Bewdley Primary School

Bewdley Primary School Inspection report

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135076 Unique Reference Number Worcestershire Local Authority 329024 Inspection number 4 June 2009 Inspection date Alison Cartlidge 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 3–11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 288 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 Veronica Whiting Chair Paul Roper 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 Shaw Hedge Road School address Spring Hill Estate Bewdley DY12 1EH 01299 403796 Telephone number 01299 403796 Fax number

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3–11 Age group 4 June 2009 Inspection date 329024 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 9 Inspection Report: Bewdley Primary School, 4 June 2009

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by two additional inspectors, who evaluated the overall effectiveness of the school and investigated the following:

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Introduction

■ provision and progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage

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Introduction

■ the development of writing and mathematics across the school

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Introduction

■ the influence of the skills-based curriculum on pupils' enjoyment and standards

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Introduction

■ the impact of leaders on school development and improving achievement.

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Introduction

Evidence was gathered from: discussions with pupils, members of staff and governors; observations of teaching and learning; views of parents; and a scrutiny of pupils' work and school documentation. 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 given 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

Pupils come to this large primary school from the town of Bewdley and the surrounding area. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is below average. The school has a broadly average proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. Most of these pupils have speech, language and communication difficulties. Provision for the Early Years Foundation Stage is in one Nursery and two Reception classes. Nearly all the pupils are of White British origin. Pupils in Years 1 to 6 are taught in mixed-age classes. The school opened in September 2007 on the site of a former First School. Most of the pupils previously attended the First School. Last year was the first year with pupils up to Year 6 and this is the school's first inspection. There have been recent changes to the senior management team. The school has a before- and after-school club that is run by an external provider and was not

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 9 Inspection Report: Bewdley Primary School, 4 June 2009

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Grade: 3

This is a satisfactory and steadily improving school. Pupils' personal development and well-being are good because pupils benefit from the good pastoral support of caring and friendly members of staff. Children make a good start to their education in the Nursery and Reception classes. In Years 1 to 6, satisfactory teaching enables most pupils, including those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, to make the expected progress and to achieve satisfactorily. Standards are broadly average by the end of Year 6, and school assessment information indicates that they are starting to rise, particularly in English. Writing has been a focus for whole-school development for the past two years and leaders are in the process of changing the priority to develop mathematics and science. Progress in mathematics and science is not consistent across classes. This is because not all teachers have consistently high enough expectations of what

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Grade: 3

pupils can do and achieve. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good overall. Pupils are friendly and helpful and behave well. They make a good contribution to the community by helping each other and their teachers and by supporting local events. The school council is particularly pleased with the way they have helped to reduce litter on the playground. The school makes a satisfactory contribution towards ensuring community cohesion through various visits and topic work. Pupils have established some good global links with The Gambia but have only a satisfactory awareness of cultural diversity in the United Kingdom. Rates of attendance are average but improving with more rigorous monitoring by the school. Despite the school's advice on the importance of regular attendance, some parents continue to choose to take their children on term-time holidays. Pupils are keen to learn in most lessons.

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Grade: 3

Occasionally they lose concentration when their needs are not being met well enough or when they are insufficiently engaged by class discussions. Pupils' preparation for the next stage of education and later life is satisfactory. They make sound progress in developing basic skills and become sensible and responsible young citizens. Teachers have good relationships with the pupils and manage behaviour successfully in a good-humoured way. Resources such as the interactive whiteboards are used well to share information and to help make learning interesting. Whilst there are examples of good or better teaching in all year groups, it is only satisfactory overall. This is because teachers do not always match work closely enough to pupils' wide range of academic needs. In addition, although teachers assess pupils' progress frequently, they do not always set challenging targets or show pupils clearly enough through marking how they should improve their work.

