Godstone Primary and Nursery School

Godstone Village Primary School Ivy Mill Lane, Godstone, Surrey, RH9 8NH

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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 Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  The headteacher, deputy headteacher and governors have worked tirelessly to improve the school since the last inspection and their efforts are proving successful. They fully understand what needs to be done to continue this improvement.  Right from their first days in Nursery, most pupils make good progress as they move through the school. Standards at the end of Year 6 are broadly in line with the national average and are improving.  Teachers have high expectations and pupils enjoy the challenge and work hard.  The school provides pupils with a very safe environment. Pupils’ behaviour is good overall, their attitudes to learning are excellent and they behave extremely well in and around the school.  Improved assessment and precise extra support help disabled pupils and those with special educational needs to make good progress in line with other pupils in the school.  Rigorous monitoring, coupled with appropriate

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

training for teachers, has been instrumental in rapidly improving the quality of teaching.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 The excellent marking and feedback to pupils in some year groups are not applied consistently in every class.  Opportunities for pupils to respond to the marking and improve or correct their work are not frequent enough in some classes.  Some of the goals set for pupils are not precise enough; as a result, pupils cannot always easily see if they have achieved them.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 10 lessons, some of which were observed jointly with the headteacher and deputy headteacher. They also observed some shorter sessions to look at the way pupils behaved, how the curriculum was making lessons interesting and to see how pupils who may find learning hard were being helped to make good progress.  Inspectors heard pupils read, and looked at work in their books. They held discussions with two groups of pupils to gather their views about the school and spoke informally to pupils in the playground.  Inspectors looked at school documents, including development plans, school data to track pupils’ progress, reports from the local authority and external consultants, and documentation relating to behaviour and safeguarding.  They held meetings with the headteacher, deputy headteacher, the Chair of the Governing Body, a representative from the local authority and other staff with a leadership role.

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Information about this inspection

 They considered the views of 48 parents and carers in response to the on-line survey (Parent View) and to the responses from the school’s own recent survey. They also considered the 23 responses to the staff questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Penny Spencer, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Bryan Meyer Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Godstone Village Primary is smaller than the average-sized primary school.  The school manages a breakfast and after-school club. Both were visited during the inspection.  The proportion of pupils eligible for the pupil premium (additional funding for pupils in local authority care, from armed forces families or those known to be eligible for free school meals) is lower than average.  Most pupils are of White British heritage. There is a small minority of Gypsy/Roma pupils.  The proportion of pupils who are supported through school action is average, as is the proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs.  The school meets the government’s current floor standard which sets the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  There is no alternative provision.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 To increase the proportion of outstanding teaching and raise standards further:  make sure the excellent practice in marking, in Years 2, 5 and 6, is shared across all year groups  give pupils in all classes opportunities to respond to, and improve, their work following written and verbal feedback  ensure that there is a consistent approach to making pupils’ targets precise and easily measurable, so that all pupils can see when they have achieved them.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Most children join the school with skills and knowledge at the expected levels for their age, although this varies from year to year. They make good progress through the Early Years Foundation Stage and enter Year 1 with skills that are above the national average in most areas of learning, especially in the linking of letters to sounds. Children in the Nursery were observed enthusiastically ‘fishing’ for letters and correctly matching the correct sound to the letter and giving examples of words beginning with the letter.  Pupils in all classes make good use of letters and sounds when reading and this contributes to their good progress. All groups of pupils in Year 1 were above average in the 2012 national screening test.  When pupils read to the inspectors they were confident and enthusiastic. Younger pupils use their knowledge of sounds to help them when they are stuck on unfamiliar words. Older pupils

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The achievement of pupils is good

read widely from an excellent selection of books. Pupils in Year 6 read with expression and obvious enjoyment. Parents are very involved in the reading partnership, reading regularly with their children at home. Most parents feel their children are making good progress.  Pupils continue to make good progress in Key Stage 1 and achievement is rising in reading writing, mathematics and communication skills. Standards in Year 6 fluctuate between average and above average because some year groups have more pupils with particular learning needs. However, all groups, including gypsy/Roma pupils, make progress at least in line with pupils nationally. A dip in overall attainment for Year 6 in the 2012 assessments, due to a much higher proportion of pupils with additional needs in the class, was fully analysed by the leadership team to enable provision to be even better in the future.  Staff regularly check the achievement of disabled pupils and those with special educational

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The achievement of pupils is good

needs and provide extra support that is carefully matched to help them make good progress. A group of boys in Key Stage 1 was observed making good progress in their reading through a daily, individual, one-minute session of phonics catch up, that they loved.  Standards and progress for pupils eligible for the pupil premium are improving continually and in some cases they are making faster progress than other pupils. This is because the school uses the funding successfully to provide additional staffing and special programmes of support that motivate and excite pupils to do their best.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is good across all classes and is a key factor in the good progress made by pupils. This was the view of most of the parents, who said they were very happy with the way their children are being taught. Pupils also agreed teaching was good and were keen to talk about their lessons to inspectors.  In the Nursery and Reception classes, teachers plan exciting activities that allow children to develop into independent learners. The outside space is used creatively to provide extra opportunities in all areas of learning.  Throughout the school pupils’ enthusiasm is fired by the strong links between curriculum topics and work in literacy and mathematics. For example, in one lesson pupils were observed developing their vocabulary effectively by creating an advertisement for the Tudor mince pies they were planning to make as part of their topic.  In a Year 6 lesson pupils were observed using their reading skills to analyse clues set in a

