Medmerry Primary School

Medmerry Primary School High Street, Selsey, Chichester, PO20 0QJ

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Not previously inspected as an academy 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 school is good because effective teaching ensures that most pupils in the school make good progress and achieve good results in national tests.  Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage make good progress. They end the Reception Year well prepared for Year 1.  Pupils attain at the expected levels in all subjects at the end of Key Stage 1.  Pupils’ attainment in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of Key Stage 2 is higher than that in most other schools.  Teachers engage pupils well and ensure that they learn effectively in most subjects.  Pupils behave well and look after each other. The school helps them to develop a strong sense of responsibility towards others.  The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is rigorous and highly effective. Pupils have a clear understanding of how to keep themselves safe, including when online.  The acting headteacher, well supported by the governors and the academy trust, has raised

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

expectations in the school. She ensures that teaching in the school enables pupils to achieve well.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Teachers do not consistently challenge pupils enough.  Teachers’ marking does not always show pupils how to improve their work in writing and mathematics.  The school does not make effective use of information about the progress of different groups of pupils to inform planning and teaching.  Middle leaders do not have enough responsibility for improving the school.  Early years staff do not fully assess children’s achievement across all areas of learning.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors saw teaching in every class. They observed one assembly, 11 lessons and pupils’ behaviour in the playground and at lunchtime. Two lessons were observed jointly with the acting headteacher.  Discussions were held with pupils, two members of the governing body, the acting headteacher and other members of staff. A discussion was also held with a representative from the Schoolsworks Academy Trust.  The inspectors observed many aspects of the school’s work, including support for pupils who need extra help. They heard pupils read and examined pupils’ work in their exercise books and on classroom and corridor wall displays.  The inspectors looked at a number of documents, including plans for what pupils should learn in each subject, plans for the school’s future development, and records of the school’s use of the primary sport funding and pupil premium funding. They also scrutinised the school’s arrangements for keeping pupils

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Information about this inspection

safe, pupils’ attendance records, minutes of governing body meetings, records of how pupils’ learning is monitored and records of how the quality of teaching is checked.  The views of parents were taken into account by taking note of the 39 responses to the online Parent View survey, a message from a parent and discussions with several parents. The inspectors also considered the 25 responses to the school’s own survey of parental views.  Staff views were taken into consideration by looking at questionnaires completed by 22 staff members and through discussions with several members of staff.

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Inspection team

Steven Popper, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Medmerry Primary School converted to become an academy school on 1 September 2011. When its predecessor school, also called Medmerry Primary School, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be good overall. The school became part of the Schoolsworks Academy Trust on 1 September 2014.  The school is a smaller-than-average-sized primary school.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  The proportion of pupils who are eligible for the pupil premium, additional government funding for children known to be eligible for free school meals or in the care of the local authority, is lower than the national average. At Medmerry, this extra money is provided for children known to be eligible for free school meals.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is higher than in most

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Information about this school

other schools.  Most pupils are of White British heritage.  Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage attend one, full-time Reception class.  The acting headteacher, acting deputy headteacher and early years leader took up their leadership responsibilities in September 2014.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching by:  ensuring that pupils consistently receive high levels of challenge  ensuring that teachers’ marking shows pupils how to improve their work in writing and mathematics.  Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by:  making better use of information about the progress of different groups of pupils to inform planning and teaching  increasing middle leaders’ responsibility for school improvement.  Improve the early years provision by assessing children’s achievement in all areas of learning from the time that they join the school.

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The leadership and management are good

 The acting headteacher has raised staff expectations of the quality of teaching and the achievement of pupils. Her high standards are understood and welcomed by staff across the school.  The performance of staff is managed robustly. The headteacher has extended the support given to staff to help them to improve their teaching. Teachers are given clear targets for the progress of their pupils and the quality of their teaching is checked carefully.  The school’s evaluation of its strengths and weaknesses is accurate, but leaders do not give enough attention to the progress made by different groups of pupils. As a result, although the school development plan identifies key priorities for improvement well, it does not show in enough detail how the achievement of different groups of pupils is to be improved.  Pupils are taught a good range of subjects and explore different cultures, religions and personal histories.

