Burnside Primary School

Burnside Primary School Inspection report

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Age group 3–11 Inspection date(s) 20–21 March 2012 Inspection number 380438 Unique Reference Number 122266 Local authority Northumberland Inspection number 380438 Inspection dates 20–21 March 2012 Lead inspector Alison Thomson

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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 476 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Sheena Ward Headteacher Jane Ramsay Date of previous school inspection 11 November 2008 School address Northumbrian Road Cramlington NE23 1XZ Telephone number 01670 736052 Email address admin@burnside.northumberland.sch.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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T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Introduction

Alison Thomson Janet Greaves Additional inspector Additional inspector Julia Bayes Additional inspector

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out with two days’ notice. The inspectors observed 19 teachers teaching 23 lessons, of which two were joint observations with the headteacher. Meetings were held with members of the governing body, school leaders and pupils. The inspectors took account of the responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) in planning the inspection. The inspectors observed the school’s work, including analyses of the pupils' work. In addition, they looked at a number of documents, including those relating to development planning, safeguarding and child protection, the monitoring of the quality of teaching, external views of the school and the minutes of governing body meetings. The inspectors also analysed 189 parental and carers’ questionnaires, 84 pupils’ questionnaires and 35 completed by the staff.

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Information about the school

This school is a larger than average sized primary school. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is below average. Most pupils are of White British heritage and all speak English as their first language. An average proportion of pupils are disabled or have special educational needs, including those who have a statement of special educational needs. The school has many awards, including Healthy School status for the promotion of a healthy lifestyle. The school meets the current floor standard. Separate childcare provision shares the school site, but this is not managed by the governing body and is inspected separately by Ofsted. The school has experienced some changes in staffing recently due to unavoidable long-term absence. 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

 Burnside is a good school where behaviour and safety are outstanding. Pupils enjoy school and describe it as, ‘fun and caring’. The school is not outstanding because not enough teaching is outstanding and school leaders are not bringing about improvements as quickly as they might do. The effectiveness of the Early Years Foundation Stage is good.

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Key Findings

 Pupils’ achievement is good. Children enter the nursery with skills that are generally slightly higher than expected and leave in Year 6 with attainment that is securely above average. Progress is good throughout the school for all groups of pupils.

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Key Findings

 Teaching is good and sometimes outstanding. The best practice is not shared well enough at present and lesson observations are not focused sufficiently on the learning that is taking place. Teachers make lessons interesting and challenging and regularly assess pupils' work with pertinent comments about how it be improved. However, they do not always make it clear to pupils how they can tell if they are learning well in lessons.

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Key Findings

 Pupils behave extremely well and say that they feel very safe in school. They are very pro-active in the promotion of their own safety and that of others. Pupils cooperate in a very mature way in class and this has a very positive effect on their learning. Parents and carers, staff and pupils rate behaviour highly.

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Key Findings

 Leadership of teaching and the management of performance are good. Areas for development from the previous inspection have been addressed well. Pupils’ progress is regularly monitored and evaluated, but this process is not refined enough to bring about improvements as quickly as it might do. The majority of parents and carers are very happy with the school, but there is a small minority that it does not engage with well enough. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is excellent.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure more teaching is outstanding to raise achievement by:  always making it clear to pupils how well they are learning  sharing more widely the best practice in teaching  when observing lessons focus more closely on pupils’ learning so that all staff increase their ability to promote better learning.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve aspects of leadership and management in order to bring about improvements more quickly by:  having a more refined approach to monitoring and the evaluation of the progress of pupils  engaging more effectively with all groups of parents and carers.

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Achievement of pupils

Children start in the Early Years Foundation Stage with skills generally slightly higher those typically found for their age. Excellent induction procedures with parents and carers help the children to settle quickly and make a confident start. Children play happily together and are very well behaved. They make good progress and typically enter Year 1 having exceeded the levels expected for their age in all areas of learning. Attainment by the end on Year 2, including that in reading, is above average. This is helped greatly by the school’s very effective daily sessions developing the pupils' understanding of how letters make sounds. Listening to pupils in Year 1 and Year 2 read confirmed that their attainment in reading is above average. Progress throughout the school is good and pupils consistently leave school at the end of Year 6 with attainment in reading, writing and mathematics that is above

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Achievement of pupils

average. Parents and carers strongly agree that their children are achieving well, a view matched by inspection findings. This was exemplified well in lessons observed during the inspection. The learning and progress seen was usually good and it was sometimes outstanding. The progress of the highest attaining pupils is improving strongly as they become more independent learners. This was exemplified well in many lessons, including a Year 6 English lesson where pupils wrote very effective letters of complaint about a poor experience in a restaurant. Outstanding progress was also observed in a Reception class music lesson about tempo. The school’s data and lesson observations show that boys’ progress has improved and is now as good as that of girls. Throughout the school, disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good progress. This is helped greatly by very sensitive and well focused support from the teaching assistants using a range of practical activities

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Achievement of pupils

using visual clues for word recognition.

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Quality of teaching

The quality of teaching is good and in some lessons it is outstanding. Teachers are very enthusiastic and create a very purposeful learning environment. Lessons generally proceed at a good pace and there is a wide range of interesting activities to engage pupils, including many opportunities for them to practise their basic skills of literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology (ICT). For example, Year 6 pupils were seen expertly researching information about endangered species in Amazon rainforests. Many lessons contribute well to pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, such as Year 5 reflecting about the difficulties of life in Victorian times and Year 3 using their senses to imagine what it would be like to be in a dark cave or other mythical places. These lessons also exemplified innovative use of the curriculum, with teachers weaving together different subjects to excite and interest pupils.

