The Crescent Primary School

Age group 4–11 Inspection date(s) 14–15 May Inspection number 395466 The Crescent Primary School Inspection report

p.1

Unique reference number 115886 Local authority Hampshire Inspection number 395466 Inspection dates 14–15 May Lead inspector Liz Bowes

p.1

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

p.1

Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 401 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Anne Westcott Headteacher Veronica Stoodley Date of previous school inspection 27 February 2009 School address Toynbee Road Eastleigh SO50 9DH Telephone number 02380 612536 Fax number 02380 612612 Email address adminoffice@crescent.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

p.1

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’.

p.2

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.

p.2

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

p.2

Introduction

This inspection was carried out with two days’ notice. The inspectors observed 16 lessons or part lessons and 15 teachers were observed teaching. There were three joint observations. In addition inspectors made short visits to phonics sessions (which teach about the way sounds and letters are linked) and listened to pupils read. Meetings were held with groups of pupils, members of the governing body and the school staff. Inspectors took account of the responses to the on-line Parent View survey in planning the inspection, observed the school’s work, and looked at a range of documentation including improvement planning and records of pupils’ progress and attainment. During the inspection 119 questionnaires from parents and carers were analysed together with those completed by 93 pupils and 23 staff.

p.3

Information about the school

The Crescent is a larger than average sized primary school. The majority of pupils are of White British heritage. The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is close to the average, as is the proportion of pupils supported by school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs. The proportion of pupils’ known to be eligible for free school meals is average. Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage are taught in a two reception classes. The school meets the government’s current floor standard, which sets the minimum expectations for pupil’s attainment and progress. There is an on-site breakfast club which is managed by the governing body. The school is federated with Norwood Primary School, and the two schools share a governing body and head of federation; there is also a head of school.

p.3

Information about the school

The school holds a number of awards including the UNICEF UK recognition of commitment for Rights Respecting schools. 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

p.3

Key findings

 This is a satisfactory school. It is not good because of inconsistencies in the quality of teaching that have resulted in some uneven progress. Since the appointment of the senior leadership team there have been significant improvements. The positive impact of being federated has been shown by improvements in target setting, attendance and behaviour. Schools whose overall effectiveness is judged as satisfactory may receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted Inspector before the next section 5 inspection.

p.4

Key findings

 Achievement overall is satisfactory and pupils make satisfactory progress. In mathematics at Key Stage 2, pupils’ achievement is good. The effective provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage enables children to make good progress relative to their starting points. Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make satisfactory progress and benefit from well targeted support

p.4

Key findings

 Overall teaching is satisfactory. It is consistently good in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Although there are many strong features in teaching, at times, teachers spend too long explaining tasks and give pupils too few opportunities to investigate and learn independently. Teachers’ planned activities are not always closely matched to the needs of all learners, particularly the more able. Marking does not always help pupils understand how well they have done and what they need to do to improve their work.

p.4

Key findings

 Behaviour and safety are good. Respectful and supportive relationships throughout the school enable pupils to develop good levels of self-esteem and confidence.

p.4

Key findings

 As a result of the senior leadership team’s drive and accurate evaluation of school performance, there are distinct signs of improvement in all aspects of the school’s work, including in teaching. However, the full impact of this has yet to be realised as, apart from mathematics at Key Stage 2, there have been limited 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

p.4

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise the quality and consistency of teaching in order to accelerate rates of progress by:

p.5

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 planning activities to match more closely the needs of all groups of pupils, particularly the most able  reducing the amount of time teachers spend on explaining to pupils what they need to do  providing more opportunities for pupils to find things out for themselves and work independently adopting consistent marking strategies that show pupils what level they are working at and how they can improve.

p.5

Achievement of pupils

The majority of parents and carers who responded to the questionnaire are complimentary about the amount of progress their children are making. Inspectors found that pupils make satisfactory progress, as although pupils make rapid progress in some lessons, the benefits are offset by slower progress in others. Often the pace of learning is not always fast enough for all abilities, particularly for the more able. A consistent feature throughout the school is pupils’ enthusiasm and enjoyment of mathematics, which they find interesting and challenging. Pupils enjoy tackling problems and are persistent when trying to reach an answer. This was demonstrated when pupils were seen calculating numerical differences using number lines. Pupils say that they value the new target cards that clearly explain the next steps in their learning. However, the link between the cards and marked work is unclear and pupils

p.5

Achievement of pupils

do not always know what level they are working at or how to improve. Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are well supported, and appropriate tasks are set for them. As a result, they make comparable progress to their peers. Pupils known to be eligible for free school meals also achieve in line with other pupils.

