Riverside Primary School

Riverside Primary School Ferry Road, Hullbridge, Hockley, SS5 6ND

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Inadequate 4 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.  Standards are rising rapidly. Pupils are making good progress, some from a low starting point.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs do well because their needs are understood and the right support is in place to help them succeed.  Teaching is good. Regular checking by senior leaders is improving the quality of teaching as well as the progress pupils make.  Information about how well pupils are doing is being used effectively to help them to improve and to plan any further support needed.  Additional government funding has been used well to support pupils who need extra help. As a result, they receive effective individual support and make the same progress as pupils in the rest of the school.  Behaviour is good. Pupils feel safe, their attitudes to learning are positive and attendance has risen.  Leadership is good; the headteacher and senior staff have significantly improved

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

teaching and achievement.  The governing body and senior staff manage teachers’ performance effectively, and governors have made a strong contribution to school improvement.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Although progress is now good overall, pupils do not achieve equally well in reading, writing and mathematics across all year groups.  Standards are not yet above average.  Staff do not use opportunities to enhance pupils’ speaking and listening skills sufficiently to improve their writing .

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Information about this inspection

 HMI conducted 12 lesson observations, seeing all available teachers at work. The inspector conducted 10 joint observations with senior staff. All staff were offered professional feedback about the lessons observed.  Informal discussions were held with groups of pupils and parents. Further meetings were arranged with the Chair of the Governing Body, a representative of the local authority, and nominated staff.  There were no responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View).  HMI looked at a range of documents provided by the school, including the school improvement plan, the analysis of pupils’ progress, the headteacher’s reports to the governing body, and the minutes of governing body meetings.

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Inspection team

David Jones, Lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Full report

In accordance with section 13 (4) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that the school no longer requires special measures.

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Information about this school

 The school is larger than the average-sized primary school.  Almost all pupils are White British and none speak English as an additional language.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and receiving the pupil premium (additional funding available to the school to assist particular pupils) is below average.  All pupils are educated on site. The school does not use alternative provision for any pupils  The proportion of the pupils who need extra help with their learning because they are disabled or have special educational needs is average. These include pupils supported at school action, school action plus and those with a statement of special educational needs.  The school meets the government’s floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.  The school was placed in special measures in November 2011 and was visited by HMI in April

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the proportion of outstanding teaching and further raise standards by ensuring that all staff:  allow enough time to review pupils’ work at the end of the lesson  take every opportunity to hear the pupils read their own work aloud  further develop pupils’ speaking and listening skills by extending questioning across the class when the pupils’ initial responses could be improved.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 When pupils start school, their attainment is below average. The results of the 2012 Year 1 reading test were below average and this was directly linked to previous weaknesses in the Reception class. Early Years Foundation Stage provision is now effective and children make good progress in their Reception Year.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Good teaching in Year 1 is helping pupils to make rapid progress in phonics (letters and the sounds they make). Pupils make good progress in Key Stage 1 and standards are above average. The effects of previous weaknesses in teaching have not been wholly overcome, however, and gaps remain in older pupils’ writing skills in Years to 3 to 5. Nevertheless, standards have risen in Key Stage 2. Attainment in the Year 6 national tests in 2012 was average. This represents a marked improvement on the previous year.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The inspector’s observations in lessons, pupils’ work and the school’s data indicate that this pattern of increasingly strong progress is set to continue, and reflects the increasing proportion of good or better teaching now evident across the school.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils in Years 2 to 6 generally make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics but do not make the same rate of progress in all three subjects. Progress in mathematics and reading has improved rapidly because of strong subject leadership. Well-managed reading intervention, well supported by parental volunteers, has proved effective. Progress in writing is stronger in some year groups than others

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils whose circumstances mean they are at risk of not doing well and those who need extra help make good progress. This includes disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs. These pupils do well because of the effective, well-targeted support provided in class and in small groups.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The very small numbers of pupils from ethnic minorities make good progress and the school ensures that all pupils have an equal opportunity to succeed.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupil premium funding is being used effectively to employ additional staff to work intensively with small groups of pupils on reading and writing. The extra support has meant that the progress made by those supported by this extra government funding was in line with or better than other pupils in the school. As a result, this group did notably better than similar pupils nationally.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching has improved significantly since the last inspection and this is the key reason for the rise in pupils’ progress.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Lessons are generally well organised and well planned. As a result, teachers ensure that pupils enjoy their lessons and are keen to learn. Teachers understand what they need to do to help pupils to improve. However, some teachers do not allow enough time to review pupils’ work at the end of the lesson or to make the most of opportunities to hear pupils read aloud or to extend questioning across the class when the pupils’ initial response could be improved.  Senior staff have used staff development opportunities effectively to help teachers and their assistants to improve their practice and increase the progress pupils make.

