Wootton Community Primary School

Wootton Community Primary School Church Road, Ryde, Isle of Wight, PO33 4PT

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Inadequate 4 Achievement of pupils Inadequate 4 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 has serious weaknesses

 Pupils do not make enough progress in writing and mathematics, especially those for whom the school receives pupil premium funding.  Too much inadequate teaching in the past has been a major contributor to pupils’ underachievement. The management of teachers’ performance is still not sufficiently rigorous and has not led to consistently good teaching.  Teaching still requires improvement because work is not always matched to pupils’ abilities, especially for more-able pupils.  Previously, the governing body did not ask enough searching questions of the school’s leaders about the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement.  Subject leaders have not played a strong enough role in improving achievement or the quality of teaching and learning.  Many changes in staffing over recent years have slowed the pace of improvement significantly and have reduced the impact of new initiatives.  Teachers sometimes talk too much at the start

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This is a school that has serious weaknesses

of lessons and do not check enough to see how well pupils are learning during lessons.

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The school has the following strengths

 The more settled staff and the senior leadership team are being guided well by the headteacher, and the impact is seen in improving teaching and achievement.  The governing body is now more able to question the school about the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement.  Improvements in teaching can be clearly seen and this is reflected in the better quality of work in pupils’ books.  Children get off to a good start in the Early Years Foundation Stage because of good teaching.  Behaviour is good in lessons. Pupils enjoy school and attendance is above average.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching in all classes. They visited 14 lessons.  Meetings were held with governors, staff, pupils and a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors observed other aspects of the school’s work including an assembly and playtimes. They looked at documents including plans for improvement, recent reviews of teaching, reports from external consultants, the school’s data for tracking pupils’ progress, the work in pupils' books, attendance records and the school’s documentation relating to safeguarding.  Account was taken of the 28 questionnaires completed by members of staff, the 27 responses from the on-line Parent View survey and the views of parents who spoke to inspectors at the start of the school day.

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Inspection team

Gavin Jones, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Fiona Robinson Additional Inspector

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Full report

In accordance with the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires significant improvement, because it is performing significantly less well than it might in all the circumstances reasonably be expected to perform.

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Information about this school

 Wootton is slightly smaller than the average-sized primary school. It has provision for the Early Years Foundation Stage in a single Reception class.  Almost all pupils are of White British heritage, with a much lower-than-average proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds. Hardly any speak English as an additional language.  The proportion of disabled pupils or those who have special educational needs, supported by school action, is broadly average. The proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is also broadly average.  The proportion of pupils joining or leaving the school, other than at the normal times, is above average.  The proportion of pupils for whom the school receives the pupil premium, which is additional funding for looked after children, pupils eligible for free school meals or children of service families, is below average. In this school the pupil premium applies to pupils eligible for free

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Information about this school

school meals only.  The school meets the government’s current floor standard, which sets the minimum expectation for pupils’ attainment and progress.  There is a nursery on site, but this is managed privately, as are the before-school and after- school clubs. These facilities were not part of this inspection.  There have been significant changes to the structure of the education provision on the Isle of Wight since the previous inspection, resulting in the school now having pupils in Years 5 and 6. Teachers have been redeployed to the school from middle schools, in line with this re- organisation. Since the previous inspection there have been 12 changes in staffing.  The school has an International Award.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching to make it consistently good or better by:  ensuring teachers match work in lessons to pupils' individual needs and especially that it extends more-able pupils  making sure pupils understand what they are learning and are given precise examples of what is expected of them  making sure teachers talk less in lessons so pupils can more quickly get on with activities and work by themselves  ensuring teachers question pupils more skilfully to check how well they are doing in lessons and make adjustments to teaching when necessary.  Improve the progress pupils make in writing and mathematics in Key Stages 1 and 2, including pupils supported by pupil premium funding, by:  ensuring pupils have regular opportunities to apply their writing and mathematical skills in a range of subjects  giving pupils time to respond to comments in teachers’ marking so that they can understand

