School Profile

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Springcroft Primary School Profile
Springcroft Primary School Grindley Lane, Blythe
Bridge, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, ST11
9JS Telephone [phone] http//www.springcroft
.staffs.sch.uk
Childrens Service Authority Age Range Number
of Pupils Head Teacher Chair of Governors
Childrens Service Authority Age Range Number
of Pupils Head Teacher Chair of Governors
Childrens Service Authority Age Range Number
of Pupils Head Teacher Chair of Governors
Staffordshire 4-11 220 Mrs B Malvern Mr S Jeffries
What have been our successes this year? After a
very good all round Ofsted report, with no major
points for action, we strive for excellence in
education. SATs results remain very good, with
more children than ever scoring above average at
age 11. Interactive Whiteboards in every
classroom make lessons exciting. Classes can be
taken around the world without leaving the room
and children can move words and diagrams around
the board, using IT to its greatest
advantage. Our large playing field has had a new
drainage system so that we will be able to use it
more in the winter as well as the summer. Keeping
our children healthy is always a priority and we
quickly achieved the new Healthy Schools Award
through emphasis on healthy eating and lots of
enjoyable exercise. This year we also achieved
ActiveMark for PE. Our staff have had many hours
of extra PE training and lessons are lots of fun.
We promote many different sports and are enjoying
the benefits of the PE Partnership
funding. Reception are enjoying the enclosed
outdoor play area, with their bikes and trucks
and KS2 find the new storage facilities make
football and netball goals more easily accessible
for taking out onto the field. More are walking
and cycling to school and thus helping to lessen
"school run traffic".
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What are we trying to improve?
As the percentage of children from ethnic
minority families is very low, we are developing
children's cultural experiences through visits
out and workshops in school. The curriculum is
fully covered and taught very well but we always
strive to help our children achieve even better,
wherever they fall in the academic spectrum.
Spanish lessons are proving very popular with
Years 3 to 6. We are encouraging children to put
more thought into writing across the curriculum
to enable them to better express themselves and
demonstrate their knowledge and ability. Ofsted
says that Writing is good at Springcroft. We aim
to make it very good, on a par with all other
subjects. Speaking and listening is an area that
we are working on as we find that children are
starting school with less skill in this area than
in the past. Reception class has begun work on a
new scheme to teach sounds and letters more
quickly and this is progressing well.
How much progress do pupils make between age 7
and 11?
The chart shows our school's contextual value
added (CVA) score relative to that of other
primary schools. CVA is a statistical means of
assessing how effective a school is, by measuring
pupils' progress using their test and examination
results. The confidence interval shows the range
within which we can be confident the score
(calculated on the results of only one year
group) represents the overall effectiveness of a
school. The percentile rank shows the percentage
of schools with a score equal to or higher than
ours..
.
? Our School
The value added here relates to the scores of
children in their government tests in English,
Maths and Science, at age 7 and later at 11. We
actually track the individual progress of our
children from the day they enter Springcroft,
through observations, assessments and tests. If a
child is found to be underachieving then remedial
action is put into place. Underachievement can be
due to emotional problems at home, friendship
groups, poor attitude etc. Whatever the cause, we
work with the parents, our Special Educational
Needs Co-ordinator and various professional
bodies in order to fulfil the needs of the child.
It can be seen from the graph that children in
Year 6, in 2007, achieved what was expected of
them from their tests four years previously. Some
exceeded our expectations. At Springcroft we also
monitor the progression of children through the
other ten curriculum subjects besides their
emotional, physical, social, moral and spiritual
development.
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Children take advantage of lots of extra
curricular activities throughout the 7-11 years
to enhance their skills in music, art, design
technology and many of the sports disciplines.
The School Council provides opportunities for
debate and reasoning skills.
How well do pupils achieve at age 11?
This chart shows the Key Stage 2 results for
2007. It indicates the percentage of pupils
eligible for KS2 tests (usually 11 year olds) who
achieved or exceeded the expected level (level 4)
At Springcroft we believe that it is more
important to develop the "whole" child, as
opposed to just their ability to score high marks
in a week's government tests in Mathematics,
English and Science. However, it can be seen from
the chart that our children score higher in these
tests than the average for the county and
nationally. The chart shows those children at,
and above, level 4 but we encourage our children
to score higher and reach level 5. 74 of
Springcroft children achieved level 5 in Science,
as opposed to only 46 nationally. 62 of
Springcroft children achieved level 5 in Maths,
as opposed to only 33 nationally. 50 of
Springcroft children achieved level 5 in English,
as opposed to only 33 nationally. All this and
more too! Springcroft children are well rounded
individuals who go out for educational trips and
enjoy workshops provided by visiting experts in
many fields. They take part in lots of different
sports, play a range of instruments and love art
and design lessons. Lunchtime and after-school
clubs are well attended by eager and happy
children.
