Rothwell Victoria Infant School Profile 2005

1. Rothwell Victoria Infant School Profile 2005 Maypole Dancing at the Summer Fayre A ‘Christmas Carol’ Workshop The School garden Using the ‘Interactive whiteboard’ in Reception

2. What is special about our school? How do we teach our pupils? How do we work with parents and the community? What do pupils learn about? How do we care for our pupils? OfSTED’s view of our school and our response More Information What are our plans for the future? Rothwell Victoria Infants Age range:3 - 7 Number of pupils: 304 Head-teacher: Mrs. Christine Chittock Chair of Governors: Canon George Burgon Contact us Telephone number: 01536 710363 Fax: 01536 418495 School address:School Lane, Rothwell, Kettering, Northamptonshire NN14 6HZ Email: head@rothwell-inf.northants-ecl.gov.uk Website: www.rothwellvicinf.ik.org School Profile 2005 • What is special about our school? • Our school has a purpose built Nursery for 78 children and 9 classes in the Infant school with 3 classes per year group. • We believe • Rothwell Victoria Infant School provides a happy, attractive, secure and caring environment. • It is important that children; staff (teaching and non-teaching), parents, governors and associated agencies work supportively together. • In valuing the contribution each individual makes to the school. • Parents, professional colleagues and other members of the local community are always welcome to share in the life of the school. • At Rothwell Victoria Infants we have high expectations of ourselves and of our pupils. We aspire for all our children to become confident, secure, self motivated, caring and independent members of the school and the local community. We aim to work in partnership with parents/ main carers to encourage our pupils to develop a healthy life style, to discover new interests and to develop a keenness and joy for learning. Our aim is that every child in the school should achieve personal success. • In the 2005 ‘Office for Standards in Education’ (OfSTED) report the Inspectors said: Pupils work very hard and show a great deal of interest in lessons because they are given every encouragement by staff. The school expects pupils to behave very well and makes this very clear to pupils; as a result, they are very sensible and behaviour in the school is very good. Relationships between pupils are very strong and pupils trust the adults with whom they work implicitly. • How do we teach our pupils? We provide a rich learning environment with a broad and balanced and suitably challenging curriculum that supports our work to educate the whole child. We offer the children the opportunity to experience a variety of teaching and learning styles according to their needs which we continually review. Through careful planning the children experience continuity and progression in their learning of skills and concepts.  Staff plan and teach together within year groups maintaining links throughout the school.  The school environment is organised to ensure that the children have ready access to a variety of high quality resources including ‘interactive whiteboards’ which are well used throughout the infant school. From the start in the Nursery the children are taught to access and use resources independently and this approach is continued throughout the infant school. Our teaching and learning aims are that every child should have the • Ability to enjoy learning for it's own sake; • Ability and willingness to work co-operatively and with self-discipline; • Motivation to persevere at a task; • Sensitivity and respect for others' needs and beliefs; • Ability to communicate effectively to a variety of audiences; • Opportunity to make informed choices. • In February 2005 OfSTED said “The quality of teaching and learning is strong”. “Staff manage pupils very well, give them high levels of encouragement and expect a great deal from them. Teaching Assistants provide good support, especially for pupils with special educational needs.” “Pupils’ achievements are good in both the Foundation Stage and Years 1 and 2.” 1

