Edward Bryant Primary School

Edward Bryant School London Road, Bognor Regis, PO21 1BG

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Not previously inspected This inspection: Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Leadership and management Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  From starting points that are well below the levels expected for their age, especially in reading and writing, pupils make good progress and achieve well.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, and those entitled to the pupil premium, make good progress due to the quality of help and guidance they receive.  Teaching is good as it meets the needs of the different abilities of children and pupils.  Teachers regularly check on how well pupils are doing and make suitable changes to the work so all pupils enjoy learning and make rapid improvements to their work.  Pupils’ behaviour in and around the school is excellent; they are well cared for and feel very safe. They show great enthusiasm for learning, especially in the wide variety of additional learning activities provided by the school.  Leadership of teaching is good because leaders have developed the specific skills of all staff,

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

including teaching assistants, across the curriculum enabling them to ensure pupils quickly and fully understand new ideas.  The headteacher, deputy headteacher and governors provide strong leadership and have a clear vision for improvement, which is shared by all staff.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Pupils’ writing skills are behind those in reading and mathematics.  Teachers do not plan enough opportunities to develop pupils’ independent learning skills or use discussion sufficiently to enhance understanding and challenge pupils’ thinking.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed 26 lessons, four of which were joint observations with the headteacher and one was a joint observation with the deputy headteacher.  Meetings were held with senior leaders, subject leaders, two members of the governing body and pupils. Inspectors spoke to parents and carers at the beginning of the school day.  A meeting was held with members of the school council. Opportunities were taken to speak to other children in the Early Years Foundation Stage, Key Stage 1 and in Key Stage 2.  A number of school documents were examined. These included information about pupils’ progress, the school’s self-evaluation, the school’s improvement plan and pupils’ work in their books. Inspectors heard some Years 1 and 2 pupils read.  The inspectors took account of the 18 responses received from the on-line questionnaire (Parent View), 32 staff questionnaires and a letter from one parent.

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Inspection team

Richard Blackmore, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Lily Evans Additional Inspector Peter Thrussell Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This school is larger than the average-sized primary school.  Edward Bryant School converted to become an academy on 1 April 2012. When its predecessor school, Edward Bryant School was last inspected by Ofsted it was judged to be outstanding.  The proportion of pupils who come from minority ethnic backgrounds and the proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language are both slightly below average.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for extra funding through the pupil premium, mostly those known to be eligible for free school meals and pupils from service families, is below average.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs supported at school action and the proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs are above average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations

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Information about this school

for pupils’ attainment and progress.  There are two classes in most year groups. However, children in the Early Years Foundation Stage are taught in three Reception classes because the number on roll is increasing.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching and learning by ensuring that:  teachers give pupils more time to think and complete activities for themselves  more effective use is made of discussion to challenge pupils’ thinking and enhance their understanding, particularly when responding to questions.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise the achievement in writing by providing pupils with more opportunities to complete extended pieces of work.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Most children join Reception with skills that are well below those typically expected for their age. The breadth of experiences provided in the Reception classes, together with skilled teaching and good support for children’s individual learning needs, is ensuring that children make good progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage.  The school’s results in the 2012 Year 1 reading check were below average. The school reacted quickly by making changes to resources and providing further training for staff on the teaching of phonics. As a result, the current pupils in Reception and Year 1 have rapidly improving skills in reading.  Throughout the school, pupils make good progress overall in English and mathematics reaching standards which are in line with the national average. Achievement in English is good but reading is stronger than writing. The main reason for this is that there are limited opportunities

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The achievement of pupils is good

for pupils to write at length. The school has already introduced some strategies to address this, including providing more time for pupils to develop their writing across other subjects, and using drama to generate increasingly adventurous ideas for writing.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs attain standards that are in line with similar pupils across the country. They make good progress from their starting points, especially in their social and emotional development, as a result of work that is very well suited to their abilities and the very good support and teaching they receive from knowledgeable and skilled teaching assistants and outside specialists. Pupils who speak English as an additional language benefit from the high calibre mathematics support (‘Numbers Count’) and this is quickly improving both numeracy and literacy skills.  The progress of pupils supported by the pupil premium is good. The effective action taken to

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The achievement of pupils is good

provide one-to-one support for these pupils has accelerated the rate of their progress. In the 2012 Year 6 tests, these pupils achieved results in English which were similar to those of other pupils in the school. In mathematics, they were about a quarter of a National Curriculum level behind. Good teaching continues to ensure that any gaps in their attainment compared to other pupils are closing rapidly and that they make the same good progress as other pupils in the school. This shows the school’s commitment to promoting equal opportunities and tackling discrimination.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Inspectors saw good and sometimes outstanding teaching during the inspection and these qualities were confirmed as being typical by the leadership’s records of its checking of teaching. Examples of very effective teaching were seen in several classes including excellent questioning to help older pupils understand when it is best to calculate mentally and in the use of real-life practical problems with younger pupils.  Teaching in the Early Years Foundation Stage is based on a good understanding of children’s needs. Observations of children’s achievements are used well to inform activities. Teachers’ questioning extends children’s skills and understanding well. Teaching assistants guide children’s progress effectively. Good resources, including information and communication technology (ICT), support learning well.  In a very good literacy lesson, pupils in Year 2 made effective use of seashore objects to develop

