Queensgate Foundation Primary

Age group 4–11 Inspection date(s) 11–12 July 2012 Inspection number 382004 Queensgate Foundation Primary School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 136008 Local authority Isle of Wight Inspection number 382004 Inspection dates 11–12 July 2012 Lead inspector Michael Pye

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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 Foundation Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 364 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Glen Jones Headteacher Samantha Sillito Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected School address Beatrice Avenue East Cowes Isle of Wight PO32 6PA Telephone number 01983 292872 Email address admin@queensgatepri.iow.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. Part of day one coincided with the Isle of Wight school transition day which resulted in inspectors having to look at a large range of pupils’ written work. They also heard pupils read and observed teaching and learning in 13 lessons. A total of 13 teachers were seen. Inspectors spoke to parents and carers and held meetings with members of the governing body, pupils and staff. The inspectors took account of the responses to the online Parent View survey in planning the inspection, observed the school’s work and looked at data relating to pupils’ attainment and progress. The school’s development plan, lesson and curriculum plans, governing body documentation and school policies and procedures, particularly those relating to the health, safety and safeguarding of pupils, were scrutinised. The inspectors also analysed 85 questionnaires completed by parents and carers as well as those returned by staff and pupils.

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Information about the school

Pupils in this larger-than-average primary school come from a predominantly White British background. The proportion of pupils with a statement of special educational needs is average and the proportion supported by school action plus is above average. The main group consists of pupils with speech and language difficulties. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is well above average. The school has been nationally recognised through the Bronze Kitemark award relating to the quality of competitive sport.

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Information about the school

Following school reorganisation on the island, the school was established in September 2010 and operated initially on two sites. It moved to its current site in February 2012. This year it has its first Year 6 class. Consequently, there is no published data to compare against the government’s minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress at the end of Year 6. The school runs a breakfast club which was visited as 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. It is not yet outstanding because there are inconsistencies in the quality of teaching. Also, there are elements of leadership and management that require further development.

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Key findings

 Pupils’ achievement is good, and this includes those few pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds. From sometimes below expected starting points in communication skills, pupils make good progress in their reading.

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Key findings

 Teaching is good. Valuable feedback from senior leaders’ use of a range of monitoring strategies, including lesson observations, has increased the proportion of good lessons. Some inconsistencies remain, especially around marking, and planning work for pupils of different ability. Teachers’ expectations of the presentation of pupils’ work are of an inconsistent standard.

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Key findings

 Behaviour and safety are good as are pupils’ attitudes to learning. Pupils say they feel safe and enjoy their learning. One pupil echoed others’ opinions when saying that ‘Lessons are fun.’

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Key findings

 Good leadership and management have helped to ensure a smooth beginning for the school. One parent or carer wrote, ‘The school has brought together two very different communities very successfully.’ Very quickly a leadership team has been developed with responsibilities identified clearly and levels of accountability raised. The very experienced headteacher has overseen the improving profile of teaching, and has embedded monitoring and accurate self- assessment. In subjects other than English and mathematics the monitoring of pupils’ achievement by subject and phase leaders is less well developed. Additionally, some of the phase and subject leaders’ action plans insufficiently use measurable success criteria or show how their subject supports the priorities of the whole-school development plan. Governors, some of whom were involved in the original bid for school status, conduct regular monitoring of the school and effectively carry out their role.

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Key findings

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?

 Improve the quality of teaching, so that inconsistencies between teachers are eliminated, by ensuring that: – marking clearly identifies to pupils how to improve their work and makes regular references to pupils’ learning targets – teachers have high expectations of the quality of the presentation of pupils’ work – teachers plan work that challenges pupils of different abilities.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Extend the role of phase and subject leaders (other than English and mathematics) in order that they: – carry out rigorous monitoring of the attainment and progress of pupils, including pupil groups, across the school – develop action plans that have measurable criteria against which success can be measured, and that the plans show clearly how the subject supports the priorities of the whole-school development plan.

