East Stanley School

East Stanley School Chester Road, East Stanley, Stanley, DH9 0TN

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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

 Too few pupils make good progress in mathematics compared to pupils in other schools nationally.  Teaching is inconsistent, particularly in Key Stage 2, because there is a lack of challenge, especially for the most-able pupils.  Insufficient time is given in some lessons for pupils to demonstrate what they are learning.  Not enough opportunity is devoted to allow pupils to respond to teachers’ marking and so make better progress.  The leadership, including the governing body, has not ensured that the weaker performance of the most able pupils has been fully addressed.

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The school has the following strengths

 Reading is now a strength of the school and pupils become confident readers as they progress through the school.  The Early Years Foundation Stage provides exciting learning opportunities and, as a result, children achieve well.  Creative approaches to teaching are proving to be effective in helping pupils to learn.  Pupils behave well in class. When they move around the school they show respect for each other as well as to staff and visitors.  Pupils feel safe in school and they feel that they can speak to an adult at any time and that they will be listened to.  The governing body provides good support and has demonstrated that it can challenge the school effectively about aspects of its performance.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors visited 14 lessons or parts of lessons taught by nine different teachers.  Inspectors listened to pupils read and talked to them about how much reading they do. Inspectors also looked at pupils’ work in class.  Discussions took place with members of the governing body, staff, groups of pupils and a meeting was held with a representative of the local authority.  Documents were examined, including those relating to safeguarding, the school’s improvement plan and records of its checks on teaching and learning, as well as the school’s own assessment data.  The views of 13 parents who responded to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) were taken into account, as well the school’s own questionnaire, which surveyed 96 parents.  Questionnaires about their views of the school, completed by 28 staff, were also considered.

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Inspection team

Frank Cain, Lead inspector Additional Inspector John Pattinson Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 East Stanley is an average sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium, which provides additional funding for children in the care of the local authority, armed forces children, and pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, is broadly average.  The proportion of pupils supported through school action is slightly above average, as is the proportion at school action plus, or with a statement of special educational needs.  All pupils are of White British heritage.  The school runs a breakfast club before school.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the proportion of good and outstanding teaching in order to raise pupils’ attainment and accelerate their progress further, particularly in mathematics at Key Stage 2, by:  ensuring that teachers set work which challenges all pupils to make the best possible progress, including the most able  involving pupils more quickly in challenging learning opportunities and reducing the time teachers spend talking and explaining  giving pupils sufficient opportunities to respond to the points for improvement teachers indicate when work is marked.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve leadership and management, including governance, in order to minimise variations in the rates of pupils’ progress as they move through the school by:  ensuring all aspects of the school’s work are challenged robustly  evaluating the impact of initiatives on all groups of pupils, including the more able.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 In Key Stage 2, most pupils make expected progress. However, in 2013, the proportion of pupils who progressed more rapidly than this was markedly lower than that found nationally, especially in mathematics. As a result, pupils’ attainment in mathematics dropped further below the national averages. Lessons observations and scrutiny of work show that pupils’ progress is not yet sufficiently rapid throughout the school. Too many of the most able pupils have not done as well as they should, especially in mathematics, until recently. This is because they are not given work in all lessons which challenges them to do their best.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good progress, although the very small number of those supported at school action plus do less well. The school is aware of this and is taking action to support them.  By the end of Year 6, pupils’ overall attainment remains below average with standards in reading

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

and writing better than in mathematics.  Pupils known to be eligible for free school meals do well in Key Stage 1. The attainment of these pupils at the end of Year 6 has, in the past, lagged behind other pupils in the school in both English and mathematics. However, leaders’ actions have led to a rapid closing of this gap since 2011 and now, in 2013, the gap is almost closed.  When children enter the school they generally have skills that are often well below those typical for their age. By the time they leave the Early Years Foundation Stage and pass through Key Stage 1, they have made good progress, although their attainment is still below average.  In contrast to mathematics, reading, and to a lesser extent writing, have shown great improvements in the last year because of the focus on literacy across the school. This includes in the understanding of the sounds that letters make (phonics), which is used effectively in the

