Easebourne CofE Primary School

School report Easebourne Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Easebourne Street, Midhurst, GU29 0BD,

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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 Good 2 Leadership and management Requires improvement 3

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

 Although the large majority of pupils reach standards in reading and mathematics that are broadly in line with the national average, too many pupils fail to reach the higher levels, particularly in writing.  Some pupils fall short of their expected progress targets because in too many lessons teachers do not plan sufficiently challenging tasks to extend pupils’ learning or deepen their understanding. As a result, the pace of learning is too slow.  New systems to track pupils’ progress more closely are in place but lack of analysis of this data has meant that not all pupils are making progress at a fast enough pace considering their starting points.  The monitoring of staff performance is inconsistent and does not give teachers precise enough information on how to improve their teaching.

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The school has the following strengths

 Pupils behave well, work collaboratively together and treat each other with kindness and courtesy. Relationships between pupils and staff are excellent. Pupils feel safe at school and attendance is high.  The curriculum is well matched to pupils’ needs and interests and they enjoy a range of exciting activities.  Improvements to assessment are beginning to accelerate progress because pupils who are not making sufficient progress are now identified quickly and targeted support is put in place.  Children throughout the Early Years Foundation Stage make good progress in all areas of learning.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs achieve well, as do the very small number of pupils who speak English as an addition language. 2 of 9

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors visited 19 lessons and observed eight teachers as well as some teaching assistants who were teaching at the time of the inspection. Some lessons were jointly observed with senior leaders.  Inspectors looked at a wide range of pupils’ work, teachers’ plans and school improvement planning.  Meetings were held with members of the governing body, staff and pupils, and a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors spoke to parents and carers, read letters submitted by parents and carers and took account of responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View).  Questionnaire results from 17 members of staff were analysed.  Inspectors scrutinised the arrangements and records related to the safeguarding of pupils.  Inspectors looked at the school’s self-evaluation, records of lesson observations carried out by school leaders, the school development plan, reports from the local authority and assessment

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Information about this inspection

data that teachers use to monitor pupils’ progress.

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Inspection team

Lynda Welham, Lead inspector Additional inspector Anthony Green Additional inspector 3 of 9

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Information about this school

 Easebourne Church of England Primary School is smaller than average in size.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is lower than average.  Almost all pupils come from White British backgrounds with very few pupils being in the early stages of learning English.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported at school action is below average, with an above average number supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs; the largest groups being those with a specific learning difficulty, or speech, language and communication needs.  The governing body manages a pre-school which did not form part of this inspection, and a breakfast and after-school club for pupils who attend the school, which did form part of the inspection.  The school meets the current government floor standards, which set the minimum expectations

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Information about this school

for pupils’ attainment and progress.  The school is moving into new premises in 2013.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise the quality of all teaching to consistently good or better and so accelerate pupils’ achievement, particularly in writing by:  improving planning for different ability levels so that pupils, particularly the most able, are set more ambitious learning objectives  making sure that teachers do not allow lesson introductions to be too long, so that pupils have sufficient time to work independently and improve their skills  ensuring that marking always makes clear to pupils how they can improve and giving them the opportunity to act upon this guidance.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the impact of leadership on teaching and pupils’ achievement by: – establishing more regular and rigorous procedures for monitoring the quality of teaching and learning – ensuring that lesson observations provide teachers with clear objectives for improvement which are subsequently checked – setting clear and specific actions and milestones in the school’s development plan from which to measure the progress towards becoming a good school – ensuring specific members of the governing body are directly involved in monitoring development planning, together with staff and pupils’ performance, alongside senior and middle leaders. 4 of 9

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 The majority of children joining the school in the Reception class start with skills and abilities that are generally in line with those expected for their age. Welfare provision and teaching in the Early Years Foundation Stage are consistently good so that by the time children move into Year 1 the vast majority are achieving at or above expected levels in all areas of learning.  As pupils move up the school, the progress they make varies due to inconsistent teaching and expectations, so that pupils’ overall achievement requires improvement.  Pupils’ progress between Key Stages 1 and 2, given their starting points, has been below typical expectations over recent years. In 2010 and 2011 not all pupils, especially the most able, made sufficient progress from the end of Year 2 to the end of Year 6. This was particularly the case in writing.  An indication that leaders of the school are securing improvement is that 2012 unvalidated data

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

for the end of Year 6 indicate that rates of progress have accelerated for pupils of all abilities. All pupils, regardless of their starting points, made good progress in mathematics and most made good progress in reading.  Pupils’ attainment in the national tests taken at the end of Year 6 have improved year on year from being broadly in line to well above average, although attainment in writing lags behind that of mathematics and reading.  Significant improvement in Year 2 attainment this year has reversed a decline over the past three years. These pupils’ attainment is now above average in reading, writing and mathematics, but attainment in writing is lower than the other two subjects. This indicates that the leadership team have begun to secure improvement.  Inspection evidence obtained from an analysis of the school’s tracking system, observation of learning in lessons and looking at pupils’ work indicate that most pupils currently in school are

