Walcott Primary School

School report Walcott Primary School Pinfold Lane, Walcott, Lincoln, LN4 3SX

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Early years provision Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The headteacher, well supported by the governing body, has brought about improvements in the marking of pupils’ work, in teaching and in pupils’ achievement. Clear ideas for further improvement have been identified and the school is well placed to achieve its goals.  Teachers successfully work together in the federation to share ideas, resources and expertise. Staff feel valued and are well supported by good leaders and managers.  Pupils achieve well because they are keen to learn and are taught well. Teachers are knowledgeable, make good use of varied resources including information and communication technology and manage their classes very effectively.  Pupils behave well, attend school regularly and show kindness and respect to each other, to staff and to visitors.  Children enter the Reception class with skills in communication, literacy and numeracy which are often below those typical for their age. They quickly

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

become confident learners, settle into school routines and make good progress.  Pupils continue to make good progress as they move through the school and usually reach average standards in tests at the end of Year 6.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted well. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education and for life in modern Britain.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Work is not always sufficiently demanding for all pupils to enable them to make really rapid progress.  Test results in writing are a little below those in other subjects. The language and reading skills of some pupils, particularly in the Early Years Foundation Stage, need further development for them to become even more confident writers.  The school website does not meet requirements and is not sufficiently up to date to keep all users fully informed about the school’s work.  The school has yet to develop and implement new ways of checking how well pupils are doing following the removal of national curriculum levels.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed eight lessons and part lessons being taught to both classes and to smaller groups of pupils of all ages and in a range of subjects including mathematics and English. The headteacher and lead inspector made several shorter visits to classrooms together. The inspector listened to some pupils read.  Discussions were held with parents, pupils, staff, governors and a representative of the local authority.  The inspector observed the school’s work and looked at pupils’ books, progress data, safeguarding information and other documentation.  The twenty-six responses to the online questionnaire, ‘Parent View’, were considered as well as those from the school’s own parental survey and from school staff.

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Inspection team

Ann Ashdown, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This school is much smaller than the average-sized primary school.  An average proportion of pupils are known to be eligible for the pupil premium, which provides additional funding for children in the care of the local authority and pupils known to be eligible for free school meals.  Almost all pupils are White British.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs who are supported at school action is above average, while the proportion supported at school action plus and with a statement of special educational needs is below average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  The school is part of a hard federation with Mrs Mary King’s Church of England Primary School. The two schools share a headteacher and a governing body.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise pupils’ achievement even further by;  consistently providing all pupils with challenging tasks which allow more of them to make better than expected progress  further developing the language and reading skills of all pupils, particularly in the Early Years Foundation Stage, to enable them to become even more confident writers.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure the school’s website is up to date, meets statutory requirements, keeps all users well informed about the work of the school and enables parents to better support their children’s’ learning.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Fully implement National Curriculum changes and develop new ways of assessing pupils’ attainment following the removal of National Curriculum levels.

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The leadership and management are good

 The determined, fair and perceptive leadership of the headteacher has been instrumental in creating a climate where good teaching and learning can flourish. Staff feel valued. Their performance is managed well, teaching is carefully monitored and they receive good training to help them develop their skills.

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The leadership and management are good

 A very effective partnership has been forged through hard federation with Mrs Mary King’s Church of England Primary school. Staff, resources and good practice are shared. Having a single leader of a subject area (such as information and communication technology) to cover both schools makes best use of teachers’ particular areas of expertise. Subject leaders monitor their areas of responsibility well, are innovative and are bringing about school improvement.

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The leadership and management are good

 School leaders know the strengths of the school and effectively tackle any weaknesses. They recognise that test results in writing are a little below those in reading and mathematics. Staff are now successfully concentrating on developing pupils’ speech and language and ensuring all pupils read widely to give them further confidence, skills and ideas with which to improve their writing.

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The leadership and management are good

 Teachers check pupils’ progress regularly, both in lessons and in formal tests. They are soon aware of any pupils who need extra help and ensure this is both timely and of high quality.

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The leadership and management are good

 The curriculum is varied and interesting and promotes pupils’ awareness of spiritual, moral, social and cultural issues well. It ensures pupils develop good basic skills in literacy and numeracy whilst also providing a wealth of extra-curricular activities. For example, a trip to Leicester gives pupils a better understanding of other cultures and an urban environment.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school is beginning to implement changes in line with the new National Curriculum. It has yet to decide on a preferred method of assessing pupils’ attainment following the removal of National Curriculum levels.

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The leadership and management are good

 Primary sports funding is used to provide specialist coaching for pupils, training for staff and increased opportunities to try new sports and participate in competitions. This promotes pupils’ health and fitness well, and has led to their improved performance in sport.

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The leadership and management are good

