Stedham Primary School

Stedham Primary School School Lane, Midhurst, West Sussex GU29 0NY

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Requires improvement 3 Achievement of pupils Requires improvement 3 Quality of teaching Requires improvement 3 Behaviour and safety of pupils Requires improvement 3 Leadership and management Requires improvement 3

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

 The progress that pupils make in writing and mathematics varies from class to class. Achievement in both subjects is not good enough.  Sometimes pupils receive work that is either too hard or too easy. This particularly limits the achievement of the more able pupils.  In some lessons, teachers do not make best use of the time and, as a result, pupils do not learn as much as they can.  Behaviour in the playground is not always as good as it should be.  Those in charge of the school make plans to improve the school. However, these plans do not always clearly state how their success will be measured.  Frequently the school has had to rely on temporary teachers and supply teachers to cover staff absences. Since these teachers are not as familiar with the abilities of the pupils, this has affected progress.

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The school has the following strengths

 The headteacher knows what is required to improve the school and has set out clear expectations for leaders and other staff.  Pupils love reading and they make good progress because it is well taught.  In this small village school, adults know and care for their pupils very well. Pupils feel very safe.  Most pupils are keen to learn and enjoy lessons. One child captured this well: ’I like school because learning is fun and the topics we do are interesting!’  The youngest children in the school make good, and sometimes outstanding, progress.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed six lessons, of which two were observed jointly with the headteacher. In addition a detailed scrutiny of pupils’ work was undertaken.  Meetings were held with representatives of the governing body, senior and middle leaders, teaching assistants, groups of pupils and a representative from the local authority. Short discussions were also held with pupils at lunch time.  When planning the inspection, the inspector took account of the 21 responses to the Parent View on-line questionnaire and additional views submitted independently to the school. The views of nine staff who returned questionnaires were also taken into account.  The inspector considered a wide range of documents presented by the school. These include: the school’s data that record pupils’ progress over time; minutes from the governing body meetings; monitoring documentation; plans for school improvement; information relating to the

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Information about this inspection

targets that are set for teachers; and policies and records that relate to behaviour and safeguarding.

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Inspection team

Susan Gadd, Lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Information about this school

 This school is significantly smaller than the average-sized primary school.  Most pupils are of White British heritage and almost all speak English as their first language.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the government’s additional funding, pupil premium, is around 16%, and is below the national average.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs who are supported at school action, or at school action plus, or with a statement of special education needs, is below the national average.  The school exceeds the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  There is a breakfast club that is not managed by the school’s governing body; this is inspected separately and was not part of this inspection.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching to be at least consistently good by ensuring:  that work planned for pupils is based on accurate information about their progress so that all pupils, especially those who are more able, make better progress in all lessons  that teachers reduce the amount of time spent at the beginning of the lesson giving directions on what is to be completed so that pupils have more time for their work  that teachers regularly check the learning and progress that pupils make during a lesson, and provide pupils with opportunities to share what they have learnt  that pupils know how to improve their work by understanding their targets.  Improve achievement in mathematics and writing by:  providing pupils with greater opportunities to write longer pieces of writing in a range of subjects  using mathematical resources which are well matched to pupils’ needs and interests  ensuring that marking in mathematics always helps pupils understand what they need to do

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

next.  Improving leadership and management, including that of the governing body, by:  ensuring that school plans contain clear targets so that leaders can measure how effective their actions are  ensuring that staff who have key responsibilities for improving the school complete their monitoring tasks within an appropriate time frame  ensuring that pupil-progress meetings identify specific steps for future improvement  undertaking an external review of governance in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and governance can be improved.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Children who join Reception are often very able. However, the reason they make the best progress in the school is because they experience good or better teaching.  The achievement data for each year group can vary because of the very small number of pupils. This is particularly noticeable at the end of Year 2 and Year 6, when the outcomes of national tests, and checks on their progress, are heavily influenced by the achievement of one or two pupils.  Data from the national checks on pupils in Year 2, taken in summer 2012, indicated that attainment by the end of Key Stage 1 was broadly average in mathematics and writing.  Unvalidated data from the national tests taken by pupils in Year 6 indicate that pupils’ attainment in English and mathematics was above national expectations for their age; however, few pupils attained the higher levels in writing.  Pupils are now beginning to make better progress than in the past in both writing and

