Knaphill SchoolOfsted inspection, 14 Jun 2012

Age group 7–11 Inspection date(s) 13–14 June 2012 Inspection number 381021 Knaphill School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 125000 Local authority Surrey Inspection number 381021 Inspection dates 13–14 June 2012 Lead inspector Barbara Atcheson

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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 Junior School category Community Age range of pupils 7–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 334 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Chris Williamson Headteacher Kevin Davies Date of previous school inspection 10 March 2009 School address High Street Knaphill Woking GU21 2QH Telephone number 01483 888 899 Fax number 01483 472 062 Email address head@knaphill.surrey.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 inspectors observed teaching and learning in intervention sessions for individuals and small groups and in 32 lessons taught by 15 teachers. They also held meetings with members of the governing body and held discussions with local authority representatives, staff and groups of pupils. Inspectors observed the school’s work, and looked at school policies, including those relating to safeguarding and equality, minutes of governing body meetings and planning documents. They scrutinised pupils’ work and evaluated questionnaires returned from 227 parents and carers as well as those returned by staff and pupils.

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Information about the school

This school is larger than average. Most pupils are of White British heritage, with small numbers coming from a wide range of different minority ethnic backgrounds. The proportion of pupils with disabilities and those who have special educational needs 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 below average. The school meets the government’s current floor standards which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress. There have been some changes in staffing in the last year and this has led to the appointment of four new teachers and one part-time teacher to the school. 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 satisfactory school. It is not yet good because inconsistencies in teaching have limited pupils’ achievement. The school’s successful response to a requested external audit is beginning to ensure rapid improvement in teaching and achievement. This clearly demonstrates satisfactory leadership and management and the capacity for further improvement. Schools whose overall effectiveness is judged satisfactory may receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection.  Teaching is satisfactory. Although the proportion of good teaching is increasing, inconsistencies remain related to teachers’ subject knowledge in mathematics, their expectations of what pupils are capable of achieving, the quality of marking and the level of pupils’ independent learning.  Achievement is satisfactory. Attainment in national assessments dipped to average in 2011, having been significantly above average for the four previous

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Key findings

years. Regular checks on pupils’ progress and initiatives to close learning gaps are now significantly improving levels of attainment in reading, writing and mathematics. Progress is satisfactory overall, although there is now evidence of an increasing amount of good progress being made in some year groups; however, it is not yet consistent throughout the school.  Behaviour is satisfactory. Pupils have a positive attitude to learning and say that they feel safe. However, where the pace of learning drops in lessons, low level disruption occasionally occurs. Pupils say that the school is a friendly place and bullying is rare but is treated seriously and dealt with swiftly.  Leadership and management are satisfactory. Senior leaders have worked hard to ensure that the school now regularly checks on its performance. However, middle managers have not yet been trained to take part in this process. The school’s inclusive ethos promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral and social development

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Key findings

successfully. Fewer opportunities exist for cultural development. The curriculum is satisfactory but learning is not always meaningful or exciting. 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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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 By July 2013, increase the proportion of good and better teaching so that there is consistently good or better progress in all year groups by ensuring that:  teachers’ expectations of what pupils can achieve are raised so that all groups are suitably challenged  teachers have higher expectations of pupils’ behaviour and the neatness of their work  teachers plan increased opportunities for pupils to work independently and use their initiative  teachers make sure that marking always provides pupils with a clear understanding of how to improve their work.  By July 2013, raise pupils’ attainment in numeracy by improving teachers’ subject expertise in mathematics through the provision of quality professional development.  By July 2013 improve the quality of leadership and management by:  developing the roles and responsibilities of middle managers  developing the curriculum to include more opportunities for pupils’ cultural

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

development and also make learning more interesting and meaningful for pupils.

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Achievement of pupils

Most parents and carers believe their children make good progress. The school’s rigorous and accurate assessment procedures for attainment on entry are externally moderated. They show that levels of entry to Year 3 vary but that the current Year 6 pupils started with the levels expected for their age. Inspection evidence shows that while the best progress is made in Years 5 and 6, progress in the rest of the school is not consistently good and is therefore satisfactory overall.

