INSPECTION REPORT STAINCLIFFE CE JUNIOR SCHOOL Batley LEA
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INSPECTION REPORT STAINCLIFFE CE JUNIOR SCHOOL Batley LEA area: Kirklees Unique reference number: 107710 Headteacher: Mr Paul Spencer Reporting inspector: Dr Brian Male 14906 Dates of inspection: 16-19 June 2003 Inspection number: 246707 Full inspection carried out under section 10 of the School Inspections Act 1996 © Crown copyright 2003 This report may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that all extracts quoted are reproduced verbatim without adaptation and on condition that the source and date thereof are stated. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the School Inspections Act 1996, the school must provide a copy of this report and/or its summary 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. INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL Type of school: Primary School category: Church of England controlled Age range of pupils: 7 - 11 Gender of pupils: Mixed School address: Staincliffe Hall Road Staincliffe Batley Postcode: WF17 7OX Telephone number: 01924 326756 Appropriate authority: Governing body Name of chair of governors: Fr David Carpenter Date of previous inspection: January 1998 Staincliffe CE Junior School - 3 INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM Subject Aspect responsibilities Team members responsibilities 14906 Dr Brian Registered History What sort of school is it? Male Inspector Geography How high are standards? How well are pupils taught? How well is the school led and managed? What should the school do to improve? 19419 Mrs Susan Lay Attitudes, values and personal Boyle Inspector development How well does the school work in partnership with parents? 2893 Mr John Team English How well does the school care Manning Inspector Information and for its pupils? communication technology Design and technology 3942 Mr Keith Team Science How good are the curricular and Sanderson Inspector Religious other opportunities offered to education pupils? Physical education 32103 Mrs Jane Team Mathematics Wheatley Inspector Art Music 18849 Mr Terry Team What provision does the school Mortimer Inspector make for pupils for whom English is an additional language? The inspection contractor was: Full Circle division of Parkman The Brow 35 Trewartha Park Weston-Super-Mare North Somerset BS23 2RP Any concerns or complaints about the inspection or the report should be raised with the inspection contractor. Complaints that are not satisfactorily resolved by the contractor should be raised with OFSTED by writing to: The Complaints Manager Inspection Quality Division The Office for Standards in Education Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE Staincliffe CE Junior School - 4 REPORT CONTENTS Page PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 6 Information about the school How good the school is What the school does well What could be improved How the school has improved since its last inspection Standards Pupils’ attitudes and values Teaching and learning Other aspects of the school How well the school is led and managed Parents’ and carers’ views of the school PART B: COMMENTARY HOW HIGH ARE STANDARDS? 11 The school’s results and pupils’ achievements Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT? 12 HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS? 14 HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS? 16 HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS? 17 HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED? 17 SUPPORT FOR PUPILS FOR WHOM ENGLISH IS AN 18 ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER? 20 PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS 21 PART D: THE STANDARDS AND QUALITY OF TEACHING IN AREAS OF THE CURRICULUM, SUBJECTS AND COURSES 26 Staincliffe CE Junior School - 5 Staincliffe CE Junior School - 6 PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL This large Church of England junior school takes pupils from seven to 11 years old, and is maintained by the Kirklees Metropolitan Council. At the time of the inspection there were 325 full-time pupils in 12 classes. Many pupils start school with standards of attainment well below those usually found. The percentage of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is well above the national average. The percentage of pupils identified as having special educational needs is in line with the national average. There is a very high proportion of pupils from ethnic minorities and for whom English is an additional language. These proportions have increased significantly over recent years. HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS This is a improving school where pupils make good progress and attain standards above those of similar schools. The standards in school are higher than the scores in national tests. Pupils’ attitudes to school are very positive and they are keen to learn. Behaviour in class is good, but the school’s approach to behaviour needs to be more consistently positive. The quality of teaching is satisfactory overall with a significant amount of good teaching, although expectations could be still higher. There is very good support for pupils for whom English is an additional language. Relationships with parents need strengthening. The headteacher provides strong leadership and a clear educational direction. The school provides good value for money. The school is to be complimented on successfully promoting a high degree of racial harmony. What the school does well · Pupils make good progress across the school and standards of attainment are above those in similar schools. · Pupils behave well and have very good attitudes to school. · The school makes very good provision for pupils for whom English is an additional language. · The school provides a good learning environment. · There are very good procedures for assessment and monitoring pupils’ progress. · The headteacher provides strong leadership for the school. · There is a high degree of racial harmony. What could be improved · There could be more focus on raising standards through speaking and listening. · There could be higher expectations in some lessons and more opportunities for pupils to work independently. · The school’s approach to behaviour management could be more consistently positive. · The partnership with parents could be strengthened. · The governors need to improve their recruitment and retention of parent governors. The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan. HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION The school was last inspected in January 1998 and has made good progress since then during a period in which the intake of the school has changed significantly. Standards of attainment and behaviour have been broadly maintained during a time when the proportion of pupils for whom English is an additional language has tripled. Pupils’ attitudes have improved. The quality of teaching has remained satisfactory overall but the proportion of good teaching has improved. In terms of the key issues raised, support for pupils with Staincliffe CE Junior School - 7 special educational needs has been improved, assessment procedures have improved significantly, and standards have been raised in foundation subjects. STANDARDS The table shows the standards achieved by pupils at the end of Year 6 based on average point scores in National Curriculum tests. compared with similar Performance in: all schools Key schools 2000 2001 2002 2002 well above average A English D E E D above average B average C Mathematics D E E D below average D well below average E Science E D E D The school’s scores in national tests for Year 6 pupils in 2002 were well below the national average in English, mathematics and science. These scores were below the average of similar schools. These scores are not reflected in the standards seen in school which are much higher. Standards are below the national average in English and science, and in line with that average in mathematics. These standards are above those of similar schools. Part of the reason for the difference is that standards are rising, and part that these particular pupils do not perform well in the set tests. The performance in tests is affected by the proportion of pupils for whom English is an additional language. Standards are generally in line with those usually found in all other subjects. It was not possible to see sufficient physical education lessons for a judgement to be made. Pupils for whom English is an additional language make particularly good progress. Pupils with special educational needs make appropriate progress in terms of their targets. PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES Aspect Comment Attitudes to the school Pupils have very positive attitudes to school. They take a lively interest in their lessons and are keen to learn. Behaviour, in and out of Pupils mostly behave well in class, and the behaviour of the older classrooms pupils is particularly good. Behaviour in the playground and around school is generally satisfactory, but not as good as in class. Staff need to be more consistently positive in their approach to behaviour management. Personal development Pupils generally work well together in class and often co-operate and relationships well. Relationships out of class are not so strong and there are some incidents of aggressiveness to others. Attendance The rate of attendance is generally satisfactory, and most pupils arrive in time for lessons. Staincliffe CE Junior School - 8 TEACHING AND LEARNING Teaching of pupils in: Years 3-6 Quality of teaching Satisfactory Inspectors make judgements about teaching in the range: excellent; very good; good; satisfactory; unsatisfactory; poor; very poor. ‘Satisfactory’ means that the teaching is adequate and strengths outweigh weaknesses The quality of teaching is satisfactory overall, and is good in a significant number of lessons, particularly for the older pupils. There is some very good teaching and a small number of lessons were unsatisfactory.