Arreton St George's Church of England (Aided) Primary School

Arreton St George's Church of England Primary School Arreton, Newport, Isle of Wight, PO30 3AD

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Outstanding 1 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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This is a good school

 Strong leadership from the new but experienced headteacher is providing a very clear knowledge of what the school needs to do to improve. Positive effects can already be seen from the immediate implementation of a robust action plan.  She is well supported by a knowledgeable and keen leadership team, some of whom are also relatively new to post.  Governors fulfil their role well in actively challenging the school to raise performance.  Federating with another local school is offering very good opportunities for teachers to develop their skills further and improve the pace of pupils’ learning.  Strong provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development underpins their good attitudes and behaviour.  Pupils feel very safe and well cared for and they get on very well together. Their excellent attendance supports their learning particularly well.  A strong drive to improve teaching so that it moves

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This is a good school

from good to outstanding is ensuring that achievement for all groups of pupils is rising. As a result, they make good progress from their various starting points.  A steady improvement in standards over the last year shows that, by the time pupils leave the school, standards in mathematics, reading and writing are now above average. They are particularly high in mathematics.  The leadership and management of provision for Reception children have improved since the last inspection. As a result, children make good progress and are well prepared for Year 1.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Teachers do not yet have all the skills they need to help pupils to make even faster progress.  Tasks in some lessons are either too easy or too hard. As a result, pupils’ concentration lapses and they do not make the rapid progress of which they are capable.  Teachers do not insist sufficiently on the neat presentation and organisation of pupils’ work. This slows pupils’ progress, especially in mathematics. Pupils do not take enough pride in their handwriting, and this affects the standard of their work.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors visited 16 lessons and observed seven teachers. Teaching assistants were also observed working with individual pupils and small groups. Inspectors also talked to pupils about their work and heard individual pupils from Years 2, 4 and 6 read.  A wide range of documents were scrutinised, including systems for checking progress, records relating to behaviour and attendance, safeguarding procedures and the school’s analysis of how well it is doing and how it plans to improve. Records of monitoring the quality of teaching and minutes of the governing body meetings were also examined.  The inspectors looked at samples of pupils’ work across a range of subjects and classes.  Meetings were held with members of the governing body, school staff and groups of pupils. Individual pupils were spoken to in lessons and around the school. A telephone conversation took place with a school adviser from the local authority.

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Information about this inspection

 Questionnaires from 13 members of staff were analysed. The inspectors took account of the views expressed in the 49 online responses from Parent View and comments made by parents during informal meetings at the school during the inspection.

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Inspection team

Anna Sketchley, Lead inspector Additional inspector

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Information about this school

 Arreton St George’s Primary School is smaller than the average-sized primary school. Most pupils attend from a wide area.  The school underwent significant change from 2011 when it began to move from first school to primary school status.  The school has been subject to significant staff changes over the last academic year, including the appointment of a new headteacher, who took up her post in September.  The school is currently applying for Church of England Aided status. Information about this proposed change is on the school’s website.  The school is federated with Oakfield Church of England Primary School.  Pupils in Reception and Years 1, 2 and 3 are taught in same-aged classes. Reception children are all full- time. Older pupils are taught in two mixed-age classes of Years 4 and 5 and Years 5 and 6.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs supported through school

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Information about this school

action is 8.6%. This is similar to the national average.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs supported by school action plus, or through a statement of special educational needs, is 3.5%. This is below the national average.  The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium is 8.6% and is below that found in most schools. This is additional government funding provided to give extra support to those pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and to children who are looked after.  The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is below average. None is in the early stages of learning English.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of Year 6.  There is a privately run nursery on the school site.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Develop teachers’ skills further so that teaching moves from good to outstanding, enabling pupils to make more rapid progress, by:  making use of coaching methods offered by the federation and local authority support, to improve and refine teachers’ practice  ensuring that tasks have just the right amount of challenge, so that pupils make the best possible progress  embedding the school’s new system of improved behaviour for learning so that pupils develop their concentration and thinking skills, enabling them to make more rapid progress in lessons  ensuring that pupils take more pride in the presentation and organisation of their work.

