Fordley Primary School

Fordley Primary School Dudley Drive, Dudley, Cramlington, Northumberland, , NE23 7AL

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Outstanding 1 Achievement of pupils Outstanding 1 Quality of teaching Outstanding 1 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Leadership and management Outstanding 1

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is an outstanding school.  This school has improved at a very rapid rate since the previous inspection. It now provides all pupils with a very high-quality education which they really enjoy. Pupils achieve extremely well and reach standards of attainment that are above average.  Leadership and management, including governance, are extremely effective. They have improved the quality of teaching significantly. It is now outstanding.  The performance management of staff is very well organised. Staff are continually provided with excellent opportunities for their professional development and are given very challenging performance targets.  Teachers provide very exciting and interesting activities that fully engage pupils and make them very eager to learn. They make sure that pupils know what they have done well and what they need to do to improve, especially in literacy.  Pupils are very enthusiastic, take a lot of pride

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

in gaining new knowledge and skills and in presenting their work, and strive to achieve very high targets.  The behaviour of pupils is exemplary. They are unfailingly polite and courteous, and learn and play exceptionally well together. Pupils are very confident that they are safe in school.  Leaders know precisely how they can improve the school’s effectiveness even further. They know that their next steps are to ensure that exemplary teaching practice is shared more routinely among staff and that the high-quality marking evident in pupils’ literacy books is fully extended across other subjects.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 21 lessons, one of which was a joint observation with the headteacher.  Meetings were held with two groups of pupils, including the school council and pupils from Years 5 and 6, the Chair and other members of the Governing Body, school staff with leadership responsibilities and a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors met parents informally and took account of surveys of their views carried out by the school. There were insufficient responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) to be published.  Documents were scrutinised including information relating to pupils’ progress, staff performance management and the effectiveness of teaching, minutes of the governing body’s meetings and the improvement plan. Records relating to safeguarding, behaviour and attendance were also considered.

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Inspection team

Peter Evea, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Barbara Hudson Additional Inspector Tim Nelson Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is an above average sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium (additional funding provided for children in local authority care, those from services families and those known to be eligible for free school meals) is well above average and has increased since the previous inspection.  Most pupils are White British.  The proportion of pupils supported through school action is above average. The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is just above average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the proportion of outstanding teaching still further by making sure that: - the exemplary practice seen in the best lessons is more routinely shared across the school - the high-quality marking in pupils’ literacy books is fully extended across other subjects.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Pupils’ progress and attainment have improved substantially since the last inspection, and from the Early Years Foundation Stage through to the end of Key Stage 2 pupils make rapid gains in their knowledge, understanding and skills.  Most children enter the Nursery with skills, knowledge and understanding that are well below those typical for their age. By the end of Year 6 pupils now reach standards that are above average. A higher-than-average proportion of Year 6 pupils in 2012 reached the expected level for their age in English and mathematics.  The school’s data that show pupils’ progress indicate all pupils are making at least expected progress and a well-above-average proportion making better than expected progress. Inspection evidence shows that the trend of rising standards is set to continue. Pupils currently in Year 6, for example, are well on course to attain above-average standards by the end of the summer

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

term 2013.  A highly effective programme to develop pupils’ reading skills helps younger pupils make a very secure and rapid start to learning to read. Year 2 pupils can read accurately and with precise understanding. They can decode new words confidently. This is built on extremely successfully as pupils move up through the school. By Year 6 pupils read avidly and with considerable skill.  Pupils write very imaginatively, applying their well-developed skills creatively to their topic work. They show an excellent attention to detail and can accurately adapt their writing style to suit the intended audience and purpose.  Pupils’ mathematical knowledge and skills are equally good. Older pupils select and skilfully employ very-well-chosen strategies when solving complex problems.  The progress of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is very precisely and regularly reviewed. Carefully planned programmes of support, which are very well tailored to

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

meet pupils’ individual needs, ensure that these pupils make rapid progress in their learning.  Pupils who are eligible for the pupil premium funding achieve extremely well. School data show that the previous gap between the attainment of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, in English and mathematics, and of those who are not eligible in the school has successfully closed. Both groups of pupils achieve equally well. This is because of the excellent quality of extra help provided for them, such as learning in smaller groups.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Teaching is consistently good and a substantial proportion is outstanding. The school’s own monitoring records and other inspection evidence show that high-quality teaching is the norm throughout all key stages.  Using very detailed information from accurate assessments of pupils’ progress, teachers plan really interesting and stimulating lessons which give every pupil the opportunity to make rapid progress. As one pupil said, ‘You can’t get a better school than this. Every day is fun because we do fun activities in and out of class.’  Class routines are well established and the very warm relationships between teachers and pupils mean that discipline is maintained apparently effortlessly and so lessons progress without interruption. No time for learning is lost. Pupils are never afraid to ask questions and to offer their opinions and ideas.  Work is precisely matched to pupils’ differing abilities and needs and teachers make skilful

