Wickford Primary School

Wickford Junior School Market Road, Wickford, SS12 0AG

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Outstanding 1 This inspection: Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  Achievement is good. Pupils, including those who need extra help, make good progress from their starting points.  Since the last inspection, leaders, managers and governors have maintained good teaching and pupils’ good achievement.  Enjoyable activities and a brisk pace to lessons underpin pupils’ positive attitudes to learning.  Other adults make a strong contribution to pupils’ progress in lessons. Extra sessions for selected pupils successfully boost academic results for pupils at risk of not doing well.  Pupils behave well and attend school regularly.  Friendly and caring attitudes help pupils to settle quickly when they join the school.  Pupils have a good awareness of how to keep themselves safe from harm.  The school is improving because leaders, managers and members of the governing body accurately evaluate the quality of the school’s work.  Priorities for action are carefully applied to

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

secure further developments, for example to the teaching of writing and mathematics.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Sometimes, the work set for higher attaining pupils to do in reading is not always demanding enough.  At times, monitoring focuses more on what the school offers to pupils than on its impact on raising pupils’ academic standards further.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching and learning in all classes. They visited 21 lessons.  Groups of pupils, staff, members of the governing body and a representative of the local authority held discussions with inspectors.  Inspectors looked at work in pupils’ books, samples of pupils’ work from the previous academic year, and tracking data showing pupils’ attainment and progress.  The school’s development plans and records relating to safeguarding pupils were also seen.  The inspectors took account of 26 responses to the online Parent View survey and the school’s own analysis of a recent survey of parents’ views.

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Inspection team

Madeleine Gerard, Lead inspector Additional inspector Bimla Thakur Additional inspector Alan Jarvis Additional inspector

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Information about this school

 Wickford Junior School is larger than the average sized primary school.  Almost all the pupils speak English as their first language.  Fewer pupils than average are supported through school action.  The proportion that is supported through school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is above the national average. Most of these pupils have moderate learning difficulties.  Fewer pupils than nationally are known to be eligible for the pupil premium.  In some year groups, the proportion of pupils who have joined the school part way through their Key Stage 2 education is above average.  The school meets the current government floor standards which set the minimum expectations for attainment and progress.  There have been a number of staff changes recently.  The headteacher provides support to another local primary school.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 By May 2013, improve the impact of teaching on higher attaining pupils’ achievement in reading by ensuring work set in lessons is always at the right level.  Over the current academic year, ensure monitoring of what the school offers to pupils is more sharply focused on its impact on raising pupils’ academic standards further.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils enter Year 3 with broadly average levels of skills. The school’s rigorous assessments show that many pupils who join part way through Key Stage 2 enter the school with below average skills in key subjects. From these varied starting points, pupils make good progress in Years 3 to 6.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Despite some variability because of cohort differences between year groups, standards at the end of Year 6 are securely average and improving. As a result of accelerating rates of progress, increasing numbers of pupils are now attaining above average standards by the end of Year 6, particularly in writing and mathematics.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils are motivated by the demanding work they are given. Pupils in a religious education lesson were observed concentrating hard to include features of good quality writing and rich vocabulary when recounting the story of creation. In a mathematics lesson, pupils worked at a brisk pace in order to complete tasks within the short time the teacher set.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Achievement in reading is good, although in some classes the achievement of higher attaining pupils in reading is not as good as it could be. Pupils who need extra help, and those at risk of not performing well in reading, make rapid progress. They benefit from daily reading sessions and systematic teaching of the sounds that letters make.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Well-managed support in lessons, and in extra sessions outside the classroom, helps pupils known to be eligible for additional funds, disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, to keep up and do well. They appreciate working with other adults and work hard to improve their literacy and numeracy skills quickly.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils who join the school part-way through their education achieve well. The school carefully checks their literacy and numeracy standards when they start. This information is used well to plan the next steps in their learning and make sure they are set work at the right level to help them improve rapidly.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Relationships in lessons are warm and supportive. Teachers plan frequent paired work activities that strengthen pupils’ social skills and promote collaboration. They use a variety of resources to make explanations clear. Pupils develop their independence through checking for themselves that they have successfully completed tasks.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers regularly check the progress pupils make. They use the information well to set work at the right level of difficulty for pupils’ abilities in classes, and identify pupils who need additional support. Teachers’ detailed planning makes very clear what other adults are required to do to guide selected pupils in their learning in lessons.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Reading is generally taught well and is promoted through regular reading lessons. Sometimes, teachers’ expectations of more able pupils are not always as consistently well-matched to their abilities. This means that they are not always challenged to be ambitious in their independent reading.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs benefit from individualised support, carefully tailored to their needs, from staff and specialist therapists. Additional support for selected pupils, including those who join the school part-way through Key Stage 2, helps them to develop literacy, numeracy and social skills, and catch up quickly.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Personal targets help pupils understand what to do to improve their literacy and numeracy skills. Together with helpful feedback from teachers when they mark their work, they help pupils to progress quickly up to the next level in their work. Teachers encourage pupils to take responsibility for ensuring they meet their targets in lessons.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers set short time limits for activities. This effectively motivates pupils to complete work swiftly in order to move on to the next task. Occasionally, during whole class teaching, pupils spend too long listening to teacher’s lengthy explanations. At such times, the impact on pupils’ progress is diminished and the pace of their learning slows.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils’ behaviour and safety make a good contribution to their own learning. They participate in activities enthusiastically and enjoy their time at school. Discussions with pupils indicate that they feel safe and valued in school. Pupils respond promptly to reminders from staff about the behaviour that is expected.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Older pupils enjoy looking after the younger ones. For example, Year 6 pupils run the school tuck shop and carry out their role very sensibly. Pupils are confident that pupil playground buddies and mediators will help them if need be. Pupils understand that bullying can take different forms. They say incidents of bullying are very rare and swift action is taken to deal with any problems, as the school’s records show.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils have a good awareness of unsafe situations. They understand how to keep themselves safe from harm, for example when using new technology. Workshops on crossing the road for pupils in Year 3, and safe cycling sessions for pupils in Year 6, promote a culture of safe practice.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Previously average attendance rates have improved and are now above average. The school’s leaders, and members of the governing body, work hard to make the importance of regular attendance and good punctuality abundantly clear to the whole school community.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders, managers and members of the governing body work closely with the staff. Morale is high. Together, they secure good quality teaching, interesting subject work for pupils to do, and a wide variety of out-of-school activities, visits and clubs. Pupils in Year 3 to 6 learn to swim at the local pool each week, and have opportunities to play musical instruments.