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The leadership and management are good

 The experienced new headteacher is determined to secure the best possible progress for all pupils.  The immediate implementation of robust action plans ensures that all staff and governors are very clear about what needs to be done to improve.  Senior and middle leaders are knowledge about their subjects, especially English and mathematics leaders. The experienced English leader keeps a check on standards, regularly looking at pupils’ work and observing teaching. As a result, initiatives to tackle previous weaknesses, especially standards in writing, have been successful. The mathematics leader is new to post but training to support the role has already been organised.  Since September, thorough use has been made of both school and national data about pupils’ achievement. Increased teacher involvement in using this information is helping teachers to plan the next steps in pupils’ learning more accurately. As a result of national changes to assessment, new methods for

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The leadership and management are good

checking pupils’ progress, especially in reading, writing and mathematics are well advanced.  Rigorous and thorough procedures for measuring teachers’ performance against national teaching standards identify where training is required. Results of early monitoring of teaching this term has shown the headteacher that some teachers do not have the skills they need to ensure that pupils make the best possible progress. This is being rapidly addressed through the implementation of a programme of coaching shared with the federated school. There has not yet been time for this to result in the quality of teaching or pupils’ achievement becoming outstanding.  Until recently the local authority has offered very light touch support to the school. The level of support is now to increase to offer more targeted support for identified areas for improvement, such as developing the skills of teachers.  The school is well advanced in its preparations to adopt the new national curriculum. Pupils enjoy well-

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The leadership and management are good

organised, broad and balanced topics enriched by a wide variety of exciting activities as a stimulus for learning. For example, there was a visit to the theatre to see The Lion King and to the Globe Theatre, and role play during a ‘Roman Day’. Parents receive a good level of information about the curriculum through the school’s website and newsletters. Music is a strength of the school.  The school’s use of additional funding for sport is providing good opportunities for a wider range of sports to be enjoyed both during and after school. With the help of sports coaches, teachers are developing their expertise well. Pupils are learning a variety of skills, enabling them to take part in more competitive sports and improving their levels of fitness and participation.  Many parents expressed positive views of the school, especially parents of Reception children, who were delighted with the induction into school. Parents stressed the high level of care and safety and the warm

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The leadership and management are good

welcome. One new parent commented, ‘We have just joined the school and the headteacher and teachers couldn’t have done more to attend to our children’s needs.’  The provision for disabled pupils and those with special educational needs and disadvantaged pupils is well organised. Funding for pupils eligible for the pupil premium is effectively used. The leader has a good understanding of identification of needs and records progress carefully. There are currently too few opportunities for the leader to monitor the planning for and teaching of these pupils but there are plans in place to address this.  The school gives pupils strong opportunities for spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Pupils are provided with clear guidance on expectations of behaviour and each classroom has a ‘reflective corner’. Appropriate curriculum content ensures that pupils have a good awareness and understanding of

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The leadership and management are good

people of different cultures, beliefs and lifestyles and how to live life in modern Britain.  Equal opportunities for different groups of pupils are promoted well, good relationships are fostered and the school does not tolerate any form of discrimination. The governing body and the school staff make sure that safeguarding procedures are followed rigorously and fully meet requirements.  The governance of the school:  Governors receive good information from reports and presentations from school leaders. As a result, they are very clear about the school’s areas for development.  This increased knowledge of the school’s performance and appropriate training is helping them to become more challenging as well as remaining supportive.  They are well informed about the spending and impact of additional funding, making sure that it is used to maximum benefit.  Governors have a good understanding about the quality of teaching. They understand what is done to

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The leadership and management are good

reward good teaching and tackle underperformance. Teachers’ pay and the progress pupils make are carefully compared and considered to ensure good value for money.  Governors have good procedures in place to set rigorous targets for the new headteacher.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. School records show that there have been no exclusions since the last inspection and challenging behaviour is rare. Pupils appreciate the clear rules for behaviour both in the classroom and in the playground. They say this helps them get on well together.  Pupils were particularly keen to tell inspectors that behaviour had improved considerably since new rewards and sanctions were introduced this term. They are well mannered and politely hold open doors for adults and almost always move calmly about the maze of corridors. They were very well behaved in assemblies observed by inspectors.  Pupils display a positive attitude to school. This is demonstrated by their excellent attendance. During the inspection most pupils were well behaved and attentive in lessons.  Pupils’ behaviour is not outstanding because occasionally in some lessons, when tasks are either too hard

