Western Downland Church of England Aided Primary School

Age group 4−11 Inspection date(s) 25−26 April 2012 Inspection number 379247 Western Downland C of E Primary School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 116387 Local authority Hampshire Inspection number 379247 Inspection dates 25−26 April 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 Voluntary aided Age range of pupils 4−11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 143 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Andrew Donald Headteacher Kim Wilcox Date of previous school inspection 27 November 2008 School address Rockbourne Fordingbridge SP6 3NA Telephone number 01725 518233 Fax number 01725 518252 Email address head@westerndownland.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 inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when.

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You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk, or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out with two days' notice. The inspector spent five hours observing teaching and learning in thirteen lessons or part lessons. She observed seven teachers and several teaching assistants. She took account of the responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) in planning the inspection, observed the school’s work, listened to a sample of pupils read and looked at examples of pupils’ work. She considered a wide range of documentation, including school policies, particularly for safeguarding, the school development plan and records of pupils’ progress. The inspector also held meetings with members of the governing body, senior staff and groups of pupils. She considered the 53 responses from questionnaires returned by parents and carers.

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Information about the school

Western Downland is smaller than the average-sized primary school. It is an amalgamation of a local infant and junior school. The Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 operate on one site, two-and-a-half miles from the Key Stage 2 site. The number of pupils in each year group is very variable. Most pupils are White British with a below-average proportion having minority ethnic heritage. The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is below average; these are mainly speech, language and cognitive difficulties. The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is below average. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is low. The children in the Early Years Foundation Stage are in one class. The school meets current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress. Two new teachers were appointed to the school in

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Information about the school

September 2011. 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 teaching and learning are not above a consistently good quality. It has a strong, caring ethos and high expectations of pupils that ensure they achieve well, both academically and personally.

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Key findings

 Children make a sound start to their learning in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Staff are caring and learning is well planned, but the environment is not stimulating enough to excite children’s curiosity. Additionally, there is insufficient rigour in observing and assessing where children are at in their learning to always promote it effectively. Attainment is above average by the end of Year 6 and reflects the good progress pupils make given their starting points. A clear focus on improving mathematics and increasing rates of progress across the school is having a positive impact.

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Key findings

 Effective well-planned teaching, supported by a stimulating curriculum, ensures pupils enjoy their learning and do well. Occasionally, in mathematics, there is a lack of analysis of pupils’ learning within a lesson or a clear knowledge of the next steps, and this slows progress. Additionally, whilst all teachers mark work regularly and indicate areas for improvement, not all staff give time for pupils to respond fully nor do they involve them enough in setting their own learning goals.

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Key findings

 Good behaviour, both in lessons and around the school, ensures a calm, purposeful learning environment. Pupils feel safe and say that any form of bullying is rare. The school’s caring ethos is exemplified through the emphasis on the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of each pupil.

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Key findings

 The headteacher provides strong, purposeful leadership. Good support from senior leaders ensures effective teamwork across the two sites. There is an effective focus on managing performance and this is driving up pupils’ attainment. Performance management is well established and a key target of 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

securing consistently good achievement across the school is proving successful.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage by:  ensuring greater rigour in the observation and assessment of where children are at in their learning in order to accelerate progress  providing a more stimulating learning environment that excites the children’s interest and stimulates their curiosity in order to engage and challenge them more fully.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching so that an increasing proportion is outstanding by:  increasing staff knowledge and confidence in analysing mathematical learning, both within lessons and when setting their next steps, in order to accelerate progress  ensuring that all staff involve pupils in improving their work by giving them time to respond fully to marking and in setting their own learning goals.

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Achievement of pupils

Children start in the Early Years Foundation Stage with many of the skills and abilities expected for their age, although there is some variation year on year. They make satisfactory progress during their Reception Year and then make good progress in Key Stages 1 and 2.

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Achievement of pupils

As a result, attainment is above average in Key Stage 1 in reading and writing and above average overall at Key Stage 2, including in reading by the end of Year 2 and Year 6. Good teaching overall in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, linked to strong teaching in both Years 2 and 6, ensures that pupils are nearly two terms ahead of expected attainment. As a result, pupils make good, if slightly uneven, progress across the school due to variations in the quality of teaching.

