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INSPECTION REPORT ON |
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The |
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Full Name of the School |
The |
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DfES Number |
916/6039 |
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Address |
Southern
Road, Leckhampton, |
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Telephone Number |
01242
522086 |
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Fax Number |
01242
584035 |
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E-mail Address |
hm@richardpate.co.uk |
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Name of Headmaster |
Mr
E L Rowland |
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Chairman of Governors |
Mr
J Parker |
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3
- 11 |
Gender |
Mixed |
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Number of Pupils |
284 |
Number
of Boarders |
None |
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Inspection Dates |
31st
January – 4th |
February
2005 |
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This
inspection report follows the frame
The inspection does not examine the financial viability of the school or investigate its accounting procedures. The inspectors check the school’s health and safety procedures and comment on any significant hazards they encounter: they do not carry out an exhaustive health and safety examination. Their inspection of the premises is from an educational perspective and does not include in-depth examination of the structural condition of the school, its services or other physical features.
1.1
The
1.2 The school’s major strengths are.
· Pupils make very good progress and achieve very high standards in relation to their capabilities.
· Standards of teaching are very good and pupils’ very positive attitudes and behaviour help them to achieve very well.
· The leadership of the school is very good.
· The provision for the personal development of pupils is very good.
· Pupils’ very good care has a positive effect on their learning and progress.
· Staff, resources and accommodation are of high quality.
What the School Should Do Better
1.3 The school has few weaknesses. The following areas, however, could be improved:
·
Subject leaders have
insufficient time, especially in the prep department, to monitor teaching and
pupils’
· Assessment data are not used to best advantage in foundation subjects.
· Provision for personal, social and health education (PSHE) and citizenship is inadequately catered for.
· The school does not make sufficient provision for gifted and talented pupils.
Standards of Attainment and Progress in Subjects
1.4 Pupils make good or very good progress. In mathematics, science and history progress is very good and pupils’ attainment is very high at the end of both Years 2 and 6. Standards are high in English and French and progress is good. In music standards are high at the end of Year 6 and good at the end of Year 2. In design and technology and geography standards are good at the end of Year 6. It was not possible to see sufficient lessons in other subjects to form an overall judgement. This was the case in information and communications technology, but examples of its use across the curriculum were good and demonstrated a good level of competence at least among some pupils.
1.5 Pupils do not take the national standard assessment tests at the end of Years 2 and 6. The school has a very good record of success for pupils gaining entry into local selective schools and in entrance tests to senior independent schools. In mathematics pupils use their very high levels of skills and understanding to solve mathematical problems and in science they carry out investigation to a very high level. In general, standards of literacy and numeracy are high for all pupils at all stages.
1.6 On entry to the school pupils’ achievements are generally above average. The children make good progress in all areas of the curriculum during the Foundation Stage and most are likely to achieve the early learning goals by the age of five years.
1.7 The school has tried to meet the more apparent needs for gifted and talented pupils from within its own resources, but more could be done. The progress of pupils requiring special educational provision is very good overall in relation to their abilities or initial difficulties. Pupils who come to the school with English as an additional language are very well supported and quickly gain access to the curriculum.
The Quality of Pupils’ Learning, Attitudes and their Behaviour
1.8 Pupils’ attitudes to learning and their personal development and behaviour are very good for their ages, abilities and aptitudes and are conducive to their learning. The pupils’ very good relationships, courtesy, good manners and respect for the views of others are strengths of the school.
1.9 Very good teaching for pupils of all ages promotes very good progress. In two-thirds of the lessons seen the teaching was very good or better, a quarter was good.
1.10 Teaching is very good in the Foundation Stage and throughout the school in mathematics, science, French, geography and history. Teaching is good in English and music. In very good lessons teachers have very good subject knowledge and understanding. They use assessment effectively to track pupils’ progress and they identify specific aims for the different groups in the class. Expectations are very high and learning is rigorous. Classroom management and relationships between pupils and teachers are very good in all lessons.
1.11 Attendance is very good. Pupils are punctual when arriving at school and at lessons.
1.12 Assessment and recording of pupils’ achievements in the core subjects of English, mathematics and science are good. Assessment in other, foundation subjects, is not consistent and is still under developed in some areas. Pupils identified as having specific difficulties are assessed appropriately and a detailed individual education plan (IEP) is prepared.
