Waddington Redwood Primary SchoolOfsted inspection, 13 Jan 2012

Age group 4–11 Inspection date(s) 12–13 January 2012 Inspection number 380007 Waddington Redwood Primary School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 120395 Local authority Lincolnshire Inspection number 380007 Inspection dates 12–13 January 2012 Lead inspector John Horwood

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 295 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Ebby Corey Headteacher Nick Redfern Date of previous school inspection 25 February 2009 School address Redwood Drive Lincoln LN5 9BN Telephone number 01522 721156 Fax number 01522 723672 Email address enquiries@redwood.lincs.sch.uk 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

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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 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational 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 email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk 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.

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You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk , or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out with two days’ notice. Inspectors used a number of strategies to observe learning. The strategies included lesson observations ranging from five minutes to full lessons, which were then followed by discussions with the teacher and separately with the pupils. A total of eight hours was spent observing teaching, which included visiting 15 lessons and observing 11 teachers. Meetings were also held with staff, members of the governing body and groups of pupils. Informal discussions also took place with parents, carers and pupils. Inspectors took account of the responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) in planning the inspection, observed the school’s work, and looked at documents including the school improvement plan, minutes of meetings, the school’s information on pupils’ progress and samples of pupils’ work. The responses to 107 questionnaires from parents and carers, 13 responses from staff and 99 responses from pupils were

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Information about the school

Waddington Redwood Primary School is larger than the average primary school and admits pupils from Waddington and the surrounding area. The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is much lower than that found nationally and very few pupils speak English as an additional language. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is also lower than that found nationally. The proportions of pupils with disabilities or with special educational needs are similar to the national figures and very few have a statement of special educational needs.

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Information about the school

The school has achieved Healthy School Status and the International School Award at foundation level. It has exceeded government floor standards for the past three years.

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Information about the school

During the inspection period the leader of the Early Years Foundation Stage was absent and the two Reception classes were being taught by the two teachers who normally teach part-time in that area.

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Information about the school

There is a privately managed out-of-school club on the school site, which was inspected and reported upon separately. A recently opened Children’s Centre operates from the school site but was not scheduled for inspection at this time. 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

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Key findings

 This is a good school where every pupil is treated as an individual; close monitoring of pupils’ progress enables support to be provided to meet their individual needs.

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Key findings

 Pupils enjoy school and attendance is above average. The safety of pupils is given a high priority and safeguarding requirements are met. Pupils and their parents and carers confirm that pupils feel safe.

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Key findings

 Pupils, including children in the Early Years Foundation Stage, make good progress as a result of good teaching. Attainment at the end of Year 2 has been rising steadily. Attainment at the end of Year 6 is above average in reading and mathematics and average in writing. There are no significant or consistent differences between the achievements of any groups of pupils.

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Key findings

 The behaviour within the school is good and often outstanding. This enables pupils to focus on their learning. Pupils and their parents and carers recognise that a very few pupils find it difficult to behave well, but say that the school deals with any issues quickly.

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Key findings

 Excellent relationships exist throughout the school. Most of the teaching is at least good and sometimes is outstanding. Teachers generally ensure that learning moves at a good pace and pupils are fully engaged. In a small minority of lessons, work is not matched sufficiently to pupils’ abilities, and the pace of learning is slower. The marking of pupils’ work is of high quality and informative in English, but at present it is less well developed in mathematics.

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Key findings

 Parents, carers and pupils all attest to the good and caring leadership of the headteacher and the staff team. Leaders have tackled the issues from the previous inspection well and the attainment of girls in mathematics has risen.

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Key findings

 The curriculum provides good support for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and 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

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Key findings

cultural development, leading to pupils acquiring mature and sensitive attitudes.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise attainment in writing in Key Stage 2 by building on the good skills developed in Key Stage 1, with a particular focus on spelling, punctuation and presentation.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure all teaching is at least good and a higher proportion outstanding by:  ensuring that work always matches pupils’ abilities  maintaining a good pace of learning throughout each lesson  raising the quality of marking in mathematics to match the high level seen in English.