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Achievement of pupils

Achievement is good. The very large majority of parents and carers returning the questionnaire also believe progress to be good. A similar proportion of pupils believe that they learn successfully in lessons. Children enter Reception with skills and knowledge often meeting the expected levels for their age, although some aspects of communication and emotional development are below age-related expectations. Children make good progress and most meet or exceed their learning goals by the time they leave the Reception Year. Across the school pupils continue to make good progress, and this includes disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs. Current Year 6 pupils are on track to attain at least broadly average standards, including in reading.

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Achievement of pupils

The phonics programme from Reception Year onwards contributes well to the pupils’ ability to read and write. Attainment in reading at the end of Year 2 is average. Pupils say they enjoy reading and respond well during their guided reading lessons. High attainers read easily, with expression. Middle attainers show good perseverance when having to divide (segment) any difficult words they come across. They blend the sounds and this enables them to pronounce the word correctly. Reception children listen carefully to each other’s efforts to read.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils in Year 1 showed positive attitudes when using the interactive whiteboard to link words to pictures of church furniture such as pews and the altar. Year 2 pupils showed motivation and worked well independently when developing original story openings. Year 6 pupils showed enthusiasm, worked well in pairs and were eager to give their ideas about an advertisement for the local skate park. They write in more 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

complex sentences, with appropriate attention given to punctuation and the use of connectives.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils concentrate well. For example, Year 4 pupils worked hard to estimate how many different combinations they could identify using eight toy bricks. By Year 6, pupils show pride in their achievements when researching, collecting data about the favourite drinks in the class and putting the information into graph form.

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Achievement of pupils

Attainment at the end of Year 2 in 2011 was broadly average, with writing being the weakest subject. School analysis accurately identified the need to further develop guided reading and writing lessons, and use interventions more quickly to support pupils. Assessment data and work scrutiny demonstrate that progress and attainment in English has improved. Year 6 pupils are on track to attain at least average standards in English. Given the starting points of these pupils, this constitutes good progress. Boys who, in Year 2 in 2011, did not attain as well as girls in writing also now make good progress. As with the pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, the school’s actions are successfully reducing the gaps between their progress and that of their peers.

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Quality of teaching

Inspection evidence supports the view of the very large majority of parents, carers and pupils that teaching is good. There are good opportunities for pupils to work independently. For example, Reception Year children responded well when asked to work on their own identifying sounds in words relating to the seaside. Year 3 pupils worked well individually and in groups when identifying patterns and properties of numbers. Teachers use a range of activities to meet pupils’ different learning styles. For example, in Year 2, guided reading involved pupils discussing a text, reading on their own or to an adult, while others practised their writing. In lessons there are good examples of high expectations of pupils’ work and behaviour, but in books presentation standards vary. The school has worked successfully to provide effective intervention work for disabled pupils and those with special educational needs and

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Quality of teaching

consequently they achieve well. For example, pupils with speech and language needs work one to one with teaching assistants and develop well their understanding of sounds and letters.

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Quality of teaching

A few inconsistencies exist between teachers. Not all plan work that appropriately challenges pupils of all abilities, and consequently, as seen in written work, the middle attainers do not always make similar progress to their peers. Some good marking exists, with clear and regular references being made to learning targets and how pupils can improve their work but not all marking is of this quality. Moreover, pupils are not given sufficient time to reflect and act upon teachers’ comments. Pupils’ spiritual and social development is well addressed because during lessons pupils are encouraged to show great respect for each other’s contributions and they work well in teams. 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 and attitudes to learning are good. All pupils who completed a questionnaire stated that they feel safe in school. Conversations with pupils confirm this view. Most of the parents and carers agree. Pupils are adamant that the school acts quickly and effectively when told of any behaviour incidents and this includes bullying. They demonstrate a very good understanding of what constitutes bullying and spoke thoughtfully about cyber-bullying and also the difference between bullies and the very few pupils who have behaviour difficulties. Pupils acknowledge that in the occasional lesson there exists some low-level disruption originating from a very few pupils. The large majority of parents and carers judged behaviour to be good and almost all pupils agreed. Behaviour incidents are well recorded and show that, over time, behaviour is good. Attendance is improving well and is currently average. Pupils say they enjoy sport. The impact of work done to gain the national award is

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

demonstrated by the school’s success in cricket.

