Sutton Bridge Westmere Community Primary School

Sutton Bridge Westmere Community Primary School Anne Road, Sutton Bridge, Spalding, PE12 9TB

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Requires improvement 3 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

 This is a rapidly improving school. Under the excellent leadership of the executive headteacher and the head of school, who are well supported by governors, pupils’ achievement is rising and the quality of teaching is improving.  Governors, leaders and managers understand the schools strengths and are quick to tackle weaknesses. The school is well placed to achieve its goals for further improvement.  Pupils behave well and work hard. Most show kindness and respect towards each other, staff and visitors. They say how safe they feel in school.  Work in pupils’ books shows that they make good progress over time because they are taught well. Interesting activities, knowledgeable teaching and helpful marking all contribute to pupils’ good achievement.  Children entering Reception settle quickly into school routines, become confident learners and make good progress.  Pupils continue to achieve well as they move

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

through the school. Most reach at least average standards in English and mathematics by the end of Year 6, and often exceed these averages in reading.  The broad curriculum ensures pupils develop both good literacy and numeracy skills and good support for their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Consequently Westmere pupils leave the school well prepared for the next stage of their education and for life in modern Britain.  Through their very successful federation with three local schools, leaders, managers, governors and staff are able to share their own considerable expertise with other teachers, and draw on that of the other schools.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Pupils’ progress in writing is slightly slower than that in reading and mathematics. Pupils are not always given sufficient opportunities to write at length in all subjects.  Tasks set are sometimes not challenging enough for the most able pupils.  The school recognises the need to work even more closely with some parents to encourage them to send their children to school regularly.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 12 lessons being taught to full classes and smaller groups of pupils of all ages and in a range of subjects, including mathematics and English. Some lessons and part-lessons were joint observations with senior staff. Inspectors listened to pupils read.  Discussions were held with parents, pupils, staff, governors and a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at pupils’ books, progress data, safeguarding information and other documentation.  Inspectors took into account 18 responses to the on-line questionnaire, ‘Parent View’, as well as responses from questionnaires given to school staff.

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Inspection team

Ann Ashdown, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is an average-sized primary school.  The proportion of disabled students and those who have special educational needs is about 10%, which is below average.  The proportion of pupils, who are disadvantaged and so eligible for the pupil premium, is about 40%. This is above that found nationally. The pupil premium is additional funding for pupils eligible for free school meals and those in the care of the local authority.  An above average proportion of pupils are from minority ethnic backgrounds and a similar proportion speaks English as an additional language.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  Early Years provision is in two Reception classes which children attend full time.  A well-above-average proportion of pupils joins and leaves the school part-way through their primary education.  The school is federated with two other schools, Holbeach St Marks and Gedney Drove End. The three

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Information about this school

schools share an executive headteacher and a governing body.  A Sure Start children’s centre and a playgroup, ‘Sunbeams’, share the school’s site. They are inspected separately and their reports can be found on the Ofsted website.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve achievement, particularly in writing by;  ensuring all pupils have opportunities to write at length in all subjects  giving the most able pupils challenging tasks which deepen and widen their learning so they can reach the highest standards  Improve attendance for all groups of pupils by working even more closely with parents to ensure they all understand the importance of sending their children to school regularly.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher and the head of school have created a climate where good teaching and good behaviour flourish. Improvements to the way in which pupils’ progress is tracked, the introduction of a more consistent approach to the marking of pupils’ work and the use of clear rewards and sanctions to promote good behaviour are all bringing about improvements in pupils’ achievement.

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The leadership and management are good

 School self-evaluation is accurate and any weaknesses are quickly identified and tackled. A clear plan for further improvement, for example in writing, is in place and the school has the capacity to achieve the goals it has set.

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The leadership and management are good

 Middle leaders lead their subjects and areas of responsibility well. They provide good advice to staff about new curriculum and other developments and help them identify and address any aspects of pupils’ achievement that need attention in their areas.

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The leadership and management are good

 Teaching is carefully monitored and staff performance is well managed. Staff are given good support and access to high quality training to improve their skills further. They feel valued and, consequently, morale is high.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school works in close partnership with two other primary schools through a very effective federation. Expertise is shared and resources deployed effectively across the three schools. Middle leaders work very successfully across the federation to monitor and evaluate work of this and the other schools in literacy and numeracy, and to bring about improvements.

