West Winch Primary School

Age group 4–11 Inspection date(s) 7–8 February 2012 Inspection number 380127 West Winch Primary School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 120899 Local authority Norfolk Inspection number 380127 Inspection dates 7–8 February 2012 Lead inspector Penny Spencer

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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 174 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Heather Habbin Headteacher Mark Oldridge Date of previous school inspection 17 June 2009 School address Back Lane West Winch King's Lynn Norfolk PE33 0LA Telephone number 01553 840397 Fax number 01553 849011 Email address head@westwinch.norfolk.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. The inspection team saw 11 lessons and seven teachers were observed. They carried out several learning walks, met with the headteacher, senior leaders, the Chair of the Governing Body and groups of pupils including the school council. 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 a wide range of documentation, including the school’s self-evaluation, the school development plan, the school’s own analysis of data, and at 57 parental questionnaires.

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Information about the school

This is a smaller than average-sized primary school.The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is below average. The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is also below average and the majority of pupils speak English as their first language. The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs – supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs – is above average. A substantive headteacher was appointed in April 2010 following a period of unsettled leadership, during which time the number of pupils declined. Following this appointment and further recent restructuring at senior level, the school has become increasingly popular and numbers have increased. The school has the Artsmark silver and the Active Mark awards. The school meets the current floor standard for attainment.

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Key findings

 This is a satisfactory school showing clear signs of improvement.  The headteacher and the new deputy headteacher have raised teachers’ expectations and introduced sound systems and procedures for ensuring teachers are accountable for improving pupils’ achievement.  Most pupils make satisfactory progress from their starting points and their attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 is broadly average.  Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage and pupils at Key Stage 1 have begun to make good progress but this is not yet secure over time or having an impact on the current satisfactory progress in Key Stage 2.  The curriculum in the Early Years Foundation Stage is interesting and relevant and children are excited and motivated to learn. As a result of the current focus on literacy and mathematics in Key Stages 1 and 2, planned development of the wider curriculum is at an early stage.  Teaching is satisfactory overall with some that is good. In many of the lessons,

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Key findings

there are limited opportunities for pupils to be actively involved in the process of learning, leading to some pupils over reliance on adult support.  In some lessons, recently implemented expectations for marking and feedback are helping pupils better understand how to improve but this is not embedded across the school.  In the lessons that are good, pupils’ work is sufficiently targeted to their needs, to allow them to make the better progress.  Pupils’ behaviour is good and has improved. Pupils demonstrate a good level of understanding of how to stay safe and act responsibly and maturely.  The headteacher demonstrates strong leadership with a clear vision for improvement shared by all staff.  Newly appointed middle leaders have yet to develop their strategic knowledge and understanding of their role in improving achievement for all pupils.  Parents, carers and pupils have confidence in the headteacher and support the

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Key findings

Schools whose overall effectiveness is judged satisfactory may receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that leaders, especially those new to the role, have a clear strategic view of the quality of provision by:  effectively monitoring the quality of pupils’ learning and the curriculum  identifying the next steps for rapidly improving the quality of teaching so that it is consistently good  ensuring all staff are clear about their part in improving pupils’ outcomes.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure all pupils make good progress in lessons by:  embedding recent initiatives for marking pupils’ work  providing pupils of different abilities with work that is well matched to their needs  giving pupils more opportunities to be actively involved in their learning.

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Achievement of pupils

While there are differences in the starting points of different year groups, pupils typically arrive at the school with skills broadly in line with those seen nationally. They make satisfactory progress as they move through the school so attainment at the end of Year 6 is broadly average. While there are some identified differences between boys and girls in some year groups, particularly in mathematics, no overall pattern exists.

