Vange Primary School and Nursery

Vange Primary School and Nursery London Road, Vange, Basildon, SS16 4QA

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 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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This is a good school

 Pupils make good progress throughout the school. This is particularly true in reading and writing. Progress has improved strongly since the last inspection.  Children get off to a good start in the Early Years Foundation Stage. They quickly develop confidence to find things out for themselves because they are well cared and feel happy and secure.  Teaching is good and motivates pupils to do their best. Teachers, skilfully supported by well-qualified and experienced teaching assistants, establish a purposeful and productive atmosphere in lessons.  Improvements to the curriculum have provided interesting learning experiences which successfully promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  The school is a safe and harmonious community where pupils’ behaviour is consistently good. Pupils thoroughly enjoy school and feel very safe, valued and well looked after. Pupils report that bullying and

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This is a good school

racism are very rare.  Leaders across the school, including governors, want the best for their pupils. They use data to identify pupils who could be making better progress and provide them and the staff with support to increase their rates of progress

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Teachers do not consistently use pupils’ learning targets and their next steps for improvement when planning or marking pupils’ work.  Pupils are not given enough challenge or opportunity to work on their own or find things out for themselves, especially in mathematics.  The role of the subject leaders has not yet fully developed in all subjects. They do not take sufficient responsibility for improving pupils’ achievement and evaluating the effectiveness of their work.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed eight lessons, six of which were observed jointly with the headteacher or deputy headteacher. In addition, the inspector made some short visits to lessons.  Meetings were held with pupils, the governors, the headteacher, and the teachers with specific responsibilities. The lead inspector also met with a representative of the local authority.  The inspector took account of the 20 responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) as well as consulting informally with parents and carers before school. Additionally, 20 responses to the staff questionnaire were considered.  The inspector observed the school’s work, and looked at a range of documents including the school’s improvement plans, information on pupils’ current progress, planning, minutes of the governing body meetings and records relating to special educational needs, behaviour, attendance and safeguarding.  The inspector heard pupils read, talked to them in lessons and evaluated samples of their work.

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Inspection team

Raminder Arora, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a small school where the large majority of pupils are White British. The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic or mixed heritage backgrounds is similar to that found in most schools.  There are five classes, three of which have pupils from more than one year group within them.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium, which provides additional funding from the government for children in local authority care, those pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and those from service families, is above average  The proportion of pupils with special educational needs supported at school action is below average. The proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is above average. Most of these pupils have moderate learning difficulties.  The proportion of pupils joining or leaving the school other than at the usual times is higher than

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Information about this school

average.  There is a Nursery class, which children attend in the mornings only, and a Reception class in the Early Years Foundation Stage.  The governors manage a breakfast club for pupils.  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?

 Improve the quality of teaching so that it is consistently good and the majority outstanding, particularly in mathematics, by:  setting real-life, problem-solving tasks that provide appropriate challenge to all pupils and enough opportunities for them to find things out for themselves  ensuring that all teachers refer to pupils’ learning targets and their next steps in learning when planning and marking their work.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Strengthen the role of subject leaders by ensuring that they take greater responsibility for improving pupils’ achievement in their subject areas and that they evaluate the effectiveness of their work.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children enter the Nursery class with skills that are well below those expected for their age, especially in communication, literacy and mathematics. They leave Year 6 with attainment that is broadly average in reading, writing and mathematics. Pupils achieve comparatively better from their starting points in reading and writing than in mathematics. This is because they lack consistent challenge and opportunities to work on real-life problem-solving tasks.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils’ achievement has improved markedly over the last two years. The school has experienced some turbulence and inadequate teaching in the past as a result of many staff changes. However, staffing is now stable, progress is accelerating rapidly and standards have risen markedly.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils’ work in books and lessons show that the improvements are being well maintained. The progress of pupils in most year groups is consistently good.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The reading screening check in Year1 last year showed that children were learning appropriately to link sounds and letters, reaching similar levels to others of their age. Listening to pupils read during the inspection confirmed that attainment in reading in Key Stage 1 is now at least average. Regular reading is a feature in all classes so that pupils are developing good fluency and understanding in their reading.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are well supported. The progress of pupils at school action plus is in line with that for similar groups nationally. This is because pupils’ needs are identified quickly and they are given extra support from skilled teaching assistants.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The few pupils who speak a first language other than English make progress in line with their classmates. This is due to the clear explanations and additional activities used by teachers and teaching assistants to develop these pupils’ spoken and written English.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils eligible for pupil premium support make similar or better progress to others because they receive effective help from teaching assistants in reading, writing and mathematics. Skilled classroom assistants ensure that pupils are challenged in lessons well. These pupils’ attainment is in line with that of their classmates because their progress is accelerating this year. They also benefit from support which gives them access to trips, sport and a variety of clubs after school. This ensures they are included well, promotes equality of opportunity and broadens the experiences they bring to their learning in the classroom.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Good systems to track progress are well established and are used effectively to provide targeted support and programmes that meet pupils’ specific needs well.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Outcomes for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage are good. A wide range of well- planned learning activities and skilful teaching by all adults supports children’s progress well. Many good opportunities are provided for children to follow and learn from their own interests in both indoor and outdoor activities.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The teaching has improved well since the previous inspection because of good training opportunities for staff including teaching assistants. This has had a positive impact on pupils’ learning and progress because pupils find the things they do in lessons motivating and inspiring.

