Mount Pellon Junior and Infant School

Transcription

1 Mount Pellon Junior and Infant School Inspection report Unique Reference Number Local authority Calderdale Inspection number Inspection dates March 2012 Lead inspector Marie Cordey This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 3 11 Gender of pupils Mixed Nu mber of pupils on the school roll 586 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Penny Marrington Headteacher Janet McPhail Date of previous school inspection 10 December 2009 School address Battinson Road Halifax HX1 4RG Telephone number Fax number address admin@mountpellon.calderdale.sch.uk Age group 3 11 Inspection date(s) March 2012 Inspection number

2 Inspection report: Mount Pellon Junior and Infant School, March of 11 You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child's school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when. You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children's services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. 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. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone , or enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to 'Subscribe'. Piccadilly Gate Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: Textphone: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk Crown copyright 2012

3 Inspection report: Mount Pellon Junior and Infant School, March of 11 Introduction Inspection team Marie Cordey Kathryn Dodd Juliet Demster Additional inspector Additional inspector Additional inspector This inspection was carried out with two days' notice. The inspectors observed 19 teachers and visited 23 lessons, four of which were joint observations with the headteacher and deputy headteacher. In addition, the inspectors made other briefer visits to lessons and also heard pupils reading. Meetings were held with the chair of the governing body, parent governors, the school improvement officer, a National Leader of Education, staff and groups of pupils. The inspectors observed the school's work, and looked at the school s selfevaluation evidence, the school improvement plan, safeguarding documentation, and records of internal and external monitoring of the school. Inspectors also analysed questionnaires returned by 151 parents and carers as well as those completed by pupils and staff. Inspectors took account of the responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) in planning the inspection. Information about the school This is a much larger than average sized primary school. The Early Years Foundation Stage consists of Reception and Nursery classes. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is above average. The number of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is above average. The vast majority of pupils are from minority ethnic backgrounds and a small number of pupils are of White British heritage. Above average numbers of pupils speak English as an additional language. The proportion of pupils entering or leaving the school at other than the usual times is above average. There have been significant changes in staffing at all levels over recent years. The school was removed from special measures in December In July 2010, the school received a monitoring inspection and was judged to be making inadequate progress in bringing about improvement and inadequate progress in demonstrating a better capacity for sustained improvement. The school does not meet the current floor standard, which is the minimum level expected for pupils attainment and their progress.

4 Inspection report: Mount Pellon Junior and Infant School, March of 11 Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms Inspection judgements Overall Effectiveness 4 Achievement of pupils 4 Quality of teaching 4 Behaviour and safety of pupils 4 Leadership and management 4 Key Findings In accordance with section 13(3) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires special measures because it is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the persons responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement. This school is not satisfactory because attainment is low and has been for too long. Pupils achievement is inadequate as a result of inadequate teaching. Leadership capacity is not developed enough, partly because of turbulence in staffing. The school has deteriorated in several key areas since the previous inspection. Teaching over time fails to accelerate pupils progress or make up for previous underachievement, particularly for pupils in Key Stage 2. Consequently, pupils, including disabled pupils, those with special educational needs and pupils who speak English as an additional language, do not make the progress they should. Pupils skills in reading, writing and mathematics are poorly developed. Although the behaviour of most pupils is polite and cooperative, too many lessons are interrupted by low level disruption. A significant proportion of staff, pupils and their parents and carers consider behaviour to be inappropriate. There is some racial tension between minority ethnic groups resulting in some pupils feeling insecure and bullied. Some pupils are not confident enough that their concerns will be taken seriously and told inspectors that there is a culture of not telling. Consequently, some pupils are reluctant to approach adults with their concerns. Senior leaders, managers and the governing body are determined to raise pupils attainment and improve the school. However, in part, this determination is undermined by significant staff absence. Some improvements have been made, for example in attendance rates. However, the pupils achievement, behaviour safety, and the quality of teaching are inadequate. Agreed school systems are not implemented consistently and some staff and pupils are not committed enough to the overall vision of the school. The school lacks the necessary capacity to improve.