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Achievement of pupils

There is a keen focus on monitoring pupils’ progress. Teachers regularly identify those who underachieve and devise individual support strategies for them. Lesson observations, a scrutiny of pupils’ work and school data show that pupils’ achievement is now much better in reading and writing. It is also much better for the more-able pupils in mathematics. Pupils with disabilities and those who have special educational needs are identified at an early stage and provided with appropriate support to enable them to make similar progress to their peers.

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Achievement of pupils

An increased focus on the teaching of reading skills means that pupils’ reading at the end of Year 6 is now significantly above average. Pupils enjoy reading and talk with confidence about the books they read. They compare and contrast different styles of writing and articulate the writer’s themes and purposes.

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Achievement of pupils

Lessons are not always challenging and at times the pace of learning slows, but where pupils are enthused and learning is meaningful, progress is rapid. This was 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

seen in a Year 6 literacy lesson where pupils eagerly contributed improvements to their persuasive texts because they were producing an advertisement for the product they were making in their Apprenticeship Week. The teacher used her good subject knowledge to get pupils to think for themselves and her passion and enthusiasm helped pupils to sustain a high level of involvement with their learning.

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Quality of teaching

The large majority of parents and carers believe that their children are taught well. Evidence from the inspection shows that while the proportion of good and better teaching has increased, teaching over time has had a satisfactory impact on pupils’ achievement and is therefore satisfactory overall. This is because there is a lack of consistency in the quality of teaching in the school. There are lessons where pupils say that the work is not sufficiently challenging and they spend more time listening to their teacher than being actively engaged in their learning. This can lead to low level disruption which can, on occasions, have a negative effect on pupils’ progress. Most teachers’ marking is good and provides pupils with a clear understanding of how to improve their work. However, this is not always the case, particularly when teachers mark pupils’ written work. Teachers’ expectations of neatness vary. Some

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Quality of teaching

pupils take pride in producing their very best work, whilst others do not try so hard.

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Quality of teaching

Where teaching challenges pupils to use and apply the skills they have learned, to listen to one another and modify their thinking, pupils engage in a high level of independent learning. This was seen in an outstanding Year 6 numeracy lesson on problem solving. The challenge was high but pupils had a bank of strategies and skills at their disposal. They knew that they had three different ways to work things out before asking the teacher for advice. As a result, their methods of working were highly systematic and gave them confidence in their own ability to persist until the problem was solved. However, not all teachers have the same level of confidence when teaching mathematics, and lessons in this subject can become too formulaic.

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Quality of teaching

Teaching assistants work hard to give pupils with disabilities and those who have special educational needs the support and encouragement they need to succeed. Teaching assistants also help small groups of pupils who find their work difficult. This is especially apparent in the teaching of reading, where teaching assistants give extra support to pupils whose decoding skills are relatively weaker. Once learning gaps have been successfully narrowed and reading skills are well established, all pupils have four sessions a week of guided reading.

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Quality of teaching

Teachers promote pupils’ spiritual, moral and social and, to a lesser extent, cultural development through carefully planned opportunities. Teachers create an open and safe learning environment which encourages pupils to develop confidence in expressing their views, practise moral decision making, develop openness to ideas and have respect for one another. 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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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Behaviour is satisfactory overall. Most parents and carers believe that there is a good standard of behaviour in the school. However, some raise concerns particularly in relation to behaviour in lessons. Where lessons are interesting and pupils are challenged and actively involved in their learning, behaviour management is not an issue, but when they become bored and have too little to do pupils agree that they sometimes ‘mess about’. They say that behaviour differs depending on the lesson and the teacher. However, they are very clear about the new sanctions that are in place regarding unsociable behaviour. Pupils, including those with identified behavioural difficulties, are well aware of the school’s strategies for managing and improving behaviour and try hard to respond well. As a result, improvements in behaviour over time are evident for individuals and groups of pupils, including those pupils who often find behaving well difficult.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