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The quality of teaching is good

 In the best lessons, resources are well chosen, explanations are clear and the tasks well matched to the pupils’ needs. For example, in an outstanding Year 2 phonics lesson, the pupils discovered that the pattern of letters in a word created new sounds and the teacher used this very well to introduce simple spellings. Effective liaison by two teachers, who share a class in Year 1, ensured that pupils revisited concepts they found difficult earlier in the week, so that overall these young pupils made good progress when handling data and creating accurate graphs.

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The quality of teaching is good

 In the small-group and individual support sessions, staff listen carefully to the pupils’ ideas and question effectively to improve learning. This use of calm, precise coaching is enabling pupils’ reading, writing and mathematics skills to improve as they move through the school.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils behave well in class and around the school. They are pleased to come to school in the morning and look after each other when they are there.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils work cooperatively and many show good social skills. Pupils told the inspector there was little name-calling and they can trust staff to sort out any problems quickly.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils enjoy learning. They want to answer questions and the care they take over their work has improved notably in the last year. In lessons where teaching requires improvement, a few individuals sometimes talk to each other about things that are not connected to the lesson.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils say they feel safe and that bullying is rare. They understand different types of bullying, including cyber-bullying and racism. Parents and carers told the inspector that they were happy with the way the school looked after their child and that, when bullying occurs, it is dealt with well.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Attendance has risen significantly in the last year and is currently in line with the national average.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher has worked relentlessly to improve both teaching and achievement. The return of the deputy headteacher and the appointment of a consistently good teacher as assistant headteacher have significantly strengthened the leadership team. Senior staff are uncompromising in pushing for all pupils in the school to receive the best education possible but acknowledge that more needs to be done to further raise standards and improve pupils’ progress.

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The leadership and management are good

 Teaching has improved rapidly since the previous inspection because leaders carefully check how well teachers are helping pupils to make progress. The school ensures that decisions about teachers’ pay are closely linked to the effectiveness of their teaching and the roles they fulfil.

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The leadership and management are good

 Senior staff consistently share their high expectations of teaching and learning with other staff, and this has been a key factor in the improvement in teaching. They make accurate judgements of teaching quality and relate these judgements directly to how well teachers are helping pupils to improve.

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The leadership and management are good

 School leaders have worked hard and successfully to reduce pupil absence and their consistent checking has led to a significant rise in attendance.

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The leadership and management are good

 The spiritual, moral, social and cultural opportunities provided within assemblies and as part of lessons ensure that pupils have a good understanding of different cultures and enjoy regular opportunities to learn about environmental issues.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority provided an outstanding practitioner to support the senior leadership team during the period when the school required special measures. This very positive action contributed to the improvements in teaching and the checking of pupils’ progress.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  Governors are trained well and are fully informed about how the school is performing. They use data and other information provided in reports from the headteacher to compare it with other schools. Governors make regular visits to the school and understand where teaching is most effective. They check the impact of senior staff reviews of teaching and ensure that teachers’ progress through the pay scales is related to their effectiveness in raising standards. Governors set targets for the headteacher, and check carefully how well these are being met. Governors know how the pupil premium funding is being spent and closely monitor the impact of this and all other spending to ensure that the school’s budget is being used efficiently to help pupils make better progress. The governing body ensures that requirements for the safeguarding of pupils are met. The leadership of the Chair of the Governing Body and the

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The leadership and management are good

manner in which she has supported the headteacher have been exemplary.

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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 135903 Local authority Essex Inspection number 410250

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School details

This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act.

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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 296 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Valerie Lucking Headteacher Megan Jenkins Date of previous school inspection 2 November 2011 Telephone number 01702 230911 Fax number 01702 231978 Email address Megan.jenkins@riverside.essex.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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