INSPECTION REPORT TIPTON GREEN JUNIOR SCHOOL Tipton LEA area: Sandwell Unique reference number: 103928 Headteacher: Mr L Rouse Reporting inspector: Barbara Crane 21227 Dates of inspection: 14th – 18th January 2002 Inspection number: 194461 Full inspection carried out under section 10 of the School Inspections Act 1996 © Crown copyright 2002 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: Junior School category: Community Age range of pupils: 7 – 11 Gender of pupils: Mixed School address: Park Lane West Tipton Sandwell West Midlands Postcode: DY4 8LE Telephone number: 0120 5579242 Fax number: 0121 5202393 Appropriate authority: Governing body Name of chair of governors: Mr Keith Aston Date of previous inspection: March 1997 Tipton Green Junior School - 3 INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM Team members Subject Aspect responsibilities responsibilities 21227 Barbara Crane Registered English, information and The school’s results and inspector communication achievements. technology, art, design How well are pupils taught? and technology, physical education, special How well is the school led educational needs. and managed? What should the school do to improve further? 19430 Trevor Hall 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? 11976 Heather Toynbee Team Science, religious How good are the curricular inspector education. and other opportunities offered to pupils? 27541 John Collins Team Mathematics, history, inspector geography, music, English as an additional language. The inspection contractor was: SCHOOLhaus Ltd Suite 17 BPS Business Centre Brake Lane Walesby Nottinghamshire NG22 9HQ 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 Tipton Green 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? 10 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? 13 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 WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER? 19 PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS 20 PART D: THE STANDARDS AND QUALITY OF TEACHING IN AREAS OF THE CURRICULUM, SUBJECTS AND COURSES 24 Tipton Green Junior School - 5 PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL The school is larger than most. There are 298 pupils on roll. Thirty per cent of the pupils have special educational needs, which is more than in most schools. Three pupils have a Statement of Special Educational Need. Seventeen per cent of the pupils are entitled to free school meals, which is broadly average, but the school serves an area in which there is considerable deprivation. There is a wide ethnic mix of pupils, with 23 per cent of pupils coming from ethnic backgrounds other than white. Eighteen per cent of the pupils have English as an additional language, with half of these pupils at an early stage of learning English. When the current Year 6 pupils entered the school, their attainment was well below average. This picture has improved over recent years and the attainment on entry of the current Year 3 was below average in reading and mathematics, but well below average in writing. The school gained the Investors In People award in 2001and takes part in the Young Enterprise junior achievement programme. HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS This is a good school and the pupils achieve well to reach mainly average standards by the time they leave. The teaching is good and the school helps pupils to become very confident. There is a good climate for learning because relationships are good and the work is interesting. The leadership and management of the school are good and all of the staff are committed to improvement. The school provides good value for money. What the school does well Pupils achieve well in most aspects of their work because of the good teaching. Standards in physical education are better than expected for the pupils’ ages. The pupils behave very well because the school provides excellent guidance and the teachers have high expectations of behaviour. Pupils with special educational needs and those who are learning English make good progress because they are well supported. Pupils are keen to learn and pupils of all abilities and backgrounds get on well together. The school’s provision for the pupils’ personal development is very effective and there is a wide range of activities outside lessons. The leadership and management of the school are good; the senior management team looks closely at what needs to be done and works hard to raise standards. What could be improved Standards in writing should be higher. The way in which pupils’ progress is recorded is not always consistent or easily interpreted. Pupils have too few opportunities to try out their ideas in science. The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan. HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION The school has worked hard to resolve the issues from the previous inspection through careful planning and diligent work. It has made good improvement since it was last inspected in 1997. Standards in English, mathematics and science have improved. The more able pupils are doing better than they were. Teaching has improved. The school’s planning for improvement is more closely focused on raising standards and the roles of staff in managing improvement are better defined and more effective. The school is in a good position to bring about further improvements. Tipton Green Junior School - 6 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 1999 2000 2001 2001 well above average A English E D D C above average B average C Mathematics E C E D below average D well below average E Science E C D C This table shows that the pupils’ performance in English and science was below the national average in 2001 and well below average in mathematics. The results in English and science were in line with those in similar schools but below in mathematics. The school’s results have improved over the last five years at a faster rate than that seen nationally. In 2000, taking the performance in all core subjects together, the results were above those seen in similar schools. A greater proportion of pupils have reached the expected level for their age year on year, although the results in 2001 dipped because of the higher proportion of lower attaining pupils in that year group. The results in English and science were better than in mathematics, with more pupils attaining at the higher level in these subjects. The school has recognised that higher attainers in mathematics were not being suitably challenged and has successfully adapted the work to meet their needs. The school met the targets that it set for the pupils in 2001 and is on track to reach the suitably challenging targets that have been set for the oldest pupils this year. Boys do not do as well as girls over time, but the school monitors their progress carefully. On the basis of the work seen now, all of the pupils are achieving well in most aspects of their work. Pupils with special educational needs and those who are learning English as an additional language make good progress. The standards reached by the oldest pupils are average in reading and mathematics. Pupils should be doing better in writing; they do not often use a rich vocabulary or complex sentences when they write. The more able pupils should be doing better in writing. The pupils’ knowledge in science is at an average standard but their ability to investigate is weaker because they have too few opportunities to try out their ideas. Pupils achieve very well in physical education and standards are better than expected for their age. They are making good progress in information and communication technology (ICT) and standards are broadly as expected. Standards are also in line with those expected at the end of Year 6 in religious education and all other subjects. PUPILS’ ATTITUDES AND VALUES Aspect Comment Attitudes to the school Very good. The pupils are keen to improve and make the most of the opportunities offered by the school. Behaviour, in and out of Very good.