Sutton Bridge Westmere Community Primary School

Sutton Bridge Westmere Community Primary School Anne Road, Sutton Bridge, Spalding, PE12 9TB

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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 Good 2

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

 In recent years, pupils’ progress has been slow in all subjects. Progress still requires improvement in writing and in science.  Pupils do not practise their writing skills enough, both in the Reception class and in older year groups.  Teaching has yet to secure sustained good or better progress. In some lessons, teaching does not move pupils on quickly to harder work.  Pupils do not have enough opportunities to work on their own and develop initiative.  In science, pupils are not good at planning investigations, carrying them out and deciding what they found out.  Governors are not sufficiently involved in setting teachers’ targets to improve their performance.

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The school has the following strengths

 Pupils’ behaviour has improved dramatically and is now good. They are keen to learn, they work well together and know how to keep themselves safe.  The school’s leaders have used additional funding creatively and effectively to boost the performance of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals.  Leaders are rigorous in checking pupils’ progress and the quality of teaching. They have taken effective action to improve the school. As a result, pupils have caught up rapidly in their reading and their mathematics.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed eight teachers teach 14 lessons or parts of lessons and watched two adults supporting two groups of pupils. Several of these observations were undertaken with senior leaders.  Meetings were held with several governors, including the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Governing Body. Inspectors also met with teaching staff and senior and middle leaders. Inspectors met with several pupils formally. They spoke to some pupils at break times and had informal discussions with them about their work and school life.  Inspectors looked at a range of documents provided by the school, including the school improvement plan, the analysis of pupils’ progress, the headteacher’s report to governors and minutes of governing body meetings.  The inspection took account of the 12 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View). Inspectors also talked to parents before school started. Questionnaires from 17 members of staff

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Inspection team

Mary Hinds, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Colin Lower Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is smaller than the average primary school.  The majority of pupils are of White British heritage. There are an increasing proportion of pupils from other ethnic backgrounds who speak English as an additional language. The majority of these pupils are from Portugal and Eastern Europe.  The proportion of pupils for whom the school is receiving additional income (the pupil premium) is high compared to most schools. These pupils are all known to be eligible for free school meals.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported by school action is above average. The proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is also above average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  The headteacher was appointed in 2011. In 2012, she became the executive headteacher when

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Information about this school

the school federated with two other schools, Holbeach St. Marks and Gedney Drove End where she was also the headteacher. There is a joint governing body for the federated schools.  A head of school oversees the school’s day-to-day running. She was appointed in September 2012. Six new teachers have joined the school since the previous inspection.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching by:  providing more opportunities for pupils to work on their own and show initiative  making sure that pupils move more quickly on to more demanding tasks much earlier in a series of lessons  helping governors to contribute more to the targets that are set to improve teachers’ work.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise achievement in writing by ensuring that:  pupils have sufficient time to use and apply their writing skills in lessons  adults show children the importance and purpose of writing during the children’s role play.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Strengthen the teaching of science by:  making sure that pupils are taught the skills they need for planning, carrying out, recording and evaluating investigations  providing more opportunities for pupils to practise and refine these skills.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 The school has come through a period in which pupils of all ages made slow progress. Most children join the school with skills that are below those expected for their age. Many have poor language and communication skills. Results show they have made mostly steady progress through the school but have not caught up on others nationally. Over the years, some pupils have missed out on understanding important things in the different subjects.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Although pupils in 2012 in Year 6 made good or better progress, their levels of attainment remained below average because most pupils had these considerable gaps in their learning. As a result, attainment in English and mathematics remained below average in English and mathematics.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils’ progress has now speeded up in mathematics and reading, but it still requires improvement in writing and in science. Standards are beginning to rise throughout the school and attainment is now broadly average in both reading and mathematics in most classes. Standards have improved but remain below average in writing. Improvements in the quality of teaching are not yet sufficiently embedded to result in all pupils making consistently good or better progress across all subjects.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Leaders have introduced an effective approach to teaching early reading skills. Activities are well matched to pupils’ different levels of ability because pupils’ progress is tracked rigorously. Pupils use their knowledge of the sounds letters make to read unfamiliar words well. As a result, pupils are now making good progress in their reading. Older pupils are confident and fluent in their reading.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Writing has improved because pupils are taught systematically key skills and technical vocabulary to write for meaning and effect. They are encouraged to apply these skills weekly through ‘Big Write’ activities where they write for a purpose. However, there are still some weaknesses in the teaching of writing in some classes.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 The progress made by disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs reflects the more rapid rates of progress now made by all pupils. Adults are well tuned to their needs. They use their assessments to provide pupils with appropriate support to help them learn. The school has responded swiftly to ensure that those pupils who speak English as an additional language develop fluency in their communication skills. For example, children made dough to bake bread. The adult skilfully repeated key words and encouraged the children to use these in complete sentences.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils supported by the additional money from the pupil premium have made better progress than all other pupils. Those who took Year 6 tests in 2012 were ahead of other pupils by about a term in mathematics. They were at the same level as other pupils in English. Funding is used well to boost their achievement and ensure equal opportunities. It is used for a range of activities from one-to-one support to additional targeted group work in literacy and mathematics.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Progress in science is not as rapid as in reading and mathematics. Pupils do not have enough opportunities to carry out investigations or to make conclusions about their work. These skills are not sufficiently well developed.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching has recently improved considerably but there has been insufficient time to see the impact of this on sustained improvement in pupils’ learning and progress over time. Pupils currently in the school have ground to make up in writing and in science, and teaching of these subjects still requires improvement. However, their progress in reading and mathematics shows that teaching in these areas is already good.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teachers plan carefully and identify different targets so that activities are suitably matched to the different needs and abilities of pupils. Nevertheless, pupils do not have enough time to apply their skills within lessons on those occasions when they sit for too long listening to the teachers. This means the amount of practice they get in writing is restricted.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Where teaching requires improvement, pupils of different abilities are sometimes given undemanding work. Their books show that they are not moved on to harder work quickly enough through a series of lessons.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Pupils are keen to learn and have good levels of concentration. However, they are not always encouraged to work on their own or to make decisions about what they need to do next when they have completed their work. Similarly, there are too few opportunities for them to use their skills of planning, investigating and evaluating their work in other subjects such as science.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 In the best lessons, teachers identify and explain clearly what pupils will learn. They share with pupils what steps they need to take in order to be successful. In a literacy lesson, pupils were totally engaged in writing a diary entry as a character from The Snow Queen. The teacher modelled the learning well, she refocused pupils on the steps they needed to take in their learning. As a result, pupils made outstanding progress. In this lesson, pupils worked on their own, they were given time to reflect on their learning and to assess their own progress.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 A notable strength of teaching is the effective feedback teachers give to pupils on how to improve their work. Pupils are given clear advice on what to do to get even better. Pupils have time to respond to this marking.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching in the Reception classes is variable. Progress is not rapid enough because children are not shown how to use and practise their skills, particularly in writing. For example, in a stimulating well-resourced role-play area, children did not use an appointment sheet to write their own or each others’ name to make an appointment at the ‘vets’ because they had not been shown by an adult the function and purpose of the activity.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils behave well both in and out of lessons. They are respectful towards each other and to all adults. They are polite, welcoming and confident. Children in the Reception classes make rapid gains in their personal development.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The school has focused strongly on developing a consistent approach to managing pupils’ behaviour. Pupils respond well to this and enjoy being rewarded for good behaviour. Pupils say that their behaviour has improved considerably. They are very proud of their school.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Records show that bullying of any sort, such as name-calling or racist comments, is rare, as are exclusions. Discussions with pupils demonstrate that they have great confidence in adults sorting out any problems they have.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Parents feel vey confident that their children are safe in school. Pupils have a good understanding of different types of bullying. They know how to keep themselves safe, including when using the internet.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The atmosphere in school is very positive. Pupils work very well together and participate co- operatively in discussions because they say that adults value their contributions. They are not all as practised at showing initiative when working on their own.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Attendance is broadly average and improving steadily. The school has implemented a variety of strategies to improve this further; for example, through ‘attendance bingo’ where those pupils who have achieved 100% attendance have their names drawn from a hat and are rewarded with a voucher.

