Swiss Gardens Primary School

Swiss Gardens Primary School Swiss Gardens, Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex, BN43 5WH

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Leadership and management Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  Leaders and managers have improved the quality of teaching, which is now consistently good, with some that is outstanding.  Consequently, pupils achieve well in a range of different subjects.  Pupils’ outstanding behaviour makes an extremely positive contribution to their good learning. Pupils feel completely safe in school, and have no concerns about bullying.  Leaders have developed the curriculum so that it provides a good match to pupils’ interests and abilities, and promotes their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well.  The school’s close links with the pre-school and with parents ensure that pupils settle quickly when they join the school, and are very well prepared for the next stage of their education.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Teachers do not always check pupils’ progress thoroughly enough during lessons in order to adapt activities so that work is set at the right level.  Not all teachers give pupils sufficiently detailed written feedback to make sure they know what they are doing well, and what would make their work even better.  Leaders at all levels do not keep a close enough check on pupils’ progress to ensure that pupils receive support as soon as they need it. The school does not provide a sufficient variety of different opportunities for pupils to learn about the other lifestyles and traditions represented in the United Kingdom and elsewhere in today’s world.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 23 part lessons, five of which they visited jointly with senior leaders. They observed all the teachers present in the school at least once. They also made shorter visits to a number of other lessons and an assembly, and listened to a selection of pupils read.  Inspectors looked at pupils’ work and met groups of pupils to discuss this and their experience of the school.  Inspectors also met the Chair and two other members of the governing body, members of staff, the manager of the on-site pre-school and, informally, with parents and carers. They also had telephone conversations with a representative of the local authority, and with a senior leader of the academy which most pupils join when they leave the school.  Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a number of documents, including the school’s own information on pupils’ attainment and progress; improvement plans; safeguarding

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Information about this inspection

procedures; behaviour and attendance records; and records of school leaders’ lesson observations.  In planning and carrying out the inspection, the inspectors took account of the 93 responses to the on-line Parent View survey which were submitted before and during the inspection, as well as two letters from parents, and 23 questionnaires completed by members of staff.

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Inspection team

Robin Gaff, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Trish Dodds Additional Inspector Cliff Walker Additional Inspector Fiona Robinson Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is an above-average-size primary school.  Most pupils are of White British heritage.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium support (additional money allocated to schools by the government) is below average.  Approximately 10% of pupils are supported through school action, and a further 10% are supported at school action plus or have a statement of special educational needs. These proportions are in line with national averages.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  There is a pre-school, which is not managed by the governing body, on the school site, which was not part of this inspection.  The current headteacher was appointed in September 2010 .

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the rate of progress that pupils make so that it is outstanding, by making sure that all teachers consistently: – check and adjust pupils’ learning often and more thoroughly during lessons – write comments that will help pupils build on their strengths and understand what they need to do to make their work even better.  Ensure that leaders use information about the attainment and progress of groups and individuals quickly and accurately so that support is always at the right level.  Give pupils more opportunities to learn directly about the different cultures represented in the United Kingdom and the wider world.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils join the school with levels of skill and knowledge which are expected for their age. They make good progress throughout the school to reach standards of attainment which are above the national average in English and mathematics.  Children in the Reception classes settle quickly into school, and learn to play and to work independently and with others. Skilled teaching ensures that children are enthusiastic learners and make particularly rapid progress in learning to match letters to sounds. Pupils throughout the school enjoy reading a wide variety of texts, encouraged by the attractive displays in classrooms and corridors, which promote an interest in reading. By the end of both Year 2 and Year 6, pupils’ standard of attainment in reading is above the national average.  Pupils enjoy the good opportunities they have to develop their writing skills through the topics they study, such as Britain in the 1930s. Consequently, they write accurately and convincingly in

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The achievement of pupils is good

a range of different ways.  Pupils understand mathematical processes well, and approach problem solving confidently and capably. For example, in a Year 5 lesson on division, pupils understood and used the ‘chunking’ technique to solve difficult problems.  Pupils know their targets and current levels because teachers explain them carefully.  The school promotes pupils’ spiritual and cultural development through art and music. For example, a visiting specialist helped pupils to enjoy using keyboards to create melodies and learn how to maintain different rhythms.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make similar progress to other pupils because teachers ensure their work is at the right level. Pupils who are known to be entitled to the pupil premium funding benefit from extra staff who take small groups to ensure any gaps in learning are closed effectively.  Occasionally, when teachers do not plan work at the right level, or adapt learning in lessons,

