King Edward Primary School & Nursery

Age group 3–11 Inspection date(s) 21–22 June 2012 Inspection number 381485 King Edward Primary School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 133274 Local authority Nottinghamshire Inspection number 381485 Inspection dates 21–22 June 2012 Lead inspector Ruth McFarlane

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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 408 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Rik Robinson Headteacher Sue Bridges Date of previous school inspection 11 November 2008 School address St Andrew Street Littleworth Mansfield NG18 2RG Telephone number 01623 472215 Fax number 01623 472216 Email address office7@kingedward.notts.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 s urvey 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 24 lessons or parts of lessons, led by a total of 16 teachers or teaching assistants. The inspectors listened to pupils reading and held meetings with the headteacher, staff, a group of governors and groups of pupils. The inspectors took account of the responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) in planning the inspection, observed many aspects of the school’s work, and looked at governing body minutes, the systems for assessing and monitoring pupils’ progress, safeguarding procedures, pupils’ workbooks, and teachers’ planning and marking. The inspectors took note of the questionnaires completed by 131 parents and carers, and those completed by staff and pupils.

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Information about the school

This is a much larger school than the average primary. It is accommodated in three separate buildings. Fewer pupils than average are known to be eligible for free school meals. There is an above-average proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, but a smaller proportion of pupils than usual are supported on ‘school action plus’ or have a statement of special educational needs. An increasing number of pupils are from minority ethnic groups or speak English as an additional language, but the proportion is below average. The school has a Nursery and two Reception classes, which together form the Early Years Foundation Stage. The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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Information about the school

A local children’s centre runs groups on the school premises. These are not managed by the school and were not a part of this inspection. 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. Leaders and managers have successfully raised pupils’ achievement and the quality of teaching and learning since the previous inspection. Consequently, pupils’ progress has accelerated to good, and gaps in attainment that were previously evident between different groups are closing. The school is not outstanding because some satisfactory teaching remains, holding back the highest levels of progress, especially in writing.

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Key findings

 Pupils make good progress throughout the school overall, although it varies in response to inconsistencies in teaching. Progress is best in reading. In writing, progress has also quickened, but not enough importance is given to ensuring pupils’ spoken and written English is grammatically correct. Sometimes, pupils do not have enough opportunities to spark off their imaginations by talking about their writing tasks before they write.

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Key findings

 Teaching is good overall. Pupils are reaping the benefits of initiatives to improve boys’ performance and attainment in writing, but sometimes the more-able pupils are not given work that offers enough challenge. In some lessons, pupils’ progress is slowed because teachers do not clearly explain at the start of the lesson what they expect pupils to learn. Marking is sometimes good, but opportunities for pupils to respond are patchy.

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Key findings

 Pupils enjoy coming to school and say they feel safe, and attendance has risen to above average. The engaging curriculum promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development effectively. As a result, pupils focus well on their work and try their best. Behaviour is good, and well managed.

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Key findings

 The significant improvements evident in pupils’ progress are rooted in concerted efforts by leaders and managers at all levels. Teamwork is very strong. Checks on staff performance are robust and targeted training is leading to further improvements. However, not enough opportunities are provided to enable all teachers to understand what makes an outstanding lesson. 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, improve the quality of teaching so it is consistently good or better by ensuring that:  pupils have a clear idea, at the start of each lesson, what they are intended to learn  the more-able pupils are always given tasks that offer sufficient challenge  teachers have opportunities to understand what makes an outstanding lesson, for instance by observing outstanding teaching.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 By July 2013, raise pupils’ attainment in writing to match the levels seen in reading and mathematics, especially for boys, by:  finding more ways to kindle pupils’ enthusiasm and enjoyment of writing, for instance by providing more opportunities for pupils to talk about their writing tasks before they write  ensuring pupils’ spoken and written English is grammatically correct.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils’ achievement is good. Attainment by the end of Key Stage 2 is broadly average, representing good progress from generally low starting points. A ttainment this year has risen, especially in reading and mathematics. Most parents and carers who responded to the questionnaire confirmed the inspection findings that their children make good progress.