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How have our results changed over time?
Springcroft's results in national tests have
always been very good and exceeded the majority
of schools in similar areas. No particular group
in the school scored below their capability, in
fact free school meal children and those of
ethnic minorities usually score well. Those with
special needs have individual education plans
which are carefully tracked and prove to be
highly successful. Parents are always fully
involved in tracking the progress of their
children. Children have a home-school diary which
can be used for messages to and from parents and
teachers. All of the children's progress is
individually tracked in all subjects and the
children themselves are included in target
setting discussions to help them be aware of
their own needs and objectives. Parents are kept
well informed of their children's progress
through termly meetings with staff and they are
encouraged to discuss these targets. At
Springcroft we strongly believe in the
home/school partnership and are aware that
children benefit enormously when the lines of
communication and support are always open.
How are we making sure we are meeting the
learning needs of individual pupils?
Every child is special and has individual needs.
Children develop at different rates and are
individually tracked throughout their life at
school. Every one is regularly assessed in every
subject and in their emotional and social
development. Teachers show exceptional care for
the emotional needs of their children. Children
are assessed on entry and any special needs are
discussed with our Special Needs Co-ordinator.
Parents or outside agencies may need to be
involved and we all work as a team for the
benefit of the child. Support of varying types
is used when necessary. Pupils are totally
involved in assessing their own progress
throughout their life in school. Both
academically and in behaviour. Staff are trained
to work with children who are Dyslexic, on the
Autistic or Aspergers spectrum, or have ADHD or
Tourettes. Teaching Assistants work I classrooms
where there are children who need more support
and teaching is tailored to include the needs of
these children. Parents of children with Special
Needs are always fully involved in the individual
programme for their child. There are events for
children who are more gifted in certain areas,
whether it be in the Arts, Sciences or other
academic areas.
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How are we working with parents and the community?

• The Parents' Group works with the school to
  provide resources and experiences for classes.
• Parents help to transport teams to local sports
  fixtures, music festivals and curriculum quizzes
  within the local community of schools.
• The Rotary Club organises and funds annual trips
  to places of local historic interest.
• The children are encouraged to help local
  charities.
• High School pupils come to work on projects to
  help us, which double up as assessment
  opportunities in their own studies.
• Our children visit the local retirement homes to
  sing. The residents are invited to watch school
  productions and we hold a Grandparents' School
• Dinner Day.
• Parents are involved in the children's learning
  through termly open evenings, meetings and
  newsletters. A daily notebook goes between home
• and school.
• We encourage parents to speak to staff
  immediately if they have a concern or need
  support.
• Through community parking facilities and a "drop
  children at the gate scheme", we help school-run
  drivers to be considerate to local residents.
• We encourage as many children as possible to walk
  or cycle to school. A cycle storage rack and
  verandas to shelter in upon arrival in inclement
• weather are available to all.

What have pupils told us about the school, and
what have we done as a result?
There is a School Council consisting of
representatives from throughout the school.
Through this channel come the children's
suggestions, comments, concerns, criticisms and
congratulations. Most importantly they say that
this is a happy school. At their suggestion
alterations have been made to the playgrounds and
repairs to the toilets. Ideas for lunchtime
games and revelations about "who has done what"
have come from it. The children talk openly and
freely, knowing that their voice is taken
seriously and acted upon, where
possible. Children asked for a cycle shed so that
they could cycle to school with parents. We put
forward a travel plan to Travel-wise and gained a
grant to erect the shelter. They have asked for a
break-time tuck shop and so the kitchen staff
sell fruit and drinks. Through annual
questionnaires we know that the children are
happy, feel safe and they know that there is
always an adult in whom they can confide if they
have the need. They believe that they are
treated with respect and taught well. They love
their teachers. Children feel that they are
encouraged to work hard and they enjoy lessons.
The majority are happy with the amount of
homework but some would like more!
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How do we make sure our pupils are healthy, safe
and well-supported?