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Grade: 3

The satisfactory curriculum is varied and provides a wealth of valuable additional activities such as clubs, visitors and visits that increase the pupils' enjoyment of school and willingness to learn. The creative arts are promoted well and the enthusiastic choir and band perform well. The school is working well to plan interesting work through a series of topics, although opportunities are missed to extend pupils' basic skills, particularly in mathematics and science. Care, guidance and support are satisfactory overall. Members of staff have a good awareness of the pupils' personal needs and at the time of the inspection, safeguarding arrangements were fully in place. Teachers are successful in helping pupils to learn about how to keep safe and healthy. For example, pupils in Years 1 and 2, when discussing the merits of recycling, demonstrated their good awareness of safety by reminding others that broken glass left lying

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Grade: 3

around can be dangerous. 4 of 9 Inspection Report: Bewdley Primary School, 4 June 2009 Leadership and management are satisfactory. The headteacher, other members of staff and governors have ensured that the school has run smoothly during the recent reorganisation and related staffing changes. Leaders know how to improve the school. Recent strategies are beginning to increase the pupils' progress and demonstrate that the school has a satisfactory capacity to improve further. Systems for self-evaluation are satisfactory. Leaders are aware that they are not yet rigorous enough in checking that progress is consistent between classes and across the school and to ensure that weaknesses are tackled swiftly enough. The school has good relationships with others to support the pupils' well-being. Most parents are pleased that their children attend the school. They make positive comments such as, 'Teachers are very friendly and helpful,' and, 'There has never been a day when either of my

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Grade: 3

children have not wanted to go to school.' These comments reflect what the school already does well.

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Grade: 2

On entry to the Nursery and Reception classes most children are working within the levels typically expected for these age groups. Standards rise to slightly above average when children start in Year 1, representing good achievement from their starting points. Good provision and teaching ensure that children learn quickly, especially in improving their literacy and numeracy skills. Children's welfare is promoted successfully, resulting in good personal development. Children behave well and play and work together sensibly. They are especially enthusiastic about carrying out the many exciting tasks they are given. For example, during a topic on minibeasts, Nursery children enjoyed using magnifying glasses to help search for ants and their eggs, and Reception children enjoyed putting pretend bugs in order according to how many spots they had. Good relationships support the children well and help them to gain confidence

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Grade: 2

and independence. Assessment is used well to plan challenging activities, although occasionally teachers miss opportunities to ask open-ended questions during whole-class discussions. Good induction arrangements and close links with parents ensure that the children settle into school quickly. Provision is led and managed well by the team of staff, who work together closely to identify developments. For example, the curriculum has been made more boy friendly, closing the progress gap between the sexes. Leaders are aware that assessment information could be analysed in greater detail to spot relative weaknesses in provision and progress between areas of learning.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Engage pupils in their learning more fully and increase their progress in mathematics and science by ensuring that their differing needs are met fully throughout all lessons. ■ Increase the teachers' expectations of what pupils can achieve by setting challenging targets and ensuring that marking shows the next steps clearly. ■ Ensure that information from monitoring teaching and learning is used by leaders to tackle inconsistencies in provision swiftly and successfully. 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. 5 of 9 Inspection Report: Bewdley Primary School, 4 June 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. 6 of 9 Inspection Report: Bewdley Primary School, 4 June 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?

NA 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. 7 of 9 Inspection Report: Bewdley Primary School, 4 June 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 3 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? 8 of 9 Inspection Report: Bewdley Primary School, 4 June 2009

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

5 June 2009 Dear Children Inspection of Bewdley Primary School, Bewdley, DY12 1EH Thank you for welcoming us to your school and for sharing your work with us. Your school provides you with a satisfactory education. Here are some points about your school.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You make a good start in the Nursery and Reception classes and make satisfactory progress during your time at the school. ■ You behave well and enjoy school. We thought you were very friendly.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You take responsibility well. The school council is doing a good job in helping to make the school even better by keeping the playground tidy. ■ Teaching is satisfactory. Teachers work hard to help you learn interesting things.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You study a suitable range of topics, and enjoy the many interesting visits, visitors and clubs planned by teachers. We thought the band and choir were really good. ■ The adults in the school care for you well and help you when you are finding life difficult.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Your headteacher and other leaders know how to make your school better.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

What we have asked your school to do now.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Give you work that is just right for you so that you can take part in all activities and learn more quickly in mathematics and science. ■ Make sure that teachers give you challenging targets and show you through their marking what you need to do next to improve your work. ■ Ensure that leaders make sure that you are all doing equally well in every class.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

You can help by making sure you take notice of your targets and advice from your teachers and always trying to do your best work. We thoroughly enjoyed talking with you about your work and watching you learn. We are glad that you enjoy coming to this happy school and wish you well for the future.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Alison Cartlidge Lead inspector 9 of 9 Inspection Report: Bewdley Primary School, 4 June 2009

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