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Achievement of pupils

The majority of parents and carers are of the view that their children are making good progress. Inspection evidence does not fully support this view. Children now get off to a good start in the Early Years Foundation Stage and, as a result, now enter Year 1 well equipped to access Key Stage 1. Progress in Key Stage 1 is good and results in 2011 show pupils attaining at levels significantly above the national average overall and in writing, and above average in reading and mathematics. Although still above average, there has been a decline in achievement at the higher levels of attainment in writing and reading. Recently implemented strategies to address this with more effective support for higher achieving groups although this has not yet had time to take full effect. Pupils make good progress in reading, so by the time they are six most pupils can read sufficiently well to work out unfamiliar words and understand simple texts. New initiatives to identify, at an early stage,

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Achievement of pupils

those pupils who cannot read at the expected level and the introduction of intervention programmes to help them catch up appear, through analysis of early data, to be having a positive impact.

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Achievement of pupils

Progress across Key Stage 2 is less consistent, leading to attainment that is broadly average by the end of Year 6, including in reading skills. The current profile of learners shows pupils in Years 3 and 4 to be continuing to make good progress from Key Stage 1, thus closing the gaps in achievement.

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Achievement of pupils

Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs are now being identified early and an effective intervention programme is supporting most of them to make at least satisfactory progress and in some cases good progress from their starting points. Targets for pupils with individual education plans are often broad and generic which sometimes makes accurate assessment of progress difficult to measure.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils have a positive attitude to learning and are keen to do well. The new approach to homework, that supports speaking and listening and is involving parents and carers in research activities, has had an early positive impact on all groups of pupils.

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Quality of teaching

Parents and carers are confident that their children are taught well. This view is also upheld by the pupils who responded to the questionnaire and spoke to the inspectors. Inspection findings show that teaching is satisfactory and some lessons are good.

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Quality of teaching

The curriculum provides a satisfactory framework for teachers to plan a range of learning activities. In lessons where teachers were effectively using the recently introduced planning formats, tasks and expectations were clear for all groups of pupils, allowing them to make good progress. This was seen in a mathematics lesson, where all pupils made good progress in learning about three-dimensional shapes. In those lessons where this was not the case, pupils all had the same work to do and were overly reliant on adult support in order to complete it.

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Quality of teaching

Support staff are usually deployed effectively especially in the Early Years Foundation Stage, during group or independent sessions. However, opportunities are often lost during whole class sessions to ensure that they support pupils to deepen their understanding. In the best lessons, teaching assistants promote good discussion and move pupils’ learning forward. Pupils enjoy the times when learning is in small groups or one to one with a teaching assistant. These sessions are effectively managed by well-trained teaching assistants. However, in many instances pupils are not given opportunities in class to demonstrate their newly gained knowledge and understanding and to build on it.

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Quality of teaching

Marking is regular but inconsistent in allowing pupils to fully understand the next steps for improvement. Where marking is detailed and pupils have the opportunity to respond to teachers’ comments, there is clear evidence of better progress. This was particularly evident in one instance where the written feedback carefully modelled partitioning to aid addition of two-digit numbers. The pupil responded and showed his understanding, leading to further examples being marked as correct.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Behaviour is good and has improved over time. Parents, carers and pupils are in agreement that things have improved since the appointment of the headteacher, who is seen to be very influential in making things better. Several pupils commented positively about the behaviour rules that he had introduced and how this has made them feel safe and cared for. During the inspection, pupils behaved well following a heavy snowfall: they were seen to be safely enjoying playtime outside with no silly or inappropriate behaviour. A clear behaviour policy, simple but effective rules, and a popular reward system mean pupils are keen to take responsibility for their own behaviour. In lessons, behaviour strategies are used consistently by all staff. Expectations are high, as a result lessons are not interrupted and pupils make progress. There have been no exclusions during the past year.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils feel safe and this is endorsed by the vast majority of the parents and carers who responded to the questionnaire. Pupils were very keen to explain how the introduction of anti-bullying week and lessons on bullying had helped them to understand that bullying was not right. They show a good understanding of different types of bullying and are clear about procedures to follow should it occur. A well- established buddy system means younger pupils feel safe in the playground and have someone to go to if they need support. The recently appointed parent advisor is also seen by pupils as being very supportive and available should they have a problem they needed to discuss.