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

Reception class. The recent national phonics check at the end of Year 1 shows that pupils link sounds and letters well to support their reading. Reading standards are improving in Year 2 and, by the time they leave school, most pupils are competent readers.  The creative approach to learning employed by some staff proves enjoyable for the pupils, as well as an effective learning tool. For example, in a mixed Year 1 and Year 2 class where the teaching was good, pupils were linking describing words to visual images of those words.  Most pupils have the opportunity to do well in school and pupils say they feel that everyone is treated equally by the staff.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching requires improvement because its quality in Key Stage 2 is not consistently good and there has been some weaker teaching in the past that has led to gaps in pupils’ knowledge. There is still not enough good teaching to rectify gaps in pupils’ knowledge, skills and understanding.  In some lessons where the teaching is not good, work does not always challenge some pupils, including the most able, to achieve as well as they should. In mathematics, some pupils spend too long practising the skills they have already gained.  Teachers do not use the time well in lessons, spending too long on whole-class explanations leaving little time for pupils to demonstrate what they have learnt.  When teachers mark work, many give pupils guidance about how their work and learning could be improved further. Little time, however, is set aside for pupils to follow up on these areas and so learn more effectively.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Much of the teaching seen in the school during the inspection was good, showing that the quality is improving . In lessons where the teaching is good, there are challenging activities to help pupils to learn effectively. In a Year 1 mathematics lesson, hand and body movements were linked to number work, which motivated pupils of all abilities to work well.  In the best lessons, teachers’ good subject knowledge and links with different subjects are used. In a Year 6 English lesson about how to argue a point in a balanced way, history and reading were introduced and pupils were encouraged to be self-critical.  Teachers use other adults effectively, because they ask pupils questions about what they are doing rather than directly telling them what to do. Teaching assistants are effective because they work closely with teachers and, as a result, are well briefed about what they are trying to achieve.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 All teachers effectively promote the pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development with group work in lessons, as well as in school assemblies.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils behave well in and around the school. On the playground, most children engage in active play, often with adults joining in.  In lessons, pupils respond well to teachers’ instructions because the behaviour policy is well understood by all involved. When receiving a warning from the teacher, pupils put their own name on the whiteboard showing that they are made to feel aware of the consequences of inappropriate actions.  Pupils enjoy coming to school, as seen by the impressive numbers who attend the morning breakfast club. The school provides a safe as well as an interesting start to the school day, where there is a good social mix of pupils who play and learn together very well.  Pupils are very aware of how to stay safe when using computers by keeping personal information confidential. They say they feel safe in school because no one can enter the grounds without signing in and getting a badge. Almost all parents agree that the school is a safe place

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

for their children.  A very small number of parents indicated that they are not happy with behaviour, including incidents of bullying in school. However, the vast majority of parents and staff feel that standards of behaviour in the school are good. Pupils that were spoken with during the inspection, however, say there is little or no bullying, including any name calling, because teachers deal with things ‘quickly and fairly’. Inspection evidence supports this view.  There have been no exclusions for several years and no racist incidents reported.  The attendance of pupils was identified as an issue in the previous inspection report but it is now broadly average.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Leadership and management are beginning to secure improvements. However, overall it still requires improvement because there are inconsistencies in achievement for Key Stage 2 pupils, especially in mathematics, and teaching is not uniformly good over time.  Leaders and managers have not fully addressed the issues identified by the previous inspection. Consequently, the school has not been able to maintain the good quality of provision and outcomes for pupils. In particular, the school has not responded strongly enough to the consistently lower performance in mathematics over a sustained period.  The management of teachers’ performance is now robust and is helping the school to improve both teaching and pupils’ achievement.  There is insufficient focus in planning and monitoring to ensure the most able pupils, in particular, achieve well. Nevertheless, teaching is improving because of the support given by the

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The leadership and management requires improvement

headteacher, subject and key stage leaders. They pass on good practice at staff meetings and through demonstration lessons.  The curriculum is generally appropriate, but requires some improvement to meet the needs of all pupils. Its strength is shown in the way some staff use imaginative and practical ways to make lessons interesting. In the Early Years Foundation Stage, it is good because of the good balance between adult-led activities and those children choose for themselves.  The local authority has provided good support for the school in providing training opportunities for teaching staff and has advised on provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage.  The vast majority of parents support the school. Attendance at social events, and for feedback meetings about their children’s progress, is good. A few parents indicated that they would like more information about their children’s progress.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The impact of the additional funding for sporting opportunities has yet to be felt, but there are detailed plans to introduce gymnastics and rugby when the funds become available to the school.  The school’s arrangements for safeguarding meet current requirements.  The governance of the school:  The governing body provides good support and has challenged the school about most, but not all, areas of relative weakness. Governors rightly challenged the school about the dip in results for the Year 1 phonics check in 2012, and consequently great improvements were made in 2013. On the other hand, they have not given sufficient challenge for provision and outcomes for mathematics and the most able pupils. There is a dedicated governor who reviews safeguarding arrangements. The Chair of the Governing Body does make links between teachers’ performance and salary progression. The governors are aware of strengths in

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The leadership and management requires improvement

teaching and how well pupils are doing, including those pupils eligible for the pupil premium. They also recognise that more members of the governing body need to be able to analyse information about how well pupils are doing, so as to better question the school’s performance.

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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 114026 Local authority Durham Inspection number 427311

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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 237 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Janice Rutherford Headteacher Joanne Williams Date of previous school inspection 24 January 2011 Telephone number 01207 233611 Fax number 01207 282693 Email address eaststanley@durhamlearning.net 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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