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Quality of teaching

Teachers plan their lessons well by carefully modifying work for the pupils’ different abilities. Pupils gain much confidence because of the many opportunities they are given to voice their opinions and share ideas. This was seen in many classes including a Year 4 mathematics class where pupils explained to each other very clearly methods they had used to solve word problems. Teachers usually share with the pupils what it is they should be able to do in lessons and they check how well the pupils are doing throughout the lessons. A Year 5 English lesson on non-fiction writing exemplified this well. However, they do not always enable pupils to be able to tell how well they are learning. Thus, achievement is not always as good as it could be. Teachers mark the pupils’ work thoroughly. As well as correcting mistakes and giving praise, there are many comments to help pupils know how they can improve their work, with many instances seen of pupils responding to those comments. The

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Quality of teaching

parents’ and carers’ questionnaire showed that they agree strongly that their children are well taught and pupils also feel that this is the case.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Behaviour is outstanding and there is much evidence that it has been so for some time, for example, from older pupils and visitors to the school. Most parents and carers and all staff who returned the questionnaires agreed strongly that behaviour is good. Similarly, the pupils’ questionnaires showed they agreed that behaviour is good in lessons most of the time. Pupils talk about their school being ‘very friendly’ and say that any instances of bullying are rare, but when it occurs the school deals with it very well. All the pupils took part recently in a bullying march and they told the inspectors that this has helped to heighten the awareness of what bullying means. Pupils’ behaviour impacts very well on their learning. This was seen many times throughout the inspection. Pupils rise well to the challenge of assessing their own work and that of others.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Most pupils agreed that they feel safe in school all of the time. They told the inspectors that school is very safe because the teachers look after them well and there are locks on the doors. Throughout the inspection there were many examples of the pupils being very considerate towards others, such as taking turns and holding open doors. Older pupils look after the younger ones very well during break and at lunch times and the role of being a mentor is taken very seriously. They have an extremely good understanding of how to keep themselves and others safe. An example of is the production of posters about safety in their community, which are going to be displayed in a local shop. Pupils thoroughly enjoy school and their attendance is consistently above average.

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Leadership and management

The headteacher and the staff have addressed the areas for improvement identified at the previous inspection well. For example, pupils are becoming more independent learners and the role of subject leaders is developing well, as they become more involved in monitoring and evaluation in their areas. However, while the monitoring of the progress of the pupils occurs regularly, evaluation of any underachievement is a lengthy and involved process meaning that improvements are not always happening as quickly as they might do. The school has a very accurate view of the strengths and areas for development in teaching and its quality has improved through well targeted training. Leaders recognise that, to improve further, there should be a closer focus on the learning that is taking place when observing lessons. Equality of opportunity is good, with any remaining gaps in the performance of different groups diminishing rapidly. Members of the governing body are closely involved in

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Leadership and management

the work of the school, know the school’s strengths and support what it needs to do to improve further. They hold the school to account well in many areas.

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Leadership and management

S afety is given a very high priority and results in children feeling extremely safe and secure. Safeguarding is robust with clear policies and very thorough risk assessments. The curriculum is good and specialist teaching in many areas, such as physical education, art and music, enhances it. There are many memorable experiences, such as the Tobias and the Angel project where outside providers support the artwork related to the Angel of the North. There is a wide range of after-school clubs. During the inspection many pupils were seen in the drama club, enjoying rehearsing their roles for an up and coming production, while others practised for a skipping competition, which they won the following day. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding. Links with the local church are strong and the work of the school’s international coordinator is having an excellent impact. Pupils eagerly told the inspectors about their pen pals in Ghana and in India and

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Leadership and management

said that they learn much from them about those countries. Most parents and carers are very positive about all aspects of the school. There is a small minority who feel that the school does not communicate with them well or act on their views and concerns. The school acknowledges that it could engage better with those parents and carers. The maintenance of above average attainment and attendance, coupled with improvements in teaching indicate that the capacity for further improvement is good.

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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 Burnside Primary School, Cramlington, NE23 1XZ

Thank you for the lovely welcome you gave us when we visited your school recently. We enjoyed talking with you and seeing you learn in class. We worked closely with your headteacher and also spent time talking to your teachers and governors and looking at your work. Your school is a good one where your achievement is good and your behaviour, safety and spiritual, moral, social and cultural development are outstanding.

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Inspection of Burnside Primary School, Cramlington, NE23 1XZ

Here are some of the things that we particularly liked:  you like coming to school and you are very keen to learn  you get on very well together and you know how to keep yourselves safe  your teachers are good and make your lessons interesting  the adults in school make sure that you are very well looked after.

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Inspection of Burnside Primary School, Cramlington, NE23 1XZ

We have asked your headteacher to make your school even better by:  helping you to be able to tell how well you are learning  sharing more widely the best methods of teaching  looking more closely at how well you are learning when watching your lessons  having a clearer process for checking how well you are progressing  communicating better with all of your parents and carers.

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Inspection of Burnside Primary School, Cramlington, NE23 1XZ

You can help by telling your teacher if you are not sure if you are learning well in each of your activities.

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Inspection of Burnside Primary School, Cramlington, NE23 1XZ

We would like to wish you all the best for the future and hope that you continue to enjoy being at your school.

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Inspection of Burnside Primary School, Cramlington, NE23 1XZ

Alison Thomson 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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