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

adjustments to maintain an accurate level of challenge as lessons progress.  Literacy and numeracy are taught in wonderfully imaginative and creative ways and excellent links are made with other subjects. As a result, pupils have interesting things to write about, which they do, often at length. In pupils’ literacy books, teachers mark work so that pupils have a precise understanding about how well they have done and how to improve further. Pupils are not as clear about how to improve their work in other subjects as they are in literacy.  Teaching assistants have very clear roles and responsibilities in lessons. They support pupils’ learning extremely skilfully. They show an excellent understanding of what pupils are expected to learn and intervene very effectively to help them overcome any difficulties which might slow their learning.  Teachers’ subject knowledge is excellent and their enthusiasm for what they are teaching is

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

infectious. As a result, pupils are very keen to be involved and to do their best. In a mathematics lesson pupils eagerly became `Dracula Detectives’, solving a range of problems in order to save a character from the novel which was the current topic focus.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 All pupils are very enthusiastic learners. They listen carefully to their teachers, participate fully in lessons and show a keen interest in their learning. As a result, they choose to behave impeccably in lessons. The school is always calm and orderly.  Staff, pupils and parents all have the same very positive view of pupils’ behaviour and agree that behaviour has improved since the previous inspection.  Staff have extremely high expectations of behaviour. All adults set excellent examples for pupils to follow. Older pupils provide excellent role models for the younger ones.  Pupils are enthusiastic about contributing to all aspects of school life. Preparations are now well underway to create a chicken farm. Pupils are eager to take on responsibility, such as acting as `buddies’ at playtime to help anyone who might be upset or lonely.  Pupils feel very safe in school. They know about different types of bullying, such as name-

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

calling, and say that bullying in any form is very rare and quickly addressed by staff if it does happen. Their knowledge of how to keep themselves safe, such as when using the internet, is impressive.  Attendance has improved significantly and is now average as a result of the school’s thorough systems for checking on, and following up, any absences. Pupils are eager to come to school and do so on time.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The drive and commitment by leaders and managers at all levels, along with the full support of staff and governors, to improve the school’s effectiveness since the previous inspection from satisfactory to outstanding has been determined, sustained and highly successful. This is now a highly inclusive school in which the leaders and managers ensure equally excellent opportunities for all pupils.  Highly effective action has been taken to address all previously identified areas for improvement. Improvements in pupils’ achievement, behaviour and safety, the quality of teaching, and in leadership and management all indicate that there is a very strong capacity for further improvement. The school is now building successfully on its many strengths and knows exactly what it needs to improve still further.  Arrangements for the performance management of staff are very thorough and effective. This includes regular and accurate observations of lessons and frequent meetings to review pupils’

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The leadership and management are outstanding

progress. Teachers are fully held to account for the progress of their pupils. Staff performance is closely matched to promotion and pay progression.  There is a shared understanding among staff about precisely what, where and exactly how to improve the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement even further. This, combined with excellent staff development opportunities, means that everyone is always looking for ways to develop their classroom practice. The school’s close partnership with the Shiremoor Teaching Alliance provides opportunities for best teaching practices to be shared and disseminated between nearby schools. Even so, although leaders have an accurate understanding of where the very best classroom practice is within the school, they do not always make sure that this is routinely shared among all staff.  Leaders at all levels ensure that pupils receive a very rich, broad, balanced and highly

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The leadership and management are outstanding

stimulating curriculum that is very well matched to pupils’ varying needs. There are many wonderful opportunities for pupils to develop their spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding. Pupils develop into confident, very independent, inquisitive and eager learners who place a high value on their education and who achieve exceptionally well. There is a wide range of after-school clubs and activities in and beyond school. The variety of visits and visitors to the school is much appreciated. This means that pupils have very real and engaging things to learn and write about.  The local authority provides appropriate support which is valued by the school.  The governance of the school:  The school benefits from a highly effective and determined governing body which knows the school very well, monitors its performance rigorously and systematically and asks challenging questions to promote further development. Governors are highly ambitious for the

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The leadership and management are outstanding

achievement and welfare of the pupils and are well informed about all aspects of school life, in particular about the quality of teaching and data in relation to pupils’ achievement. Governors are familiar with Teachers’ Standards and use them to help manage teachers’ performance. They oversee the spending of pupil premium funding and they are aware of the very positive impact this is having on pupils’ achievement. Governors ensure that all statutory requirements regarding safeguarding and child protection are met.

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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 108611 Local authority North Tyneside Inspection number 405183

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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 335 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Arlene Ainsley Headteacher Tony Rigg Date of previous school inspection 2 March 2011 Telephone number 0191 200 8030 Fax number 0191 200 8031 Email address fordleycommunity.primary@northtyneside.gov.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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