Newdigate Primary and Nursery School

Newdigate Primary School Anderton Road, Bedworth, CV12 0HA

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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

 There is not enough good teaching to make sure that pupils make consistently good gains in their learning in lessons and over time.  The progress made by pupils in mathematics and writing is not as fast as it is in reading.  Teachers do not always have high enough expectations or set challenging work that is matched closely to pupils’ specific needs and capabilities.  There are few opportunities for pupils to solve problems in mathematics or for the older pupils to write at length and for sustained periods of time.  The headteacher, senior leaders and governors are keen for success, but their plans for improvement are not focused sharply enough on making sure that teaching is consistently good or better to help pupils achieve well.  Leaders are not always sharply evaluating the impact of initiatives on school outcomes and the measures used to judge success are not always clear. As a result the school is not

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The school has the following strengths

 Pupils learn to read well when they start school. This success continues throughout the rest of the school.  Pupils in the Nursery make good progress. They are taught through a range of well- organised, challenging and stimulating activities.  Behaviour is good and relationships in school are very positive. Pupils enjoy school life and the activities that they are offered.  Pupils have a good understanding of the different cultural and social backgrounds of the United Kingdom.  Leaders are bringing about improvement, for example, Year 6 standards are rising steadily and attainment in reading is much improved as a result of more effective teaching, particularly of letters and sounds. Writing is beginning to improve as a result of an increased focus on grammar and spelling. Nursery provision has been enhanced and is ensuring the youngest children achieve well.  Since the previous inspection, teacher’s subject

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The school has the following strengths

knowledge in mathematics has improved through training.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 11 lessons. Some of these observations were undertaken jointly with the headteacher and deputy headteacher.  Inspectors held meetings with groups of pupils, senior leaders, teachers in charge of subjects, members of the governing body and a representative from the local authority. They heard a number of pupils read.  Inspectors examined a questionnaire completed by 22 staff, along with 19 responses submitted by parents and carers to the online parent survey (Parent View). They also held informal discussions with parents.  Inspectors looked at a variety of school documents including governing body minutes, school self-evaluation, school improvement plans, behaviour records and documents related to the management of staff performance.

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Inspection team

Ian Jones, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Doreen Davenport Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is an average-sized primary school.  Most pupils are White British.  The proportion of pupils who require extra help and are supported through school action is above average. The proportions of disabled pupils and those who have a statement of special educational needs and those supported at school action plus are also above average.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium (which provides additional funding for children from families who are known to be eligible for free school meals, looked after children and those from families with parents in the armed forces) is above average.  A privately run nursery, Newdigate Neighbourhood Nursery, operates on the same site. This is not managed by the governing body and is subject to a separate inspection. No alternative or off-site provision is used.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations

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Information about this school