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

how to improve their work.  Ensure leaders and managers accelerate the pace of improvement by:  using information from checks on teaching more rigorously to improve the quality of teaching, with a greater emphasis on its impact on pupils' learning and progress  making sure that there is a detailed analysis of the impact of the pupil premium spending on pupils' progress  developing the role of middle leaders so that they have a greater impact on improving pupils’ progress and the quality of teaching.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 Pupils do not make enough progress in writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6. In Key Stage 1, pupils’ attainment has fallen over recent years and that decline has only recently been arrested.  Throughout Key Stages 1 and 2, past weaknesses in teaching have resulted in standards slipping in Key Stage 1 and pupils’ progress stalling in Key Stage 2.  Pupil premium funding is used, in part, to provide additional teaching assistants for one-to-one coaching and small-group work. This has not proved to be successful in reducing the gap between the progress of these pupils and the rest of their classmates. National assessment results in 2012 show that pupils were two years behind their peers in mathematics and just over a year in English by the end of Year 6.  Lower attainment in Key Stage 1 has meant that pupils began Key Stage 2 lacking the level of skills expected. At the end of Year 6 in 2012, pupils’ attainment in English and mathematics was

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

just below average. Pupils in the current Year 6 are attaining at higher levels. A comparison of progress of pupils from last year and this year, in Year 6 and Year 2, shows better progress in both subjects.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs often make better progress than their classmates, as their needs have been clearly identified and the close support they receive is well directed. Pupils for whom English is not their first language make similar progress to other pupils.  Children enter the Early Years Foundation Stage with skills that are just below those expected for their age, especially in communication, language and literacy. They make good progress, reaching average standards by the end of their time in the Reception class because of good teaching.  The national check for reading for pupils in Year 1 shows that the teaching of phonics is good and that achievement in reading is improving, as pupils’ scores were in line with the national

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

average.  The school fully recognises that progress since the previous inspection has not been fast enough and has taken action to rectify this. As a result, pupils’ progress in mathematics has improved by the end of Year 6 because of better teaching. The introduction of a range of initiatives to improve writing is also having a positive effect. As a result, attainment is rising and most pupils are already working at the expected levels for their age at the end of Year 6 in reading, writing and mathematics.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The quality of teaching has been adversely affected by many changes, partly due to high staff turnover and it has not ensured that pupils made good progress. The current staffing situation is now more settled and teachers are improving their skills. Senior leaders are checking the quality of teaching more thoroughly and providing more guidance and support to sustain improvements to teachers’ performance. In the school’s own survey, parents and carers consider that teaching is improving.  Although lessons are better planned, pupils often have to spend too long sitting listening to the teachers, rather than being more actively involved in learning. Occasionally, work is not provided which meets the needs of all pupils, especially to extend the more-able pupils.  Teachers’ marking has improved since the previous inspection, but some inconsistencies still remain. Teachers do not always ensure that pupils have understood the comments and feedback

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

in their marking or that pupils are given enough time to act on them so they know how to improve their work.  Teachers carefully collect information on pupils’ progress for half-termly meetings with the headteacher, governors and subject leaders. These regular checks are helping to ensure that any pupils who may be at risk of underachievement are spotted at an early stage. While previous actions to improve the achievement of pupils supported by pupil premium funding have not been effective enough, the more detailed recording of pupils’ progress at these meetings allows the impact of actions to be more readily evaluated and reviewed.  Sometimes teachers do not clarify how work is to be carried out by giving pupils clear examples of what is required of them, before they start their work. Classroom displays do not all show what good work looks like so that pupils can see good examples of work and learn from them.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 In some lessons, teachers do not ask their questions widely enough, often only seeking responses from pupils who signify that they know the answers. They do not therefore ensure that all groups understand and are making sufficient progress during lessons and adapt the lesson if necessary.  The best teaching observed, for example in a Year 6 mathematics lesson, encouraged pupils to work together and share their work with the whole class. The teacher changed his approach and speed of the lesson after questioning revealed that most pupils were working faster than he had expected. No time was wasted on overly long explanations and the lesson was spent with pupils engaged in meaningful and suitable activities which matched their needs, over which pupils had a degree of choice.  The subject leaders for mathematics and English in Years 5 and 6, exchange classes each day so that they teach to their subject’s strengths. This action is beginning to have a positive effect on

