Medway Community Primary School

Medway Community Primary School St Stephen's Road, Highfields, Leicester, LE2 1GH

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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 Outstanding 1 Leadership and management Outstanding 1

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This is a good school because

 Pupils achieve well. Attainment is rising quickly and all groups of pupils are making accelerated progress, especially in Key Stage 2.  The quality of teaching is typically good and some is outstanding. Pupils say how much they value the work of their teachers to improve their learning.  Pupils’ behaviour is outstanding. They are mature, polite to all around them and show a determination to do well.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good progress because of the expert help they receive.  Attendance has improved and now it is well above average.  The school provides an outstanding range of subjects which contribute to improving the progress of all pupils.  Outstanding community liaison work is encouraging parents and carers to improve their education alongside that of their children.  The headteacher is very well supported by the senior leadership team and the governing body. She has been relentless in driving

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This is a good school because

improvements in teaching and providing high- quality care that has resulted in rising achievement.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 In some lessons, teachers miss opportunities to make sure that the work closely matches the needs of all pupils, especially the more able.  There is not enough effective marking across the school which slows the progress of some pupils.  The recent strong improvements in pupils’ attainment are not yet seen across the whole school. Attainment is still below average at the end of the Reception Year despite children making good progress.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 18 lessons, of which half were jointly observed with senior leaders and also made a number of short visits to lessons.  Meetings were held with pupils, governors, a representative of the local authority and staff, including some with leadership roles.  Informal discussions were held with groups of parents and carers.  The inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at policies, self-evaluation and development planning, monitoring records, information about pupils’ progress and safeguarding documents.  Inspectors looked at samples of pupils’ work with members of the senior leadership team.  Six parents and carers responded to Parent View, the online questionnaire. As this was not a sufficient number to generate results, inspectors spoke to groups of parents and carers and checked the school’s own records. The 33 responses to the staff questionnaire were also checked.

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Inspection team

Harkireet Sohel, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Patricia Underwood Additional Inspector Sheelagh Barnes Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is larger than the average-sized primary school.  It has been in a hard federation with Sparkenhoe Primary School since January 2013. There is an executive headteacher across both schools.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported through school action is above average while the proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is average.  The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic heritages is very high with the largest groups being of Indian and Bangladeshi heritage. The proportion of students who speak English as an additional language is also very high.  The proportion of students known to be eligible for the pupil premium, which provides additional funding for students in local authority care, those known to be eligible for free school meals and students with a parent in the armed forces serving overseas, is significantly above average.

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Information about this school

 The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ achievement and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the amount of outstanding teaching by:  making sure that lessons meet the needs of all learners, especially the more able  consistently providing feedback to pupils about their work to enable them to improve their written work.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Make sure that more pupils in all key stages make outstanding progress, by using pupil data more effectively in Early Years foundation Stage so that those who join the school late make at least good progress.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children start in Reception with skills and understanding that are low. With effective teaching and monitoring, they have made good progress when they leave but their attainment is still below average.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 By the end of Key Stage 1, pupils’ attainment is below average but this is improving rapidly as good teaching means that vulnerable and low attaining groups are making better-than-expected progress.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 By the time pupils leave the school at the end of Year 6, their attainment is in line with the national average. This is the case for pupils currently in Year 6, as it was in 2012. This represents good progress over pupils’ time at the school. It is also a huge improvement on previous years, when pupils typically left the school a year behind where they should be.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 In a Year 6 lesson, pupils engaged with the topic of ‘a better society’ with very high levels of speaking skills as well as a deep understanding of novels they had read.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Those pupils who did not reach the expected score on the Year 1 reading check in 2012 are now making good progress as a result of receiving extra support.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 While pupils’ progress in lessons is nearly always good, on occasion, higher attaining pupils do not make the progress of which they are capable.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disabled pupils, those who have special educational needs and those at an early stage of learning English, receive effective support that is tailored to their individual needs. Leaders have set up highly effective strategies such as ‘Stay and Play’, which have led to some outstanding progress. At the same time, the hard work from the community liaison staff has supported this improvement.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The school provides very well for pupils who are known to be eligible for the pupil premium. The additional funding is spent on extra staff and resources to enable these pupils to receive individual and small-group support to promote literacy and numeracy. In 2012, this group made better progress than similar pupils nationally and closed the gap on their peers in the school. They were just half a term behind their classmates in English, although they were close to two terms behind in mathematics.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching has improved significantly since the last inspection and is now good. There are clear systems for planning and teaching lessons.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Most teaching conveys high expectations that pupils will attempt demanding work in the time available . In the best lessons, teachers check on how well pupils are speaking, which is helping to accelerate their progress.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Where teaching is good or better, teachers allow pupils chances to check their own learning and that of other pupils. For example, A Year 2 lesson in science was successful because pupils regularly talked to each other about whether or not their experiment on floating was working.  Questioning is used very effectively by teachers to challenge pupils to attempt difficult activities.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Disabled pupils, those with special educational needs and those known to be eligible for the pupil premium, are very well supported. Much of the teaching is matched to their needs and these groups make good progress. The school’s teaching assistants provide excellent support.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Leaders monitor the work of teachers very closely, which has led to improvements. However some teaching does not meet the needs of the more able pupils because it is too easy for them.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching in the Early Years Foundation Stage is good. Strategies such as pair work and question and answer sessions are used well to support children’s learning. Some children join the school at different times and work is not always matched quickly enough to their needs.