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Achievement of pupils

Progress in reading is good due to regular, well-organised group teaching of letters and sounds (phonics) work in Key Stage 1 and guided reading sessions that are clearly focused on the development of key skills in Key Stage 2. Pupils in Key Stage 1 enjoy the letters and sounds work and this was seen when Year 1 pupils had great fun blending sounds to make nonsense words. Parents make a good contribution to reading by hearing their children read regularly at home. The school provides well for its very able pupils. For example, some pupils in Year 6 are working at the level of 15-year-olds in mathematics. Pupils with disabilities and those with special 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

educational needs make good progress due to the very effective implementation of clear and specific plans for their learning.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils develop their language and communication skills well through opportunities for paired and small-group work. For example, in Year 2 pupils worked together in groups to write questions they wanted answered about the next chapter in the book they were reading.

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Achievement of pupils

The overwhelming majority of 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 Reception Year class the teacher provides sound opportunities for children to play and engage in their learning, for example, through sand and water play and re- enacting the story of St George and the Dragon. She regularly assesses children’s progress and makes good use of learning journals to record children’s involvement in activities. However, a tired learning environment and a lack of challenge in their play and teacher-led activities limit overall learning.

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Quality of teaching

Teaching across the rest of the school is consistently at least good. Work is well planned and organised and teachers make good use of resources to enliven lessons. For example, there were sounds and letters games and use of whiteboards for letters and sounds work in Year 1 and video clips in Year 6 to help with sewing in design and technology. Well trained teaching assistants make a good contribution to phonics teaching by taking small groups, they also successfully support pupils with disabilities and special educational needs through a clear focus on their specific needs. Teachers use subject-specific vocabulary well, for example in a literacy lesson in Year 6 on the use of embedded and sub-clauses. Good teaching in mathematics in Years 5 and 6 ensures pupils attain above average standards. Additionally, all teachers now ensure pupils take part in well-planned mental mathematics sessions at the beginning of

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Quality of teaching

lessons and this is helping to improve pupils’ quick recall of number facts. However, in some mathematics lessons teachers lack confidence in assessing how well pupils are doing and so miss opportunities to extend pupils’ knowledge and lack a clear understanding of how to take that learning forward and this slows progress.

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Quality of teaching

There is a good level of consistency in setting targets for literacy and numeracy and the next steps for pupils’ learning through marking, but not all teachers involve pupils enough in responding to marking or in setting their own goals for their learning. This limits pupils’ involvement in, and responsibility for, improving their own work.

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Quality of teaching

The curriculum is broad and balanced and topics are used extremely well to enrich learning. For example, when learning about the Victorians, pupils set up a bazaar, sang songs, sold products and acted as street criers. Teachers also link subjects together well. For example, pupils in Year 5 wrote a diary about the Magi’s journey 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

Teaching supports pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well through opportunities for paired work, a visit to a synagogue and the use of the story of Jonah and the Whale to discuss issues of justice. Homework is challenging and is followed up well in class. It was extremely well used in one class to correct spellings and re-write paragraphs to make them more interesting, following a writing task.

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Quality of teaching

The overwhelming majority of parents and carers who responded to the inspection questionnaire consider that their children are taught well and this view is supported by inspection evidence.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Behaviour and safety are good. Pupils thoroughly enjoy school and this is reflected in their above average attendance and in the way they work very well together. Pupils say that they feel safe in school and the overwhelming majority of parents who responded to the inspection questionnaire agree. Staff ensure pupils learn about safety through, for example, cycling proficiency training.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

The school has a consistent and positive approach to behaviour management and this ensures that behaviour in lessons and around the school is good, and has been over time. Pupils in Key Stage 1 say that there are sometimes rough games in the playground, which they don’t like. The overwhelming majority of parents and carers who responded to the inspection questionnaire agree that behaviour is good. Pupils in Key Stage 2 talk of the friendly atmosphere where everyone gets on well together and their responses to the inspection questionnaire confirm this view.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Discussions with pupils, both formally and informally, their questionnaire returns and school records all confirm that any form of bullying is very rare. Pupils say, ‘We don’t experience bullying; only occasional minor disagreements involving name calling or not talking to each other.’ They are clear that any issues that do arise are dealt with quickly and effectively by staff. The school has an anti-bullying week and the school council was involved in the drafting of policies and procedures to deal with bullying.