5 Inspection report: Mount Pellon Junior and Infant School, March of 11 Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage thrive in the vibrant and caring setting. They learn and play well because activities are designed to be exciting and to encourage curiosity and a desire to learn. Children make better than expected progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage. What does the school need to do to improve further? Raise the attainment of all pupils, especially in Key Stage 2, by focusing more on improving pupils basic skills in reading, writing and mathematics, particularly their spelling, punctuation, grammar, sentence construction and mental arithmetic. Ensure that the vast majority of teaching is consistently good or better by: - matching work to individual pupil s ability and interests and addressing any gaps in learning - improving teachers subject knowledge, particularly in mathematics - raising teachers expectations of pupils capabilities - focusing on improving pupils attitudes to learning. Improve the behaviour and safety of pupils by: - establishing clear systems to record and act upon incidents of poor behaviour and bullying - ensuring that pupils are confident about communicating their concerns to adults - holding all staff to account in the management of pupils behaviour. Improve the leadership and management of the school by: - tracking the performance of pupils more regularly and analysing it precisely so that any underachievement is identified and acted upon quickly and effectively - taking effective measures to monitor and improve the quality of teaching. Main Report Achievement of pupils Achievement is inadequate. Pupils attainment by the end of Years 2 and 6 has been consistently low for a number of years, including that in reading, and shows no sign of improvement for pupils in Key Stage 2. The pupils basic skills in English and mathematics are weak, including spelling, punctuation, grammar, sentence construction and mental arithmetic. They have not acquired the knowledge, skills and understanding as they move through the school to do more advanced work in Key Stage 2. Children are well prepared for the beginning of their school life in the Early Years Foundation Stage. They thoroughly enjoy the many opportunities to learn and, for example, relish discovering, role-playing, working on the computers, playing cooperatively and baking cakes. Children s starting points in the nursery class vary but overall they are well below their chronological age. Over time they make good progress in their learning and currently their progress is outstanding. By the end of their time in the Reception Year their skills are in line with expectations for their age. Transition from the Early Years Foundation Stage to

6 Inspection report: Mount Pellon Junior and Infant School, March of 11 Year 1 has improved and successful practice, for example in engaging and challenging pupils in learning, is beginning to be shared with teachers in Key Stage 1. Consequently, standards are rising quickly in Year 1 although they remain too low in Year 2. While the vast majority of parents and carers consider that their children make good progress at the school, inspection evidence does not accord with this view. While learning and progress at Key Stage 1 are improving, learning and progress are inadequate at Key Stage 2 for all groups of pupils and have been for too long. Lessons observed during the inspection show that pupils do not learn or progress as well as they should. Progress slows when pupils are not engaged or interested in their work and when the teachers expectations of their performance are too low. Quality of teaching Teaching is inadequate. The quality of teaching has been affected adversely by instability in staffing, which has had a negative impact on the continuity of pupils learning, their behaviour and their attitudes to learning. In Key Stage 2, teachers subject knowledge is weak, especially in mathematics, expectations are low and pupils are not engaged sufficiently in their learning. In such lessons, explanations are often unclear and pupils flounder because they are not sure what is expected of them. When teachers talk for too long and when the management of pupils behaviour is weak, the pupils behaviour deteriorates. Teachers do not plan carefully enough so that the work set matches pupils individual abilities and interests and nor do they recognise or plan to fill gaps in pupils learning. The vast majority of parents and carers believe that their children are taught well but this is not borne out by inspection evidence. The use made of support staff is inconsistent. At its best, teachers and support staff plan lessons together and to make sure that support staff contribute fully to lessons. In these lessons, disabled pupils, those with special educational needs and pupils who speak English as an additional language flourish because of personalised, sensitive and challenging teaching. However, during the inspection pupils learning sometimes faltered when they were taught in small groups outside the classroom. This was because the arrangements to ensure that lessons were well planned, and that the support staff were well prepared, were ineffective. Monitoring and evaluation of the learning of these groups of pupils are not routine or effective enough. The impact of the planned curriculum, especially in developing basic skills, is not yet evident. The best teaching takes place in the Early Years Foundation Stage and in some classes in Key Stage 1. In these lessons, teachers and support staff have good subject knowledge, have high expectations of the pupils capabilities and work is planned carefully to match the abilities and interests of pupils. Classrooms are welcoming, and uplifting, because of the high quality of the displays of pupils work, especially in art, craft and topic work. A moving example of this is seen in the displays about the Second World War, which help to promote pupils spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Pupils are actively involved in the assessment of their work. They know how well they are doing and what they need to do to achieve even more. Behaviour and safety of pupils Pupils behaviour is inadequate because of frequent disruption to learning, inconsiderate behaviour around school and in the playgrounds, and some bullying related to race. Some

