support provided to pupils in the language and communication resource base enables them to integrate with others. These pupils and others with learning difficulties and/or disabilities progress well because they receive carefully tailored support from teachers and teaching assistants. Because opportunities are occasionally missed

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Grade: 2

to extend more able pupils, fewer pupils than could be expected reach the higher levels. Although the school has been particularly successful at helping parents become more closely involved in their children's learning, the school has not given a high priority to promoting some aspects of community cohesion. Consequently, pupils lack first hand experience of meeting and working alongside those with different faiths or from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Their understanding of world issues such as ecology and global warming is satisfactory rather than good.

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Grade: 2

Staff work closely with parents and carers to ensure that children are happy to begin school. These effective induction arrangements help children settle quickly into Nursery. In Nursery 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Paganel Primary School, 2–3 February 2009 and Reception, teaching is well planned and interesting so that children enjoy learning and interacting with one another. All adults carefully assess and analyse the learning of each individual and provide activities that are well matched to their needs. Children achieve well and make good progress in all areas of learning, although by the end of Reception some are still not attaining in line with nationally expected standards, especially in speaking and listening and in writing. Learning activities are carefully planned, in line with recent national guidance, and children are provided with a broad and interesting range of activities. There are good opportunities for

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Grade: 2

children to play and learn independently as well as individually, in small groups and as a class. Children learn letters and sounds, enthusiastically join in reading stories such as 'The Three Little Pigs' and they practise mark making and early writing in a variety of ways. Provision for problem solving, reasoning and numeracy, and creative work is good and there is plenty of space in the classroom as well as a well-equipped and used outdoor area for children's physical development. Children make good progress in their personal development. Their behaviour is very good and they are keen to learn and to work together, but some still lack confidence when they go into Year 1. On a few occasions when they are not active or involved enough, children lose concentration a little. Staff make good provision for children's welfare and the Nursery and Reception provide a safe and happy environment for learning. The Early Years Foundation Stage is well led and staff

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Grade: 2

have a clear and shared understanding of where improvements are needed. Systems and resources are well managed and provision is being continually improved to ensure that children's needs are fully met.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Improve the proportion of pupils attaining the higher levels in their tests and assessments.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Review and improve the way that the school contributes to community cohesion and develop pupils' experience and understanding of the ways of life and beliefs of other cultures in modern Britain.

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Grade: 2

Pupils make good progress and achieve well overall. Many children enter the Early Years Foundation Stage with knowledge and skills lower than those expected of children of their ages. By the end of Year 2, standards are broadly average in reading and mathematics, but below average in writing. Due to good provision, by the time they leave the school, the vast majority of pupils achieve well and make good progress so that they attain standards expected for their ages in all subjects. Because writing is developed and used in a wide range of subjects, writing standards are rising. Improved provision for information and communication technology (ICT) is also helping improve standards in subjects such as science, history, geography, and art and design. Resource base pupils and others with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make good progress due to the regular additional support they receive. In some lessons, the progress

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Grade: 2

of more able pupils is occasionally slowed a little when they are given insufficient additional challenge. 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Paganel Primary School, 2–3 February 2009

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Grade: 2

Pupils' much improved personal development is a key reason why standards are rising. Pupils have good attitudes to learning and work hard to do their best and are proud of their achievements. Most genuinely enjoy school, feel safe, happy and secure, attend regularly and arrive punctually. They understand how to lead healthy lives, understand the importance of eating healthy foods and take full advantage of the many sports activities made available to them. Pupils, especially older pupils, make a good contribution to the school community. They take the responsibilities given to them very seriously, for example as members of the school council. Their involvement in the local community, although satisfactory, is not fully developed. Pupils' well developed personal and social skills, their satisfactory literacy and numeracy skills, and their work towards winning the Primary Enterprise Challenge has prepared them well for

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Grade: 2

the next stage of education and the world of work beyond. Pupils' social and moral development and relationships throughout the school are excellent. Although pupils show satisfactory cultural and spiritual development, they have limited knowledge or experience of other cultures or ways of life in modern Britain.