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Achievement of pupils

Children enter the Early Years Foundation Stage with skill levels below those expected for their age. They make good progress throughout the Early Years Foundation Stage and attainment is broadly average when they move to Year 1. This is because of a well-resourced learning environment and good teaching. Parents and carers are very pleased with the provision in the Reception class with a typical comment being, ‘The school has been fantastic so far. I feel the school has acted in my son’s best interest and they work hard to support each child.’ In Reception there is a welcoming environment with good resources and well-planned activities. The outdoor area is used effectively to support learning. Within Key Stages 1 and 2, pupils make good progress. Attainment at the end of Year 6 is consistently above average in English and mathematics. Reading skills are above average throughout the school and in Years 1 and 2 even the weakest readers are already working at

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Achievement of pupils

expected levels. Writing is well developed in Key Stage 1, but the school does not take full advantage of this to develop skills further throughout Key Stage 2. Pupils with disabilities and those with special educational needs make the same progress as others. In 2010/11 a small group of pupils with special educational needs made satisfactory rather than good progress, but the school took appropriate action to close the gap. Throughout the school, pupils are currently making good progress as a result of good teaching. The progress seen in lessons is good and this is confirmed by the work seen in books for the current Year 6 pupils.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils enjoy the lessons and talk about their learning. In the two extended literacy lesson observations carried out during the inspection there were excellent relationships between the teacher and the pupils, and pupils were able to interact confidently with the teachers to extend their learning. The initial taught part of the lesson was at a good pace and followed on from earlier lessons. Objectives were discussed and explained clearly. This enabled all pupils to move swiftly to the activities. The outcomes were then reviewed towards the end of the lesson and it 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

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Achievement of pupils

was evident that pupils had worked well throughout. They were able to then confidently talk to the inspectors about their learning and, for example, explain how guidance during the middle part of the lesson had helped them plan their work. Pupils with disabilities and those with special educational needs are supported well by teaching assistants and the class teacher during lessons and benefit from small- group activities. For specific areas of focus they are often taught outside the classroom, where extra help is usually provided by the class teacher.

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Quality of teaching

Teachers have good subject knowledge and plan together well within the ‘paired’ year groups in order to avoid any repetition of work and to ensure equal opportunities for all pupils. Teachers manage behaviour well and the few issues arising are dealt with quickly. The school rewards and sanctions policies are clear to pupils and used consistently by staff. Assessment systems are used well in most lessons to ensure the pupils can learn at a good pace, but in the few satisfactory lessons the work was not matched well to pupils’ abilities. Teachers provide for the most able pupils through extension activities and opportunities beyond the school day. Teachers have the confidence to make lessons fun and to spend time responding to pupils’ questions, even if it means deviating from the lesson plan. This has a good impact on learning because it allows pupils to extend their understanding. The marking of pupils’ work and the setting of targets are developing

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Quality of teaching

well. Within English both are well established, with teachers providing constructive comments when they mark pupils’ work and advising on how to improve. They are less well developed in mathematics.

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Quality of teaching

Topic work is used well by teachers to extend and develop pupils’ basic skills across the curriculum. Pupils have good opportunities to use information and communication technology in their work. The curriculum is designed well to support both academic and personal skills. There is a good focus on extending pupils’ knowledge of the wider world and this includes the teaching of Mandarin as part of a link with a school in China. There are many opportunities for pupils to develop and demonstrate their musical talents, as was seen in a whole-school assembly when two pupils sang while others entered the room and this had a positive impact on the spiritual environment. Teachers lead by example in presenting good role models and they have high expectations of pupils’ academic and social skills. The inspectors’ views of teaching matched those of both pupils and parents and carers, the vast majority of those who completed questionnaires saying that teaching is good.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Parents and carers, as well as pupils and staff, are very clear that the standard of behaviour in the school is typically good, and that this has been the situation since the last inspection. The responses from the questionnaires are significantly more positive than in most schools. Whilst pupils and parents and carers identify a few incidents of inappropriate behaviour they say they are rare and are dealt with well. This includes the single recorded racist incident, which involved name-calling. There 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

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

have been a very few exclusions when all else has failed but these have been well managed and parents and carers have been fully involved. The school is a very harmonious community where safety is good. Attendance is above average; very few pupils were absent during the inspection and all had genuine reasons. A very few parents and carers wrote individual comments on the questionnaires about safeguarding procedures. These were discussed with the school. No safety concerns were identified, but the headteacher decided to write to parents and carers to explain the relevant procedures in order to allay their concerns.

