Springwell Village Primary School

Springwell Village Primary School Inspection report

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Age group 3–11 Inspection date(s) 26–27 March 2012 Inspection number 377819 Unique Reference Number 108800 Local authority Sunderland Inspection number 377819 Inspection dates 26–27 March 2012 Lead inspector Ann Ashdown

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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 226 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Robert Close Headteacher Louise Wiegand Date of previous school inspection 26 September 2008 School address Westfield Crescent Springwell Gateshead NE9 7RX Telephone number 0191 2193790 Fax number 0191 2193793 Email address springwell.village.primary@schools.sunderland.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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T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Introduction

Ann Ashdown Janice Stephenson Additional inspector Additional inspector

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out with two days’ notice. Inspectors observed 14 lessons taught by 10 teachers. In addition, they visited specialist sessions teaching the links between letters and sounds and listened to pupils read. Meetings and discussions were held with a group of pupils, the Chair of the Governing Body, parents, carers and school staff. 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 pupils’ books, progress data, safeguarding information, and other documentation. They analysed 119 questionnaires from parents and carers and also those from pupils and staff.

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Information about the school

This is an average-sized primary school. Most pupils are White British. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is below average. Very few pupils come from minority ethnic backgrounds and none speak English as an additional language. The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is below average. The school meets the government’s current floor standard, which sets out the minimum expectations for attainment and progress. It has gained Healthy School status and holds several awards including Activemark and Artsmark. 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 has improved rapidly since the last inspection. Under the determined leadership of the headteacher, there has been a relentless and successful focus by the whole staff team on accelerating pupils’ progress and improving teaching. The school is not yet outstanding because recently introduced initiatives have yet to be refined and become fully established in the school’s work and teaching is good rather than outstanding.

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Key Findings

■ Children get an excellent start to their education in the Nursery and Reception classes. They make good progress as they move through Key Stages 1 and 2 and attainment is above average by the end of Year 6.

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Key Findings

■ Pupils achieve well because teaching and learning are good. Teachers match work carefully to the needs of their pupils and in most lessons activities are briskly paced, varied and challenging. In a few lessons the pace of learning is slightly slower when activities are less challenging, learning is checked less regularly and pupils have fewer opportunities to find out things for themselves.

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Key Findings

■ Pupils typically behave well. Attendance is above average and pupils are punctual and polite. They show kindness and consideration to each other, to staff and to visitors. Pupils say they feel safe in school and parents and carers agree the school is a safe place to be.

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Key Findings

■ Accurate self-evaluation, good leadership of teaching and sensitive but rigorous management of performance have been instrumental in bringing about school improvement. Recently introduced changes to the curriculum, to methods of assessment and to the tracking of pupils’ progress are all having a positive impact but they have yet to be fully refined and become established in the work of the school.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

■ Further improve the quality of teaching so all lessons are good and a higher proportion are outstanding by:  asking more open and complex questions to extend pupils’ understanding  giving pupils more opportunities to initiate their own enquiries and learn independently  using a wider range of teaching styles and setting a greater variety of tasks to further engage pupils’ interest  checking pupils’ learning regularly throughout the lesson and reshaping teaching in response to what they know and can do.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

■ Raise pupils’ achievement and enjoyment of learning to even higher levels by consolidating and refining recently-introduced improvements to the curriculum, to assessment and to the tracking of pupils’ progress.

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Achievement of pupils

In lessons pupils achieve well. Most are keen to learn, answer questions readily and concentrate on the task in hand. Most parents and carers, rightly, feel that their children are making good progress at school and that the school is helping their children to develop good communication, reading and writing skills. In a Year 6 lesson, pupils were seen making particularly good progress as they knowledgeably used similes, metaphors, alliteration and personification when describing and interpreting well-chosen contrasting pictures linked to their current study of rivers. Work in pupils’ books, that displayed on walls, and the school’s own detailed tracking system all confirm the good progress that pupils are making. Pupils who need extra help with their learning, including disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, are given timely and sharply focused help by teachers and teaching assistants, which enable these pupils to make the same good progress as

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Achievement of pupils

their peers. Attainment in reading is above average at the end of Year 2 and when pupils leave the school in Year 6. Pupils’ good progress in reading was confirmed when inspectors looked at reading records and listened to pupils in Year 6 and in Year 2 read.

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Achievement of pupils

Children enter the Nursery with skills which are in line with those expected for their age. They make outstanding progress, particularly in communication, language and literacy because they receive high quality, well-structured teaching about the sounds that letters make (phonics) in both the Nursery and Reception classes. In the Nursery, children made excellent progress as they excitedly pulled objects beginning with the letter ‘n’ out of a bag, sounded the names of the objects aloud, counted the total number and helped their teacher to make up an interesting story about the nurse and the necklace. Pupils make good progress in each successive year group and overall attainment in tests in English and mathematics at the end of Year 2 and Year 6 has been above average for the last two years.

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Quality of teaching

Teaching is good overall. It is never less than satisfactory and in a few lessons it is outstanding. In the best lessons work is very carefully tailored to the needs of each group of pupils and briskly paced, and challenging activities boost the progress pupils make. In a mathematics lesson each group of Year 4 pupils made rapid progress as they confidently worked at different levels to calculate fractions of numbers, quantities and shapes. In good lessons teachers use perceptive questioning to check pupils’ understanding and then reshape the way they teach the topic in response to what pupils know and can do. In these effective lessons activities are varied, there are opportunities for pupils to take the initiative and learn independently and they really enjoy learning. Pupils’ enjoyment was evident in a literacy lesson when, as part of ‘Fairytale Fortnight’, they used simple puppets to act out the tale of Little Red

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Quality of teaching

In other lessons pupils make slower progress because questioning does not always check their learning, challenge their thinking and fully extend their understanding. In a few lessons, where teaching styles are not as varied, pupils are asked to listen for too long and activities are not sufficiently challenging to maintain their interest. Teachers mark pupils’ books regularly and give them helpful pointers to enable them to achieve their targets. In lessons pupils benefit from being given increasing opportunities to assess their own and each other’s work.