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

on track to sustain this improvement in both progress and attainment.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs achieve well, as do those who are known to be eligible for the pupil premium. More rigorous assessment of pupils’ progress has resulted in timely and highly effective additional programmes of support and interventions, which meet pupils’ specific learning needs, being put in place.  The very few pupils who are in the early stages of learning English achieve well, supported by targeted one-to-one support.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The teaching observed by inspectors was inconsistent in quality. In the best lessons pupils were excited by their tasks and were given opportunities to extend their thinking and make good progress. In one ambitious and fast paced Year 6 lesson, for example, the teacher and teaching assistant, in role as prisoners of war, captivated the pupils’ imagination and drew on their prior learning to write instructions for escape tunnels.  In other lessons seen by inspectors, the pace of learning was too slow and teachers had not accurately matched tasks to abilities, so that learning was too difficult for some and not challenging enough for the more-able pupils. Some teachers took too long explaining tasks to the whole class leaving insufficient time for pupils to complete independent work.  A scrutiny of pupils’ work showed that teachers are diligent in marking books, but the quality of marking, especially when marking writing, varies. The best examples seen are where pupils are

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

given specific guidance on how to improve their writing and then also given the opportunity to act upon it. Too often, however, pupils do not respond to marking and it has no impact on outcomes in the next piece of work. The use of peer- and self-assessment in writing is helping pupils to identify features of good writing and set future targets for themselves, but this practice 5 of 9

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

is inconsistent across the school.  In good lessons teachers and pupils understand the learning objectives clearly and teachers monitor learning and adjust the lesson as pupils work. For example, in a mathematics lesson the class teacher realised that pupils were making errors in addition of money by including 7p and 9p ‘coins’ to buy items and was able to clear up misconceptions straight away.  Opportunities to promote the pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development are seen through the teaching of music, art, sport and drama, such as the school’s production of ‘Pirates of the Curry Bean’. The use of well-qualified support staff and learning mentors is effective in helping those pupils who find learning difficult, and those with additional or special educational needs, to improve their reading, writing and mathematical skills.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils are keen to do their best and to learn and their behaviour in lessons is good, although there is sometimes a disengagement leading to off-task behaviour when learning moves at a slow pace and the level of challenge is not right.  Pupils mix well with each other in the playground and in the lunch hall and behaviour in assemblies is thoughtful and respectful. They work well together in class and treat each other with respect and courtesy.  During the inspection, children were keen to speak to inspectors. They were friendly, articulate, confident and helpful.  All children feel safe at school. They have a clear awareness of different forms of bullying such as racist harassment and cyber-bullying and say that they are proud that this does not happen at their school.  Most parents and carers who responded to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) felt that pupils were well behaved. Pupils told inspectors that behaviour was good and that no bullying

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

took place. If there were any minor concerns or playground disputes, pupils said they trusted staff would help them resolve issues quickly.  Inspectors spoke to pupils, scrutinised behaviour and incident logs and found no evidence of endemic bullying at the school.  Pupils enjoy coming to school, and this is reflected in good punctuality to lessons and attendance remaining consistently high.

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The leadership and management require improvement

 Since the last inspection, the leadership team has implemented a more effective system for tracking how well pupils are performing and pupils’ overall attainment and progress are beginning to rise. These are two of the areas for improvement identified at the time of the last inspection, demonstrating that the school has the capacity to sustain further improvement.  There has been little sense of urgency in ensuring consistency of teaching. For example, monitoring of the quality of teaching has been irregular and too informal. Teachers are not held to account sufficiently for pupil performance, and recommendations for improvement are not specific enough, or followed through to check they have been implemented.  School development planning has identified the correct priorities for improvement, but is not specific enough about timescales from which to measure the progress being made towards becoming a good school.

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The leadership and management require improvement

 Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of schooling in English, mathematics and the use of information and communication technology, although progress in writing generally lags behind that of reading and mathematics. Pupils report that they enjoy the wide range of clubs, trips and visits, including residential visits in Years 5 and 6, which they take part in. Links between 6 of 9

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The leadership and management require improvement

subjects have been strengthened since the last inspection and more ‘boy friendly’ topics introduced, such as ‘Toys’ in the lower school, and ‘Mountains’ and ‘World War II’ in the upper school which engage and enthuse both boys and girls.  The vast majority of parents and carers are supportive of the school and a few wrote at length to inspectors to express praise for the pastoral support their children received and to say how happy their children were at the school.  The governance of the school:  The governing body plays an increasingly active role in the life of the school since the last inspection. Governors have a higher profile in school through attendance at staff training and visits to the school and they are better informed about how pupils are doing.  They do not as yet, however, always ask sufficiently challenging questions about specifics such as teachers’ performance and pupils’ progress, particularly in writing, or hold school

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The leadership and management require improvement

leaders fully to account about how they are improving these. 7 of 9

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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. 8 of 9

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School details

Unique reference number 126003 Local authority West Sussex Inspection number 406338 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 Voluntary Controlled Age range of pupils 4−11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 196 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Ann Marchand Headteacher Arthur Bain Date of previous school inspection 8−9 December 2010 Telephone number 01730 813266 Fax number 01730 817232 Email address head@easebourne.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

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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