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Grade: 2

Expectations of behaviour are consistently high. Pupils are very well managed and given very clear guidance on how to behave and relate to each other. Consistently positive relationships and interesting resources help pupils make good progress and enjoy their work. Reading, writing and mathematics are well taught and frequent teaching in small groups helps pupils, especially those with particular difficulties, make good progress. Teachers and teaching assistants work together well and carefully check the progress of each pupil. Individual education plans for those who find learning difficult support teaching and learning well. Throughout lessons, pupils are given helpful checklists and frequent reminders of what is expected and how to assess their work. Sometimes, however, they are asked to remember too many things and this limits the impact of this practice.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum provides strong emphasis on developing pupils' basic skills which are used well to enable them to make good progress. Consequently, standards in literacy, numeracy, science and ICT are rising. Provision for guided reading and the teaching of letters and sounds feature prominently in literacy work and this is helping raise standards. Pupils say that staff often make learning fun and they say that they enjoy lessons. The provision for more able pupils, while satisfactory, is not as well developed as that for pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. The school's broad curriculum is enriched well by visits and visitors, residential trips and sports provision. The school has improved its provision for subjects such as history, geography, and design and technology, but there are still some weaknesses in the way that the school promotes pupils' spiritual and cultural development.

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Grade: 2

6 of 11 Inspection Report: Paganel Primary School, 2–3 February 2009

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Grade: 1

Academic guidance is outstanding. Consistently high quality marking and continuous assessment of work and feedback to pupils help them understand how they can improve their performance. Many, especially older pupils, show an impressive knowledge of the level at which they are working and also know exactly where they need to concentrate in order to move to the next level in their writing, reading and mathematics. The school has many reward systems that inspire pupils to do their best. There are excellent systems to assess and monitor the progress of each individual. Senior leaders and all teachers use this information very well to direct additional support where it is needed. Pastoral care is also excellent. Procedures for child protection and safeguarding, including those for internet safety, fully meet current requirements. Arrangements for ensuring good attendance are excellent and are resulting in much improved levels of

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Grade: 1

attendance and punctuality throughout the school.

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Grade: 2

Due to strong leadership by the headteacher, all staff are fully committed to raising standards and have been successful in spreading this commitment to pupils. The headteacher encourages and enables other staff to develop their leadership roles and the senior leadership team and subject leaders make an effective contribution to improving the quality of provision and raising standards. Good leadership is evident in pupils' good progress and in their polite, confident and pleasant demeanour. Communication with parents is good and parents report that they are kept well informed about events at school and how they might help their children at home. Governors provide good support, but recognise that their role in monitoring and evaluation and in challenging the school to improve performance is not fully developed. They have made good arrangements to improve these aspects in the near future. Effective staff training and

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Grade: 2

regular follow up checks ensure that key aspects of teaching and learning, such as the way that pupils' work is marked or how targets are set, are carried out consistently throughout the school. The school is aware that it lacks an overall strategy to improve the way that it contributes to community cohesion. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Paganel Primary School, 2–3 February 2009 .

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Grade: 2

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: Paganel Primary School, 2–3 February 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? 2 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

2 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 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. 9 of 11 Inspection Report: Paganel Primary School, 2–3 February 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 1 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? 1 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 2 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 2 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: Paganel Primary School, 2–3 February 2009

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

4 February 2009 Dear Pupils Inspection of Paganel Primary School, Birmingham, B29 5TG Thank you for making us so welcome when we came to inspect your school. We send special thanks to those of you who gave up part of your lunchtime to talk with us. We thoroughly enjoyed talking with you and your teachers, and watching you learn. Your school is a good school. It is run well and is giving you a good education. Adults provide good teaching so that you progress well. The ways that you are cared for, guided and supported are excellent. I can see that yours is a happy school and that you and your parents are very pleased with it. You enjoy school and most of you attend very regularly and arrive on time. You all clearly know how to act safely. You are being suitably prepared for life at your next school. You understand what is right and what is wrong, show consideration for others and are very friendly to each

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

other. You should be proud of your excellent behaviour and manners. Those of you who find learning difficult make good progress because the school helps you learn and you are given frequent help in small groups. There are many things that your headteacher, the staff and the governors want to improve because they want your school to get even better! We agree with them that there are two important things that they need to do first:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ help more of you attain higher levels in your work

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ improve the way that the school helps you understand about living in the wider world.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

I send you our very best wishes for the future. Yours sincerely Roger Sadler Lead inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Paganel Primary School, 2–3 February 2009

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