Wyke Primary School

School report Wyke Primary School Deane Avenue, Gillingham, Dorset, SP8 4SH

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 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 Requires improvement 3

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

 Pupils have not achieved well over time because progress in Years 3 to 6 is too inconsistent and is not yet good.  Attainment is broadly average by the time pupils leave because pupils’ understanding of data and their capacity to solve mathematical problems are not strong enough.  The quality of teaching is not yet consistently good over time and varies considerably, especially in the older year groups.  Lesson activities do not precisely match the level at which pupils are working and, too often, marking does not help pupils to improve which impedes their progress.  The rate at which pupils are making progress is not checked regularly enough to allow the school to intervene swiftly when it slows. Consequently, the school had insufficient time to halt the decline in achievement last year.  There is not always enough information available about the progress pupils are making to enable leaders and governors to monitor

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

effectively.  Teachers do not always gather enough information to check how well the programmes to help disabled pupils and those with special educational needs catch up are increasing their progress against national curriculum levels.

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The school has the following strengths

 Progress is good in Reception and Years 1 and 2 because teachers consistently plan challenging activities that help pupils to do well.  Pupils achieve well in reading, and attainment is above average by the end of Years 2 and 6.  Attainment is improving strongly in writing due to effective strategies in place to improve boys’ progress.  The quality of teaching is improving as a result of good management of performance and the strong commitment of staff.  Pupils enjoy learning, behave well and feel safe in school. Relationships between pupils and with adults are good.  The school has a very productive partnership with parents who support their children’s learning well.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 11 lessons of which two were joint observations with the headteacher. In addition the inspection team made a number of other short visits to lessons, heard a sample of pupils read and scrutinised a sample of pupils’ written work.  Meetings were held with groups of pupils, members of the governing body, and staff including senior and middle managers. A representative of the local authority was also spoken to.  Inspectors took account of the 30 responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) and the school’s own parent questionnaire. A small number of parents bringing their children to school were also spoken to.  Inspectors observed the school’s work and scrutinised a number of documents including the school’s records on current pupils’ progress, behaviour and attendance. Documents relating to planning and monitoring, and safeguarding were also looked at.

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Inspection team

Diane Wilkinson, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Terry Mortimer Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Wyke is an a slightly below average-sized primary school with one class in each year group.  The proportions of pupils supported by both school action and school action plus or a statement of special educational needs are average.  The proportions of pupils from minority ethnic groups or who speak English as an additional language are low.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium, which provides funding for children in local authority care, children from service families and pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, is well below average.  The school meets the government’s floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for attainment and progress in English and mathematics.  A number of lengthy staff absences have taken place among members of the senior leadership team since the last inspection.

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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 or better by:  ensuring that lesson activities are precisely matched to the level at which pupils are working and moving pupils regularly between ability groups when it is clear that they need extra support or are doing well  assessing pupils’ written work so that it clearly indicates what they have achieved and shows what they need to do to move on to the next level, so that pupils are fully aware of how to improve.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise achievement in Years 3 to 6, particularly in mathematics, by:  ensuring that pupils can both produce and analyse data from a wide range of formats, including when using information and communication technology (ICT) programs  strengthening the ability of pupils to plan, research and carry out mathematical investigations independently.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve leadership and management through undertaking regular and thorough analyses of pupils’ progress in order to ensure that leaders and the governing body can monitor the impact of the school’s work on progress more frequently and speedily address emerging weaknesses.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 An external review of the governing body should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and governance may be improved.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Progress and attainment have varied considerably over the last three years and attainment at the end of Years 2 and 6 declined last year.  Progress in Years 3 to 6, although improving, is not yet good. This is largely because progress has been slow in the past and pupils are still catching up on previous weaknesses, especially in mathematics. Attainment by the end of Year 6 is broadly average and pupils’ progress from the end of Year 2 is not yet good so their achievement requires improvement.  Older pupils report that, although they generally understand how to interpret data such as graphs or charts, they only have limited opportunities to create their own. Too often these opportunities require pupils to use methods they learnt in Years 1 or 2 which limits learning, and there is little use of computer programs to present and compare data in different forms.  Most pupils accurately solve mathematical problems set by their teachers but they are not

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

challenging enough, especially for the higher attainers, to ensure that pupils make good progress in this aspect.  Until recently boys did not achieve as well as they should in writing and this has limited their attainment. This year their progress is improving strongly and attainment in writing is well placed to improve further.  By Year 6, the content of pupils’ writing is good in a range of genres such as reports, diaries or story writing. The quality of handwriting, spelling and punctuation is variable and not always corrected by teachers.  Good progress in reading ensures attainment is above average by Years 2 and 6. Most Year 2 pupils confidently build up new words from the sounds letters make (phonics). Less able pupils receive good support helping them make rapid progress to catch up. Virtually all Year 6 pupils read confidently and with great enjoyment because of effective teaching and the very good

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

support parents give at home or in school.  Reception children achieve well and, although the majority begin school with skills and knowledge below the level expected, most achieve expected levels by the time they start Year 1.  The school’s strong promotion of equality of opportunity ensures disabled pupils and those with special educational needs achieve as well as their peers. However, their achievement is not good partly because their rate of progress is not checked frequently enough against national curriculum levels to help ensure they make good progress. .  The progress of the very small number of pupils from other ethnic groups, including those who speak English as an additional language, indicates their achievement is similar to that of their peers.  In the 2012 National Curriculum assessments, the extremely small number of pupils supported by pupil premium funding were some two years behind their peers in both English and