We have always been very keen to encourage our
families to be healthy, gaining the new Healthy
School Award as soon as it was available to
replace the old one. Break-time snacks are
restricted to fruit and drinks of fruit juice or
milk. Children have a bottle of fresh water on
their desks and County Catering cook very healthy
school meals. There are at least two hours, each
week, of PE for all children, including many more
sports than those in the national curriculum and
there are also after-school clubs on
site. Keeping healthy is discussed regularly and
all classes have annual lessons from the Life
Education Team about health with anti-smoking and
anti-drugs education being delivered The School
Nurse not only looks after the physical check-up
side of school life but also delivers personal
hygiene and sex education lessons. In addition to
a security covering the doors, the children are
protecting from bullying within through the
caring culture of the school. Classes are taught
about the hurt caused by bullying and also how to
deal with it. Children know that there is always
a staff member with whom they may discuss any
worries or concerns and there are dealt with
immediately.
How do our absence rates compare with other
schools?
The absence rate at Springcroft is below the
average for the county or nationally. Children
are very happy to come to school here and often
want to come in even when they are not
well. Unfortunately though, we suffer the same
problem as the rest of the country when parents
wish to take advantage of cheap holidays in
school time. Teachers are very caring and try to
ease the child back into school but the holidays
outside the thirteen weeks of school holidays is
not a practice we recommend. We do not close the
school when it snows as the great majority of
the staff live close by and are able to walk to
school.
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What activities and options are available to
pupils?
Clubs at lunchtime and after school provide
sports, art, and music activities, whilst tennis,
hockey and rugby are offered as additions to
national curriculum PE. There are lots of
playground games for lunchtimes. Lots of visiting
workshops and trips to curriculum related venues
provide the children with enhanced experiences -
the times that memories are made of ! Workshops
include African drums, steel bands, Polish,
Romanian, Chinese, Russian and Indian dancing,
classical musicians, historians in period
costume, theatre groups, communications experts
and many more. Besides going out for day visits,
children take part in an outdoor activity week
where they sleep in bunk beds, in dormitories,
and learn archery, climbing, abseiling,
orienteering, canoeing and team building skills
etc. As part of the Extended School Initiative,
Springcroft works closely with three local
providers of "out of school care". These have
breakfast clubs, after school play facilities and
holiday activities, also taking the children out
on day trips. There is an abundance of evening
and weekend clubs in the area, providing a
variety of sports and arts, and most children use
at least one or more of these.
What do our pupils do after leaving this school?
Every child at Springcroft can claim a place at
Blythe Bridge High School and the majority do
this. Throughout Year 6 there are events to
acquaint the children with the school and its
procedures. The High School staff visit us to
teach and to get to know our children. There is
a Specialist Teacher for transition at Blythe and
he allays fears and helps our children settle in
to the new, bigger school. They will also have
used Blythe's pool for four years already. They
look forward to the move and are generally quite
confident when starting high school. Staff
discuss each child's abilities and needs with the
high school representatives in order to aid
seamless transition, both academically and
emotionally. We find that we have prepared our
children well for the challenges they are about
to face and that they show confidence in
dealing with all of the changes. Some of our
children choose to go on to Painsley Catholic
High School or Sandon High School. Each year two
or three successfully sit the entrance
examination for Newcastle-under-Lyme School which
is independent.
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What have we done in response to Ofsted?
Ofsted inspected Springcroft four years ago and
concluded that this is a very good
school. However, it was noted that there was no
enclosed area for Reception children to play
outside during lesson time. This has now been
rectified by enclosing an area of the playground
immediately adjacent to their classroom and large
wheeled toys have been purchased to aid the
development of gross motor skills. It was
suggested that, although Writing is good, we
should make it "very good" like all of the other
subjects, by allowing more timetabled extended
writing and writing across the curriculum. This
has been done and the children are reaping the
rewards. Teaching in Science was judged as very
good and we are now providing more opportunities
for scientific investigation. Assessment
procedures are in place in every subject. This
enables the thorough tracking of every child,
academically, socially and emotionally. Having
been told that all areas are good, the vast
majority very good and some exceptional, we
endeavour to continue to give our children the
best we possibly can.
More Information
If you would like more information about school
policies, including our policies on special
educational needs and disability, admissions,
finance, school food and our complaints
procedure. Please contact us Our website
http//www.springcroft.staffs.sch.uk By telephone
01782 394793