7 Inspection report: Mount Pellon Junior and Infant School, March of 11 pupils told inspectors that they did not feel safe. This has an adverse impact on pupils spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Responses from pupils, parents, carers and staff to the inspection questionnaire highlighted concerns about bullying and poor behaviour. Inspection evidence concurs with these concerns. Systems to record and act upon incidents of poor behaviour and bullying are neither clear nor well established enough to be fully effective. Staff are not held to account for the way they manage pupils behaviour. Despite these more negative features of behaviour, many pupils do enjoy taking on positions of responsibility, such as representing their classmates on the school council or looking after younger pupils. They were keen to welcome inspectors to their school and were polite and courteous. Many are enthusiastic members of the choir and are keen musicians. Nursery and reception-aged children play and learn happily together and are kept safe and secure in what is a caring setting. Leadership and management Leadership and management are inadequate. Senior leaders and the governing body are committed to moving the school forward but have not succeeded in communicating their ambitions to all staff or pupils. In addition, significant staff absence and changes have thwarted efforts to improve the school since the previous inspection. Leaders have not demonstrated sufficient capacity to improve. New appointments to the leadership of Key Stages 1 and 2 have sharpened the focus on school improvement but it is too early to see any impact. The school recognises that there are inconsistencies in the quality of teaching and is keen to improve pupils progress and raise their attainment. Nevertheless, senior leaders are over-generous in their evaluation of the school s performance and monitoring of the quality of teaching has not been effective in resolving weaknesses. Pupils performance is not tracked frequently enough or analysed sharply enough to identify underachievement and act on it quickly and effectively. Leadership in the Early Years Foundation Stage is effective because good planning, enthusiasm and effective team work ensure that children develop personally and academically. The governing body ensures that safeguarding arrangements meet requirements. However, incidents of poor behaviour are not recorded systematically and some pupils do not feel safe. Leadership and management are ineffective in promoting good behaviour and the pupils spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. The curriculum is inadequate because it does not match the interests and abilities of the pupils. Tackling discrimination and providing equality of opportunity are central to the school s ethos and character. However, leaders and managers have been unsuccessful in improving the performance of all groups of pupils and ensuring that all feel safe. This is evident in differences between pupils outcomes and in the reported instances of bullying. Much professional development has been provided for staff but its impact is not evident in improving outcomes for pupils. While most parents and carers consider that the school is led well, leadership and management are not having enough impact on improving the school s performance. The school has created many positive links with families and the community, which have contributed to pupils improved attendance.