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Quality of teaching

Teaching promotes spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well. In lessons pupils share ideas and resources sensibly and cooperate well in groups and teams. Older pupils are able to use sophisticated vocabulary to express their knowledge and opinions about moral and cultural subjects as varied as ‘green’ issues, the Chinese New Year and the benefits of fundraising to help others. Teachers implement the planned curriculum well and specialist sessions in teaching phonics and numeracy ensure pupils make good progress in developing basic skills. Inspection evidence confirms the views of almost all parents and carers that their children are taught well at Springwell Village Primary.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils typically behave well in lessons, in the dining room and in the playgrounds. While most parents and carers felt behaviour at school was good a few expressed concerns about behaviour in lessons. Inspectors followed up these concerns and found that most pupils have good attitudes to learning and are keen to succeed. A clear system of sanctions and rewards is understood by all pupils and any minor incidents of misbehaviour are managed well by staff. Teachers use praise well to reinforce good behaviour. Pupils are considerate towards each other and older pupils willingly look after the younger ones. They are proud to help and befriend others as members of the ‘Smile Club’ and enjoy wearing their distinctive bright yellow ‘hoodies’ with a large smiling face on the back. Pupils also enjoy contributing to the very active school council where they say their views are listened to and they are given opportunities to improve, for example, the school environment. Pupils enjoy

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

coming to school. Attendance is consistently above average and most pupils arrive at school punctually. Pupils say they feel safe in school and parents and carers agree with them. They have great confidence that if they have any concerns or worries these will be quickly sorted out when they confide in members of staff. They are knowledgeable about different types of bullying, including cyber-bullying. Pupils are also very well informed about how to keep themselves safe. They talked excitedly about a recent visit to an educational centre where, in practical situations, they learned about the risks associated with drug and alcohol misuse.

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Leadership and management

The headteacher has brought vision and energy to the school. Staff feel that their views are valued and morale is high. The pace of change and improvement over the last three years has been rapid. A number of measures have accelerated pupils’ progress and enhanced their enjoyment of learning. These include improvements to the learning environment, to the curriculum and to systems for assessing pupils’ work, monitoring their progress and intervening in their learning when this is needed. Although these improvements are relatively recent and have yet to become fully refined and established in the school’s work they have already been instrumental in improving achievement and raising attainment. Good professional development and the sharing of good practice within the school have brought about improvements in teaching. Members of the governing body and leaders and managers know their school well. Self-evaluation is accurate and on the basis of this

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Leadership and management

appropriate priorities for further development have been identified. Consequently, the school has a strong capacity to improve further.

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Leadership and management

Members of the governing body are very supportive of the school and are increasingly involved in monitoring its work and determining its strategic direction. They help to ensure that safeguarding arrangement meet requirements. Staff are well trained and fully aware of child protection and risk-assessment procedures. The school promotes equal opportunities well. All groups of pupils, including disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, make equally good progress. Discrimination of any kind is not tolerated. The school has forged very successful partnerships with parents and carers which enable them to fully support their children’s learning. Regular, informative newsletters and frequent reports on their children’s progress are much appreciated by parents and carers. Partnerships with other schools and organisations and the local community both enrich the curriculum and ensure pupils make a smooth transition to the next stage of their education.

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Leadership and management

The curriculum is both broad and balanced and is reviewed regularly. The school maintains an appropriate focus on teaching basic skills of literacy and numeracy whilst also providing a wider creative curriculum. Pupils speak enthusiastically of visits to outdoor centres and Sikh temples, of their futuristic designs for houses and clothes, of sporting triumphs and of singing in their choir in front of a large audience. This wider curriculum promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development particularly well. They have a good awareness of other cultures and ethical issues and know clearly the difference between right and wrong.

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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 Springwell Village Primary School, Gateshead NE9 7RX

Thank you for the warm welcome you gave the inspection team when we inspected your school this week. A particular thank you to those of you who read aloud to us, filled in the questionnaires and were keen to tell us so much about your school. Please thank your parents and carers who also filled in the questionnaires. Springwell Village Primary is a good school which is rapidly improving. Here are some of its strengths.

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Inspection of Springwell Village Primary School, Gateshead NE9 7RX

■ Your behaviour is good and you show kindness and consideration to others. ■ Your achievement is good because you make good progress and attain above average standards. ■ The teaching you receive is good. ■ The way your school is led and managed and the curriculum you follow are good.

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Inspection of Springwell Village Primary School, Gateshead NE9 7RX

This is what we have asked your school to do to help it improve more.

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Inspection of Springwell Village Primary School, Gateshead NE9 7RX

■ We have asked your teachers to make your lessons even better by:  asking you questions which make you think hard  giving you more opportunities to find out things for yourselves  checking your learning even more regularly  setting you lots of varied activities so that you really enjoy learning. ■ We have also asked your teachers to keep checking that all their improvements to the school are working well so that you can make even faster progress and reach higher levels of attainment.

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Inspection of Springwell Village Primary School, Gateshead NE9 7RX

All of you can help your school become even better by working with your teachers to achieve the very best you can.  Yours sincerely

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Inspection of Springwell Village Primary School, Gateshead NE9 7RX

Ann Ashdown 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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