Richardson Dees Primary School

Richardson Dees Primary School Inspection report

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Age group 3–11 Inspection date(s) 21–22 March 2012 Inspection number 377781 Unique Reference Number 108596 Local authority North Tyneside Inspection number 377781 Inspection dates 21–22 March 2012 Lead inspector Kate Pringle

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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 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 230 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mr Paul Gilroy Headteacher Dr Louise Guthrie Date of previous school inspection 12 November 2008 School address High Street East Wallsend NE28 7RT Telephone number 0191 200 7256 Fax number 0191 200 7396 Email address richardsondees.primary@northtyneside.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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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 after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Introduction

Kate Pringle David Bridgewater Additional inspector Additional inspector

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out with two days' notice. Fourteen lessons and eight teachers were observed. Inspectors also observed shorter sessions of small group support for pupils and listened to pupils read . Meetings were held with groups of pupils, members of the governing body and staff. Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at pupils’ books, assessment information, policies and procedures, school development plans and updates of pupils’ progress. The views of pupils and staff were considered, together with those of parents and carers in the 51 questionnaires they returned. Inspectors took account of the responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) in planning the inspection.

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Information about the school

In this average sized primary school, the proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is much higher than the national average. The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is low, as is the proportion that speaks English as an additional language. The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is average. The school has higher than usual levels of pupils who start and leave school at different times during the year. The school meets the current floor standard, which sets minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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Information about the school

The school holds a range of awards, including Basic Skills and ECO Green Flag. It has Healthy School status and holds the full International School 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 good school. It is not outstanding because although teaching is good there needs to be a higher proportion of outstanding teaching. Achievement is good but is not consistent, especially in Key Stage 1 where pupils make satisfactory progress. The exciting curriculum, including pupils' outstanding spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, contributes highly to pupils’ engagement in lessons and to their outstanding behaviour. Parent and carers overwhelming response to the questionnaires demonstrate the depth of support for the work of the school to care for their children.

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Key Findings

 Children make good progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage where they become confident learners. Progress overall, from leaving Reception, is good, and accelerates in Key Stage 2 . By the end of Year 6, attainment is in line with the national average. Disabled pupils, those with special educational needs and pupils whose circumstances have made them vulnerable achieve as well as others.

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Key Findings

 Teaching has improved, since the previous inspection, to good with some that is outstanding. Where there are shortcomings, teachers do not always plan to ensure appropriate challenge by accurately matching tasks to pupils’ needs and this can limit progress.

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Key Findings

 Pupils’ behaviour is outstanding because they respond so positively to the high expectations of all staff. Pupils say they feel extremely safe and recognise that staff are vigilant and address individual concerns rapidly. Attendance is consistently above average.

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Key Findings

 The school is led most effectively by a headteacher who relentlessly pursues the best outcomes for pupils. This has led to a constant drive to improve attainment and narrow the gaps between different pupil groups. A highly effective, industrious team work closely with the governing body. Leaders and managers are aware of the school’s strengths and weaknesses through rigorous analysis of performance and teaching. High quality interventions to improve teaching and raise attainment, for example in reading, show very good evidence of improvement.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise pupils' attainment, especially at Key Stage 1, ensuring that progress is consistently good or better across all year groups, by:  increasing the proportion of outstanding teaching  consistently providing best challenge for all pupils by always ensuring an accurate match of task to ability  ensuring that marking and feedback to pupils on how to improve their work is of a consistent quality in different subjects.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils’ achievement is good and this reflects accurately the views of parents and carers. In the Early Years Foundation Stage, from starting points in the nursery which are well-below expectations, children make good progress because of the sensitive approach by staff and an effective curriculum enhanced by pertinent and effective adult intervention. Children were seen learning their letters and sounds with much enthusiasm and engagement. However, children's attainment remains low in reading, writing and calculation by the time they leave reception.