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Achievement of pupils

In the Early Years Foundation Stage, children make good progress but attainment on entry to Year 1 is below average, particularly in language and communication skills. This has an impact on progress in writing throughout the school, especially for boys, and leads to fewer boys than average reaching the higher National Curriculum levels in writing. Inspectors found that both boys’ and girls’ incorrect use of spoken language was often translated into their writing, resulting in mistakes in grammar that persist into Year 6. Pupils’ imaginative writing is sometimes held back by the limited opportunities they have to discuss their ideas. In the best lessons, these opportunities abound, and combine with strong promotion of pupils’ spiritual, social and moral development. Year 6 pupils much enjoyed re-enacting a courtroom scene. Questions were posed by a group of pupil ‘reporters’, and this led to plenty of

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Achievement of pupils

discussion, prior to starting a writing task, about the feelings of the different characters, and how the jury might be persuaded to convict or acquit the defendant.

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Achievement of pupils

Throughout the school, pupils’ attitudes to learning are strongly positive because lessons are engaging and enjoyable. The sweep of improvements in teaching across the school has led to a rise in reading standards to average by the end of Year 2 and Year 6. In Year 2, fluent readers continue to use their phonic knowledge to sound 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

out unfamiliar words. Readers show good knowledge of the sounds in words, and can blend sounds together to read unfamiliar words. By the end of Year 6, the large majority of pupils read with confidence and enjoyment and have developed sound comprehension skills. In mathematics, attainment is similar to that in reading, although a smaller percentage of pupils reach the higher levels by the end of Year 6, especially girls. This is because in some lessons, although tasks may appear different for this group, for instance using higher numbers, the skills involved are sometimes much the same, and not sufficiently challenging.

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Achievement of pupils

Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good progress. They are well supported through good links with external agencies, enabling them to engage fully in lessons alongside their peers. Gaps in achievement between all the different groups of pupils represented in the school and pupils nationally are narrowing because of effective interventions such as small-group and one-to-one sessions. This is especially the case for pupils who speak English as an additional language and those who are known to be eligible for free school meals, for whom school data show accelerated progress this year.

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Quality of teaching

In the Early Years Foundation Stage children are taught to be considerate towards one another, and pay good attention to their own and each other’s safety. Routines are clearly established and activities are designed to promote children’s independence effectively both indoors and outside. Social development is promoted well. For instance, during the inspection, children were encouraged to dress up as people on a train, and much enjoyed simulating a train ride. Here and in the rest of the school, lessons proceed at a brisk pace. Teachers develop pupils’ phonic (the links between letters and their sounds) knowledge well in the Early Years Foundation Stage and in Key Stage 1. In an outstanding Year 1 lesson recounting an animal charity worker’s visit to the school, the teacher’s excellent questioning, emphasising and encouraging a clear understanding of phonics, enabled literacy skills to progress rapidly. In lessons like this, pupils explore their imaginations to create good

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Quality of teaching

descriptive writing, but this is not always evident.

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Quality of teaching

Good teaching leads to pupils’ good progress in mathematics. For instance, effective planning enabled Year 3 and 4 pupils to work in groups, as well as independently, to understand how to apply multiplication and addition appropriately to solve money problems. The input of a mathematics specialist, to coach and mentor other staff, is having a positive impact on improving pupils’ progress, especially of more-able girls, who had been identified as a target group.

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Quality of teaching

The good pace of learning is typically maintained through the school because teachers’ subject knowledge is good, and lesson planning takes the needs of most groups of pupils into account. Just occasionally, pupils’ progress slows because understanding of the learning objectives is not shared well enough with pupils at the beginning of the lesson, or work for the most able is not sufficiently challenging. Marking and feedback guide pupils as to what they need to do to improve their 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

understanding of the tasks set, but they do not always have enough opportunities to follow up the guidance. Some teachers pay less attention to correcting spelling, punctuation and verb tenses. For instance, ‘was’ is not always appropriately corrected to ‘were’ and other inaccuracies go uncorrected, both in spoken and written work. This undermines pupils’ progress in writing.