3. What do pupils learn about? The school has policies and schemes of work for all main curriculum areas and these are reviewed frequently to concur with the best of both National and Local Authority thinking. The school follows a thematic approach to work and is beginning to include ‘Linked Learning modules’. Educational visits are considered to be a valuable part of each child’s education and every child will participate in at least one educational visit within a year. Special visitors are invited into school to offer their expertise and to act as a stimulus for the children. OfSTED 2005 said “The quality of education is good. The quality of teaching and learning is strong. Other aspects such as the good curriculum with its good links between subjects, the good quality of care and strong links with parents, strongly contribute to the pupils’ opportunities and progress.” The ‘outdoor’ curriculum is an important part of school life and the children enjoy investigating nature and taking care of plants and providing the right environment for wild life. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is incorporated into every facet of school life but the children are also taught how to find out, communicate, record and organise without modern technology. There is a strong emphasis placed on conservation and caring for the environment. In the OfSTED report of 2005 the Inspectors said “Pupils achieve well in English. Standards in speaking and listening are typical for the pupils ages. Pupils are confident in answering questions and give clear answers. … Standards in reading are above average. Pupils of all abilities, including special educational needs are very positive about reading and develop skills well. Standards in writing are above average. Pupils of all abilities use secure basic sentence structure with accurate punctuation. “ “In mathematics, pupils including those with special educational needs, achieve well. More able pupils manage computation confidently and describe their methods in ways that are above that expected for their age. Their knowledge and understanding of the properties of shapes is also good. Attendance for 2003, 2004 and 2005. How do we care for our pupils? Since September 2005 the school has been part of the government’s free fruit and vegetable scheme and every child has at least one fruit or vegetable every day. Following a questionnaire sent to parents the Nursery and Reception also offer a variety of snacks and drinks every day for a voluntary contribution of £1 per week. Every child in the school has access to a drink of water throughout the day. Sun Awareness is taught in assemblies and in classrooms, caps are sold by the school and the children’s time outside is monitored and adjusted when the sun index is high. Clubs include French once a week for infant children, Tag Rugby and Football once a week for Year 2 children and Gymnastics once a week for Year 1 children. OfSTED 2005 said “ The school provides pupils with a good programme for personal development and they respond well. The school gives good guidance on how pupils should respect one another and their social development is very good. Pupils enjoy using their initiative and relish being given responsibilities for various jobs around the school.” “Assemblies make a major contribution to pupils’ moral and spiritual development.” How do we work with parents and the community? Newsletters are sent on a regular basis to parents and are available on the school’s website. We have an active and friendly Parent Friends Association who help to organise social events and fund raising. Each term there are a variety of events including discos for the children and each year there are successful Xmas and summer fayres. The Nursery has Open Days every term to which parents and grandparents are welcome to participate in activities with their children. Once a week parents can come into the Infant school and choose a book with their child. We actively encourage volunteer helpers throughout the school, many of whom are parents and others are members of the local community. The school takes part in fund raising for local and national charities and school displays are put up in the Heritage Centre and the Church. The school enters a decorated tree in the Christmas Tree Festival at Holy Trinity Church and this year won ‘Favourite tree’. Our Year 2 children attend events at Rothwell Junior School and in turn Year 3 children attend some of our events such as the Christmas Concert. 2

4. What we have done in response since the OfSTED Inspection In the summer term 2005 the school prepared a ‘Post Ofsted Action Plan’ which was agreed by the governing body. This addressed the following areas identified by OfSTED: The most important things the school should do to improve are: • Improve the quality of teaching further to ensure that there is a greater proportion of very good teaching alongside improving planning and assessment, especially to meet the needs of more able pupils. • Improve further the work of co-ordinators and strengthen co-ordination of the Foundation Stage. • Improve strategic planning further and develop senior staff’s and governors’ roles in this process. In response to this staff and governors have attended sessions on improving the quality of planning, teaching and assessment, initially concentrating on Science. Joint training days were shared with the Junior school on ‘assessment’ and ‘Linked Learning Modules’. The school has reviewed assessment procedures and tracks the pupils performance in all areas, particularly concentrating on the core subjects of English, Maths and Science where their progress is tracked on grids. These are then examined and action is taken to support particular children including those who are gifted and talented. In the spring term 2006 the school is providing ‘Booster’ sessions for Year 2 to improve standards in writing and Maths. Co-ordinators have all prepared Action plans for areas of responsibility setting out priorities for the next 3 years and these have been discussed and agreed by staff and governors. In the spring term and thereafter Co-ordinators will monitor and evaluate their subjects, starting with Science. The Senior Leadership Team (SLT) have become more involved in the strategic leadership and management of the school. In particular one of the team has attended leadership and financial sessions and has been involved with financial decisions with the head teacher. The SLT were actively involved in preparing the Post OfSTED Action Plan. Ofsted’s view of our school OfSTED’s overall evaluation of the school in February 2005 was thus: “This is a good school where pupils achieve well and standards are above average. The school’s good care and support for pupils’ personal development mean that they leave for the juniors as mature, well adjusted pupils. The quality of teaching and learning is good, and as a result, pupils are very keen and eager learners. However there is too little teaching which is very good. The school is well led by the head teacher; overall leadership and management are satisfactory. The school offers good value for money.” The Inspection grades were as follows: The Overall Effectiveness of the School 3 How inclusive the school is 3 How the school’s effectiveness has changed since the last inspection 3 Value for money provided by the school 3 Overall standards achieved 3 Pupils’ achievement 3 Pupils attitudes, values, and other personal qualities 3 Attendance 4 Attitude 2 Behaviour, including the extent of exclusions 2 Pupils’, spiritual moral, social and cultural development 3 The quality of education provided by the school 3 The quality of teaching 3 How well pupils learn 3 The quality of assessment 4 How well the curriculum meets the pupils’ needs 3 Enrichment of the curriculum, including out of school activities 3 Accommodation and resources 3 Pupils’ care, welfare, health and safety 3 Support, advice and guidance for pupils 4 How well the school seeks and acts on pupils’ views 4 The effectiveness of the school’s links with parents 3 The quality of the school’s links with the community 3 The school’s links with other schools and colleges 4 The leadership and management of the school 4 The governance of the school 4 The leadership of the head teacher 3 The leadership of other key staff 4 The effectiveness of management 4 The Inspectors made judgements on a scale: excellent (grade 1); very good (2); good (3); satisfactory (4); unsatisfactory (5);poor (6); very poor (7). 3