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

mathematics. However, the very small number of pupils currently supported by pupil premium funding achieve similarly to their classmates and are closing the gap on their peers, because virtually all make the progress levels expected.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching requires improvement because the quality is too variable and, although improving, is not bringing about good progress in Years 3 to 6. Current tracking data indicate that learning has improved this year although the rate of progress differs between year groups.  The impact of teaching on learning is hindered by the infrequency of formal tracking of pupils’ progress, limiting the information on patterns of progress for individuals or different groups. Consequently, although effective strategies are put in place to address weaknesses in pupils’ learning, they are sometimes too late to ensure good progress.  Lesson activities are usually challenging and well matched to the needs of both the lower and higher attaining groups. However, for other pupils, too often they cover too broad a range. In particular they do always stretch pupils on the cusp of moving on to the next level. As a result

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

only a small minority of pupils exceed the expected two levels of progress by Year 6.  There are inconsistencies in the quality of marking both between subjects and across year groups. In mathematics it is good in Reception and Years 1 and 2, elsewhere it provides too little information for pupils to recognise what they have achieved or how to improve, which limits learning.  Marking in English is mainly good because teachers regularly check pupils’ progress against criteria that help pupils move on to the next level. However, occasionally in Years 3 to 6, errors in pupils’ writing are not corrected which leads to spelling, punctuation and grammar mistakes recurring.  Teachers’ subject knowledge is strong and they explain new learning well, using a range of resources to help pupils understand, as was observed in an excellent lesson on comparing fractions, decimals and percentages.  Good relationships between staff and pupils mean that the latter behave well, are attentive and

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

work hard to please staff.  Well trained and briefed teaching assistants support learning well, including for less able pupils.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils’ positive attitudes to school and good behaviour, both in lessons and around the school, support their learning well. Staff are capitalising on this much better this year and consequently progress is improving.  There are a few occasions when learning slows because the work provided is too easy or too hard, or an activity goes on for too long and pupils lose concentration.  Effective behaviour management and reward systems are in place and the school takes its responsibility for discouraging discrimination very seriously. Consequently, good relationships are fostered throughout the school and older pupils are very good at supporting the younger ones.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral and social development is good. The school works hard to ensure that pupils gain a good understanding of diversity in society which helps prepare them well for life beyond this school.  Pupils and their parents report that bullying is rare and always dealt with speedily and

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

effectively. The school is very thorough in logging any incidences of poor behaviour and works hard and successfully to ensure this improves.  Pupils develop a good awareness of how to keep safe, including when using the internet, and they are very good at looking out for each other.  Attendance is consistently above average and incidences of poor attendance are decreasing.

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The leadership and management require improvement

 Senior leaders and governors undertake a comprehensive range of monitoring including lesson observations and scrutiny of pupils’ work. However, there is a lack of regular information on the rate of pupils’ progress and this means that self-evaluation is not updated frequently enough to identify when this slows and adjust improvement strategies accordingly. This is a major reason why achievement declined last year and is not yet good.  Long-term absences of members of the senior leadership team have meant there has not been a full complement over the past three years. This led to remaining members carrying a heavy work load, limiting the foci on some aspects, which has been a barrier to improvement.  The infrequency of progress information related to national curriculum levels about disabled pupils and those with special educational needs restricts the effectiveness of the special educational needs coordinator. For example, it limits the coordinator’s ability to judge how well

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The leadership and management require improvement

the special programmes provided are helping pupils to catch up on their peers.  The management of teaching performance is rigorous and challenging and has helped to improve the quality although only a small minority of lessons are outstanding.  Staff and governors exhibit strong determination to address remaining weaknesses. Those identified at the last inspection have been fully addressed and rapid improvement is being made in English. This, together with improvements in teaching, indicates the school is securely placed to improve further.  The curriculum has been adapted effectively to engage pupils and adjusted well to help improve progress in writing. However, there is too little emphasis on data handling and investigations to ensure older pupils in particular make good progress in mathematics.  Engagement with parents is a strength, as is evident in their contribution to reading activities

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The leadership and management require improvement

both in school and at home. Parents’ views on leadership and management are positive although Parent View indicates a small minority do not agree that the school responds well to their concerns.  Safeguarding arrangements fully meet requirements and the school is rigorous in applying health and safety, staff vetting and child protection procedures.  Judged good at the last inspection the school had received light-touch support from the local authority; its good challenge and support leading to improved achievement in 2011. The increased level of support this year is helping the school to tackle weaknesses that emerged in 2012.  The governance of the school: - Governors understand data well and accurately compare the school’s performance against that of other schools. Their challenge, based on the limited data available, is good. However, the lack of quantifiable progress data provided by the school during the year limits governors’

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The leadership and management require improvement

capacity to challenge and support the school when new weaknesses emerge. Pupil premium funding is carefully and appropriately allocated to additional support and resources in lessons, short-term interventions and behavioural support. When data are available governors monitor this effectively, a feature of their careful financial management. Good relationships with staff ensure a broad range of first-hand monitoring takes place which helps inform governors’ level of challenge. Governors keep a close check on the results of monitoring of teaching, including through performance management. They make astute decisions regarding salary increases, and the challenging performance targets set for the headteacher. They are strongly committed to training, for example all governors have attended courses on safeguarding.

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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 113743 Local authority Dorset Inspection number 413003

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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 213 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Maxine Thrasher Headteacher Stephen Crumpler Date of previous school inspection 23–24 June 2010 Telephone number 01747 825665 Fax number 01747 835627 Email address office@gillinghamwyke.dorset.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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