Greatham Primary School

Age group 4−11 Inspection date(s) 22−23 February 2012 Inspection number 379165 Greatham Primary School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 115898 Local authority Hampshire Inspection number 379165 Inspection dates 22−23 February 2012 Lead inspector Janet Sinclair

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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 200 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mark Walden Headteacher Salma Badawi Date of previous school inspection 12−13 November 2008 School address Petersfield Road Liss Hants GU33 6HA Telephone number 01420 538224 Fax number 01420 538013 Email address head@greatham.hants.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 ins pection 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 inspectors spent eight hours observing teaching and learning in 21 lessons or part-lessons. They observed eight teachers and several teaching assistants. Inspectors took account of the responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) in planning the inspection. They observed the school’s work, listened to a small number of pupils read, looked at samples of pupils’ work, and a wide range of documentation including policies, particularly for safeguarding, the school development plan and records of pupils’ progress. The inspectors also held meetings with members of the governing body, senior staff and three groups of pupils. Inspectors considered the 79 responses from questionnaires returned by parents and carers.

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Information about the school

Greatham is smaller than the average-sized primary school with a below-average proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups. The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is below average; these are mainly speech and language difficulties. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is below average. The children in the Early Years Foundation Stage are in one class. The school meets the current floor standard.

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Information about the school

The school has the Arts Mark Gold award. 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 satisfactory school. It has not been classified as good because although teaching and achievement overall are good, there have recently been issues with the school’s handling of bullying. Lines of communication among the staff are not as effective as they might be which has adversely affected staff morale and the school’s overall success.  Children make a sound start in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Teacher-led activities are well planned to promote effective learning. Although there are independent activities for children, planning does not always provide exciting stimuli or include enough guidance to staff on how to extend children’s learning further. Attainment is above average by the end of Year 6 and is reflective of the good progress pupils make as they move through the school. A strong focus on improving writing has successfully raised attainment in this area.  Teaching is good overall. Lessons are well planned to support effective learning.

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Key findings

However, sometimes work is not sufficiently matched to pupils’ needs and the pace of the lesson is slow which limits learning. Although pupils have targets for their learning and teachers give guidance for improvement when marking work, pupils’ responsibility for their own learning is not sufficiently harnessed.  Behaviour is mainly good, in lessons and around the school. Pupils say that there is little bullying now, and this has been helped by recent improvements, including an anti-bullying week. The school has revised its anti-bullying procedures. However, they are not fully embedded and there is still a small minority of parents and carers who have concerns and a small number of pupils who are unsure of the procedures and their implications.  Senior leaders ensure a rigorous approach to improving standards through careful tracking leading to an improvement in achievement since the previous inspection. Additionally, there have been improvements in teaching through

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Key findings

regular monitoring and the effective management of teacher performance and support, where needed. However, the staff team is not a cohesive one as senior leaders do not involve staff sufficiently in whole-school improvement.

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Key findings

Schools whose overall effectiveness is judged satisfactory may receive a monitoring 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

visit by an Ofsted inspector before the next section 5 inspection.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching and learning so that it is more consistently good or better by:  improving the pace of learning and match of work to pupils’ needs  giving pupils greater independence in their learning, through greater ownership of what they do and how to improve  providing more detailed planning and guidance in the Early Years Foundation Stage staff to better promote learning in child-initiated activities.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Embed and monitor the implementation of the revised anti-bullying procedures in order to ensure all pupils and parents and carers have full confidence that issues are always thoroughly investigated and resolved.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure senior staff: - communicate effectively with all staff in order to improve morale - increase subject leaders’ involvement in whole-school improvement.

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Achievement of pupils

Children start in the Early Years Foundation Stage with skills and abilities that are broadly in line with those expected for their age. They make satisfactory progress overall and good progress in some areas of learning such as personal and social development and creative development. Most recent assessments show that children mainly achieve as expected overall on entry to Year 1.

