Rose Street Primary School

Rose Street Primary School Rose Street, Sheerness, Kent, ME12 1AW

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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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This is a good school

 Standards and pupils’ achievement throughout the school have improved well in the last three years.  Senior leaders, including the head of school and governors, are driving the school forward through a clear focus on the continual improvement of teaching and pupils’ achievement.  Almost all pupils behave well and have a good understanding of how to keep themselves and others safe.  Teaching is good, especially in the Nursery, which makes sure that children develop an early enthusiasm for learning.  Pupils from all backgrounds are warmly welcomed and those who need the most help are well supported.  Teamwork in the school is good. Staff link well with the federation partner school and governors have worked successfully to improve the school environment.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Pupils do not always reach the higher levels of attainment in their work. This is affected by their ability to speak to others in detail, read new words and calculate numbers quickly.  Not enough teaching is outstanding and pupils do not always know well enough what they need to do to improve.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 17 lessons or parts of lessons. Most of these were joint lesson observations with the head of school or the assistant headteacher. Inspectors also listened to individual pupils reading and looked at samples of the pupils’ work in detail.  Meetings were held with the head of school and other senior leaders. Discussions also took place with groups of pupils, as well as representatives of the governing body and the local authority.  There were no views of parents and carers to take account of on the on-line questionnaire (Parent View), but inspectors spoke to several parents and carers at the start of the school day. Inspectors also took account of the responses to the staff questionnaire.  Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a number of documents, including the school’s own information about how pupils are doing, planning and monitoring information and records relating to behaviour, attendance and safeguarding.

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Inspection team

Sue Hall, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Colin Lower Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is an average-sized primary school, which is part of a federation with another local school.  There is provision for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage in the school’s Nursery and in the Reception class.  The number of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is well above the national average. This provides additional funding for children in the care of the local authority and those known to be eligible for free school meals.  The proportion of pupils supported at school action is above average.  The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is much higher than the average.  About 12% of pupils are from ethnic minority groups, with most of these speaking English as an additional language.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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Information about this school

 The school does not use any alternative provision.  Since the last inspection there has been a refurbishment of most parts of the school building and the addition of a new Early Years Foundation Stage unit.  The executive headteacher of the school was absent during the inspection. The day-to-day running of the setting is managed by the head of school. Two of the eight classes are currently taught by newly qualified staff.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise standards and increase the rate of progress by:  making sure that all pupils use a wider range of words to describe what they know and are doing  helping all pupils, including those in Key Stage 2, to develop a good range of approaches to reading unfamiliar words  making sure that pupils develop the confidence to use what they already know to solve mental mathematics problems speedily and accurately.  Make sure that teaching across the school is consistently good or better by:  making full use of assessment information to set work that is demanding enough for pupils of all abilities and especially the most able  setting and using individual targets for pupils so that they know what they have to do to reach the next level in their work.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children join the Nursery with skills that are often below those typically expected for their age. This is particularly in their social and language development. Several children struggle to explain what they are doing and thinking.  Because of good teaching in the Early Years Foundation Stage, children settle quickly and develop an early enthusiasm for finding things out. For example, a small group in the Nursery made outstanding progress in their understanding of numbers when pegging hot air balloon shapes on a line. With excellent use of questions to identify what number came next or before the ones they already had, children were successful in putting the numbers in the correct order.  The progress pupils make in Key Stages 1 and 2 is also good. At the age of seven and by the time pupils leave the school at the age of 11, standards are in line with national averages and sometimes a little above the average. There has been consistent improvement since the last

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The achievement of pupils is good

inspection and particularly in the last year.  Overall, boys and girls achieve equally. Those who are supported by the pupil premium funding do well and sometimes outperform their classmates. This is because funding is used effectively to support their learning. Pupils who speak English as an additional language also make good overall progress.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are well supported. They receive specific additional help in lessons and in small group or individual activities. This helps them to focus well on their work and make good progress at levels that match their abilities.  There is a growing proportion of pupils reaching the expected levels in their work, but not as many reach the higher levels as seen nationally. Pupils’ speaking skills are often not at a high level and this affects their progress in other areas. Recently, pupils have not done quite as well

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The achievement of pupils is good

in their reading as in other subjects. This is partly because even the oldest pupils do not always know the different ways to work out unfamiliar words. Pupils indicate they do not often read to a trained adult to make sure that weaknesses are picked up and resolved.  Pupils write well as there is a good range of reasons to write that interest them. This was seen when Year 6 used the text of The Hobbit to identify the physical features of characters, their actions and their speech. This helped them focus on the ways in which they could then improve their own writing.  Pupils do well in mathematics and recent standards have been above those in many schools. Many calculate accurately and work out how to solve problems. However, their mental mathematics skills are not so adept and they sometimes do not identify the approaches they could use to solve problems quickly, relying too much on adults to prompt them.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The rise in standards and the progress made across the school is because teaching is now good, and occasionally in the Nursery it is outstanding. There is a good focus from senior leaders on continuing to improve teaching, which the staff team supports in their shared commitment to raise standards further.  The work of staff in the Nursery is particularly effective because they continually urge the children to think further and consider other ways of solving a problem. This was very well illustrated in an activity chosen by the children when they wanted to build a tent to read their books. With excellent use of prompts from the adults they considered what to use as the tent sides and as the frame. They were disappointed when their first attempt fell down, but determined to use what they had just found out to improve their structure.  Staff manage the pupils well and have good working relationships with them. This ensures