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The quality of teaching is good

imaginative language by themselves. However, this type of independent learning does not happen often enough across the school. This is because teachers sometimes talk too much at the start of lessons and explain ideas and tasks more than is necessary . Most pupils are quite capable of developing their individual research and learning skills.  Teachers check the quality of pupils’ learning during lessons and routinely use that information to show them how to improve their work and understanding. Marking of pupils’ work gives helpful comments about how they have done and what they need to do to improve. Teachers provide time for pupils to reflect upon and respond to the advice given and this promotes a good understanding of any errors they have made and helps to ensure improvements when they next tackle a similar task.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs do well because they are given the

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The quality of teaching is good

right help by teachers and skilled teaching assistants in lessons. Teaching assistants explain ideas carefully and in different ways to help those pupils who do not immediately understand what is being taught. Consequently they often provide effective support to guide the learning of all pupils and ensure they play a full part in lessons.  The pupil premium funding is used primarily to provide precise activities for individuals and, sometimes, groups of pupils. The before-school breakfast club helps pupils to develop good speaking, listening and social skills. Good relationships and a good knowledge of all pupils help staff to plan tasks that are tailored very well to pupils’ different needs so that they make similar progress to their peers.  Teachers plan lessons very carefully to ensure that pupils are given work to get the best out of them. Consequently, pupils learn rapidly because they are given work which matches their ability

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The quality of teaching is good

and challenges their thinking. One pupil’s comment was typical: ‘I like it when our work gets harder and harder.’

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Behaviour in lessons and around the school is exemplary. It contributes significantly to the good progress made, because pupils are very keen to learn and contribute to lessons. Any disruption to learning is extremely rare. There have been no pupil exclusions recently.  Pupils behave very well in the playground. They play together exceptionally well, taking turns and sharing equipment without prompting. Pupils play very safely, helped by the caring attitudes that older pupils frequently show younger pupils.  Pupils have excellent attitudes to work and they enjoy learning. One pupil confirmed how many others feel: ‘I like doing lots of work, filling my book up with good work.’ Around the school, pupils are polite and highly cooperative. They do not need to be reminded how to behave well as many do this naturally. For those who find it more difficult to behave appropriately there is continual support and guidance on making the right choices.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils say that they feel very safe in school, and parents and carers confirm this. Pupils have a very good understanding of the various types of bullying that can take place in schools, but insist that these are not big issues.  Staff manage behaviour very well and the consistently applied behaviour policy clearly shows pupils what is expected of them. There are good links with a wide range of external agencies to meet the needs of the most vulnerable pupils, and to support families in difficult circumstances.  Despite the school working extremely hard and making use of every opportunity to encourage regular attendance, it is average but steadily improving. Pupils’ punctuality is excellent.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher, well supported by the deputy headteacher, provides very good leadership. She relentlessly pursues excellence and shows no complacency in the drive to improve overall achievement. She checks up on how well pupils are progressing at frequent intervals.  The leadership team has worked hard and successfully to improve pupils’ progress. Where it has found underperformance it has put corrective strategies in place by strengthening the quality of teaching and through forming effective partnerships with other schools in the area.  The school has an accurate view of its strengths and aspects needing further development. The headteacher scrutinises the performance of the school in considerable detail, and plans for improvement based on this analysis are set out clearly so that all staff understand their roles and responsibilities.  All staff are well supported through training opportunities both within the school and beyond and

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The leadership and management are good

improvements to the quality of teaching are evident. Teachers’ performance is closely tracked and targets are based on the quality of their teaching and the progress of pupils, with pay progression very closely linked to achievement of these targets.  The curriculum is creative and motivates pupils well because they enjoy the wide variety of topics studied and using the wide range of resources including information and communication technology. Pupil premium funding is also used to make sure that all pupils are able to take advantage of the excellent educational visits including the residential trip to North Devon.  Links with other local schools are very effective. For example, they help to develop teachers’ expertise and accuracy when assessing work. Joint checking of written work helps to ensure consistent standards across the school. These links directly benefit pupils’ learning.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted well. Pupils are given many

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The leadership and management are good

opportunities to reflect on values in the school and the wider world. This is evident in the excellent displays around the school and in activities such as assemblies. Visitors to the school, recently including an author, help to motivate and inspire pupils.  As an academy, the school makes effective use of a range of external consultants and other linked schools to support its efforts to improve the quality of teaching.  The governance of the school:  The governing body has worked hard to secure the continuous improvement of the school and the raising of standards. It is good at supporting and challenging the school and does this effectively. Frequent visits to the school help give governors a good understanding of strengths and weaknesses and how well pupils are doing compared with all pupils nationally. Governors are appropriately trained in their responsibilities in key areas such as safeguarding.

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The leadership and management are good

They ensure that the school fulfils its statutory responsibilities; all staff have been vetted and trained appropriately to keep pupils safe. Governors have a very good knowledge of how to link pay to performance, especially when relating the quality of teaching to pupils’ progress against school targets. They know what is being done to reward good teachers and tackle any underperformance.

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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 125817 Local authority West Sussex Inspection number 412107

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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 All-through School category Community Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 449 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Chris Seaton and Nick Henton Headteacher Cathy Williams Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Telephone number 01243 822454 Fax number 01243 841583 Email address office@edwardbryant.w-sussex.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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