1.13 The curriculum is good. It is broad and well balanced and includes all subjects of the National Curriculum together with French from Year 1 and Latin from Year 5 for the more able pupils. Pupils with special educational needs are well catered for. A wide-ranging programme of extra-curricular activities, including the traditional sports associated with a prep school, enriches the curriculum.
Teaching and Non-teaching Staff
1.14
The school is very well staffed
with well qualified,
enthusiastic, hard
1.15
The books, equipment,
materials, and ICT, which are needed to support the teaching, learning, study
and recreation of the pupils at all levels are very good in quantity, quality
and organ
1.16 Library facilities offer good support for the curriculum and are effectively used. The library is managed very well by the librarian, ably assisted by conscientious volunteers from Year 6.
1.17 The school is housed in very good, modern accommodation. The buildings and grounds are extensive and provide very good spaces for the curriculum, including sports activities.
Links with Parents and the Community
1.18 The school's links with parents and the community are good. Parents have good opportunities to be involved with the life of the school and to make a contribution to the children's learning and progress. The school has established many worthwhile links with the local community, particularly with local secondary and senior schools.
1.19 Provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Lessons seen in personal, social and health education (PSHE) and citizenship were of good quality, but the approach to PSHE and citizenship is not sufficiently structured or monitored.
1.20 The school makes very good provision for pupils’ pastoral care, well-being, development and safety. Policies are in place covering most aspects of pastoral care, guidance and health and safety. Not all staff have been trained in child protection.
1.21 Leadership by the headteacher and senior staff are very good. The leadership has established a strong ethos that is committed to high academic and pastoral standards. Overall, the school is managed well. Subject management overall is satisfactory with good features, but in some subjects it is relatively undeveloped and subject co-ordinators in general do not have enough time to monitor their subjects.
1.22
The headteacher
and the senior team monitor teaching frequently. Formal monitoring is used mainly to recognise
and celebrate strengths in teaching and learning. Informal monitoring is used effectively to
address areas for improvement. That this
Achievement and Quality in Activities
1.23
The overall quality and
achievement in activities are very good.
An appropriate range of indoor and outdoor activities to which pupils of
all abilities are encouraged to participate forms an integral part of the
school life and supports their personal development in Years 3 to 6. Activities for pupils in Years 1 and 2 are
more limited. Older pupils attend an
adventure weekend, a ski-ing trip and an educational
visit to
1.24 The good quality of music enriches the whole life of the school. Pupils perform regularly in concerts and assemblies. About 80 pupils receive instrumental music lessons.
Progress Made by the School since its Last Inspection
1.25 The school has maintained the very good standards reported at the last inspection and has successfully addressed all of the issues raised, apart from entering pupils for national tests at the age of seven. The school has chosen to use other forms of assessment.
Compliance with the Regulations for Registration
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DfES Standard |
Does the school meet the regulatory requirements? |
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1. |
Quality of education: |
1.(2) Curriculum |
Yes |
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1.(3)-(5) Teaching |
Yes |
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2. |
Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils |
Yes |
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3. |
Welfare, health and safety of pupils |
It meets almost all of the requirements |
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4. |
Suitability of proprietors and staff |
Yes |
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5. |
Premises and accommodation |
Yes |
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6. |
Provision of information |
Yes |
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7. |
Manner in which complaints are to be handled |
Yes |
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Actions Required for Compliance with the Regulatory Requirements
1.26 In order to meet all the requirements, the school must:
(1) Complete arrangements to train all staff in child protection. [Regulation 3. (2) (b)]
1.27 In addition to the actions set out above, the school is asked to address any issues highlighted in What the School Should Do Better. These are set out as recommendations for the school in Section 2 of the report.
2.1 The actions needed to comply fully with the regulatory requirements are specified in paragraph 1.26 of the report. The main recommendations are listed below.
2.2 To improve further on the very good practice evident in many of the school’s activities, and to add further value to pupils’ progress as they move through the school, the headteacher and staff should:
R1 Improve the monitoring of teaching and pupils’ progress so that subject leaders have full knowledge of the provision in their subject and its effectiveness, and management has a detailed evaluation of the school’s strengths and weaknesses to inform development planning.