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The quality of teaching is good

lessons are conducted in a calm and purposeful manner. There is good use of praise to raise pupils’ self-confidence in what they can do.  Teachers have generally good expectations of what pupils can achieve. They plan activities carefully but do not always make sure the more-able pupils are given demanding enough work. Occasionally, the same or very similar activities are undertaken by all pupils using a textbook which does little to stretch the more-able pupils.  Across the school, staff use a good range of questions to check pupils’ understanding. Occasionally, though, they do not insist that all pupils are involved in answering, so not everyone gets to discuss their ideas in more detail.  The marking of pupils’ work is completed conscientiously. Teachers tell older pupils the levels of attainment they are working at, but do not make clear individual targets so that they know specifically what they have to do to improve their work.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching assistants are usually effective in supporting groups, including disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, but the quality of their support is not consistently effective.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils is good

 The behaviour of pupils in and around the school is good because staff make clear their expectations of the pupils, which they are keen to live up to. This is very well illustrated in whole school assemblies, where behaviour is often impeccable with very little adult prompting.  Most pupils say they like coming to school and that they feel safe. Parents and carers spoken to during the inspection also say they feel confident their children are kept safe. Pupils generally get on well together and boys and girls happily work together sharing their ideas. Many pupils say they enjoy playtimes and know they have to be aware of other pupils’ safety too.  Most pupils have a good understanding of bullying. They know this can be physical, verbal and cyber bullying and can explain what forms this can take. A very small number of older pupils are worried that there is name calling in school but know that this is not acceptable. If there are

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The behaviour and safety of pupils is good

concerns the school makes good use of the family liaison officer and the other staff to see that worries are followed up.  Pupils concentrate well and are eager to learn. While most pupils offer their ideas in class, a small number makes less of an effort which sometimes limits discussions.  Staff working with local families have been successful in making clear the importance of regular attendance. This has considerably improved since the last inspection and is now in line with the national average.

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The leadership and management is good

 The head of school, ably supported by the assistant headteacher and other senior staff, leads and manages the school well. Staff work effectively as a team, with several expressing how much they feel the school has improved in recent years because everyone works together for the good of the pupils.  As part of a federation, the school works closely with its partner school and benefits from the overview of the executive headteacher to identify its strengths and weaknesses and to help plan for the future. It is well placed to continue to improve further.  Teachers’ performance is checked regularly and senior staff use information from lesson observations and how well pupils are doing to decide whether teachers should be paid more. This is carefully linked to a programme of staff training, often in conjunction with the partner school. As a result, there have been improvements in the overall quality of teaching.

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The leadership and management is good

 Key stage leaders also make a strong contribution to improving teaching through a focus on planning and teaching. This has been particularly effective in mathematics, with a clear recognition of areas for further improvement in this subject.  The local authority provides effective light touch support for the school, which recognises the improvements made in recent years.  Pupil premium funding is used effectively to make sure that eligible pupils get the support they need. This is used to employ additional teachers and teaching assistants. There is also support for pupils with behaviour, emotional and social difficulties and family support staff. The school assesses the impact of its spending through information which shows that those receiving additional help make better progress than their classmates in some areas.  The school helps pupils develop a clear moral code. School assemblies offer pupils the chance to

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The leadership and management is good

reflect on their behaviour and think about how this affects other people. Pupils are keen to take on responsibilities. The school also helps them learn more about cultures other than their own.  The school makes sure that pupils have equal access to learning and can achieve well, whatever their background or ability, and that there is no discrimination. Procedures to safeguard pupils meet current government requirements.  The governance of the school:  Governors are supportive of the school and proud of the improvements made since the last inspection. They have played a leading role in the considerable development of the school accommodation, which has helped raise the school’s profile in the local area. They take seriously their responsibilities to attract good quality staff to the school to enhance the life chances of the pupils. They know about the quality of teaching and salary progression of staff.

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The leadership and management is good

They check that pupil premium funding is used appropriately. Governors share responsibility for leadership and management of the two federated schools. This places a lot of demands upon them to make sure they know what happens on a day-to-day basis in both settings. Governors have identified the need for them all to have an accurate awareness of strengths and weaknesses in standards. They have made sure that they receive professional training to extend their understanding of how well pupils are doing both in the school, and compared with other schools, and how to use this information to ask searching questions of senior leaders.

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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 118348 Local authority Kent Inspection number 400374

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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 242 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Jim Duncan Headteacher Executive headteacher Alan Bayford Head of school Julie Holmes Date of previous school inspection 22–23 June 2010 Telephone number 01795 663012 Fax number 01795 664933 Email address head_of@rose-street.kent.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

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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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