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Achievement of pupils

Despite making satisfactory progress in Key Stage 1, attainment in reading, writing and mathematics is below average at the end of Year 2. Lesson observations during the inspection and the school's tracking data show that recent curricular changes and additional intervention strategies are now accelerating progress, especially in reading and writing. Pupils engage particularly well in those lessons where they use their acquired skills in reading, writing and mathematics in challenging situations to investigate and problem solve. An increased focus upon involving parents and carers in supporting their children's education is helping, especially in reading.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils engage very well with their learning in Key Stage 2 because they have excellent relationships with their teachers. They particularly enjoy their greater responsibility in determining the progress they make. Progress accelerates over Key Stage 2 because of pupils’ increasing understanding of their learning and involvement in their targets. Although outcomes for Year 6 pupils are broadly average over time there is clear evidence to support an improving picture with raised expectations for this year. Attainment in reading is average by the time pupils leave Year 6. Those pupils, who may be considered vulnerable due to their circumstances, disabled or with special educational needs are supported very well and make good progress. Current strategies to tackle underachievement and accelerate progress at all levels are proving highly successful with current tracking and inspection evidence showing most of these groups of pupils are now working at average levels.

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Quality of teaching

Pupils, parents and carers greatly appreciate the good teaching and very positive relationships between pupils, their teachers and other support staff. In the greater proportion of lessons teaching is good. In most lessons, teachers show an enthusiasm for learning and have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour. As a result, behaviour is excellent and pupils show a very good work ethic. Teaching in the Early Years Foundation Stage is good. Children settle very quickly and respond well to adults who assess individual needs and provide well-focused support and challenge through practical and creative learning opportunities. In lessons which were good or better, pupils’ practical involvement contributed greatly to their high motivation. In outstanding lessons, highly engaging tasks were clearly linked to individual pupil’s needs and there were excellent opportunities for pupils to investigate and problem solve using their skills of reading, writing and

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Quality of teaching

mathematics. Pupils understood what they had achieved and what they needed to learn next to progress further. This was very evident in a Year 5 numeracy lesson in which pupils were highly motivated to use their ‘Thinking Skills’ to solve a crime. Efficient use of assessment information led to activities being closely related to individual needs so that pupils made outstanding progress during their investigations.

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Quality of teaching

When teaching was less effective, assessment was not used so successfully. As a result, there was insufficient challenge and the pace of learning slowed for some groups of pupils. Marking of work and feedback to pupils is variable and is better in writing books than in mathematics and topics books.

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Quality of teaching

Teachers promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development most effectively by creating an atmosphere which is caring, supportive, and encourages self-respect and respect for others. Pupils celebrate their successes and learn from their mistakes . Teachers ensure the curriculum is creative and exciting and this leads to pupils enjoying lessons and learning effectively. Pupils have many opportunities to effectively use and develop their English, mathematics and information and communication technology skills across different subjects.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils’ behaviour is exemplary. They are extremely polite and thoughtful, showing a real awareness of the need to care for and respect each other. There is a strong ethos within the school to promote good citizenship and pupils understand well their responsibilities to themselves, to the school, the local community and across cultures. In most lessons, pupils show excellent attitudes to learning and effectively manage their own behaviour so that lessons run smoothly. This nurturing environment enables pupils who start at different times during the school year to feel welcome and thrive. Pupils, parents and carers confirm that exceptional behaviour is typical in the school and over time and contributes greatly to pupils’ engagement and enjoyment of school.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils report that staff deal with any form of bullying quickly and effectively. Pupils are very aware that bullying can take different forms and identify that, in their school, any type of bullying is a rare occurrence. There were no concerns from parents and carers about bullying and comments praise the way the school takes incidents seriously and deals with them promptly and successfully. Pupils learn about risks and the rules by which society lives. They have an excellent understanding of these and apply them well in school. As a result, they develop a responsible attitude to keeping themselves safe because they understand the consequences of their actions. Highly-focused initiatives to address absence and an exciting curriculum engage pupils and encourages them to attend so that attendance is now consistently high.