8 Inspection report: Mount Pellon Junior and Infant School, March of 11 Glossary What inspection judgements mean Grade Judgement Description Grade 1 Outstanding These features are highly effective. An outstanding school provides exceptionally well for all its pupils' needs. Grade 2 Good These are very positive features of a school. A school that is good is serving its pupils well. Grade 3 Satisfactory These features are of reasonable quality. A satisfactory school is providing adequately for its pupils. Grade 4 Inadequate These features are not of an acceptable standard. An inadequate school needs to make significant improvement in order to meet the needs of its pupils. Ofsted inspectors will make further visits until it improves. Overall effectiveness of schools Overall effectiveness judgement (percentage of schools) Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate Nursery schools Primary schools Secondary schools Special schools Pupil referral units All schools New school inspection arrangements have been introduced from 1 January This means that inspectors make judgements that were not made previously. The data in the table above are for the period 1 September 2010 to 31 August 2011 and represent judgements that were made under the school inspection arrangements that were introduced on 1 September These data are consistent with the latest published official statistics about maintained school inspection outcomes (see The sample of schools inspected during 2010/11 was not representative of all schools nationally, as weaker schools are inspected more frequently than good or outstanding schools. Primary schools include primary academy converters. Secondary schools include secondary academy converters, sponsor-led academies and city technology colleges. Special schools include special academy converters and non-maintained special schools. Percentages are rounded and do not always add exactly to 100.

9 Inspection report: Mount Pellon Junior and Infant School, March of 11 Common terminology used by inspectors Achievement: Attainment: Behaviour: Capacity to improve: Leadership and management: Learning: Overall effectiveness: Progress: Safety: the progress and success of a pupil in their learning and development taking account of their attainment. the standard of the pupils' work shown by test and examination results and in lessons. how well pupils behave in lessons, with emphasis on their attitude to learning. Pupils' punctuality to lessons and their conduct around the school. the proven ability of the school to continue improving based on its self-evaluation and what the school has accomplished so far and on the quality of its systems to maintain improvement. the contribution of all the staff with responsibilities, not just the governors and headteacher, to identifying priorities, directing and motivating staff and running the school. how well pupils acquire knowledge, develop their understanding, learn and practise skills and are developing their competence as learners. inspectors form a judgement on a school's overall effectiveness based on the findings from their inspection of the school. the rate at which pupils are learning in lessons and over longer periods of time. It is often measured by comparing the pupils' attainment at the end of a key stage with their attainment when they started. how safe pupils are in school, including in lessons; and their understanding of risks. Pupils' freedom from bullying and harassment. How well the school promotes safety, for example e-learning.

10 Inspection report: Mount Pellon Junior and Infant School, March of 11 This letter is provided for the school, parents and carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted's main findings from the inspection of their school. 22 March 2012 Dear Pupils Inspection of Mount Pellon Junior and Infant School, Halifax, HX1 4RG Thank you for making us welcome when we inspected your school recently. We would especially like to thank the pupils who gave us such an interesting tour of the school and those of you who met with inspectors. Your attendance has improved and most of you enjoy school life. Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage are welcomed into school and settle down quickly and happily. They make very good progress while they are learning and playing. We have found that some important things need improving and have judged that the school needs special measures. This means that your school will get extra help to improve your education and inspectors will come back to check that it is getting better. We believe that many of you should do much better in your work and we know that most of you are keen to do your best. We have asked leaders and staff to help you to learn more rapidly, especially for those of you in Key Stage 2. We want more of your lessons to be good so that you are challenged to achieve your best work. We have also asked your leaders and staff to look at your work regularly to check that you are learning enough and achieving as well as you can. We want you to feel that you are able to talk to an adult if you are worried, especially if you feel that you are being bullied. We want you to get on well with people from backgrounds that are different from your own. We have asked the school to make it very clear to you how much your feelings matter and to make sure that the school helps you all to feel safe. We would like all of you to help the school s leaders and teachers to improve the school by working hard and behaving well all the time. We wish you all the very best for the future. Yours sincerely Marie Cordey Lead inspector

11 Inspection report: Mount Pellon Junior and Infant School, March of 11 Any complaints about the inspection or the report should be made following the procedures set out in the guidance 'Complaining about inspections', which is available from Ofsted's website: If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone , or enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk.