Whitley Lodge First School

Whitley Lodge First School Inspection report

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Age group 3–9 Inspection date(s) 28–29 June 2012 Inspection number 377782 Unique Reference Number 108600 Local authority North Tyneside Inspection number 377782 Inspection dates 28–29 June 2012 Lead inspector Gordon Potter

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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 3–9 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 284 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Margaret Jackson Headteacher Fiona Lutman Date of previous school inspection 26 February 2009 School address Woodburn Drive Whitley Lodge Whitley Bay NE26 3HW Telephone number 0191 2008781 Fax number 0191 2001430 Email address whitleylodge.first@northtyneside.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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achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children's services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Introduction

Gordon Potter Wendy Richardson Additional Inspector Additional Inspector Zoe Westley Additional Inspector

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out with two days' notice. The inspectors observed teaching and learning in 28 lessons taught by 12 teachers, including joint observations of classes with the headteacher. The inspectors held meetings with representatives of the governing body, staff, pupils, parents and carers, and spoke to the school’s local authority education improvement partner. The inspectors observed the school’s work, and looked at a range of school policies and documentation relating to safeguarding and strategic planning, examples of pupils’ work, assessment data and monitoring records. They also scrutinised the 143 questionnaires returned by parents and carers as well as questionnaires from pupils and 16 staff.

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Information about the school

This school is larger than the average-sized primary school. Most pupils are from White British backgrounds. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is well below average. The proportion of pupils who are supported by school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is below average. The school has achieved the Healthy School status, the Activemark, Inclusion Quality Mark and the International School Award.

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Information about the school

The school includes Additional Resourced Provision for pupils with moderate learning difficulties from across the local authority. At present, there are five pupils who access the provision. 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. There are outstanding outcomes for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage. There is much good and outstanding teaching and pupils make good progress overall. It is not yet an outstanding school because teaching and progress are inconsistent across the school.

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Key Findings

 Pupils’ achievement is good. From starting points that are generally above age- related expectations, pupils make good progress to attain standards at the end of Year 4 that are well above age-related expectations in English and mathematics. Pupils with moderate learning difficulties make good progress.

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Key Findings

 Teaching is good overall. In good and outstanding lessons, teachers allow children and pupils to apply their highly developed skills in a range of interesting activities. Occasionally, teachers offer too much help, rely over much on worksheets and progress slows. While marking clearly tells pupils how to improve their work, pupils are unsure of the level of their work and lack short term targets that would help them understand how to reach the next level.

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Key Findings

 Behaviour is good. Pupils play and learn well together and say they feel extremely safe. They enjoy school and say that bullying is not a problem. Misbehaviour is uncommon and is effectively dealt with by the teachers when it does occur. Pupils have above average attendance.

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Key Findings

 The headteacher has astutely developed a collegiate approach which offers responsibility and accountability to middle leaders. Accordingly, school leaders offer clear direction based upon agreed and developing procedures to manage performance, and monitor the quality of teaching and its impact on learning. Data are used well to analyse pupils’ attainment. However, such information is used less well to measure pupils’ progress in individual classes. The governing body supports senior leaders well, has clear procedures to monitor school effectiveness and offers focused challenge.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 By the summer of 2013, raise achievement from good to outstanding, by: - providing pupils with more opportunities in lessons to work independently or together in a range of open-ended, investigative, research activities which will allow them to apply and improve their highly developed skills in English and mathematics - using information about pupils’ attainment so that there is a clearer understanding of the progress pupils are making year on year and in individual classes - ensuring that pupils know the level of their work and have clear short term, step-by-step targets that will help them understand how to reach the next level.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils enjoy lessons most when they are planning and researching together and are actively engaged in challenging activities. In those lessons they make good and occasionally outstanding progress. For example, in physical education and mathematics lessons for Year 3 and Year 4 pupils, pupils were actively engaged in measuring their heart rate during exercise and drawing line graphs to chart its rise and fall over time. Skilful teaching helped them to analyse data and gain an understanding of scientific principles and the mathematical concepts of median, mean and average.

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Achievement of pupils

Outcomes for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage are outstanding and they make excellent progress from their starting points. Attainment at the end of Year 2 is significantly above average in reading, writing and mathematics. In Year 4 it is well above age-related expectations in English and mathematics. Pupils have made good progress from their starting points and their achievement is good. Attainment in reading is typically well above average by the end of Years 1 and 2 and by the time pupils leave school in Year 4 it is well above age-related expectations as a result of a highly successful focus on developing pupils’ reading skills.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils who have special educational needs make good progress. The school accurately identifies their needs and there are skilled teachers and teaching assistants who ensure that they are well-supported to succeed in work that is well- targeted at their needs. All parents and carers are of the opinion, rightly, that their children are making good progress.

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Quality of teaching

Almost all parents and carers are justifiably positive about the quality of teaching. In the best lessons, teachers are skilful at planning activities which make learning fun and help pupils to apply their skills in challenging, relevant and imaginative tasks. For example, in an English lesson in Year 4, pupils were fully engaged in working together to create a newspaper about the storms and floods which had devastated their town the previous evening. Imaginative planning offered them opportunities to develop a wide range of skills in interviewing, report writing and technology and they made excellent progress. However, while teaching is good overall this is not consistent across school. Teachers sometimes offer too much help and provide too few opportunities for pupils to explore together in open-ended investigative activities which allow pupils to apply their skills. Teachers occasionally spend too much time

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Quality of teaching

modelling activities and the use of work sheets limits pupils’ enjoyment and engagement and progress slows. Marking is done well and helps pupils understand how well they have done and how to improve their work. However, pupils are unsure about the level of their work and lack clear short term targets that would help them understand how to attain the next level. Pupils with special educational needs are taught well because work is clearly focused on their needs.

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Quality of teaching

In the Early Years Foundation Stage, teachers plan work which is extremely well- matched to children’s individual learning needs and ensures activities stimulate children and help them to make rapid progress in all areas of learning. For example, children enjoyed activities about water which allowed them to write about pirates, count the coins the pirates had gathered and use technology to create animated stories about an underwater world. There are many opportunities for children to write and to apply their skills in counting and calculation. As a result children make outstanding progress in writing and mathematics. In the Early Years Foundation Stage and across the school, there is a highly successful, coherent and systematic approach to teaching reading, with a balanced emphasis on letters and sounds and comprehension. Accordingly, pupils make excellent progress and standards in reading are well above age-related expectations.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils enjoy school and this is reflected in their above average attendance. They are extremely polite to adults and very respectful of each other. Almost all parents and carers responding to the inspection questionnaires agree that, overall, there is a good standard of behaviour at the school.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Good, and occasionally outstanding, behaviour was evident in lessons observed during the inspection and around the school. The inspectors analysed the school’s records of behaviour over time and talked to many pupils during lessons, at break times and more formally in group discussions. Pupils are aware of different types of bullying and say that it is not a problem in any form, including name-calling or cyber- bullying. They say that behaviour is typically good in their lessons, although occasionally there is some bickering. However, clear and consistent strategies to manage behaviour, including rewards and sanctions, are used effectively and expeditiously by teachers. Pupils particularly respond to the school’s “Golden Rules” and welcome the reward of ‘Happy Telegrams’ which acknowledge good work and behaviour. They feel safe and know that older pupils, as well as the teachers and other adults in school, will help with any problems if they arise. Older pupils are

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

proud of the way they help children in the nursery to learn and to settle into school.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

The pupil council works very hard on behalf of other pupils. They are very proud of the actions they have initiated to improve aspects of school life, including their input into the development of the ’Woodland Village’ and their raising of environmental awareness, conserving energy around school, and the money they raise for charities.

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Leadership and management

The headteacher is strongly committed to driving school improvement. She has created a highly motivated senior leadership team of deputy headteacher and phase leaders which is clearly focused on improving school effectiveness. It has a clear, if over optimistic, picture of the school’s strengths and weaknesses and there is a consistent application of the school’s procedures to create, monitor and evaluate the impact of initiatives. Leaders identify the correct priorities, develop programmes of continuing professional development and share good practice. Accordingly, the school has good capacity for further improvement. Data are used well to measure pupils’ attainment, to enable the swift identification of groups and individuals who need additional support to close any gaps in their learning and to plan work that is well-matched to the needs of individuals and groups of pupils. However, such information is used less well to analyse the progress pupils are making year on year

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Leadership and management

and in individual classes. Procedures to monitor the quality of teaching include leaders at all levels. Some leaders, however, are in the process of developing the necessary skills to measure the impact of teaching on pupils’ learning.

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Leadership and management

The school is particularly proud of its commitment to an inclusive ethos and the support it offers to pupils who have a range of learning, emotional and behavioural needs and their families. It has effective systems for promoting equality of opportunity and it tackles discrimination firmly. Safeguarding procedures meet the current government requirements. The school has a range of effective partnerships, for example, to provide opportunities in sport and music. Members of the governing body are highly supportive of the school and offer strong challenge. They have appropriate procedures to review school effectiveness, to monitor subjects and to report back formally to the governing body.

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Leadership and management

The curriculum has a strong emphasis on developing pupils’ basic skills in English, mathematics, and the use of technology. There are many opportunities for pupils to develop writing and mathematical skills in other areas of the curriculum and pupils enjoy history, geography and science. The curriculum strongly promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development through well-planned enrichment activities, including absorption in the local environment of woodland and beach, visits to museums, and visits from sports coaches and faith leaders. These help to develop pupils’ clear understanding of other faiths and cultures. There are many popular extra-curricular clubs which promote learning and enjoyment in sporting, music, technology and environmental activities.

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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.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

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 ).

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

The sample of schools inspected during 2010/11 was not representative of all schools nationally, as weaker schools are inspected more frequently than good or outstanding schools.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Primary schools include primary academy converters. Secondary schools include secondary academy converters, sponsor-led academies and city technology colleges. Special schools include special academy converters and non-maintained special schools.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

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

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Common terminology used by inspectors

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

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Common terminology used by inspectors

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

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Common terminology used by inspectors

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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to share with their children. It describes Ofsted's main

findings from the inspection of their school.

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Inspection of Whitley Lodge First School, Whitley Bay, NE26 3HW

Thank you for making the inspectors so welcome when we visited your school. We particularly enjoyed talking to you about your school and your work and reading your views in the questionnaires that some of you filled in. We were impressed with your writing and your art and technology skills, by your good behaviour and politeness and the care you show for one another. You told us you liked ’Golden Rules’ and ’Happy Telegrams’ which help you behave and achieve well. The school takes very good care of you so that you feel extremely safe in school. Almost all of you attend school very regularly – well done!

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Inspection of Whitley Lodge First School, Whitley Bay, NE26 3HW

You go to a good school and the headteacher and the governing body know how to make it better. You told me that you look forward to coming to school because you like the teachers, the lessons when you are actively engaged, after-school clubs and visits. Your parents and carers also like the school very much.

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Inspection of Whitley Lodge First School, Whitley Bay, NE26 3HW

In order to help you reach even higher standards and make faster progress, I am asking the teachers to do the following things:

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Inspection of Whitley Lodge First School, Whitley Bay, NE26 3HW

 ensure you always have enough opportunities to find things out for yourselves and then use what you have learned to apply and improve your skills  tell you the level of your work and give you clear targets to help you understand how to reach the next level  use the information they have about how well you are doing to check how much progress you are making each year.

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Inspection of Whitley Lodge First School, Whitley Bay, NE26 3HW

You can help by continuing to do your best and continuing to attend regularly. I wish you every success in the future.

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Inspection of Whitley Lodge First School, Whitley Bay, NE26 3HW

Gordon Potter 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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