Laygate Community School

Laygate Community Primary School Laygate Lane, South Shields, Tyne and Wear, NE33 4JJ

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Overall effectiveness

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

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  Achievement is outstanding. Pupils make outstanding progress from their mostly low starting points and by Year 6 they attain above average standards overall in English and mathematics.  Pupils who speak English as an additional language and those who have special educational needs also make outstanding progress.  Since the last inspection, successive school leaders have brought about a remarkable improvement in pupils’ achievement by ensuring that outstanding teaching in Year 6 has helped pupils to make extremely rapid progress in that year group.  Recent changes in the senior leadership team have been managed extremely successfully and have contributed well to school improvements.  Teaching has improved and is good overall; some is outstanding. The very effective headteacher and the governing body are acting decisively to improve the quality of teaching further through high quality professional development for staff and

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

decisive action to tackle remaining weak teaching.  Pupils’ behaviour and attitudes are good and are exemplary in many lessons. Pupils from a wide range of different backgrounds play and learn well together. Pupils feel safe. Their spiritual, social, moral and cultural development is promoted effectively.  Partnerships with parents are excellent.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Teaching is good rather than outstanding because the outstanding features of teaching in Year 6 are not yet consistently evident in the other year groups.  Occasionally work is not well matched to the individual learning needs of all pupils; opportunities are missed to offer extra challenges to the most-able pupils.  In a few lessons teachers rely too much on worksheets. They offer too few opportunities for pupils to write at length in a range of subjects or to practise their skills in mathematics. Boys, in particular, in Key Stage 1 could do better in their writing.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors had meetings with staff, groups of pupils, the Chair of the Governing Body and with a representative from the local authority.  The inspectors looked at a range of evidence including: the school’s improvement plan; the school’s data relating to pupils’ progress; monitoring reports; the work pupils were doing in their books; and the school’s documentation relating to safeguarding.  The inspectors observed teaching and learning in 12 lessons taught by 10 teachers and listened to groups of pupils read. In addition, the inspection team made a number of short visits to lessons.  The headteacher conducted two joint observations with the inspectors. The inspectors also observed the headteacher reporting back to teachers on the quality of learning and pupils’ achievement in lessons.  The inspectors met some parents informally at the start of the school day and during the inspection. They took into account the three responses from parents to the on-line

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Information about this inspection

questionnaire (Parent View) and the school’s own survey of parents.  Eleven staff completed questionnaires and the responses were analysed.

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Inspection team

Gordon Potter, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Frank Cain Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is an average-sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is well above average.  The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language, including those who are at an early stage of learning English, is well above average.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is well above average.  The proportion of pupils supported at school action is well above average as is the proportion at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs.  Many more pupils than is the case nationally start or leave the school at times other than at the start of the school year.  There is an on-site breakfast club which is managed by the governing body.  The headteacher has been in post since September 2011. There have been significant changes to the leadership team since the last inspection.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum

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Information about this school

expectations for pupils’ progress and attainment.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Further improve the quality of teaching to outstanding and raise attainment in writing, especially for boys in Key Stage 1 by:  ensuring tasks capture the interest of boys and that all pupils have the chance to practise their writing every day and even more opportunities to write at length in subjects across the curriculum  giving pupils more opportunities to apply their skills in practical, real-life, problem-solving activities in mathematics  using the school’s detailed information about pupils’ progress to set work which is more closely matched to pupils’ needs, especially ensuring sufficient challenge to stretch the most able.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 From their starting point, overall, pupils make far better progress than other pupils nationally and in the last two years this was among the very best in the country.  As a result of good and sometimes outstanding teaching, children in the Early Years Foundation Stage make good progress from their starting points and achieve well. Their skills are below average as they enter Year 1.  Pupils make good progress in Key Stage 1 so that attainment at the end of Year 2 is typically average in reading and mathematics. While attainment in writing is rising in Year 2, it remains well below average for boys at the end of Year 2.  Attainment at the end of Year 6 is above average and the proportion of pupils who attained age-related expectations in both English and mathematics has risen significantly in the last two years. The proportion of pupils who attain the higher Level 5 at the end of Key Stage 2 has