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Leadership and management

The headteacher has a clear vision for the school that is endorsed by parents, carers, staff and pupils. He has a good understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses, and with the newly appointed deputy headteacher, has set appropriate targets. Teacher performance is now monitored regularly and staff have challenging targets for improvement. However, timescales for improvement have not yet been built into these to make them even more effective.

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Leadership and management

The headteacher has also introduced clear systems and procedures to ensure the promotion of equality of opportunity for all groups of learners. This has been particularly successful in Key Stage 1, where early identification of pupils who are not making expected progress is leading to more timely intervention programmes and better progress for those groups. This, together with improvements in behaviour and assessment since the last inspection, indicates that the school has the capacity to improve further.

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Leadership and management

The restructured middle leadership team is enthusiastic and understands the need to raise achievement. Middle leaders have evaluated the provision and drawn up action plans. However, they have yet to develop the strategic overview needed to formally develop staff expertise. Progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage has improved more rapidly because all staff are clear about their role in raising children’s achievement and the curriculum is more developed.

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Leadership and management

The governing body was effective in ensuring the school was managed appropriately during the period of unsettled leadership and is fully supportive of the headteacher and his team. Minutes of meetings show that members of the governing body have an understanding of the issues being faced by the school but offer little real challenge. The school meets all statutory safeguarding requirements.

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Leadership and management

The curriculum provides all pupils with satisfactory experiences in relation to their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. For example, children in the Reception class enjoyed learning about the celebration of Chinese New Year. In a whole school assembly, during which one pupil proudly showed photographs of herself presenting a bouquet to the Queen the previous day, there was a palpable sense of awe and of pride in the school from the whole community.

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Leadership and management

The curriculum supports pupils’ academic progress satisfactorily and the school places particular emphasis on developing their skills in English and mathematics. However, the broader curriculum in Key Stages 1 and 2 does not excite and enthuse all groups of learners because topics are not currently developed to allow for clear progression of pupils’ knowledge and understanding. Leaders are at an early stage of evaluating new curriculum ideas in order to improve the quality of provision.

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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. 9 February 2012

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Inspection of West Winch Primary School, King's Lynn, PE33 0LA

Thank you for the warm welcome you gave to myself and my colleague when we visited your school. It was wonderful to see you all enjoying yourself in the snow during your breaktimes and to see the staff joining in with the fun. During our visit, we talked to many of you and I would like to thank you for your well thought-out answers to our questions. You enjoy coming to school and can see that it is improving.

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Inspection of West Winch Primary School, King's Lynn, PE33 0LA

Your school is currently satisfactory and we agree that it is improving. Your teachers understand how to keep you safe and help you to behave well. They teach you well most of the time and are beginning to understand how to help you learn even more quickly. The Reception class is an interesting and exciting place to start your education. I especially liked the way you were learning to become car mechanics in your fabulous garage.

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Inspection of West Winch Primary School, King's Lynn, PE33 0LA

I have asked your headteacher to make sure that all your teachers become really good at teaching all of the time and to make sure that all the things you learn about are interesting and exciting and help you to become good citizens of the future.

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Inspection of West Winch Primary School, King's Lynn, PE33 0LA

I have also asked him to make your school even better by:

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Inspection of West Winch Primary School, King's Lynn, PE33 0LA

 making sure your teachers mark your work in a way that really shows you how to improve  ensuring that the work they give you is matched exactly to your ability so you can make good progress with your learning  giving you more opportunities to be more active in your learning, such as discussing your work with each other in talk partners and working together in groups.

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Inspection of West Winch Primary School, King's Lynn, PE33 0LA

You can help by keeping up the good behaviour and working really hard every day, I wish you every success for the future.

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Inspection of West Winch Primary School, King's Lynn, PE33 0LA

Penny Spencer 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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