The school operates a successful Year 3 and Year 6 buddy system in which pupils new to the school are linked to an older ‘friend’ to help them settle in. All parents and carers say that their children feel safe in school. This is confirmed by pupils who say that, although friendships sometimes falter and pupils fall out with each other, there is very little bullying. They say that the school takes all forms of bullying seriously and deals effectively with any incidents that occur. Pupils also say that racist incidents are uncommon and this is confirmed in school records. Pupils have a good understanding of different forms of bullying, such as name calling and cyber bullying, and know the steps to take to address them. Pupils say they enjoy coming to school and, as a result, attendance is above average.

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Leadership and management

The drive and determination of the headteacher, together with the support of the senior leadership team, are securing rapid improvement in teaching and pupils’ achievement from the dip in results in 2011. With so many new staff, senior leaders have undertaken training to develop observation and coaching skills and to develop their understanding of how to use this training to improve teaching. Middle managers work hard but do not yet have the management skills to play a full part in the school’s monitoring and evaluation schedule. The Chair of the Governing Body is new and improvements have been made to ensure that systems and procedures are in place to enable the governing body to play a more active role in the strategic work of the school and hold the school to account. Governors make sure that the school’s arrangements for safeguarding pupils meet statutory requirements and give no cause for concern.

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Leadership and management

Although planned actions by leaders and managers are raising achievement and improving the quality of teaching, monitoring and evaluation have yet to eliminate the inconsistencies that prevent teaching from becoming good. Teachers say that professional development has had a positive effective on raising expectations and improving standards. They say that in particular the opportunities they have been given to work with other schools has been ‘an eye opener’. Inspection evidence 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

confirms that the proportion of good teaching has increased. This is having a positive impact on raising achievement. These successful actions confirm that the school has the capacity to sustain improvement.

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Leadership and management

The curriculum is generally matched to pupils’ needs, but not all of the opportunities planned are as interesting or meaningful to the pupils as they could be. The school’s welcoming ethos promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral and social development, but there are fewer opportunities for pupils to develop their appreciation of other cultures and beliefs. Appropriate support given to disabled pupils and those with special educational needs allows them to access all that is on offer within the school. This demonstrates that the promotion of equality of opportunity is at the heart of all the school’s work. There is no discrimination and school policies ensure that pupils know and understand how to prevent and tackle all types of bullying and harassment.

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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 Knaphill School, Woking GU21 2QH

Thank you for being so friendly when we came to your school. Thank you also to those of you who filled in the questionnaire. We enjoyed visiting your lessons and talking to you. You were helpful, polite and friendly. Your school gives you a satisfactory standard of education and there are a lot of things your school does well.

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Inspection of Knaphill School, Woking GU21 2QH

You told us that you enjoy school and that you feel safe. We found that the school looks after you well, especially those of you who have difficulties from time to time. We were pleased to see nearly all of you understand how important it is to come to school regularly.

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Inspection of Knaphill School, Woking GU21 2QH

Your headteacher and other staff know that there is still work to be done to make the school even better.

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Inspection of Knaphill School, Woking GU21 2QH

 We have asked your teachers to make sure that lessons are always interesting and to keep checking how well you learn.  We have also asked your teachers to make sure that you always behave well in lessons and that they always give you the time to work things out by yourself.  We have asked the headteacher to make sure that your teachers get the right sort of training so that they can give you even more help you with your mathematics.  We have also asked the headteacher and senior leaders to make sure other teachers in the school are able to help them to make improvements.  We have asked the school to make sure that you get plenty of opportunities to learn about people who live differently to how you live.

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Inspection of Knaphill School, Woking GU21 2QH

We hope that you will all continue to enjoy coming to school and try your hardest to do your very best all the time so that you are even more successful in the future.

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Inspection of Knaphill School, Woking GU21 2QH

Barbara Atcheson 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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