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

also increased. The proportion of pupils who made more than expected progress in Key Stage 2 was significantly above national comparisons. Reading is stronger than writing which is average at the end of Year 6 but improved and stimulating teaching has ensured that the gap has closed for boys.  This outstanding achievement is linked to overall good teaching and the acceleration in Year 6 where teaching is outstanding. In this class a clear step-by-step approach to learning is related to precise targets. Pupils know exactly what they are to learn and progress is rapid.  The school’s own records show that progress was good in the Early Years Foundation Stage and in Years 1 to 4 in the last school year. Current progress in most classes is accelerating. Where there is weaker progress, the headteacher is taking decisive action to solve the problem.  Pupils who speak English as an additional language make outstanding progress overall. They

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

are also supported in learning their first language, including in Bengali and Polish, and their progress is equally impressive.  Pupils who are eligible for the pupil premium make progress that is significantly better than similar pupils nationally and their levels of attainment are above average as a result of additional teaching assistants who offer pupils extra help in group work and one-to-one support which has improved their reading. Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make outstanding progress and attain more highly than similar groups nationally, many achieving and exceeding national averages for all pupils.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching has improved significantly since the previous inspection. In most year groups its impact on pupils’ learning and progress is now good but in Year 6 its impact is outstanding. In Year 6, in the past two years, outstanding teaching has helped pupils make remarkable progress. Key features of this teaching have been adopted across school but as yet are not applied consistently and hence the overall quality of teaching is good.  Teachers use information about pupils’ work well to find out what skills pupils still need to learn or catch up on. They make it very clear to pupils what they will learn and give pupils clear examples of how to do the work. Lessons have a brisk pace and pupils are given plenty of time to get on with tasks. Teachers use questions well to encourage pupils to develop their ideas and to check how well they have understood. Occasionally, opportunities are missed to give

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The quality of teaching is good

the most-able pupils challenges that would stretch them.  Pupils’ work is regularly marked and this marking helpfully tells pupils how successful they have been in their work. Pupils are given time to act on advice about how to improve their work. Pupils have targets, are clear about the level of their work and how to take the next steps in their learning.  Teachers make lessons interesting, helping pupils to see how subjects link together. In a good lesson, for example in Year 2, pupils used information and communication technology (ICT) to write and make animations about the story of the Good Samaritan and their learning was good.  In the Early Years Foundation Stage, there is some excellent teaching of linking sounds and letters (phonics), writing and number. Teachers use songs, dance and exercise to teach children to count and learn nursery rhymes. There is a wide range of interesting activities, both

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The quality of teaching is good

indoors and outdoors, which help children to thrive in all aspects of learning.  As pupils move through the school there are clear successful strategies to increase pupils’ reading skills, including the use of ICT programmes and very successful one-to-one reading sessions. Pupils are encouraged to read at school and at home. They enjoy reading and by the end of Year 6 their attainment in reading is above average.  Teaching assistants are very skilful at supporting and guiding pupils in lessons.  In a few lessons, teachers rely too much on worksheets and give pupils too few chances to use their skills in writing and mathematics; all pupils do similar work and tasks for the most-able pupils are not hard enough.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils are happy in school and enjoy their lessons as they are fully involved in their learning. Pupils from a wide range of faiths and cultures respect one another, and work and play well together. They are very polite to adults and keen to talk about their school. They take great pride in their work and in its presentation.  Pupils say that behaviour is good in their lessons and any disruptions are quickly dealt with by their teachers. Indeed, much excellent behaviour was evident in lessons observed during the inspection and around the school and this contributes to pupils’ excellent achievement.  Inspectors analysed the school’s records of behaviour over time which confirmed that behaviour is consistently good as a result of the successful use of rewards and systems to encourage good behaviour. The few pupils who find it hard to behave well are helped by clear rules. As a result, there have been no exclusions in recent years.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils feel very safe and are aware of different forms of bullying. They say that any form of bullying, including racist or cyber-bullying, is rare and when it does happen they are confident that it will be quickly dealt with. They know that older pupils, as well as the teachers and other adults in school, will help with any problems.  Playground ‘buddies’ help pupils play safely and enjoyably together and they develop social skills in the breakfast club. Pupils say that the school council listens to pupils’ concerns and ideas. It has agreed school rules with teachers, advises school leaders on issues that worry pupils and is involved in the development of the playground and the school’s garden plots and greenhouse.  Attendance is average. It has improved rapidly since the last inspection as the result of a strong effort by the school to work with parents and pupils.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The headteacher has built extremely effectively on the rapid improvement to pupils’ achievement in Year 6, in 2011. He has ensured that pupils in Year 6 in 2012 made similar outstanding progress and that pupils currently in Year 6 are doing likewise. He has taken decisive action to improve the quality of teaching across school so that pupils are making good and increasingly rapid progress.  In a short time, clear analysis of lesson observations, pupils’ work and data about pupils’ progress showed where improvements to teaching were required. With the support of the governing body, he has made it his top priority to make sure that all teaching is at least good. Appropriate, robust action has been taken, within the necessary timescales and procedures, to tackle remaining weaker teaching. As a result, there has been rapid improvement to the quality of teaching across school.  There has been a rapid turnover of senior leaders in the past year. Excellent new appointments