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The quality of teaching is good

mathematical problem and using this to decide if they were helpful or not. They showed great maturity in their methodical approach which allowed them to work at a very high level.  All teachers mark books regularly in all subjects. In a few classes, comments made by teachers in books do not clearly explain what pupils need to do to improve their work. In some classes, pupils are not given enough time to read through the comments and correct their work before they move on. This slows progress for some. All pupils have targets for improvement and could explain them to inspectors. However, when asked how they would know if they had achieved their targets, pupils were not always sure. This is because some targets are not precise enough to be clearly measured.  The very high skill levels of teaching assistants are used very effectively to support individual pupils and small groups to make good progress in their learning. This was observed in a Year 6

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The quality of teaching is good

phonics lesson where a group of pupils who find learning more difficult were supported to use their understanding of phonics to spell unknown words successfully.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural education is carefully woven into the curriculum topics. For example, pupils in Year 1 were keen to show inspectors models they had made of divas as part of their work on Diwali.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils behave well in lessons and have excellent attitudes to learning. They are keen to improve and work extremely well together. All pupils showed a real sense of pride in their school.  Pupils were observed in the playground enjoying playing a wide variety of games together, and were polite to inspectors and all other adults.  A small minority of parents are not convinced that behaviour is dealt with well. They say that they feel the school has an inconsistent approach to managing the behaviour of some groups of pupils. The school commissioned a two-day audit from the local authority this term, in response to their concerns. The findings of this comprehensive investigation match the views of inspectors that behaviour in the school is good and any incidents of poor behaviour are dealt with swiftly and thoroughly.  Pupils from different groups, who spoke to inspectors, said they felt very safe and they enjoyed

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

coming to school. They were adamant that bullying is very rare and is dealt with quickly by adults. This view is supported by evidence from the comprehensive records kept by the school.  Pupils have a sound understanding of all types of bullying, including those involving the internet and mobile phones, and know how to deal with it.  Frequent opportunities are provided for pupils to develop good social skills. The school council is involved in making decisions about school life and pupils on the eco-committee are in the last stages of working towards gaining the green flag award.  Pupils who attend the breakfast club and after-school provision are looked after well. They enjoy a variety of activities in a safe and caring environment.  Attendance is improving and is now above average.

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The leadership and management are good

 Since the last inspection the headteacher has made good use of support from the local authority and the governing body to strengthen and improve the quality of teaching. The headteacher and the deputy headteacher make a particularly strong team and share a clearly effective vision for continuing improvement.  Pupils’ progress is monitored very carefully. Where pupils are seen to be falling behind, precise support is quickly put in place to allow pupils to catch up.  Tracking of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is excellent and helps to ensure that they make good or better progress.  Excellent performance management processes identify clearly areas for improvement and teachers are set challenging targets for pupils’ progress. Reviews of these targets are regular and there is a clear understanding that progression up the teachers’ pay scale is linked closely to success for pupils.

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The leadership and management are good

 Improvements since the last inspection are as a direct result of good school self-evaluation, leading to accurately identified priorities and precise action plans. These demonstrate that the school has a good capacity for further improvement.  The curriculum is exciting and pupils were keen to talk to inspectors about the wide variety of topics they are studying. The displays around the school are stimulating and demonstrate high levels of skill. Examples of art work are particularly impressive. Although school grounds are not extensive, pupils enjoy a good variety of after-school clubs and sporting activities.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is strong and topics and lessons ensure that the wider cultural diversity of Britain is embraced fully.  The school works closely with other local schools, comparing assessments to ensure judgements are accurate. They also share expertise and good practice through professional development

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The leadership and management are good

sessions.  The school works hard to foster good relationships, equality of opportunity for different groups is promoted well, and the school does not tolerate any discrimination. Safeguarding policies are comprehensive and vigilant monitoring ensures that standards of safety remain high. Staff receive regular training to ensure the highest levels of care for pupils.  The local authority has been very effective in providing support to help improve the quality of teaching and to develop the curriculum. Its involvement has decreased as the school has continued to improve.  The governance of the school:  Governors are effective and thoroughly understand the strengths and weaknesses of the school, including how well it is doing compared with other schools. They offer a high level of challenge to the headteacher and her senior leaders to secure continuing improvements. They are fully involved in ensuring that increases in salary and promotion are set against the quality

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The leadership and management are good

of teaching and overall performance, and that the school recruits high quality staff. They carefully monitor how pupil premium funding is used to improve the achievement of pupils with specific needs, and have approved changes in the allocation of support as a result. Governors are continually seeking to improve their practice by attending up-to-date training and development sessions. Their communication with parents is regular and informative.

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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 125021 Local authority Surrey Inspection number 406284

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School details

This inspection 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 209 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Nicky Gascoigne Headteacher Marcia Goodwin Date of previous school inspection 13−14 January 2011 Telephone number 01883 742326 Fax number 01883 743646 Email address admin@godstone.surrey.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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