Shawley Community Primary School

Shawley Community Primary School Shawley Way, Epsom, Surrey, KT18 5PD

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Requires improvement 3 Achievement of pupils Requires improvement 3 Quality of teaching Requires improvement 3 Behaviour and safety of pupils Requires improvement 3 Leadership and management Requires improvement 3

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

 Standards in reading and writing are broadly average and have not improved over the last three years.  The overall quality of teaching is not consistently good across the school. This results in uneven progress for pupils.  Improvement to the quality of teaching has been hampered by frequent staff changes. Some teachers do not have enough in-depth subject knowledge to be able to teach writing and mathematics really well.  Older pupils say that they do not enjoy learning in all subjects.  When they do not find their work interesting, some pupils lose concentration and do not achieve well.  School development plans are not sharp enough and the headteacher has not shared enough detailed information with the governing body yet on how well pupils are progressing. It is difficult for the governing body to judge how successful school leaders are in improving achievement.  School leaders visit lessons to observe teaching

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

and check pupils’ books and teachers’ planning, but they do not use this information to draw up individual action plans to improve each teachers’ practice.

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The school has the following strengths

 Provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage is good.  Pupils say that they feel safe at school and that bullying is not a problem.  Pupils are well mannered and respectful to adults. They take pride in their school.  The school takes effective action to promote good attendance. Attendance for the last academic year was above average.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors visited 18 lessons. Three lessons were observed jointly with the headteacher or deputy headteacher.  Inspectors looked at pupils’ workbooks in lessons and spoke to pupils about their work. They talked to pupils informally at break times and met with two groups of pupils. They attended an assembly.  Inspectors considered the 70 responses to Parent View and a letter from a parent. They also considered the 32 responses to the staff questionnaire.  Inspectors met with three members of the governing body. They also met with individual teachers, senior staff and a representative of the local authority.  The school’s records of attainment, progress, attendance and behaviour were examined. Inspectors also considered the school’s improvement planning, the summary of its checks on how well it is doing, records of monitoring, key policies and minutes of governing body meetings.

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Inspection team

Melanie Knowles, Lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Jan Edwards Additional Inspector Richard Blackmore Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Shawley Community Primary School is slightly larger than the average primary school.  Over 80% of pupils come from White British backgrounds. The rest come from a variety of ethnic groups. Most speak English as their first language.  The proportion of pupils eligible for extra government funding (the pupil premium) is broadly average.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs supported at school action is slightly above the national average.  The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is slightly lower than that seen nationally.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  The school provides a breakfast club before the start of each school day. This was visited as part of this inspection.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the proportion of teaching that is good or outstanding by:  developing teachers’ knowledge and skills so that they can confidently use a variety of approaches in lessons and teach high quality lessons in all subjects  ensuring that teachers plan activities for pupils that are closely matched to their needs and enable them all to make good progress in lessons  sharing the good and outstanding practice that already exists more widely.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the impact of school leaders by:  ensuring that the school development plan has clear, measurable outcomes and milestones so that progress can be checked and evaluated effectively  sharing with the governing body all information about pupils’ progress in a clear and accessible way that enables them to fully understand the strengths and weaknesses of the school  using the wide range of information gathered from checking teachers’ planning, observing teaching and looking at pupils’ work to draw up a tailored development plan for each teacher.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Develop a more exciting curriculum that meets the needs and interests of all pupils and leads to better engagement in lessons.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Most children enter the school in the Reception classes with skills that are slightly below those expected for their age, particularly in reading and writing. In previous years, children have not made enough progress during their time in the Early Years Foundation Stage to make up this lost ground. This year, teachers have ensured there are more opportunities for children to develop their reading and writing skills. Early indications are that the children are making good progress.  Pupils generally leave Year 6 having reached standards that are broadly in line with the national average in reading, writing and mathematics. Attainment in mathematics dipped in 2012. School leaders have analysed the reasons for this and have made changes to the way mathematics is taught. For example, staff now use more practical mathematical equipment in lessons to help those pupils who find it difficult to grasp new concepts. The headteacher is confident that

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

standards in mathematics will recover this year and information on pupils’ progress so far this year confirms this.  Most pupils make the expected progress in reading, writing and mathematics during their time at the school, including the small group of pupils who are learning English as an additional language. Pupils leave the school prepared for the next stage in their education.  The school’s records show that pupils make steady progress from year to year. Too few make good or outstanding progress. This is because teachers do not always plan lessons that meet the needs of all pupils. In some lessons, more-able pupils do not achieve well because the work is not challenging enough for them. In other lessons, pupils are given work that they do not understand.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs do not make consistently good progress. They often have additional help in lessons from a teaching assistant. All teaching

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

assistants supervise pupils well, but some do not have the skills to teach and explain new concepts to pupils who find learning difficult. This leads to uneven progress.  Reading has a high priority throughout the school. Younger pupils are taught letter sounds systematically and understand how to blend the sounds together when reading. By the end of Year 1, many children can do this confidently. The school ensures that older pupils have regular opportunities to read with an adult and makes good use of reading volunteers.  The school mainly uses the additional funding provided by the pupil premium to provide small group or individual support sessions outside the classroom. Records show that this short-term intensive support has helped some targeted pupils to make significant progress. However, school leaders have only just started to check to see if these gains are sustained when the pupils are back in class, so it is unclear whether the gap between these pupils and their classmates is