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Leadership and management

The school benefits from established leadership that is committed to improvement of academic standards within a safe and caring environment. Staff work well as a team to support this vision and there is a determination to accelerate progress and improve the outcomes for pupils. The governing body provides good support and challenge to school leaders to help drive improvement. Whilst many of its members are newly appointed, a good system is ensuring the sharing of expertise and enabling the new members to acquire the skills they need. It has an effective committee structure for monitoring and discussion, as well as established and allocated responsibilities to work with subject leaders or others who lead on aspects of the school’s work. The excellent relationships throughout the school mean that every pupil is known by all the adults and their needs are addressed on an individual basis, ensuring that all pupils have equal opportunities to succeed. There is no

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Leadership and management

evidence of discrimination of any kind. Members of the governing body and school leaders are all actively involved in monitoring the well-being of pupils and all safeguarding requirements are met.

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Leadership and management

The self-evaluation documents provided by the school leaders show that they have a good understanding of their strengths and what else needs to be done. The school development plan is focused on raising standards. The consolidation of the strengths noted in the last inspection, accompanied by the improvements in attainment in mathematics as well as provision for the more-able pupils, show that the school has a good capacity for sustained improvement.

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Leadership and management

Leaders have supported teachers through a programme of classroom observation and professional development. The assessment systems have been revised to be more accessible and appropriate to use by teachers in the classroom. The curriculum is good. It is broad and balanced with a wide range of extra-curricular opportunities. The school has its own swimming pool and spacious grounds enabling sporting activities to take place. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. This is evidenced throughout the school through the harmonious relationships and the thoughtful and understanding attitudes that pupils show to each other.

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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.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Nursery schools 46 46 8 0 Primary schools 8 47 40 5 Secondary schools 14 38 40 8 Special schools 28 48 20 4 Pupil referral units 15 50 29 5 All schools 11 46 38 6

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

New school inspection arrangements have been introduced from 1 January 2012. 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 2009. These data are consistent with the latest published official statistics about maintained school inspection outcomes (see www.ofsted.gov.uk ). 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.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Percentages are rounded and do not always add exactly to 100.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Achievement: the progress and success of a pupil in their learning and development taking account of their attainment.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attainment: the standard of the pupils’ work shown by test and examination results and in lessons.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attendance the regular attendance of pupils at school and in lessons, taking into account the school’s efforts to encourage good attendance.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Behaviour how well pupils behave in lessons, with emphasis on their attitude to learning. Pupils’ punctuality to lessons and their conduct around the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Capacity to improve: 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.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Leadership and management: 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.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Learning: how well pupils acquire knowledge, develop their understanding, learn and practise skills and are developing their competence as learners.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Overall effectiveness: inspectors form a judgement on a school’s overall effectiveness based on the findings from their inspection of the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Progress: 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.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Safety 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.

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carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s

main findings from the inspection of their school.

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Inspection of Waddington Redwood Primary School, Lincoln, LN5 9BN

Thank you for making us so welcome when we visited your school. We enjoyed talking with you and looking at the work you do. Your school is giving you a good education.

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Inspection of Waddington Redwood Primary School, Lincoln, LN5 9BN

There are many things we admire about your school and these are a few of them.

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Inspection of Waddington Redwood Primary School, Lincoln, LN5 9BN

 You all get on very well together and enjoy coming to school.  Your behaviour is good and often outstanding, and the few pupils who have difficulty behaving are supported well by adults.  You tell us that you feel very safe in the school, and any rare cases of bullying are dealt with quickly and well.  You make good progress as a result of good teaching.  Teachers make lessons fun and are well supported by the other adults in class.  You have the opportunity for a residential visit in Year 6 as well as other more local visits to support the curriculum.

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Inspection of Waddington Redwood Primary School, Lincoln, LN5 9BN

The following are the things we have asked the school to do to make it even better.

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Inspection of Waddington Redwood Primary School, Lincoln, LN5 9BN

 Help you improve your writing in Key Stage 2 by improving your skills in punctuation, spelling and presentation.  Make sure that teachers set you work which is matched to your ability.  Ensure that you can learn at a good pace throughout every lesson.  Raise the quality of marking and the use of targets in mathematics to match the high quality systems in English.

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Inspection of Waddington Redwood Primary School, Lincoln, LN5 9BN

All of you can help the school move forward by continuing to work hard. We wish you every success in the future.

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Inspection of Waddington Redwood Primary School, Lincoln, LN5 9BN

John Horwood Lead inspector procedures set out in the guidance 'Complaining about inspections', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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