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Achievement of pupils

Attainment is above average overall and in reading by the end of Year 2 and Year 6. Progress in reading is good across the school due to regular opportunities for reading, including reading partners and regular letters and sounds (phonics) work. There has been a good focus on improving writing through the ‘every child a writer’ project and regular assessments of progress. This has been effective in raising attainment in writing overall. The school is working hard and successfully to close the gap between the attainment of boys and girls, for example through ‘The Open Futures’ initiative that comprised, ‘Grow it, Cook it, Film it and Ask it’ components, and a more boy-friendly curriculum. Pupils of all abilities make good progress in mathematics in Years 1 to 6. There is no discernible difference in the achievement of boys and girls and pupils enjoy the opportunities that are provided to participate in

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Achievement of pupils

the practical and investigative tasks that add to the quality of learning.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils develop their language and social skills well due to the many opportunities 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

they have for collaboration and discussion. This was particularly noticeable in Year 2 when pupils were using drama to explore feelings and emotions and also when undertaking a scientific investigation in Year 4. Effective one-to-one and small group support ensures that disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make good progress. Most parents and carers who responded to the inspection questionnaire consider that their children achieve well and this view is supported by inspection evidence.

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Quality of teaching

In the Early Years Foundation Stage, good relationships and a secure learning environment promote children’s personal and social development well. The teaching of reading, writing, letters and sounds, and number through teacher-led activity ensures children make sound progress in developing their knowledge and skills. However, staff do not always make best use of the child-initiated activities to interact and question children and provide exciting stimuli that could push learning on still faster. The classroom is well organised so that children can access resources easily and this ensures their engagement in activities.

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Quality of teaching

Teachers in Key Stages 1 and 2 make good use of resources, for example, interactive whiteboards in whole-class introductions, a video to introduce a Year 6 science lesson on healthy food and in Year 2, very effective use of photographic evidence from a drama session to show how facial expressions reflected their feelings. Teachers make good provision for reading. Even the youngest pupils confidently sound out unknown words, use picture clues well and enjoy reading their books. Teachers regularly assess pupils’ progress in reading, writing and mathematics to diagnose their future learning needs and this ensures very few pupils fall behind. Pupils with speech and language difficulties get effective support to develop their language and word-building skills. Pupils say that these sessions help them improve. For example, one pupil said, ‘I now find spelling and reading easier.’ Although teachers plan work for different ability groups, it is not always specific enough to

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Quality of teaching

ensure a good match and this sometimes slows progress. Teachers work hard to promote effective learning but they do not always involve pupils enough in taking responsibility for their own learning and improving their work and as a consequence independence and ownership are underdeveloped.

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Quality of teaching

The curriculum is planned in a broad and balanced manner. Teachers make sound use of drama, music and the arts to enhance pupils’ learning, for example, with the teacher in role play as a councillor in Year 3, violin lessons for pupils in Year 4, Spanish teaching across the school and regular art events such as the stained glass window artist that resulted in the stained glass window in the hall. The school has attained the Arts Mark Gold award for its art work.

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Quality of teaching

Teaching supports pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well. Lessons offer occasions for pupils to develop their social skills by working together on tasks. They reflect on right and wrong when developing their class charters. Most parents and carers who responded to the inspection questionnaire consider that their 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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Quality of teaching

children are taught well and this view is supported by inspection evidence.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Behaviour in lessons and around the school is mainly good and has been over time. It slips a little when the pace of lessons is slow and pupils lose interest. Additionally, in some lessons behaviour is unnecessarily controlled rather than it resulting from positive learning experiences. However, for the most part, pupils enjoy their lessons and work well together. Pupils are courteous to each other and to all adults. Older pupils are proud of the fact that they look after children in the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

The overwhelming majority of parents and carers who responded to the inspection questionnaire consider that there is a good standard of behaviour in the school. However, a small minority of parents and carers raised some concerns about bullying, in particular, that the school did not always recognise when bullying was taking place and were slow to respond. The school has worked hard to deal with the issues raised by parents and carers. Actions taken have ensured a greater awareness of expectations and procedures among staff and pupils. The school now has incident logs in all classes and reviews these regularly in order to identify any potential issues. However, their use is not yet fully embedded and their success fully tested. Pupils spoken to say that there is little bullying now and even if it does occur it is mainly about misunderstandings causing minor ‘falling out’. They say there is no cyber bullying and have a clear understanding of how to use the internet safely.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