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The quality of teaching is variable across the school. In the best lessons seen during the inspection, teachers had high expectations of what their pupils could achieve and used careful questioning to deepen understanding. Work in pupils’ books shows that, in these classes, high quality teaching enables pupils to make good progress.  Several teachers are relatively inexperienced and do not have sufficient subject knowledge to teach high quality lessons in all subjects. Sometimes, the activities they plan in lessons do not meet the needs of different groups of pupils. As a result, pupils do not achieve well over time.  Some teachers plan exciting topics for pupils and make good links between different subjects. This helps to make learning meaningful for pupils. For example, in the Reception classes children are greatly enjoying the current topic on ‘Space’. They have learned about space travel in

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

lessons, acted as space commanders in their exciting spaceship role-play area and have written imaginative descriptions of aliens. This ‘themed’ approach to planning learning is not consistently engaging for older pupils and they say that they find some subjects boring.  Teachers mark pupils’ books regularly. Most teachers apply the school’s marking policy consistently and write helpful comments that give guidance to pupils on what they need to do to improve.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils require improvement

 Routines in the Reception classes are well established and children behave well. When working independently, children organise themselves well and share equipment sensibly. They respond quickly when the teacher asks them to stop an activity.  Elsewhere in the school, relationships between adults and pupils are generally very positive. Pupils are polite and courteous to visitors and treat each other with respect.  Some low-level disruption was seen in lessons during the inspection. Older pupils say that this generally happens in lessons where the teacher does not present the subject matter in an interesting way. On these occasions, pupils lose concentration, stop work and begin to chatter. Most pupils react quickly to reminders from their teacher, but pupils’ lack of focus on their work, however brief, slows progress.  Pupils say they feel safe in school and that bullying of any kind is not a problem. This is because

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The behaviour and safety of pupils require improvement

they understand how the ‘restorative’ system works and what the consequences will be. Responses to the Parent View questionnaire suggest that some parents do not know how the school deals with bullying. However, almost all parents agree that the school keeps their children safe.  School leaders use a range of effective strategies to promote good attendance and ensure that any persistent absence or lateness is monitored carefully.  The breakfast club provides high quality experiences for pupils and supports parents who need childcare out of normal school hours.

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The leadership and management require improvement

 The headteacher ensures that the school is managed well and runs smoothly. He is ably supported by the deputy headteacher. Together, they are committed to making the necessary improvements and raising standards across the school and the whole staff team shares their ambition.  There has been some improvement to the quality of teaching recently, but progress has been hampered by frequent changes to staffing. New and inexperienced teachers have taken time to settle and this has made it difficult for the headteacher to embed new initiatives and ensure that good teaching is always the norm across the school.  Systems for quality assuring teaching are improving. School leaders now consider the amount of progress that pupils make in lessons or over time when judging the quality of teaching. The headteacher has also begun to collate the information from visits to lessons, checks of pupils’ work and examination of teachers’ planning, but he has not used this overview of each teacher’s

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The leadership and management require improvement

strengths and weaknesses to develop a clear support plan for each member of staff.  Inexperienced teachers do not have enough opportunities to learn from the best practitioners in the staff team. Good and outstanding teachers do not get enough time to work alongside colleagues or model lessons for them and the knowledgeable staff who have responsibility for leading improvements in English and mathematics (subject leaders) mainly provide informal advice and support for their colleagues.  School leaders are committed to providing equal opportunities for all pupils to thrive. They check that pupils, including those whose circumstances may make them vulnerable to underachievement, are making enough progress in their learning. They ensure that extra support is put in place for those who have fallen behind.  Self-evaluation is generous overall, but includes accurate analysis of what needs to be done to

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The leadership and management require improvement

improve the school further. The school’s development plan does not have specific, measurable targets or milestones for when key improvements will be achieved, so it is difficult for the governing body to judge the school’s progress towards its goals.  Procedures to appraise teachers’ performance are rigorous. The headteacher ensures that pay progression is related to good performance in the classroom and that targets for improvement are linked to whole-school priorities.  The school works in close partnership with other local schools in the area. Some joint activities have proved to be successful in developing teachers’ skills in assessment.  The local authority supports the school through termly visits from the school improvement adviser.  The planning of the curriculum requires improvement. Pupils study a good range of subjects, but the curriculum does not always engage older pupils. School leaders have plans to revise the way

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The leadership and management require improvement

that different subjects are taught to ensure that the curriculum provides memorable experiences for all pupils, whatever their age.  The governance of the school:  Many members of the governing body are very experienced and know the school well. They are confident to ask questions and minutes of meetings of the governing body show that they challenge school leaders effectively. Safeguarding has a high priority and the governing body ensures that policies are reviewed and staff are properly trained. The headteacher provides regular information to the governing body on standards and pupils’ progress, but this lacks detail. Governors have rigorous procedures to appraise the performance of the headteacher. They receive information about the performance of other teachers, but not how this relates to salary progression. The governing body knows how the money from the pupil premium funding has been spent and they are informed about the precise short-term impact of each of

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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 125005 Local authority Surrey Inspection number 403565

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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 297 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Nick Harrison Headteacher Chris Gill Date of previous school inspection 25 January 2008 Telephone number 01737 350344 Fax number 01737 362484 Email address info@shawley.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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