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Leadership and management

The leadership of the headteacher is exemplary. Her determination to improve the school is infectious and all support a persistent drive to achieve consistency of expectation and practice. Considerable success has been achieved since the last inspection. Most notable is the strong and cohesive nature of the school with improvements to behaviour, relationships with parents and carers, and raised attendance. Close attention to the needs of different groups has steadily narrowed attainment gaps with improving standards at the end of Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. The quality of teaching has improved considerably through targeted implementation of professional development. All staff contribute fully to school improvement. Priorities are clear and actions rigorously evaluated through relentless monitoring to assure best practice. Senior and subject leaders are highly effective in identifying individual teacher’s needs and rigorously hold all to account for pupils’ progress.

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Leadership and management

This has had a profound impact upon all teaching staff, especially those new to the profession, and there is a clear understanding of expectation related to pupils’ outcomes.

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Leadership and management

The school holds a firm commitment to tackling discrimination and equality of opportunity and leaders accurately assess the quality of performance across the school. A pertinent focus upon the needs of lower ability pupils has been highly effective and demonstrated in the high proportion of these pupils achieving at average levels. Success is evident in the track record of sustained improvement in Key Stage 2 for these pupils. In Key Stage 1, as a result of a more rigorous approach to raising attainment and tightly focused interventions and strategies to support teachers and pupils, progress is accelerating. For example, there are dedicated strategies for reading and writing at Key Stage 1, and for other pupils who were identified as underachieving. The school’s records and inspection evidence demonstrate accelerating progress. It is very clear that in Key Stage 1 the gap to reach at least the expected level is narrowing rapidly. Overall, the school has an excellent capacity to

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Leadership and management

Members of the governing body have a wide range of expertise and experience which they use to hold the school to account exceptionally well. They work closely with school leaders and are integral to the judgements and decisions that are made. The governing body ensures that the views of parents and carers are taken in to account and this contributes much to the high esteem in which the school is held. School policies and procedures, including those of safeguarding meet requirements and are understood by all staff.

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Leadership and management

The outstanding curriculum is extended with many opportunities for families to learn together through art, music and sport. Pupils are well-prepared for the future through memorable experiences which raise their aspirations. Excellent spiritual, moral, social and cultural development underpins every aspect of learning. Pupils make best use of their responsibilities about the school and contribute very well to developing the school. For example the school council actively collected the views of their friends to find out how they wanted to improve their play environment and this resulted in the ‘active trail’. Pupils are tolerant of each others’ differences and are caring and supportive of each other. There are considerable opportunities for pupils to learn through an ever-increasing range of new experiences. The success of the curriculum is reflected in high attendance and positive attitudes to learning. Pupils’ enjoyment in learning is reflected in their enthusiastic

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Leadership and management

comments and the responses from parents and carers.

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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.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

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 ).

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

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.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

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

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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to share with their children. It describes Ofsted's main

findings from the inspection of their school.

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Inspection of Richardson Dees Primary School, Wallsend NE28 7RT

Thank you for the lovely welcome you gave the inspection team when we visited your school recently. We enjoyed talking with you and greatly appreciated the open and reflective way in which you answered our questions. We believe that yours is a good school. We know that it has many outstanding features and a few things that we would like to see improved.

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Inspection of Richardson Dees Primary School, Wallsend NE28 7RT

We believe that your behaviour and the way in which you engage in learning are outstanding. We feel you have an excellent curriculum and that you greatly enjoy coming to school and experience all it has to offer. Your teachers help you to understand what it means to be a ‘good citizens’; you well understand right and wrong and this means that your school community is one which is happy and safe.

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Inspection of Richardson Dees Primary School, Wallsend NE28 7RT

We know that many of you make good progress but we believe that you could attain more highly by the time you leave Year 6 if you were helped a little more. We would like your teachers to make sure that your progress is always good across all year groups, especially at Key Stage 1. You have some outstanding teachers and we would like to see more teach at this level. We would also like teachers to make sure that your tasks in class are well-matched to your abilities. We feel you need more comments in your books about what you have achieved against your individual targets and for teachers to inform you more regularly of new challenges.

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Inspection of Richardson Dees Primary School, Wallsend NE28 7RT

You can help by continuing to be so enthusiastic in your work and keeping up your excellent behaviour and high attendance. On behalf of us both may I wish you, and your school, every success in the future.

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Inspection of Richardson Dees Primary School, Wallsend NE28 7RT

Kate Pringle 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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