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The leadership and management are good

The school works hard to develop pupils’ understanding of democracy and the importance of valuing other people’s opinions. Such work promotes equal opportunities and guards against discrimination well; pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain.  The school promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development strongly and successfully cultivates pupils’ sense of responsibility towards others and for the world. For example, older pupils actively look after younger ones during playtime while the school’s ‘green team’ develops pupils’ understanding of recycling and the wise use of resources.  Middle leaders have not contributed to school improvement sufficiently over time. The acting headteacher is beginning to give middle leaders more responsibility for improving the school, but their roles are not yet fully developed.  The primary sport funding is spent effectively on increasing pupils’ engagement and enhancing their

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The leadership and management are good

performance in physical activity and sport. It is also spent effectively on developing teachers’ expertise in teaching physical education. One result of this has been the improved performance of pupils in swimming.  Pupil premium funding is spent effectively on supporting disadvantaged pupils’ academic performance. As a result, very high proportions of disadvantaged pupils achieve good results and make better than expected progress from their starting points. Disadvantaged pupils have high levels of attendance.  The school conducts its safeguarding work very effectively and works well with other agencies. Leaders and governors ensure that all training is up to date and that proper procedures are followed by all staff should the need arise. Safeguarding work meets and exceeds statutory requirements.  The Schoolsworks Academy Trust has supported the acting headteacher in her role and helped her to

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The leadership and management are good

raise expectations in the school. The trust, the governors and the senior leadership team work well together.  The school has developed very good relationships with parents and works with them well. A very large majority of parents who offered an opinion thought that the school was well led and would recommend it to others.  The governance of the school:  The school is supported by a strong governing body. Governors systematically monitor the effectiveness of school provision and how well the school is improving. Governors have a good understanding of the data about pupils’ achievement and use this understanding to challenge senior leaders well. Governors monitor the quality of teaching and ensure that senior leaders attend to any poor performance effectively. Governors also make sure that staff are given sufficient support and training to enable them to perform well. They share the acting headteacher’s high expectations and work well with her to

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The leadership and management are good

ensure that these are embedded across the school. Their impact on school improvement and performance is good.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  Pupils enjoy learning and take pride in their work and achievements. Their positive attitudes to learning have contributed to their good results and improving progress over time.  Pupils concentrate well on their work and show high levels of engagement during most lessons. Low level disruption is very uncommon. However, some pupils can become distracted if they are not challenged sufficiently.  Pupils are courteous and respectful. They behave well in the playground, during lunchtime, and when travelling around the school. Older pupils look after younger ones and all groups of pupils display caring and responsible attitudes. Some Year 6 pupils act as peer mediators in the playground and help smooth out any disagreements that might occur.  Staff have consistently high expectations of behaviour and the school manages pupils’ behaviour well. Pupils who talked to the inspectors said that behaviour was mostly good and praised the use of peer

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Behaviour

mediators.  School records show very few incidents of bullying over time, and pupils said that bullying is not a cause for concern. However, the school has not made sure that pupils know as much as they should about different forms of bullying.  While school records show very few incidents of poor behaviour over time, they are less revealing about the school’s responses.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is outstanding.  Staff supervise pupils diligently and keep them safe at all times.  The school teaches pupils how to keep safe in different situations very well, particularly when they are online. E-safety is strongly promoted across the school.  Pupils who talked to the inspectors said that they felt very safe and well cared for in the school.  Pupils’ attendance is much higher than average and has improved over time. This is because of the school’s good relationships with parents and because pupils enjoy coming to school.  An overwhelming majority of parents who offered an opinion thought that their children were safe and happy at school, and that the school managed their behaviour well.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Most teaching across the school is consistently good. Teachers have high expectations of pupils’ learning and achievement. As a result, most pupils achieve well and make good progress.  Most teachers challenge pupils, including the most able, in all subjects. However, there are times when the most able pupils are not stretched enough to ensure that they achieve as well as they should.  Teachers know their subjects well. They give pupils clear and accurate guidance during lessons, successfully helping them to develop their reading, writing and mathematics. The teaching of English grammar, punctuation and spelling has been less effective. Leaders are aware of this and have begun to change the way that these elements of English are taught; pupils’ exercise books show that their spelling is beginning to improve as a result.  The teaching of reading is good. Reading logs give pupils clear advice about how to develop their reading