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The leadership and management are good

 Strong leadership by the headteacher has inspired all leaders, including the governing body and staff, to work towards excellence. She has established a unified team spirit. She is very well supported by the head of school.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders drive to improve the quality of teaching, pupil progress and behaviour is based on a rigorous monitoring and evaluation cycle. This allows them to target the right areas for improvement. Furthermore, leaders use this information well to plan precisely how they are going to achieve their ambitious goals.

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The leadership and management are good

 The rapid improvements in reading and mathematics show the success of the things leaders have done. They acknowledge that improvements to writing are still in progress, and have also identified that science requires development.

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The leadership and management are good

 Robust checks are made on the quality of teaching. As a consequence, teaching is improving quickly, and all inadequate teaching has been eliminated. Pay is linked accurately to individual performance. Leaders set challenging targets for teachers to improve. They use information from checks on teaching to provide tailored professional support and training.

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The leadership and management are good

 Partnership work between the three schools is a strength. For example, leaders make effective use of the strongest teaching; in particular, outstanding teaching is used well to model excellent practice for others.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders’ systematic and regular checks on the progress different groups of pupils make pinpoints any underachievement, and support is quickly arranged to help pupils to catch up. The effectiveness of support is carefully monitored to ensure maximum impact on pupils’ progress.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority has made a good contribution in supporting the school. It has funded a lead teacher for teaching and learning in order to strengthen the quality of teaching. It has supported governors in developing their monitoring role. The local authority currently gives less support because leaders have a good track record of securing improvements across the federation.

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The leadership and management are good

 Although only a few parents gave their views via the online questionnaire, when they talked to inspectors they expressed very positive views about their children’s progress, teaching and behaviour, and about the leadership of the school.

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The leadership and management are good

 Teaching programmes strongly promote all groups of learners’ reading and mathematical skills, knowledge and understanding. Leaders have begun to introduce a more creative approach to teaching many subjects. However, aspects of science are not given a sufficiently high priority. The curriculum supports pupils’ moral and social development well, but they get few experiences of other cultures.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  Governors are experienced and provide good support for the school. They know how well the school compares with other schools nationally. They ask leaders challenging questions about pupils’ progress because they are well informed. They have supported the headteacher in bringing about many improvements, particularly in raising pupils’ rates of progress and levels of attendance. The governing body has a good understanding of the quality of teaching through visits and discussions with the headteacher. Although they have a clear understanding of the link between the quality of teaching and pay, they make little contribution to strategy for improving teaching through the targets set by senior leaders. Governors ensure that statutory duties are met and that financial resources, including the pupil premium, are managed effectively.

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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 120502 Local authority Lincolnshire Inspection number 401944

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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

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Number of boarders on roll

Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Nick Worth Headteacher Karyn Wiles Date of previous school inspection 11 January 2010 Telephone number 01406 350205 Fax number 01406 351638 Email address enquiries@westmere.lincs.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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Number of boarders on roll

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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Number of boarders on roll

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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Number of boarders on roll

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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Number of boarders on roll

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Number of boarders on roll

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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