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Behaviour

or too easy, some pupils become distracted and lose concentration. This disrupts their thinking and causes their learning to slow down. Pupils do not always take pride in the presentation and organisation of their work.  Pupils contribute well to the life and work of the school. For example, the school council help to decide how funding from the Parent Teacher Association should be used, while others help organise equipment on the playground, look after the younger children and help to organize the summer fete. Pupils thoroughly enjoy these responsibilities, which promote their social and moral development well and are beginning to establish their understanding of democracy.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Pupils say they feel very safe in school, and parents support this view.  Pupils benefit from effective teaching about how to use the internet safely and about the different forms of bullying. Pupils told inspectors that bullying is rare, and school records confirm this.  Pupils speak of good advice from visitors about cycling and road safety, and about water and fire safety. Being involved in risk assessments and safety visits on the school site heightens their awareness of how to keep safe.  A very small minority of parents demonstrated concerns about bullying in the parent questionnaire and one parent spoken to informally before school raised it as an issue. However, almost all parents and all school staff said they felt that pupils were well behaved and kind and got on very well together.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Learning is thoroughly planned and most lesson activities engage pupils well. Year 2 pupils joined in enthusiastically when invited to use the interactive whiteboard to solve money problems. They used their prior knowledge well and their understanding was deepened by the introduction of specific mathematical language.  Very good relationships exist between adults and pupils, creating a good climate for learning. A high level of respect means that pupils listen well and pay careful attention to adults. This supports their learning very well. Pupils have a good attitude to learning and are keen to participate and show what they know.  Teachers’ subject knowledge is secure, especially in the teaching of mathematics, reading and writing, and they have good questioning skills. These contribute well to the pace of the lesson, probing pupils’ understanding and ensuring that they learn basic skills well.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Good-quality resources support pupils’ learning of new concepts well, especially in mathematics.  Occasionally, tasks are either too hard or too easy for some pupils. When this happens they find it hard to concentrate and persevere and become disengaged from the work in hand. Disaffection is well managed but when this happens, pupils do not make the rapid progress they could.  Classrooms are rich with displays and useful information to help pupils with their learning if they become ‘stuck’.  Teachers check pupils’ work very carefully, addressing misconceptions and adapting tasks to move the learning on in the next lesson.  Marking is very thorough. A new system has been introduced and is consistent throughout the school. It enables pupils to respond to teachers’ comments, showing them how to improve their work and giving them time to practise at the beginning of each lesson.  Pupils benefit from regular homework to practise basic skills.

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is good

 Children join the Early Years Foundation Stage with knowledge and skills typical for their age. They receive a very warm welcome and settle quickly and confidently into school life because of excellent induction procedures and partnerships with parents.  The school places a high priority on learning to read. Evidence gathered during the inspection showed the teaching of sounds that letters make (phonics) to be good. Pupils use these skills and other strategies well when reading to help them build unfamiliar words. Results of the national screening check for phonics show that the attainment of Year 1 pupils is above the national average. All pupils are encouraged to read regularly at school and at home.  Year 6 pupils read with great fluency, expression and understanding. They read widely, including fiction and non-fiction. They demonstrate very clearly their enjoyment of reading and intelligently discuss

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favourite authors and a range of genres, for example, horror, humour and adventure stories.  All groups of pupils make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics from their various starting points. Since the school changed from a first school to a primary school three years ago, standards have been steadily rising at Key Stage 2. In the current Year 6, attainment in reading, writing and mathematics is above average.  The most able pupils in Years 4, 5 and 6 are exceptionally well supported by a specialist mathematics teacher. As a result, they make more-than-expected progress, and some reach standards that are well above those nationally.  Standards in writing have improved significantly because of a successful initiative to provide more opportunities in other subjects to write at length and for different purposes. The percentage of pupils reaching standards better than those expected is higher than the national percentage.

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is good

 The small proportion of pupils supported by extra funds are well supported and the gap between them and all other pupils has closed. These pupils, in all year groups, make similar good progress and reach similar standards in reading, writing and mathematics as all other pupils nationally. Some make better- than-expected progress and reach standards that are above average and in line with all other pupils’ in the school. Where a pupil does not reach the expected standard nationally it is because they have complex learning needs, but they make good progress from their starting points.  Teachers and skilled teaching assistants ensure that disabled pupils and those with special educational needs are well provided for in lessons. Pupils have specific targets and are appropriately supported and included in lessons; as a result, they make good progress from their own starting points.  Achievement is not yet outstanding because teachers do not have all the skills they need to ensure that all

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is good

pupils make the rapid progress of which they are capable.

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is good

 The Early Years Foundation Stage is well led and managed by an experienced practitioner. Children make good progress because learning is carefully planned and appropriate.  Adults check children’s learning regularly through a wide range of observations and photographs. These are carefully collected and used to plan the next steps in children’s development.  Children learn in a safe and well-organised classroom and outdoor area. They are very well cared for.  Children’s behaviour is good because they are fully engaged in all the interesting activities prepared for them. Relationships are warm, caring and respectful so children listen well to adults, learn to take turns and share and get along very well together.  A good balance exists between activities chosen by the children and those led by adults. Stimulating opportunities to play and explore both indoors and outside carefully foster children’s thinking and

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is good

creativity. Adults join in children’s play, sensitively posing questions to extend children’s language and ideas.  Children were observed mastering new skills quickly during phonics and number sessions led by the teacher. They listened very carefully because of excellent relationships and high expectations of adults.  The skills they acquire across all areas of learning and the good progress they make in the Early Years prepare them well for Year 1.

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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 118180 Local authority Isle of Wight Inspection number 444231

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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 Voluntary controlled Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 174 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Robin Oulton Headteacher Angela Collins Date of previous school inspection 25 January 2008 Telephone number 01983 528429 Fax number 01983 525392 Email address admin@arretoncepri.iow.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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