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The leadership and management are good

 Pupil premium funding is spent well on small group and one-to-one teaching and consequently the school has been successful in narrowing gaps between disadvantaged pupils and their peers. Primary sports funding has also been used very effectively to promote pupils’ healthy lifestyles, improve their fitness and allow them to perform to the standard of which they are capable. Specialist sports coaching allows pupils to try new sports and they also have increased opportunities to take part in competitions.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school fosters good relations between pupils and throughout the school community and does not allow discrimination of any kind. Pupils are given equal opportunities to succeed. Although the most able pupils do not always receive quite enough challenge for them to make consistently rapid progress equally well in all subjects, all pupils at Westmere develop the key skills they will need when moving to secondary school.

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The leadership and management are good

 The curriculum is broad and promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development very well. Pupils learn about key values and concepts, such as democracy and tolerance. This, and their regular opportunities to study other countries, which their classes are named after, promotes pupils’ understanding of other cultures and prepares them well for life in modern Britain. Pupils gain good basic skills and also enjoy a wide range of enrichment activities. Pupils speak enthusiastically about what they have found out on visits to exciting places as varied as an aircraft museum and a football ground.

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The leadership and management are good

 Safeguarding arrangements meet requirements. Staff are well trained and well aware of the school’s child protection and risk assessment policies and procedures.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority provides good support for the school through the school advisor, who visits regularly and provides advice on, for example, the analysis of pupil performance data and other leadership and management issues.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  A joint governing body works seamlessly to provide support and challenge for all three schools in the federation. Governors monitor the work of the schools carefully. Minutes of meetings show they ask challenging questions based on a clear understanding of school performance data. Finances are well managed and the spending of extra funding and its impact, such as the pupil premium, is carefully monitored. Governors have a good understanding of the data on pupils’ achievement and are well informed about the quality of teaching. They ensure teachers’ pay is directly linked to their effectiveness, and know how staff performance is managed and underperformance tackled. Governors ensure that all safeguarding arrangements are consistently implemented and regularly reviewed.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils have good attitudes to learning and in lessons most answer questions readily and work hard. Work in pupils’ books is usually complete and well presented because they take a pride in their work and want to succeed.

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Behaviour

 Pupils behave well as they move around the school, play in the school yard and eat in the dining hall. They show respect for staff and are friendly and welcoming to visitors.

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Behaviour

 Records show that incidents of challenging behaviour do sometimes occur but these are very effectively dealt with by staff. Bullying is rare and swiftly sorted out.

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Behaviour

 Attendance, although improving, is below average. The school recognises the need to work even more closely with parents to make them aware of the need to send their children to school regularly so they do not miss important lessons and have gaps in their learning.

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Behaviour

 Pupils enjoy taking responsibility and work well together as members of the school council or when fund- raising for charities. They are proud of their roles as house captains and monitors.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good.

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Safety

 The school site is secure and checks on the suitability of staff to work with children are robust. Policies and procedures are consistently followed by all staff. The school undertakes rigorous risk assessments whenever pupils take part in additional clubs or after school activities, or are taking part in out-of-school trips and visits, and ensures that regulations covering off-site activities are met in full.

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Safety

 Pupils say they feel very safe in school and parents agree that the school cares for their children well.

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Safety

 Pupils are aware of different types of bullying but are confident that should this occur staff will quickly sort it out. Year 6 pupils talked knowledgeably about how to keep themselves safe when using the internet and had a very sensible approach to risk taking.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils make good progress over time in literacy, reading and mathematics because the quality of teaching is good. Work in pupils’ books is carefully and consistently marked. They are given clear pointers on how to make their work even better and have regular opportunities to respond to teachers’ marking and make the improvements suggested.