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

the outcomes for pupils in both subjects.  The work of support staff is now more effective. They give good support to pupils who have special educational needs or for whom the school receives the pupil premium, ensuring that their needs are better met. Pupils who join the school after the usual time of admission are also supported well to settle in and make progress.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils behave well in lessons. They are keen to learn, well motivated and happy to share their learning in discussions with their partners. On occasions, this enthusiasm is not tapped into enough by teachers in allowing pupils to be more independent and work by themselves.  A few parents feel that behaviour is not good and that poor behaviour is not dealt with by the school. The inspection found that this was not the case either in lessons, in assemblies or around the school.  The school fosters good relationships successfully and there are many opportunities provided to promote pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Assemblies often relate to festivals of different cultures and each year group has links with another country, such as China or Australia. There are also links with a school in London to help pupils see what life is like in a more multicultural environment. Pupils raise money for a range of good causes and have views

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

on such world issues as climate change.  Pupils know about different forms of bullying and how to keep themselves safe. Discrimination of any kind is not tolerated in the school.  Pupils take on a range of responsibilities, from the school council to ensuring that attendance registers are safely delivered.  Pupils’ enjoyment of school is further evident in their above-average attendance.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Leadership and management require improvement because frequent staffing changes and the recent re-organisation of the local school system have meant that the school did not resolve weaknesses in the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement at a sufficient pace following the last inspection.  Nevertheless, the significant improvements made since last September show that current leaders and governors are now able to improve the school at a much faster rate.  The headteacher has a clear vision of the pathway to improvement and is now more ably supported by the governing body and members of the senior leadership team to reach those goals.  Whereas previously, assessments of how well pupils were doing were far too generous in Key Stage 1, they are now much more realistic and have been checked to ensure their validity. The information is now used extensively to check the progress of pupils on a half-termly basis and,

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The leadership and management requires improvement

at the same time, to ensure the quality of teaching is improving.  Nevertheless, further improvements are required. Although standards are beginning to rise and pupils’ progress has speeded up, leaders of subjects are not playing a big enough part in improving teaching and learning and raising achievement in their areas.  Checks made in lessons on the quality of teaching and learning often focus rather too narrowly on what teachers do and not on the impact they have on pupils' learning and progress. The appraisal of the effectiveness of staff as part of the management of their performance therefore does not take sufficient account of the progress of pupils in their charge.  Equal opportunities have not been assured for pupils supported by the pupil premium funding as they made much less progress than other groups. Until recently, there had not been a good enough analysis of the impact of spending of the pupil premium on pupils’ progress.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The revised curriculum offers opportunities for pupils to develop their learning across a range of subjects linked by interesting themes. These changes have also provided more opportunities for pupils to develop their spiritual, moral, social and cultural awareness. Pupils’ writing and mathematics skills are, however, not practised or used well enough in different subjects to further raise standards.  Work in lessons is enriched with a wide range of visits, visitors and clubs. Pupil premium money is used to ensure that all pupils can take advantage of them.  The local authority supports the school through ‘challenge meetings’ and by recommending where further advice might be sought on the mainland. In the past, this has not led to a concerted approach in tackling the issues faced by the school.  The governance of the school:  The governing body is now in a better position to understand and challenge the school on the

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The leadership and management requires improvement

quality of pupils’ achievement and teaching. Governors have developed their effectiveness in holding the school to account through better training and by gathering a far wider range of information for themselves, rather than waiting for the school to provide it. Previously this was not the case and the lack of challenge led, in part, to the school failing to maintain the momentum of improvement since the previous inspection. Governors now better understand the procedures for the appraisal of teachers and approve how targets are set for teachers linked to the progress pupils make, which may then justify increases in salary. The governing body, along with the business manager, manages finances well, although it had not achieved good value for money last year in the use of pupil premium funding. This issue has now been addressed. The governing body carries out its other statutory duties well, ensuring, for

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The leadership and management requires improvement

example, that procedures for safeguarding are well managed, regularly reviewed and fully meet requirements.

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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 118172 Local authority Isle of Wight Inspection number 401727

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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 193 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Rachel Leal Headteacher Peta Mather Date of previous school inspection 4–5 November 2009 Telephone number 01983 882505 Fax number 01983 882505 Email address admin@woottonpri.iow.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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