However, a small number of pupils remain uncertain about the school’s procedures and protocols for dealing with bullying and what happens to both victim and perpetrator.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils mainly feel safe in school and the school fosters their awareness through, for example, training in safety procedures for pupils doing office duties at lunchtime and training as junior road safety officers. Pupils whose circumstances make them vulnerable are well supported ensuring they feel safe in school. Punctuality is good and attendance is above average. There have not been any permanent or fixed-term exclusions in recent years. Most parents and carers who responded to the inspection questionnaire consider that their children are safe in school and this view is supported by inspection evidence.

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Leadership and management

Senior leaders monitor progress carefully, particularly by looking at the achievement of different groups in order to ensure parity. They have especially looked at the gender gap and have put much in place to improve boys’ attainment. Although not yet fully successful, good progress is being made. This demonstrates a good commitment to promoting equality of opportunity and tackling discrimination. The impact of professional development is satisfactory because it is not always used well enough to support school development. Regular monitoring of teaching and learning takes place and the headteacher has an accurate view of its quality. However, issues 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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Leadership and management

around bullying and the effectiveness of the school’s handling of this issue, as well as issues of staff morale, including a lack of involvement in whole-school development and improvement, have had a negative impact on the school’s overall success. The school’s capacity for improvement is satisfactory overall. Safeguarding is satisfactory. Procedures and policies are securely in place to ensure the safety of pupils.

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Leadership and management

The curriculum is good because it enables good achievement and is enhanced well by after-school clubs for drama, football and whole-school productions. However, senior leaders are sometimes slow to embrace new ideas or involve all subject leaders in supporting its development. There are satisfactory links with parents and carers, through, for example, workshops, newsletters, joint target setting and a texting service, that ensure they are well informed. The school benefits from collaborative work with other schools, for example gifted and talented partnership days. The school promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well. Pupils learn about other cultures through appreciating a range of artists such as Andy Goldsworthy and by celebrating festivals and religious events from differing cultures and traditions.

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Leadership and management

There have been many changes to the governing body since the previous inspection. The new Chair and Vice Chair are enthusiastic and rigorous in their commitment to the school. The governing body overall provides effective support and a good level of challenge. It acted well in engaging all parties in dialogue over the issue of bullying.

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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 Greatham Primary School, Liss GU33 6HA

I am writing to tell you how much we enjoyed our visit to your school. We were pleased to learn that you enjoy school and the many responsibilities that you have. Your school is providing you with a satisfactory education. This means that it does some things well but some things still need to be improved.

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Inspection of Greatham Primary School, Liss GU33 6HA

Here are some things we particularly liked about your school.

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Inspection of Greatham Primary School, Liss GU33 6HA

 You make good progress overall in reading, writing and mathematics.  Older pupils enjoy looking after younger children and taking on responsibilities such as acting as office managers at lunchtime.  You are kind and caring towards each other and work well together.  Your teachers provide you with interesting activities that engage you in your learning.  Your attainment is above average by the time you leave the school.

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Inspection of Greatham Primary School, Liss GU33 6HA

These are the things we have asked your school to do to help you learn even more.

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Inspection of Greatham Primary School, Liss GU33 6HA

 Ensure that work always challenges you so that you make the best possible progress and that you have more involvement in how you learn and improve.  Help those of you in Reception to learn more quickly by planning more carefully for your independent activities and ensuring all adults support you in ways that challenge you.  Make sure that any bullying problems are sorted out quickly and fully and staff make clear to you how issues are dealt with.  Ensure that all staff work together well as a team and are fully involved in making your school even better.

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Inspection of Greatham Primary School, Liss GU33 6HA

You can help by keeping up the good work!

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Inspection of Greatham Primary School, Liss GU33 6HA

Janet Sinclair 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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