for pupils’ attainment and progress.  The school is currently undergoing additional building work to increase capacity and to redesign the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching in writing and mathematics so that pupils’ rates of progress are consistently good or better by:  ensuring that teachers always have high expectations for what pupils can achieve in lessons  planning and setting challenging work that is matched to pupils’ capabilities and which builds on what pupils already know and can do, making sure that they always learn at a good pace  offering more opportunities for pupils to develop their problem-solving skills in mathematics  making sure that older pupils are able to write for sustained lengths of time in literacy and in other subjects.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve leadership and management by ensuring the school’s plans for improvement are:  focused on improving the quality of teaching and so increase the rate at which pupils learn  specific about the expected impact of each activity  precise about when the improvements are to be made  clear about the measures against which governors can evaluate success and the school and pupils’ performance.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Children start school with basic skills that are below those expected for their age. Year 6 attainment has risen steadily in the past three years but remains below average in English and mathematics; however, floor standards are met. In 2012, attainment in Year 2 was above average in reading, an improvement on previous years.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Most pupils’ make the progress expected of them; however, too few are making faster progress in mathematics and writing so that they reach the standards that they should. The school is focusing on quickening progress for every pupil, but the actions they have taken so far have not yet resulted in consistently good progress.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Children make good progress in the Nursery. Adults plan work at the right level of difficulty, and there is a wide range of exciting activities that develop a range of different skills. However, progress sometimes slows in Reception because work is not always matched closely to children’s learning needs.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 The school’s approach to developing pupils’ early reading skills is effective. Pupils are confident in trying to read unfamiliar words and link letters to sounds well. Reading is promoted well across the school and pupils enjoy using the school library, which contains a broad range of books. They are encouraged to read a wide range of books through a variety of activities.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 In mathematics pupils make the expected progress and some achieve well. However, some pupils do not make as much progress as they should. This is because they do not get enough regular opportunities to apply their mathematics skills in solving problems. In some mathematics lessons the tasks set for some individuals or groups are too easy and this means not all pupils are challenged well enough.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Writing is beginning to improve as a result of an increased focus on grammar and spelling. However, older pupils do not have enough opportunity to apply their skills through extended writing in other subjects.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 The school has made good use of the additional funding through the pupil premium. Funding is used well to support pupils who struggle with reading and writing through one-to-one support. As a result, those pupils eligible for free school meals (and those looked after) make the expected progress given their starting points. Their attainment, based on an average points score (which show the total of their Year 6 results) is broadly in line with similar pupils but below that of all pupils’ nationally. However, the results gap is closing year on year.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make similar progress to other pupils. Pupils with emotional and social difficulties are well supported through a range of good quality activities provided by the various nurture groups. The provision has a positive impact on their personal development, behaviour and individual’s attitude to learning.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Much of the teaching requires improvement. In too many lessons, teachers do not have high enough expectations for what their pupils can achieve. Sometimes more able pupils are given easier work to complete first before they can move on to work that is more challenging.  Some lessons are not well-planned. In these lessons progress slows because pupils are given tasks which take too long and have limited reward.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Pupils are not always given enough opportunities to apply their calculation and other mathematics skills in practical problem-solving activities. Occasionally, not enough time is given for pupils to work independently and find things out for themselves.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Pupils practise their writing skills appropriately and an increased focus on teaching grammar and improving pupils’ spelling competence is helping to raise writing standards. However, older pupils are not given enough opportunity to write lengthier pieces of work in different subjects.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The new marking policy is being used consistently by teachers and is helping pupils to understand how well they have done and what they need to do next. However, the information gained from assessment is not always used to inform lesson planning. Teachers ensure that pupils have a clear understanding of their targets in English and mathematics and what they need to do to reach the next level.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Pupils make good progress in reading because it is well-taught and structured. The youngest children are effectively taught to recognise letters and the sounds they make; as they get older they develop a good vocabulary.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teachers use questioning appropriately to test pupils’ understanding. However, opportunities to challenge thinking further are sometimes missed because teachers too readily accept initial responses.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching assistants and other adults are used appropriately to support learning, especially for less-able pupils and those with emotional and social difficulties. In line with other pupils, progress is sometimes limited because expectations for what they can achieve are not as high as they could be.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils behave well and feel safe at school and are eager to learn. They work and play together very well. They attend regularly and attendance is in line with the national average. Pupils have generally positive attitudes to learning and enjoy their lessons. This said, on occasions younger pupils lose interest when they are inactive for too long in lessons. There is a positive ethos in the school and highly positive relationships between adults and pupils. Pupils are courteous and polite in lessons and around the school premises.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils enjoy taking on additional responsibilities such as school councillors and house captains. Older pupils work well with younger ones, contributing effectively to happy and enjoyable playtimes. Pupils regularly raise money to buy additional equipment for the school and to support a range of local and international charities. Older pupils really look forward to the outdoor activities offered by the residential visits.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Incidents of bullying are very rare and pupils get on well together. Pupils are aware of how to keep themselves safe, for example when using the internet or when travelling to and from school, and know what to do if they encounter problems. Parents and carers say that their children are safe at school.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils are respectful of each other. They have a good understanding of the different cultural and social backgrounds of the United Kingdom. This is a significant improvement from the previous inspection.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The headteacher and governors are keen to improve the effectiveness of the school and give the pupils a good education. They know the improvements needed and have been successful in bringing some of these about, therefore, have the capacity to improve further. For example, training and better teaching of letters and sounds has raised standards and accelerated pupils’ progress in reading. While self-evaluation improved last year and is now accurate, in the past it has not focused closely enough on pupils’ achievement.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Improvement planning lacks precision. Although plans correctly identify what needs to be improved, for example to improve standards and pupils’ progress in writing and mathematics, they do not focus sharply enough on how teaching will improve in order to ensure that pupils consistently make good progress. Current plans do not clearly identify measures against which governors can evaluate success.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The school has developed an improved tracking system which accurately records pupils’ progress. This is helping school leaders to gain a good understanding of where achievement needs to be improved and teachers are starting to use this information to plan their lessons but not always effectively. Lesson planning is not sharp enough, teacher expectations are not always high enough and work is not always pitched at the right level to ensure good outcomes are achieved.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The school works well with parents and communicates with them regularly. The results of the questionnaire sent out by the school in October 2012, and the views expressed by parents during the inspection, were overwhelmingly positive about the school’s work and the education provided.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Staff morale is good. New and experienced teachers are keen to improve their practice and share the ambition of the senior leaders.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The school promotes equal opportunities appropriately and discrimination is not tolerated. Despite this, too few pupils are making good progress in mathematics and writing.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The local authority provides appropriate support. Additional help, for example in checking the quality of teaching and developing the effectiveness of middle leadership has been arranged. In the past the support for school improvement planning has been too accepting and not focused on improving achievement for pupils, although this has improved this year. The school also receives support for training through its relationship with other schools.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The governance of the school:  The Chair of the Governing Body has a clear understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. Governors are regular visitors to the school and this helps them gain a clear view about the quality of day-today teaching and pupils’ performance, behaviour and attitudes to learning. They have a clear view of the implementation of performance management procedures and their impact through the regular reports from the headteacher. The performance management arrangements for the headteacher are robust and suitably focused on raising standards. The governing body manages the school’s budget efficiently. Improvements in the quality of teaching are taken into account appropriately when considering salary progression. The governing body is increasingly challenging in the questions they ask the headteacher as a result of training recently received. However, they have not ensured that the school’s improvement plans contain sufficiently clear success criteria so that

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The leadership and management requires improvement

they can effectively hold the headteacher to account for their impact on pupils’ progress. The governing body use the additional funds from the pupil premium to provide additional teaching support for those eligible for it. As a result, the progress of these pupils improved last year. Governors carefully monitor financial resources and ensure that statutory requirements are fully met, including procedures to keep pupils safe.

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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 130896 Local authority Warwickshire Inspection number 402429

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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 239 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Robin Wilson Headteacher Siobhan Marrow Date of previous school inspection 29 September 2009 Telephone number 024 7636 1662 Fax number 024 7636 3796 Email address head2633@welearn365.com 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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