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The leadership and management are outstanding

have been made. New leaders have been well-prepared for their roles by working alongside the staff they were replacing; consequently, all leaders are extremely clear about what they need to do in their areas.  Senior leaders are very aware of how to use data about pupils’ attainment and progress to set challenging targets for teachers and pupils. Teachers use such information very well to plan lessons, although occasionally their planning is not sharp enough to set work at the correct level for all groups of pupils, especially the more able.  The headteacher has ensured that performance management is clearly linked to raising pupils’ attainment and improving the quality of teaching. Rewards for teachers are clearly linked to pupils’ achievement. Continuing professional development, likewise, has a strong focus on improving the quality of teaching. It has also been used to create highly effective leaders.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Funding has been used effectively to improve the basic skills of those pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium. For example, by employing extra teaching assistants this has made sure these pupils get extra help in small group work and more one-to-one help with their reading. The outdoor provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage has been improved and this has had an impact on all areas of children’s learning.  Programmes which have been introduced to improve reading are making sure that pupils read every day. This has succeeded in helping pupils read better. All this illustrates the school’s commitment to promoting equal opportunities, tackling discrimination and closing gaps in learning. However, the school needs to do more to improve boys’ writing skills in Key Stage 1.  The curriculum is clearly focused on improving pupils’ basic skills in English and mathematics. There is also a clear commitment to broadening pupils’ understanding of the wider world

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The leadership and management are outstanding

through the teaching of history, geography and religious education. Teachers do not always give pupils work in these subjects which help them to further extend their skills in writing and mathematics.  Pupils enjoy drama, art and music and a range of after-school clubs and visits which include residential weeks and a trip to France. As a result, pupils have well-developed spiritual, moral, social and cultural awareness.  The local authority has provided highly effective support for the teaching of mathematics and English which has improved the quality of teaching in these subjects and had a significant impact on raising attainment.  The governance of the school: - Since the previous inspection, the governing body has acted decisively to bring about improvements in teaching and pupils’ achievement. This has led to an improvement in teaching and governors are clearly aware of how this has had an impact on the remarkable

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The leadership and management are outstanding

rise in pupils’ attainment. Governors carry out routine monitoring to evaluate the impact of the pupil premium funding on pupils’ performance. They ensure that the school fulfils its statutory responsibilities for safeguarding. All staff have been vetted and are trained appropriately to keep pupils safe and free from harm. The governing body has improved its effectiveness through a deliberate decision to offer greater challenge to the school. All governors are very committed to the school and attend its many meetings for parents and carers. Alongside procedures to monitor the quality of teaching and the curriculum and their impact on pupils’ achievement, it has introduced clear systems to review its own effectiveness.

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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 108672 Local authority South Tyneside Inspection number 400996

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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 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 240 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Tom Pigott Headteacher Paul Rafferty Date of previous school inspection 24 February 2010 Telephone number 0191 4562470 Fax number 0191 4554510 Email address info@laygate.s-tyneside.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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