INSPECTION REPORT LOWER DARWEN PRIMARY SCHOOL Darwen LEA area: Blackburn with Darwen Unique reference number: 119120 Headteacher: Mrs S Morton Reporting inspector: Paul Dennison 17736 Dates of inspection: 17 – 20 March 2003 Inspection number: 247967 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: Infant and Junior School category: Community Age range of pupils: 4 - 11 Gender of pupils: Mixed School address: Milking Lane Lower Darwen Darwen Lancashire Postcode: BB3 0RB Telephone number: 01254 55639 Fax number: 01254 668065 Appropriate authority: The Governing Body Name of chair of governors: Mr S Cox Date of previous inspection: 10 November 1997 Lower Darwen Primary School - 3 - March 2003 INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM Subject Team members Aspect responsibilities responsibilities 17736 P Dennison Registered inspector The Foundation What sort of school Stage is it? English as an The school’s results additional language and achievements Art and design How well are pupils taught? Physical education How well is the school led and managed? What should the school do to improve further? 19669 F Kennedy Lay inspector Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development How well does the school care for its pupils? How well does the school work in partnership with parents? 32224 D Earnshaw Team inspector Special educational needs English Design and technology 4113 L Hampson Team inspector Mathematics Information and communication technology History Music 21893 V Brittain Team inspector Educational How good are the inclusion curricular and other opportunities offered Science to pupils? Geography Religious education Lower Darwen Primary School - 4 - March 2003 Lower Darwen Primary School - 5 - March 2003 The inspection contractor was: Nord Anglia School Inspection Services Strathblane House Ashfield Road Cheadle Stockport SK8 1BB 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 Lower Darwen Primary School - 6 - March 2003 REPORT CONTENTS Page PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 8 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? 12 The school’s results and pupils’ achievements Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development HOW WELL ARE PUPILS TAUGHT? 16 HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS? 19 HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS? 22 HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS? 24 HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED? 25 WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER? 28 RESOURCED PROVISION FOR THE HEARING IMPAIRED 29 PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS 30 PART D: THE STANDARDS AND QUALITY OF TEACHING IN AREAS OF THE CURRICULUM, SUBJECTS AND COURSES 35 Lower Darwen Primary School - 7 - March 2003 PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL The school is situated in Lower Darwen, Blackburn. There is no nursery class, although most pupils have experienced some pre-school education in playgroups or nurseries. The number on roll is rising and the school building has been extended with additional classrooms. The school has a resource centre for pupils with hearing impairment. Currently there are 239 pupils on roll. The proportion of pupils on the school’s register of special educational needs is above the national average. Eighteen pupils have statements of special educational need. These are associated with hearing impairment, physical disability or Downs Syndrome. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is in line with the national average. Very few pupils are from ethnic minority groups. Five of the hearing impaired pupils are at an early stage of acquiring English. There is a wide range of ability on entry although overall attainment is in line with that expected for the age group. HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS This is a very good school. Pupils achieve well and by the time they leave school, pupils’ attainment in English, mathematics and science is good. The headteacher, governors and staff work well together to improve the school and maintain the high standards. The headteacher provides excellent leadership. She is well supported by senior staff and the school is managed very well. The teaching is good overall and much is very good. This helps pupils to make good progress. Very effective support ensures that all pupils are able to take a full part in all aspects of school life. The pupils have very positive attitudes to learning and their behaviour is very good. Overall, the school provides good value for money. What the school does well · The headteacher and senior managers provide excellent leadership and manage the school very well. They are very well supported by governors and staff who work hard to maintain and improve the good standards of attainment. · Pupils achieve well and, by Year 6, standards of attainment in English, mathematics and science are good. · The quality of teaching is good overall and much is very good. · A very good range of activities is provided to meet pupils’ interests and abilities; this includes a very wide range of activities outside lessons. · The provision for pupils’ personal development is very good. · Pupils are very well behaved; they have very positive attitudes, work hard and are keen to learn. · Pupils with special educational needs are provided with very good support and make good progress. · Teaching assistants are used very effectively and play a very important role in ensuring that all pupils have full access to the curriculum. · The school has developed a very effective partnership with parents and the local community. What could be improved · The provision for information and communication technology and its use to support learning across the curriculum. The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan. HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION As a result of the excellent leadership provided by the headteacher and senior staff, improvement since the last inspection in 1997 has been very good. The school has taken positive and effective steps to address the areas for improvement identified in the last inspection report. Effective systems have been established to monitor and evaluate the quality of teaching and learning, and the quality of teaching has improved considerably since the previous inspection. Assessment procedures have been improved and are used effectively to track pupils’ progress and support curriculum planning. Parents are now kept well informed about pupils’ learning, the curriculum and the school’s work. Financial planning is very good and the budget is carefully monitored. The governing body is now well informed about the work of the Lower Darwen Primary School - 8 - March 2003 school. Standards of attainment in English, mathematics and science have risen at a higher rate than the national trend. Provision for information and communication technology has been improved, however, it is not yet being used sufficiently to assist pupils’ learning across the curriculum. 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 C A A above average B average C Mathematics E C A A below average D well below average E Science C C A* A* Pupils’ performance in the Year 6 National Curriculum tests in 2002 was well above the national average in English and mathematics. The results in science were very high (in the top 5 percent of schools nationally). The test results between 1998 and 2002 have improved at a rate above the national trend. Pupils achieve well. On the evidence of the inspection, their attainment is above the national expectations in English and mathematics and well above expectations in science. Pupils’ performance in the Year 2 National Curriculum assessments in 2002 was below the national average in writing and mathematics and well below the national average in reading. Compared with similar schools, attainment was below average in mathematics and well below average in reading and writing. Evidence from the inspection indicates that standards have improved and standards in all three subjects are now in line with the national expectation. There is a wide range of attainment on entry to the school although, overall, attainment is in line with that expected for the age group. Children in the reception classes achieve well. The great majority of children attain the early learning goals set for children of this age group and many move on to the National Curriculum programmes of study. Attainment in design and technology is good. Attainment in all other National Curriculum subjects is in line with the national expectation by Year 2 and Year 6.