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Leadership and management

The headteacher has an accurate view of the school and a strong determination to provide the best possible education for pupils. She is well supported in this by senior leaders who work well as a team to promote effective learning. They monitor progress carefully and quickly put strategies in place to support those pupils not making enough progress in order to eliminate any unevenness. They acted quickly to provide professional development for staff in order to improve provision in mathematics. This demonstrates a good commitment to promoting equality of opportunity and tackling discrimination. Performance management is closely linked to pupil performance. The school improvement plan is used well to set targets for key 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

improvements and is now being reviewed regularly by leaders and governors. The headteacher has an accurate view of the quality of teaching, which is monitored carefully, with a clear focus on raising the bar and giving support to improve practice. The school has maintained its good provision and addressed the key issues from the previous inspection. Attainment is above average and pupils make good progress. This shows that the school has the capacity for sustained future improvement.

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Leadership and management

There are effective policies and procedures in place to ensure the safety of pupils, including regular health and safety checks of the premises. The curriculum is enhanced very well by special events such as a visit to a Viking long-house, after- school clubs for drama and football, and an end-of-term whole-school production. Pupils at Key Stage 2 all enjoy residential visits, for example, a sleepover in Year 3 and a visit to Brownsea Island in Year 5. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is developed well through opportunities for reflection in collective worship and in the caring and supportive ethos of the school.

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Leadership and management

Good links with parents and carers through, for example, informative newsletters, termly parental interviews and good involvement in homework ensure that they are fully involved in their children’s learning. Their response to the inspection questionnaires was very positive in all aspects. The school benefits from collaborative work with other schools in the cluster, a sports partnership and Burgate Academy. Governors are enthusiastic and rigorous in their commitment to the school. They offer it a good level of challenge and support and are developing their monitoring role more fully through carefully reviewing school improvement priorities.

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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 54 42 2 2 Primary schools 14 49 32 6 Secondary schools 20 39 34 7 Special schools 33 45 20 3 Pupil referral units 9 55 28 8 All schools 16 47 31 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 to 31 December 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

Floor standards the national minimum expectation of attainment and progression measures.

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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 Western Downland Primary School, Rockbourne SP6 3NA

I am writing to tell you how much I enjoyed my visit to your school. I was very pleased to learn that you enjoy school, particularly the after-school clubs and school productions.

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Inspection of Western Downland Primary School, Rockbourne SP6 3NA

I judged that your school is a good school where your headteacher and all the staff work hard to take good care of you and help you achieve well.

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Inspection of Western Downland Primary School, Rockbourne SP6 3NA

Here are some other things we particularly liked about your school.

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Inspection of Western Downland Primary School, Rockbourne SP6 3NA

 Your attainment is above average and you achieve well in Key Stages 1 and 2.  You enjoy the excellent range of exciting events, after-school clubs and residential trips that are part of the curriculum.  You behave well and feel very safe in school.  You enjoy working on tasks together and are kind and caring towards each other.  Your teachers provide you with interesting activities that engage you in your learning.

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Inspection of Western Downland Primary School, Rockbourne SP6 3NA

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

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Inspection of Western Downland Primary School, Rockbourne SP6 3NA

 Ensure that provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage is more exciting so you have fun learning and that the work meets your needs well.  Ensure all teachers help you improve your work in mathematics, give you time to respond fully to marking and involve you in your learning so you know how to improve.

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Inspection of Western Downland Primary School, Rockbourne SP6 3NA

You can help by keeping up all your good work and enthusiasm.

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Inspection of Western Downland Primary School, Rockbourne SP6 3NA

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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