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The quality of teaching is good

 A strong feature of lessons is teachers’ secure subject knowledge that they use well to plan activities that interest pupils but also build carefully on what has been done before. A very good example was seen in a writing lesson for pupils in Years 5 and 6 where the teacher’s good questioning skills helped pupils to pinpoint how and why a text affects a reader. This prepared pupils well to use their imagination and to write creatively themselves.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Detailed assessment of pupils’ needs is used in the majority of lessons to plan tasks that match those needs. While all teachers plan lessons conscientiously, sometimes they do not check pupils’ learning has the correct level of challenge for each group. Occasionally, they do not accurately judge the level pupils are working at, so that the work set is either too difficult or does not challenge the pupils enough. In these cases the rate of progress is reduced.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers do not routinely challenge pupils’ understanding by providing real-life problem-solving tasks for pupils to tackle independently. This is particularly the case in mathematics.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The school uses its pupil premium funding and other finances to provide teaching assistants in every class. Pupils at risk of falling behind receive carefully targeted support and well-planned intervention from the teaching assistants which enables them to make good progress.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils have targets which set out very clearly the next steps in learning in both English and mathematics, but these are not routinely referred to when their work is marked, or when it is planned, especially in mathematics.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Classrooms are attractive. The teachers create lively and well resourced rooms for the pupils. In many cases, useful prompts and reminders are interestingly displayed on the classroom walls.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching in the Early Years Foundation Stage enables children to make good progress. As well as effective teaching of key skills, children are helped to think about what they are learning and to develop the skill of working by themselves.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils behave well in and around the school; they are polite, friendly and are very caring of each other. They pay good attention in lessons and are keen to learn.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Behaviour is not yet outstanding because, occasionally, pupils lose concentration when the teaching is not brisk enough. Additionally, some pupils do not readily use their initiative or work independently.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils, their parents, carers and the staff are positive about the standards of behaviour. Pupils report that bullying is rare, although they are aware of the forms this can take such as cyber- bullying and racist name-calling.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils say that they feel very safe in school because the adults put children first. Parents and carers agree that the school looks after pupils well with regard to both their physical and emotional well-being.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Teachers manage behaviour well. There is a very clear system of sanctions and rewards which pupils understand well.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Effective relationships create a productive environment for learning. Pupils cooperate well with their teachers and are treated respectfully. They are keen to answer questions and produce good quantities of work.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Attendance and punctuality have improved markedly over the last year. Attendance is now average. Absence has been reduced because the school has taken firm steps to eradicate family holidays in term time. Pupils are rewarded for good attendance in assemblies each week. The provision of a breakfast club also helps pupils to be punctual and attend regularly.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher’s and the new deputy headteacher’s open, honest and determined approach to leading the school has created an effective learning culture. As a result, rapid improvements have been secured and issues from the previous inspection successfully tackled.

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The leadership and management are good

 Staff, parents and carers are united in applying the school’s vision of ‘Value, Achieve, Nurture, Grow, Enjoy’. Parents and carers are well informed about the work of the school and are encouraged to be involved in supporting their children’s education. One parent described the school as ‘a true community school with a caring and nurturing ethos’.

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The leadership and management are good

 The systems to check and evaluate how well the school is doing are effective. Information gathered from lesson observations, regular meetings with teachers to review the progress pupils have made, and looking at the work in pupils’ books provides leaders with an accurate picture of how well the school is performing. The findings are carefully considered and then used effectively to plan for future training and further improvements.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher manages the performance of teachers well. This ensures there is a close match between how well teachers are paid and how well pupils learn. Targets set for teachers are accurate, focus on pupils’ progress and link to the Teacher Standards, as well as the priorities in the school improvement plan priorities and linked training needs. All staff are now taking full responsibility for their performance and the performance of pupils in their classes.

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The leadership and management are good

 The curriculum is interesting and reflects the needs and aspirations of the pupils. Topics, such as ‘Food Glorious Food’, develop pupils’ wider understanding of different cultures well, both around the world and locally. Careful planning ensures that pupils have plenty of opportunities to develop their writing skills. Planning for challenging opportunities to accelerate pupils’ progress in mathematics is yet to be fully developed.

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The leadership and management are good

 Some subject leaders are new and are being guided and supported in developing their leadership skills and expertise. In some subjects leaders do not yet take sufficient ownership for improving pupils’ achievement and do not do enough to evaluate the effectiveness of their actions and the quality of work in their subject areas.

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The leadership and management are good

 Plans for improvement are appropriate. The staff identify what action needs to be taken to make a difference to pupils’ outcomes and work together as a team determined to bring about improvements to their own performance and that of others.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority provides effective support for the school. The routine visits and whole-school guidance ensure the right priorities for improvement are identified. The local authority checks on the school’s progress carefully. The school receives good specialist support for pupils whose circumstances may make them vulnerable which helps them to overcome specific barriers to learning.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school’s partnership with the consortium of local schools broadens the range of additional activities which pupils can undertake and provides beneficial training opportunities for staff. Recent support for the staff has helped accelerate improvements to the quality of teaching and learning in the Early Years Foundation Stage, so that it is now good.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  The governing body works closely with all members of the school community in an open and approachable manner. This trusting relationship strengthens the overall leadership of the school. Governors pay regular visits to the school and play an active part in devising plans for improvement. They receive high-quality information about the performance of pupils and teachers from the headteacher. This information is used well to ask appropriate questions and to challenge and support effectively. As a result, governors have a good grasp of how good teaching is in the school and how targets set for teachers are helping to make it even better. Governors carefully plan and approve spending of the additional pupil premium funding on strategies to help pupils catch up with their learning. They are aware that information on pupils’ progress shows the positive impact of this action.

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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 114811 Local authority Essex Inspection number 405540

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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 114 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mark Morgan-Jones Headteacher James Rogers Date of previous school inspection 7 October 2010 Telephone number 01268 552160 Fax number 01268 581840 Email address admin@vange.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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