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Quality of teaching

Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are well supported across the school, often by group work led by the well-trained and supportive teaching assistants, so they progress well. Most parents and carers who responded to the questionnaire consider that their children are well taught and that they are making good progress. Teachers establish good relationships with pupils and encourage good personal, moral and social skills, and respect for people from different backgrounds and cultures.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Behaviour and safety observed during the inspection were good, and checks of records and discussions with pupils show this to be typical. The atmosphere in the school is calm, and almost all pupils have positive attitudes to learning as a result of the consistent, systematic application of the behaviour policy. Although the overwhelming majority of parents and carers state that their children feel safe in school, a few raised concerns about the behaviour of pupils. Inspectors found that the school is meticulous in recording and dealing with incidents and there has been a significant reduction in the number of exclusions for poor behaviour. Year 6 pupils described how behaviour has improved in the school, with bullying of all kinds being reduced. Pupils have a good understanding of the different forms bullying can take, for pupils of their ages, and know how to address it. They have been taught about

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

cyber bullying and e-safety, and assert that these are no longer an issue for them and that they feel safe in school. Racist incidents are rare because racism is not tolerated, and pupils have a good understanding of what constitutes racist behaviour.

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Leadership and management

Senior leaders and governors have provided a concerted approach to school improvement. There is a strong staff commitment to the drive and ambition demonstrated by senior leaders. Self-evaluation documents demonstrate that the school has a clear and accurate view of its strengths and weaknesses, and it links well to development plans and targets. Actions taken have improved the quality of teaching significantly, although leaders acknowledge that these have not yet eliminated all that was no better than satisfactory. Staff are being held to account effectively for pupils’ progress. The school has demonstrated a strong upward trend of sustained improvement in achievement, behaviour and safety and attendance since the last inspection. In addition, comprehensive systems for tracking pupils’ progress, and intervening where underachievement is identified, are now fully embedded, placing the school in a good position to continue on its trajectory of

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Leadership and management

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

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Leadership and management

The curriculum is good because it provides well-organised, imaginative and effective opportunities for learning for all groups of pupils, together with a supporting range of visits, visitors, theme days and extra-curricular activities. Improved cross-curricular links put learning into meaningful, interesting contexts and provide opportunities to practise key literacy and numeracy skills. The curriculum promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well through the broad range of learning experiences provided. These currently involve the local courts of justice in work focusing on justice and bullying. Strong links with the local children’s centre and a group of schools in the area enable, amongst other benefits, smooth transition into the school and confident next steps to secondary school.

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Leadership and management

The school promotes equality and tackles discrimination effectively, including engaging its parents and carers well in their children’s education, and careful monitoring of each pupil’s progress. This enables all groups to make equivalent progress. Arrangements for safeguarding meet statutory requirements.

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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 King Edward Primary School, Mansfield, NG18 2RG

Thank you for the warm welcome you gave us when we visited your school. We enjoyed talking to you and seeing you at work, reading the questionnaires some of you completed, and looking at your displays and workbooks.

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Inspection of King Edward Primary School, Mansfield, NG18 2RG

Your school has improved, and it is now a good school. You agree with your parents and carers that you feel safe in school, and you behave well. Children get off to a good start in the Nursery and Reception. In all year groups you make good progress in your work because teaching is good. Because of this you now reach standards that are about the same as most other children of your age in the rest of the country.

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Inspection of King Edward Primary School, Mansfield, NG18 2RG

Although most things are good, there are some things that could be even better. We have asked the governors and senior leaders to make sure that you are helped to improve your writing and that includes teachers making sure you use the right grammar and spelling. If you are good at this, it will help you achieve even higher standards, especially if those of you who can learn quickly are given tasks that really get you thinking hard. We have asked the teachers to make sure that you are all given time to follow up the written marking advice they write in your books, and that they explain to you a bit better, in your lessons, exactly what you are expected to learn.

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Inspection of King Edward Primary School, Mansfield, NG18 2RG

You can help your teachers by continuing to try your best.

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Inspection of King Edward Primary School, Mansfield, NG18 2RG

Ruth McFarlane 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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