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

mathematics across the school. When pupils achieve well in mathematics, they are encouraged to work together in lessons and apply their understanding of number in a variety of situations. For example, in one lesson, Years 3 and 4 pupils were excited about sharing their ideas and finding the best way to solve number problems.  Pupils’ work seen during the inspection indicates that standards in writing are improving. Pupils enjoy creating stories and are beginning to use a wide range of punctuation and grammar to improve their writing. However, pupils’ achievement is still not good enough because they do not consistently get sufficient opportunities to develop their writing across different subjects.  In writing and mathematics, too few pupils, especially the more able, are achieving the higher levels. In particular, teachers do not always use the best resources to interest pupils in what they are doing.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils love reading, and standards in reading are consistently high across the school. One child said, ‘I like reading and I’m getting better. I can’t wait to be a free reader and be able to read any book I want!’ The teaching of letters and sounds is providing pupils with the skills to read unfamiliar words while reading to one another helps them to practise their reading skills and learn about the language that authors use.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs are not always supported well enough during the introduction to lessons. However, during group activities there is good support provided for them by teaching assistants.  Pupil premium funding is used to provide additional support, for pupils who are eligible for this, both in the classroom and through one-to-one teaching. This is beginning to make a positive difference to the achievement of these pupils.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The strength of teaching in writing and mathematics is variable. In the strongest lessons, resources such as the interactive whiteboard are used well, and teachers provide work that is both interesting and challenging. However, this is not always the case and many pupils do not make good progress in writing and mathematics.  On occasions, pupils can lose interest in what they are learning. In one lesson, pupils were not paying attention while the teacher was explaining the task; the teachers sometimes spend too much time talking.  In some lessons, teachers do not accurately allow for the differing abilities of pupils. For example, in the introduction to a mathematics lesson, the most able pupils were asked to find two numbers that added up to a hundred; this was not sufficiently challenging. In the introduction to a different lesson, all pupils, regardless of their ability, were given the same questions to answer.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Pupils are given limited time to talk about their learning and consider what they understand and what they find difficult. This means that teachers are not always aware of the problems that pupils are having, nor are pupils being encouraged to think about their own learning.  Marking in mathematics is not good enough. It consists mainly of ticks and lots of praise. This does not provide pupils with enough information to help improve their work.  In discussions with pupils, very few were able to talk about their targets in writing and mathematics. This is because these targets are not referred to often enough in lessons.  Teaching is good in Reception. Adults keep detailed records of what children can do and plan carefully for their next steps to learning. Children are involved in choosing their topic work and activities are chosen to meet the interests and needs of individuals. Consequently these children

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 The inspector agreed with the small number of parents who felt that behaviour was not good enough.  Examination of the school behaviour log shows that behaviour in the playground is not as good as in the classroom. Discussion with pupils suggests that boredom at lunchtime is the main factor causing this. Observations show that adults spend too much time supervising pupils rather than teaching them how to play. Leaders are fully aware of this issue and plans are in place to improve pupils’ experiences during this part of the day.  Leaders have had some success in supporting the very few pupils with behavioural and emotional difficulties. The rate of exclusion for these pupils has declined significantly since the summer term and external advice is beginning to help adults meet the needs of these pupils.  Pupils spoken to said there is no bullying in the school. Any behaviour issues that arise are dealt

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

with quickly by adults. Pupils are aware of the nature of some forms of bullying and can talk about these with confidence.  Pupils develop their spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding well through the different subjects that are taught. For example, through religious education lessons, pupils value learning about different religions. As one child said, ‘It is important we learn about different religions because it means that we can get on with each other better.’  Pupils have a range of opportunities to learn about art and music. For example, pupils in Key Stage 2 learn skills as diverse as the samba or the saxophone.  Pupils attend school regularly because they enjoy learning and feel very safe. They talk with confidence about the school rules that keep them safe while at school and on school trips.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The headteacher is determined to improve the school. All staff know that change is required and that all adults are responsible for how well pupils achieve. Teachers are aware of the new standards expected of them and are set targets to help them meet the school aims as well as fulfil their training needs.  Some leaders have not been effective in their roles and have been slow at following up the findings from monitoring activities, so that some improvements have not happened quickly enough. All leaders now have access to dedicated time for their responsibilities to check the work of their colleagues. Pupils’ books and the school’s own lesson observations show that this development work is beginning to make a positive difference to the progress that pupils are making.  Improvements seen include marking in writing, teachers’ planning that takes account of pupils’ past learning, and a more exciting curriculum. Consequently, growing numbers of pupils,

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The leadership and management requires improvement

including those who are more able and those who require additional support, are making better progress in writing and mathematics. This demonstrates leaders’ ability to make further improvements in the future.  The progress data the school collects in their pupil tracking system is sometimes inaccurate. In some cases, this leads to work being unsuited to the needs of pupils. This system was introduced recently, and the school has started making improvements to training in order to improve the accuracy of the data.  Teachers now hold three formal meetings a year to identify how they can speed up the progress that pupils are making. However, the actions identified to help pupils are not always specific enough. Action plans and the school development plan tend to focus on the activities that need to take place rather than what pupils and teachers need to achieve.  Significant staff changes have hindered school development. However, new management

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The leadership and management requires improvement

systems, staff targets and improved training are beginning to bring about improvements. Staff have had access to a number of training sessions which are linked to school priorities as well as their individual needs, for example developing the role of leaders and identifying pupils’ standards in writing and mathematics.  The improved curriculum has led to improvements in pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural skills. This was exemplified in discussions with pupils about the school ethos.  Representatives of the local authority visit the school to provide support. Their involvement has been particularly effective in Reception, where children now make the strongest progress in the school.  Most parents were very positive about the work of the school and said they would recommend the school to other parents.  The governance of the school:  governors fulfil their statutory responsibility in safeguarding pupils. They now carry out regular

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The leadership and management requires improvement

monitoring activities through visiting the school and holding discussions with various leaders. They closely monitor the school budget and how finances are spent including the pupil premium. However, they are fully aware that they are just beginning this process and do not always have the appropriate knowledge to check up on the work of the school in the detail required.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 2 Good A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils’ needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 3 Requires improvement A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school is

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Grade Judgement Description

failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

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School details

Unique reference number 125854 Local authority West Sussex Inspection number 406332

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School details

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

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 81 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair A Dennis Headteacher Sally Dreckmann Date of previous school inspection 28–29 September 2010 Telephone number 01730 813522 Fax number 01730 817241 Email address office@stedham.w-sussex.sch.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted’, 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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School details

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 and as part of the inspection.

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School details

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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School details

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. 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

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School details

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School details

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

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