 Pupil premium funding is spent wisely to support disadvantaged pupils. The school ensures all pupils are given good equal opportunities to succeed. Discrimination of any kind is not tolerated.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe is good. Staff are well aware of child protection and risk assessment issues.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school’s website does not meet requirements. It is not sufficiently informative and up to date to best help parents support their children’s learning or to keep users well informed about the school’s work and successes.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  The joint governing body for the two schools within the federation is now firmly established and works efficiently through well-organised committees. It provides the school with both support and challenge. Governors are well trained and very knowledgeable about the school’s work because they monitor it carefully. They are well informed about the quality of teaching, how teachers are managed and rewarded and how well pupils are achieving compared to those in other schools nationally. Finances are well managed and extra funding such as the pupil premium is spent wisely.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The behaviour of pupils is good. They want to succeed and they have good attitudes to learning. In lessons pupils answer questions readily. Work in their books is usually complete and well presented.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils play and work happily together. The school’s work to promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is effective. Pupils cooperate well when working in pairs and groups in the classroom and play harmoniously in the school grounds. They show respect for all the adults in the school and lessons are conducted in an atmosphere of calmness and trust.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils clearly understand the difference between right and wrong. Thought-provoking assemblies also ensure they understand the importance of tolerance and respect for those different to themselves.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Records show there are few incidents of challenging behaviour or of bullying, and any that occur are dealt with effectively. Exclusions are very rare.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils enjoy coming to school. Attendance is above average and most pupils arrive punctually. They are proud of their school, wear their smart red uniform with pride and come equipped for learning.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Older pupils willingly take responsibility. They look after younger pupils, act as members of the school council and run a very successful tuck shop.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Pupils say how safe they feel in school and parents are unanimous in their agreement that the school cares for their children well.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils know how to keep themselves safe and have a sensible attitude to taking risks. They are aware of the dangers of, for example, drug and alcohol abuse and they are very clear about how to stay safe when using the internet. They understand that there are different types of bullying, but are confident that should bullying occur at their school, it will be quickly sorted out.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Work in pupils’ books clearly shows the good progress they make as a result of their good attitudes to learning and the good teaching they receive. Teachers use varied resources, including information and communication technology, and set interesting tasks which engage pupils’ interest so they enjoy learning. Pupils in Years 3 and 4 developed their literacy and computer skills well by adding speech bubbles to the characters in ‘Oliver Twist’ displayed on the computer screen to show what the characters were thinking.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Carefully planned lessons, knowledgeable teaching, perceptive questioning and clear explanations all help to develop pupils’ skills and deepen their understanding. Older pupils gained an excellent understanding of the characters in a Harry Potter novel in an English lesson and an equally good awareness of ‘magic’ numbers in a mathematics lesson because they were given challenging tasks which made all of them think really hard.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Sometimes the pace of learning slows slightly when work is not hard enough and pupils spend a little too long on one activity before moving on to the next.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils’ work is marked thoroughly and they are given clear pointers as to what to do next. They use a purple ‘polishing pen’ to improve their work and this helps them make more progress.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs are given very good support in lessons. Skilled teaching assistants and teachers provide them with sensitive help and tasks which meet their needs and allow them to make good progress.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Work in pupils’ books, displayed on walls and seen in lessons all confirm that pupils achieve well. The school’s detailed progress monitoring information shows that current pupils across the school are making good progress.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 From starting points which are often below those typical for their age, pupils make good progress through the Early Years Foundation Stage and both key stages. Levels of attainment vary from year to year because cohorts of pupils are very small. However pupils usually reach at least average standards in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 In 2014 Year 6 pupils’ attainment in tests was above average overall, but attainment and progress in writing was slightly lower than in other subjects. Year 2 assessments showed a similar picture. Staff are addressing this relative weakness by ensuring all pupils become even more fluent readers and have well developed speech and language skills to help them make the same rapid progress in writing as in other areas of learning. Teachers provide pupils with challenging reading tasks, and exciting stimuli for writing, such as film and pictures. As a result, standards in writing are beginning to improve, although this is an area for further development.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make the same good progress as their peers. Very knowledgeable and skilled teaching assistants ensure that pupils who have a statement of special educational needs are given very perceptive, timely and sensitive support so they make excellent progress in their learning. The very small numbers of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds also progress well.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupil premium funding is spent wisely on providing extra tuition and resources so disadvantaged pupils across the school make the same good progress as their classmates. The number of disadvantaged pupils who took recent national tests is very small, so their attainment is not reported in detail.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The most able pupils are given challenging work and extra tuition to help them achieve the highest levels of attainment. This enabled some pupils to achieve the higher Level 6 in mathematics in national tests this year. During the inspection, more able pupils were seen making very good progress as they grappled with tough challenges in mathematics and animatedly discussed possible solutions to problems.

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The early years provision is good

 When children enter the Reception class some have skills which are below those typical for their age, especially in speech and communication, literacy and numeracy. They make good progress throughout Reception and most catch up quickly, so they have skills much closer to average when they enter Year 1, although they remain slightly weaker in writing.

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The early years provision is good

 The school’s good relationships with parents and with local nurseries ensure children settle quickly into school life and become confident learners. Parents are encouraged to come into the classroom and this gives them an excellent opportunity to support their children’s learning which they greatly appreciate.

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The early years provision is good

 Children make good progress because teachers and teaching assistants are knowledgeable and lively teaching captures their interest. They make good progress in developing their literacy skills when the teacher (complete with pirate hat and eye patch) reads an exciting story and encourages them to go and search for ‘pirate treasure’ buried in the sand tray. Teachers recognise the need to further improve children’s early language and reading skills in order to help them write well and be even better prepared for the next stage of their education.

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The early years provision is good

 Children behave well in the Reception class. They are kept safe and begin to understand how to look after themselves and care for each other. Most understand the need to share and take turns and play with toys and equipment sensibly.

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The early years provision is good

 The Early Years Foundation Stage is well led and managed. The available staff and resources are well deployed and leaders have clear ideas as to how to make the provision even better. Children are given good opportunities to learn and staff make good use of information technology to assess their progress regularly.

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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 failing

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Grade Judgement Description

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 120391 Local authority Lincolnshire Inspection number 449618

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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 79 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Jo Sleffer Headteacher Andrew Sewell Date of previous school inspection 26 January 2010 Telephone number 01526 860400 Fax number 01526 860400 Email address Andrew.sewell@walcott.lincs.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 and 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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