p.5

Achievement of pupils

Children join the Reception class with knowledge, skills and understanding that are below the levels expected for their age. However they make good progress and enjoy the imaginative, stimulating environment which enables them to develop their skills in learning numbers and letters. By the time they enter Year 1 skill development is generally at the expected level. 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

p.5

Achievement of pupils

The senior leadership team discovered gaps in pupils’ learning in reading and introduced a new scheme of letters and sounds (phonics). As a result of this, the secure grounding that children receive in the Early Years Foundation Stage is now built upon effectively. Pupils demonstrate confidence in decoding unfamiliar words and sounds and by the end of Year 2 and 6, pupils’ attainment in reading is broadly average. Pupils’ writing skills develop satisfactorily with ample opportunities to practise these in other subjects and lunchtime clubs. Attainment is broadly average by the end of Year 6 and in mathematics it is above average with an increasing proportion of the current Year 6 pupils on target to attain higher levels.

p.6

Quality of teaching

Teaching, while satisfactory, does not consistently ensure that pupils’ make at least good progress. Many teachers spend too long explaining to pupils what they have to do and leave too little time for them to complete tasks. The school has amassed accurate data on how well pupils are achieving but not all teachers use this information to ensure work is always sufficiently challenging. As a result, more-able pupils do not consistently progress as well as they should. Particularly for these pupils, teachers provide too much information, limiting opportunities for independent learning. The marking of pupils’ work is inconsistent. Although remarks are encouraging, not all teachers provide sufficient advice as to what pupils need to do to achieve their target level or provide opportunities for them to respond to advice.

p.6

Quality of teaching

In the lessons where teaching is best seen during the inspection, teachers were enthusiastic and challenging, which motivated the children to achieve. For example, in a computer lesson when pupils were researching the painter Lowry to create a presentation, teaching was characterised by a suitably fast pace, excellent resources and exciting activities. Teaching assistants help to ensure that all groups of pupils take a full part in lessons; they are well deployed and make a particularly strong contribution to the learning made by disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs. There are many opportunities for pupils to work with their peers and this helps them to develop social skills. Pupils acquire a good knowledge and awareness of different cultures and religions in a range of subjects and therefore, the positive impact of the planned curriculum is clearly evident. Teaching promotes

p.6

Quality of teaching

pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well. For example, in one lesson pupils were given the opportunity to reflect and write about the different kinds of love.

p.6

Quality of teaching

In the Early Years Foundation Stage, teaching is good and letter sounds are well taught by both teachers and teaching assistants. This effective practice is reflected in pupils’ enthusiasm for reading throughout the school. Parents and carers are very pleased with the support their children receive. The views of those who responded to the inspection questionnaire are accurately reflected by one who commented, ‘our children are very happy at school and they have a good attitude to learning. The teachers have been friendly yet honest about areas of learning the children need support with’. 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

p.6

Behaviour and safety of pupils

Warm relationships between adults and pupils exist throughout the school. Evidence shows that pupils’ behaviour over time is good and the very large majority of parents agree. Behaviour in the breakfast club is also good and the well supervised provision enables pupils to socialise with others productively at the beginning of the school day. Pupils act with consideration and courtesy, when approaching their learning. They regularly work well together and demonstrate high levels of concentration, particularly when tasks are challenging. During intervention sessions, pupils often have positive attitudes to learning. Pupils enjoy and state that they feel safe on the residential trips. In discussions pupils say,’ it’s good to be green’, referring to the traffic light levels of the behaviour policy. The playground is a harmonious environment and pupils like playing the games arranged by the play leaders.

p.7

Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils are confident that any behavioural incidents are dealt with swiftly and that the resolution is fair. Through a well-planned curriculum which includes an anti-bullying week, pupils are helped to develop a range of strategies so they are able to manage risks well. They have a clear awareness of the different forms of bullying, including prejudice-based bullying. On the rare occasions where there has been any form of bullying, this has been dealt with effectively. For example, pupils were very pleased with the way an incident of persistent name-calling was stopped.