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The leadership and management are good

 Accurate evaluation helps the school to identify the most appropriate priorities for improvement. Well-targeted training and other effective professional development opportunities for staff have helped maintain good teaching and pupils’ good achievement since the last inspection.

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The leadership and management are good

 Occasionally, monitoring is more focused on the school’s work and what it offers to pupils than on the impact it has on raising pupils’ achievement further. Consequently, the specific priorities to raise pupils’ academic standards even higher are not always as sharply identified as they should be.

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The leadership and management are good

 Improvements to teaching and the curriculum for writing and mathematics have successfully raised pupils’ achievement. Similar improvements to provision for reading have been well selected. They are too recent to show a sustained impact on raising pupils’ academic performance further.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders and members of the governing body ensure that extra money is used wisely to secure additional high quality teaching to develop pupils’ key skills. This helps pupils at risk of not performing well to make good progress. All groups of pupils achieve well, reflecting the school’s success in tackling discrimination to ensure equality of opportunity.

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The leadership and management are good

 Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is successfully promoted. Fundraising for a range of charities, including for pupils in schools in Uganda and Sri Lanka, helps pupils develop caring attitudes and fosters good relations. Pupils gain valuable insights into cultural diversity beyond the school, for example, through visits to local places of worship.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority provides light touch support for this good school.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  benefits from a good awareness of the school’s strengths and works closely with senior leaders on development planning  fulfils its role in managing performance well and uses assessment data to support and strengthen school leadership further  ensures statutory duties are met and that financial management is robust so that the school’s resources are managed well.

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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

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Grade Judgement Description

is 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 114813 Local authority Essex Inspection number 395685

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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 Junior School category Community Age range of pupils 7–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 367 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Fiona Kemurza Headteacher Terry Flitman Date of previous school inspection 18 September 2007 Telephone number 01268 733071 Fax number 01268 570214 Email address admin@wickford-jun.essex.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,

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School details

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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School details

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

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