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The quality of teaching is good

skills and strategies. Reading books are well matched to the needs of pupils of different abilities and they develop a keen love of reading as a result.  The feedback in pupils’ exercise books shows that teachers give credit for pupils’ good work in writing and mathematics. Their written comments are encouraging and help to promote pupils’ good attitudes towards these subjects. However, teachers’ marking does not always show pupils how to improve their work.  Pupils and adults have good working relationships. Teachers engage pupils well during most lessons and pupils follow instructions and guidance willingly.  Teaching assistants are deployed well to support pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, disabled pupils and those with special educational needs. They help to ensure that these pupils make good progress.  An overwhelming majority of parents who offered an opinion thought that their children were taught well.

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is good

 Most pupils across the school, including children in the Early Years Foundation Stage, make good progress and achieve well.  The school’s results in the Year 1 national phonic (linking letters to the sounds they make) check have improved over time. The most recent phonic scores were slightly lower than the national average.  The number of pupils reaching the expected levels in reading, writing and mathematics has risen across the school to above average at the end of Key Stage 1 and to markedly above average at the end of Key Stage 2. However, pupils’ scores in English grammar, punctuation and spelling at the end of Key Stage 2 are well below average.  Fewer of the most able pupils than average attained the higher levels at the end of Key Stage 1 in 2013. However, results improved for this group in 2014, at the end of both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. The attainment of the most able pupils in reading, writing and mathematics is now much higher than average

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is good

and they make good progress across the school.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good progress across the school. This is because teaching is well matched to their needs. The attainment of these pupils is lower than that of similar pupils nationally and of others in the school, except in reading where it is higher. The attainment of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs improved last year, especially in Key Stage 2.  The school is successfully narrowing the gap in attainment between disadvantaged pupils and other pupils in the school and nationally. By the time they leave, this group of pupils is approximately one-and-a-half terms behind the others in writing and mathematics. In reading, they are approximately one term ahead of other pupils in the school and two terms ahead of other pupils nationally. Disadvantaged pupils make good progress, in line with other pupils in the school.

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is good

 A very large majority of parents who offered an opinion thought that their children made good progress.

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is good

 Children enter the Early Years Foundation Stage with levels of skill and knowledge slightly below those typical for their age. Children then make good progress and the percentage of children finishing the Reception Year with a good level of development is higher than average. Children are well prepared for learning in Year 1.  Children behave courteously and share resources well. They demonstrate positive attitudes to learning and concentrate well on their activities, whether adult led or child initiated. Staff care for and supervise children well. They ensure that children are kept safe and feel at ease whilst at school.  Teaching in the Early Years Foundation Stage is good. Teachers and teaching assistants help children to develop their skills and understanding across all areas of learning.  Early years staff accurately assess children’s skills in reading, writing and mathematics from the time they

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is good

begin school. However, they do not fully assess children’s achievement in the other areas of learning.  Early years staff work well with parents. Examples of this work include home visits, daily contact and workshops about the school’s approach to teaching in different subjects.  The new early years leader works well with local feeder pre-schools to ensure children’s smooth transition into school and is steadily developing her leadership role.

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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 137370 Local authority West Sussex Inspection number 444344

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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 Academy converter Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 203 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Brian Rainer Headteacher Shauna Savill Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected as an academy Telephone number 01243602738 Fax number 01243605274 Email address admin@medmerry.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 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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