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The quality of teaching is good

 In mathematics, teachers’ provide well planned activities that enable pupils to make good progress and solve mathematical problems confidently. These activities capture their interest well and teachers’ clear explanations extend their understanding. Staff assess pupils’ progress carefully and make good use of assessment information to plan their learning.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Well-structured teaching of phonics (the sounds that letters make) helps most pupils, including those who speak English as an additional language, to read fluently. A well-stocked library and plentiful opportunities to read a range of texts allows them to develop a real enjoyment of reading. For example, Year 4 pupils made good progress as they engaged in a lively debate about whether or not Harry Potter should go to Hogsmead school.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Improvements in the way writing is taught and checked have meant that pupils’ progress in writing, although still slightly slower than that in reading, is now accelerating. Pupils have more time allocated to helping them to develop their skills during daily, well planned and well-structured lessons in guided writing. However pupils do not always have enough opportunities in all classes to use their writing skills in all subjects.

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The quality of teaching is good

 In a small number of lessons the most able pupils are not always given activities which are sufficiently demanding to extend their skills and deepen their understanding. This means they do not always reach the highest standards of which they are capable.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Support for disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is good. Their needs are quickly identified and support provided. Support for pupils who do not have English as their main language is also very good and ensures these pupils make good progress and are able to catch up with the others. The school makes good use of specialist staff and resources to help staff deal with the challenges posed by pupils who arrive in school with limited English.

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is good

 Work in pupils’ books and displayed on walls and the school’s own tracking system all confirm that current pupils make good progress and achieve well in English and mathematics.

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is good

 Children’s starting points in the Reception class are only broadly in line with those typical for their age, with some pupils experiencing marked difficulties in communication and language. Pupils make good progress across the school and reach at least average standards by the time they leave Year 6. In tests in 2014 pupils’ attainment rose and was above average in reading. It was broadly in line in mathematics but a little lower in writing than in the other two subjects.

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is good

 Gaps between the achievement of disadvantaged and other pupils are closing rapidly. Disadvantaged pupils who are supported by pupil premium funding make good progress and now attain at least as well, and often better than, their peers in school in reading, writing and mathematics. They achieve as well as pupils nationally in reading and mathematics but their points scores in tests indicate they are a term behind in writing.

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is good

 The most able pupils generally make good progress overall and in 2014 a small number of pupils reached the higher Level 6 in mathematics. However, over time, few pupils have achieved the higher levels at the end of Key Stages 1 and 2 in writing. The school, rightly, recognises that it is a priority to ensure the most able pupils are fully challenged to achieve their very best and make more rapid progress, especially in writing.

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is good

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good progress. They are given specialist help when this is needed from both teachers and teaching assistants. This enables them to access the curriculum and successfully complete the same or similar work to their classmates.

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is good

 Pupils who join the school part-way through their primary education settle into the school quickly and make good progress. Those pupils who speak English as an additional language also achieve well because they benefit from good phonics teaching, which develops their literacy skills, and are also supported well by other specialist support provided by the school.

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is good

 Children’s speech and language are often weaker than the standard typically found at their age when they enter the school. All groups of children, including those who speak English as an additional language, make good progress and quickly catch up so that by the end of the Reception year, all the children are equipped with the skills needed to be successful in Year 1.

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is good

 Children behave well in the Reception classes. They soon learn to share and take turns when using equipment and most can concentrate and follow instructions. They are well cared for by well-trained staff. Sensible routines ensure children are kept safe and learn how to stay healthy.

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is good

 Lessons are well planned and good teaching ensures children are given interesting opportunities that simulate their thinking and imagination and help them learn. Children were particularly enthusiastic about their current topic, ‘Dinosaurs’. They enjoyed experimenting with different materials and textures to make dinosaur skin. They also developed their good literacy skills by constructing a complex sentence (‘I would be scared if I saw a dinosaur because it might roar’), of which they were very proud.

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is good

 The leadership and management of the early years are good. Staff are carefully deployed and used effectively and good systems are in place to assess children’s work. New ways of communicating with parents to keep them well informed about the progress their children are making are proving popular and successful.

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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 120502 Local authority Lincolnshire Inspection number 453602

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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 236 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair John Cooper Headteacher Karyn Wiles (Executive headteacher) Date of previous school inspection 6 March 2013 Telephone number 01406 350205 Fax number 01406 351638 Email address enquiries@westmere.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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