5. What are our plans for the future? Security To discuss and agree the best security measures for the school. Nursery To reopen the Nursery following the building work which has been necessary since the fire in the Nursery play area on September 12th 2005. Children’s Centre As part of Northamptonshire’s phase 2 development it is proposed that the school should become a Children’s Centre. Northamptonshire has embarked on a period of consultation to discuss the proposed Children’s Centres across the county. This is part of a government initiative to improve services for children under five years and their families. To establish a ‘Schools Council’. To appoint a Foundation Stage Co-ordinator. To refurbish the Reception classrooms with blinds and storage and redecorate. To refurbish the room off the hall as a Family room with a kitchen. To refurbish the room off the Year 1 classes as a working area and storage for staff . To continue with the action points on the ‘Post OfSTED Action Plan’. More Information Behaviour: Our philosophy is one of positive reinforcement of good or better behaviour. At Rothwell Victoria Infants the children are taught and are expected to: • Be polite, kind, caring, respectful and considerate to children and adults. • Play and work appropriately together, sharing, taking turns and co-operating where necessary. • Discuss and accept the need for class and school rules. • Think for themselves and show development in their ability to resolve simple problems and conflicts appropriately. • Walk around the school buildings in a quiet calm way all the time. • Take care of equipment and all resources. Bullying: • We encourage the children to tell their teacher if they feel they are being bullied. • It is unacceptable for a child to be hurt verbally or physically. • The Head teacher keeps a record of any bullying incidents in a book in her Office. • We inform parents of any known incidents of bullying. In the OfSTED report of February 2005 the Inspectors stated: “Teachers constantly stress the importance of good manners, and behaving sensibly quickly becomes a natural way of life for pupils. During lessons teachers consistently have high expectations of behaviour so that pupils know exactly what they should and should not do. Pupils from all ethnic groups get on very well and there are no racial incidents.” • Sun Awareness • The children are encouraged to bring sun hats (available for purchase from the school office) and sun cream in extremely hot weather. Sun cream is applied by the children; under the supervision of teachers, teaching assistants or dinner supervisors. • The children are taught about sun awareness in their classes and assemblies. • In very hot weather the children may spend some of their time indoors to avoid excess sun exposure between 11.00. and 15.00. Non Smoking Campus/Site • As the school is a non smoking campus parents and visitors are asked not to smoke in school, on the playground, the school field or anywhere on the school site. Inclusion • We have a policy on Enabling Pupil Participation. This encourages children to express their likes and dislikes and to have an input into target setting and Individual Education Plans. It also recognises the part that parents play in their child’s education and the contributions they make to decisions and plans for targeting progress. • The school Accessibility Plan highlights the need for action to be taken to provide equality of accessibility for all. The constraints of the building are an important factor for consideration. Access to the school is possible by flat sloping surfaces as an alternative to steps. Inside there are steps near the main school office and onto the school playground. There is a Disabled toilet in the main school and the Nursery. Any future buildings or adaptations will comply with regulations to ensure access for all. 4