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Leadership and management

The headteacher and her co-leader have achieved much since the school opened. Policies and procedures have been established and shared well with the school community; for example, the consistent approach to the behaviour strategy reflects this. A vision for improvement based around improving teaching, attainment and progress has been well shared. The ‘Queensgate Vision’, promoting such qualities as resilience, independent learning and mutual respect, is applied throughout the school. However, opportunities are sometimes missed, for example in an Olympic Ideals assembly, to reinforce this for pupils. The senior leaders have introduced effective progress meetings that promote teacher accountability and track which pupils may require further support. These meetings undoubtedly contribute to pupils’ improving progress. The meetings also help to promote equality of opportunity for pupils and ensure there is no discrimination. Such developments, together with

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Leadership and management

improving attainment and progress levels, indicate a secure capacity to sustain school improvement.

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Leadership and management

Senior leaders have a relentless focus on self-evaluation, and this includes the rigorous monitoring of teaching. There are good links made to professional development and performance management objectives which have contributed to improving teaching. However, some inconsistencies remain relating to marking and planning appropriately challenging work. The school uses a good range of strategies to monitor the quality of education and pupils’ outcomes. Consequently, appropriate development priorities are identified, for example improving attainment in writing. The school recognises the need for leaders of subjects other than English and mathematics to develop a more in-depth knowledge of attainment and progress across the school. Also, action plans do not contain sufficiently measurable success criteria or consistently show how the subject area supports the whole-school development priorities. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

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Leadership and management

Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Leadership and management

Governors know the school well as a consequence of their thorough monitoring. They visit and receive regular reports on the school’s progress towards its development priorities. The skills and knowledge of governors are well used, for example, with regards to safeguarding. Governors regularly check the register that monitors the suitability of adults working in the school and pay heed to the training needs for child protection. All arrangements for safeguarding meet current requirements.

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Leadership and management

The curriculum is broad and balanced. The topics promote some good opportunities for pupils to apply their basic skills. However, on occasions the pupils’ extended writing skills could be further developed. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is well addressed through the curriculum with opportunities to reflect in assemblies. Their multicultural and moral awareness was developed well when they researched global education and received a reply from the Prime Minister supporting their views on the importance of education. The school has developed a positive relationship with parents and carers, most of whom would recommend the school to another adult. It has been particularly successful in developing family learning.

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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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6PA

You may remember our recent visit. You were eager to tell us about your school and we listened carefully to what you told us. Like you, we judge Queensgate to be a good school. Thank you to those of you who completed a questionnaire for us. These showed that the great majority of you are happy to come to school and that you learn a lot in lessons.

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6PA

We like the way you behave well and show each other respect. You told us that lessons are ‘fun’. Inspectors judged teaching to be good. You said you enjoy having many different things to do in lessons. You make good progress when the teachers plan work that challenges you. We have asked the school to make sure you are all challenged. You can help by telling your teachers when you find the work too hard or too easy. We also liked the way you work well whether on your own or with other pupils. Well done! We liked the way that, in some books, you get clear guidance about how to improve your work and that your teachers remind you of your learning targets. We have asked the school to make sure that all of you get this quality of marking. You can all help teachers by making sure that your written work is neat and tidy at all times. We have also asked the school to give you time to think about what the teacher has written in your books and then to act upon the advice given.

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6PA

The school has come a long way since the opening and there are plans to make it even better. Senior leaders, including the governors, keep a careful eye on how well you are doing, and make good plans to make improvements. We have asked that:  all leaders have a good knowledge of how well you are doing  they track closely the effect on your progress of any actions they take  they show how their subject supports the improvement plans for the whole school.

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6PA

Thank you once again for your help and I wish you all the very best for the future.

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6PA

Michael Pye 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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