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The achievement of pupils is good

pupils find the work either too hard or too difficult and progress slows.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils achieve well because teachers have good subject knowledge and motivate their pupils.  Teachers have high expectations of both work and behaviour. They ensure that pupils understand what they are going to learn as well as what they will do.  Teachers make sure no time is wasted when pupils change from one activity to another. They plan a wide range of activities, including good opportunities to work independently.  Teachers provide a good balance between pupil- and teacher-led activities. For example, in an outstanding lesson on Ancient Egyptian painting, the teacher recapped very effectively what pupils had already learned. She briefly, but clearly, explained what she expected them to have achieved by the end of the lesson, then gave them plenty of time to complete their own paintings. The pupils showed excellent skills, and an exceptionally good knowledge of the conventions of Ancient Egyptian art.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers make sure that disabled pupils and those with special educational needs are fully included in lessons, by carefully adapting tasks and organising good support from teaching assistants so that these pupils make good progress.  Teachers use questioning well so that pupils can develop their learning. They regularly check pupils’ work during lessons, but not always in sufficient detail so that they can reshape activities, to ensure that all pupils are working at the right level of difficulty.  Teachers mark pupils’ work frequently and accurately. Not all teachers, however, explain clearly what pupils have done well, or tell them precisely what they need to do next to improve their work.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils say they feel completely safe in school and that they have no concerns about bullying because the extremely rare instances are dealt with promptly and effectively.  Pupils understand the different kinds of bullying, such as name calling and misuse of the internet, exceptionally well. This enables them to help staff to prevent it from happening.  Project work on the local environment has given pupils an extremely good understanding of the potential risks of living by the sea and near a busy railway, and of how to keep safe there.  In their responses to the Parent View survey and in informal meetings with inspectors, no parents raised any concerns or reservations about their children’s safety or the way in which the school deals with bullying.  Pupils’ extremely positive attitudes to learning make an excellent contribution to their learning. Pupils are respectful of, and highly attentive to, teachers. They work exceptionally well together

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

in paired and small group work.  Pupils’ behaviour around the school is outstanding. Pupils play extremely sensibly and safely in the limited space available to them outdoors, and participate enthusiastically in assemblies. They take up the many opportunities the school gives them to promote positive behaviour by, for example, nominating others for special awards.  The school has taken highly effective steps to improve the behaviour of the very small number of pupils whose conduct had not been good. Exclusions are well below average, whilst attendance has risen and is now well above the national average. Pupils are very keen to get to school and to their lessons on time.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders’ high ambitions for the school, and their accurate identification of its strengths and weaknesses, have resulted in improvement to every aspect of the school’s performance since the last inspection. This includes achievement and teaching in the Early Years Foundation Stage which, from being a weaker area, is now a strength of the school, and demonstrates the school’s capacity for further improvement.  Ably led by the new headteacher, the senior team manages the staff’s performance well. The team gives them extremely helpful feedback following lesson observations, and enables them to attend relevant courses. This has, in turn, improved pupils’ achievement.  The school now regularly assesses pupils’ attainment and progress, and teachers use the information well in planning lessons. However, leaders do not always use the findings to ensure that all pupils benefit from the extra support they need, as soon as they need it.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders have established strong and effective links with the on-site pre-school, and with local secondary schools. This ensures that pupils make smooth transitions to and from the school.  Leaders have been well supported by the local authority, which has now correctly judged that the school has the capacity to succeed with much less support than it received previously.  The school is a harmonious community in which pupils from different backgrounds and with different abilities relate extremely well to one another. It promotes equality of opportunity well, for example through its use of the pupil premium funding to ensure that all pupils can take part in school trips and out-of-school activities, and it ensures that there is no discrimination.  The curriculum is very well matched to the interests and abilities of all pupils including those who have been identified as having particular gifts and talents. For example, a small group of

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The leadership and management are good

Year 4 and 5 pupils described enthusiastically and clearly how learning about the ‘madeleine’ episode in Proust’s Combray had inspired them to write imaginative stories about travelling in time.  The school promotes pupils’ spiritual and cultural development well. Leaders recognise, however, that pupils have too few opportunities to learn directly about different traditions elsewhere in the United Kingdom and other countries.  The school has successfully involved all groups of parents in their children’s learning, and they express very high levels of satisfaction with it. For example, almost all those who completed the Parent View survey said they would recommend the school to others.  The governance of the school: – governors bring a good range of skills and experience to the school, for example in finance and human resources, which they use well to support leaders in improving the quality of teaching and the curriculum

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The leadership and management are good

– governors are fully involved in school life. Regular visits ensure that all governors have a good understanding of its strengths and weaknesses – governors make good use of the headteacher’s reports on pupils’ achievement to challenge leaders and to set appropriate targets – governors ensure that the school’s financial and other resources are used well to enhance pupils’ achievement and well-being, and that safeguarding arrangements meet requirements.

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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 125914 Local authority West Sussex Inspection number 402362

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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 408 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Paul Lovegrove Headteacher Lawrence Caughlin Date of previous school inspection 14–15 July 2010 Telephone number 01273 453176 Fax number 01273 440265 Email address office@swissgardens.west-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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