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The quality of teaching is good

 There is not yet consistent feedback for pupils so that they can improve their written work.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils is outstanding

 Pupils show very high levels of responsibility, are always polite to each other and have a deep sense of pride in their school.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils is outstanding

 Behaviour in lessons is always outstanding. Parents and staff agree with the pupils when they say that behaviour has improved very quickly.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils is outstanding

 Pupils are determined to do well. In lessons they develop excellent communication skills across the school and support each other’s learning extremely well. In a Year 1 lesson on Punch and Judy, pupils listened intently and offered excellent advice on how to improve each other’s writing.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils is outstanding

 Pupils have a very strong understanding of all forms of bullying, including cyber-bullying, and say it is rare. They say that they feel safe and are well catered for. The school has robust ways of checking on behaviour, which are supported by parents and carers.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils is outstanding

 The school is a very welcoming and well-organised place to come and learn. Relationships are a huge strength and many parents from the various communities are very keen to point out the impact school leaders have made on achievement.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils is outstanding

 The school has made outstanding progress in improving attendance. Teachers and support workers have used a variety of strategies which have resulted in attendance now being well above average. The use of rewards for good attendance and excellent relationships between community workers and parents has been particularly successful.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils is outstanding

 Pupils are now resilient learners and, by the time they leave, are very well prepared for the next stage in their lives. The school motto of ‘Our children can and our aim is that they will’ has helped many pupils to achieve beyond their targets.

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The leadership and management is outstanding

 The headteacher has been uncompromising and innovative in her pursuit of improvement. The skilful deployment of resources has led to accelerated progress for pupils. The federation has been vital to this success because it has directed best practice in teaching and leadership to where it is needed.

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The leadership and management is outstanding

 Teachers, including those new to the profession, are very well supported through a clear programme of training. The school has a highly effective policy to ensure that pay rises and promotion are used to reward good performance. This is helping to increase the amount of consistently good and outstanding teaching.

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The leadership and management is outstanding

 All teachers are closely held to account for meeting targets and for the progress of pupils. Half- termly meetings held by leaders are helping to maintain high expectations and to make changes if any pupils are underachieving.

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The leadership and management is outstanding

 Leaders have very high aspirations which have led to the promotion of equality of opportunity. All Year 6 pupils take part in a Shakespeare festival in a local theatre, which also demonstrates the school’s commitment to promoting literacy.

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The leadership and management is outstanding

 The rapid improvements in pupils’ achievement and attendance have been supported by very good community work from key workers. They been very successfully trained and deployed so that their multi-lingual skills are engaging pupils and their families.

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The leadership and management is outstanding

 Staff model outstanding professional behaviour across the school, which makes everyone work effectively as a community. Around the school and in classrooms, pupils and staff enjoy a strong partnership based on mutual respect.

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The leadership and management is outstanding

 The school’s excellent strategies for improving teaching are leading to outstanding progress in literacy. Many pupils communicate with a confidence and determination normally seen in much older pupils.

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The leadership and management is outstanding

 The range of subjects taught provides exciting experiences for all pupils that are engaging. A year 2 lesson successfully explored the idea of floating in water, through the topic of Christopher Columbus needing to get to India. Pupils were excited and keen to solve this problem.

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The leadership and management is outstanding

 The governance of the school:  Governors are very well informed and support school leaders very effectively while holding them to account. They take a very active role in the school, providing support for the pupils and helping senior leaders to monitor the quality of teaching. They question the headteacher about how good teachers are rewarded and how any underperformance is quickly tackled. They use the data very effectively to monitor pupils’ academic achievement regularly. They are fully aware of the principles behind the pupil premium and systematically check its impact on pupil progress. They are involved with school leaders in the management of the performance of all staff. They ensure that all safeguarding requirements are met.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 2 Good A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils’ needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 3 Requires improvement A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school is

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Grade Judgement Description

failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

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School details

Unique reference number 120108 Local authority Leicester Inspection number 400111

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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 467 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Steve Wilson Headteacher Kath Falconer (Executive Headteacher) Date of previous school inspection 15 June 2011 Telephone number 0116 254 4811 Fax number 0116 254 3738 Email address admin@medway.leicester.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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