p.7

Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils have a good awareness of how to keep themselves safe and recently members of the school council were involved in risk assessments of the school site. Almost all parents and carers express their confidence that the school keeps their child safe. There has been a relentless focus on raising attendance which is now above average.

p.7

Leadership and management

Since arriving, the head of federation and the head of school have accurately evaluated performance and there are rigorous systems now in place to enable the school to continue improving. The positive impact of being federated has been shown by improvements in target setting, attendance and behaviour. However, apart from mathematics at Key Stage 2, there have been limited sustained improvements in achievement as new systems still have to demonstrate their full impact. Consequently, leadership and management overall are satisfactory and improving, rather than good. Leaders have effectively used performance management through a period of staffing turbulence which has resulted in a strong team of middle leaders who have benefitted from extensive professional development. Teaching is well led and coaching is effective to help staff realise the school’s expectations of teaching and learning. The federated governing body is well-informed and has provided good

p.7

Leadership and management

support; its members have a secure understanding of what the school does well and what it needs to improve. The school is now on a firm footing from which to achieve further improvement. 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

p.7

Leadership and management

Significant benefits are also reaped from being part of a federation in terms of staffing and the curriculum. The school monitors pupils’ progress closely and intervention strategies, such as the booster classes and boot up sessions provided by a teacher in the federation, are having a significant impact on progress. The curriculum is good because it is well planned and meets pupils’ needs effectively. Pupils benefit from the federation’s music and drama events and joint residential trips which promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well. Many pupils, including those who have disabilities or special educational needs, participate in several of the numerous extra--curricular activities. The governing body, senior leaders and staff promote equality of opportunity well and make sure that discrimination of any kind is not tolerated.

p.8

Leadership and management

The school has strong partnerships with parents and carers by keeping them well informed of their children’s progress with reading diaries and regular reports. A h andbook for parents to help children learn has been well received. The school has close working relationships with a number of outside agencies to support pupils and their families whose circumstances make them potentially vulnerable. Safeguarding procedures meet all statutory requirements, are managed well and are consistently applied.

p.8

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.

p.9

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

p.9

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.

p.9

Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Percentages are rounded and do not always add exactly to 100.

p.9

Common terminology used by inspectors

Achievement: the progress and success of a pupil in their learning and development taking account of their attainment.

p.10

Common terminology used by inspectors

Attainment: the standard of the pupils’ work shown by test and examination results and in lessons.

p.10

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.

p.10

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.

p.10

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.

p.10

Common terminology used by inspectors

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

p.10

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.

p.10

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.

p.10

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.

p.10

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.

p.10

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.

p.10

carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s

main findings from the inspection of their school.

p.11

Inspection of The Crescent Primary School, Eastleigh, SO50 9DH

Thank you for all the help you gave us when we visited your school. We appreciated you talking to us about your work, and telling us about your school and what you enjoy about it. We particularly enjoyed hearing you sing so enthusiastically. We would especially like to thank those of you who met with an inspector or completed our questionnaire. You, your parents and carers together with all the staff can be proud of your good behaviour and how polite you are.

p.11

Inspection of The Crescent Primary School, Eastleigh, SO50 9DH

You told me how much you enjoyed coming to school and liked to go on trips and visits, particularly the residential journeys. The school is giving you a satisfactory education, and your attainment is broadly in line with pupils nationally by the time you reach Year 6, except in mathematics where you do better.

p.11

Inspection of The Crescent Primary School, Eastleigh, SO50 9DH

We have asked the school to ensure that you always experience teaching of the highest quality so that you can all make faster progress. We are asking your teachers to make sure that they plan activities that are just right for you, not too hard or too easy. We are also asking them to use time better so you learn more quickly and have opportunities to find things out for yourselves. Teachers already provide you with clear targets but we have asked them to give you more precise information about how to achieve them when they mark your work, so that you can take more responsibility for your own progress. You can help them by continuing to work hard.

p.11

Inspection of The Crescent Primary School, Eastleigh, SO50 9DH

I wish you every success for the future.

p.11

Inspection of The Crescent Primary School, Eastleigh, SO50 9DH

Liz Bowes 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 .

p.11