R2 Develop assessment in foundation subjects further and use data from assessment more effectively.
R3 Improve the provision for personal, social and health education (PSHE) and citizenship by providing frequent and regular lessons and by monitoring pupils’ progress.
R4 Improve the provision for gifted and talented pupils, making more use of the resources of the wider community.
3.1
The
3.2 The school operates a large Nursery on site and most of the children from the Nursery move on into the Foundation Stage. The attainment of pupils on entry is above the national average for all schools. They do well and usually achieve high standards by the time they leave. The school has a very good record of placing pupils in senior independent and selective maintained schools.
3.3
The school was founded in
1946. It is part of the Pate’s Grammar
School Foundation, which dates from the sixteenth century. It is well resourced and managed by a board
of Trustees. The Foundation provided the
present purpose built school in 1987 on a new site. Since the last inspection in 1999 the school
has continued to flourish and has broadly maintained the very high standards
reported at that time. It was, however,
inspected under a different frame
3.4 The school aims to produce happy, well-balanced children with good literacy, numeracy and social values. Personal responsibility, care for others, initiative, good manners and appearance are strongly encouraged.
3.5 National Curriculum nomenclature is used throughout this report to refer to year groups in the school. The year group nomenclature used by the school and its National Curriculum (NC) equivalence are shown in the following table:
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Age |
School |
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U5 |
Nursery |
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Prep |
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Year 1 |
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Year 2 |
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Year 3 |
Junior |
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Year 4 |
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Year 5 |
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Year 6 |
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3.6 Attendance for First Half of Summer Term 2004
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Authorised |
Unauthorised |
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Percentage absence |
2.9% |
0 |
3.7 Exclusions Over the Previous 12 Months
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Temporary exclusions |
Permanent exclusions |
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0 |
1 |
4. Educational Standards Achieved by Pupils at the School
4.1 Pupils make good or very good progress as they move through the school. In mathematics, science and history pupils’ attainment is very high at the ends of both Years 2 and 6. Standards are high in English and French. In music standards are high at the end of Year 6 and good at the end of Year 2. In design and technology and in geography standards are good at the end of Year 6. It was not possible to see sufficient lessons in information and communications technology, but examples of its use across the curriculum were good and demonstrated a good level of competence at least among some pupils.
4.2 Pupils do not take national standard assessment tests at the end of Years 2 and 6, largely because Year 6 pupils are focused on entry tests to senior schools during their last year. The school has a very good record of success for pupils gaining entry into local selective schools which take a narrow band of higher attainers from the region. The school also has a good record of success for pupils in entrance tests to senior independent schools. The school’s assessments, using national test data, indicate good and very good progress. In mathematics pupils use their very high levels of skills and understanding to solve mathematical problems and in science they carry out investigation to a very high level. In general, standards of literacy and numeracy are high for all pupils at all stages, and they support learning across the curriculum well.
4.3 When they come into the school pupils’ achievements are generally above average. The children make good progress in all areas of the curriculum during the Foundation Stage and achieve well for their abilities. By the age of five years most are likely to achieve the early learning goals for pupils of that age.
4.4 The school has tried to meet the more apparent needs for gifted and talented pupils from within its own resources, but provision is not in place to follow national guidelines and policies. Assessment data are not used systematically to identify pupils with outstanding gifts and talents. Arrangements are not in place to extend, add breadth to pupils’ learning and provide new experiences through external opportunities and resources.
4.5 The progress of pupils requiring special educational provision is very good overall in relation to their abilities or initial difficulties. Pupils who come to the school with English as an additional language are very well supported and quickly gain access to the curriculum. At the time of the inspection there was no pupil whose access to the curriculum was constrained by barriers of language.
Quality of Pupils’ Learning, Attitudes and Behaviour
4.6 The quality of pupils’ attitudes to learning and their personal development and behaviour is very good for the ages, abilities and aptitudes of the pupils concerned and conducive to the learning process. The very good relationships, courtesy, good manners and respect for the views of others are strengths of the school.
4.7
Pupils are willing and eager to
learn; they are competent learners. They
respond positively in lessons, sustain concentration and apply themselves to
their
4.8
Behaviour in class is very good
and excellent when moving around the school.
As they
4.9 Pupils enjoy very good relations with their peers and with their teachers.