Pevensey and Westham CofE Primary School

School report Pevensey and Westham Church of England Primary School High Street, Pevensey, BN24 5LP

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Requires improvement 3 Leadership and management Requires improvement 3 Behaviour and safety of pupils Requires improvement 3 Quality of teaching Requires improvement 3 Achievement of pupils Requires improvement 3 Early Years provision Good 2

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because:

 Pupils make expected rather than good progress by the end of Key Stage 2. Standards by the end of Year 6 are not high enough.  Teaching over time has not always been good enough. Too little time has been devoted to improving the quality of teaching and learning.  Pupils’ work is not always sufficiently challenging, especially for the most able.  Pupils’ behaviour in lessons is not consistently good. Although there is no disruption to learning, pupils lose concentration when they are not interested in their learning.  There are fewer opportunities for pupils to practise numeracy skills than literary skills in other subjects.  Marking does not always tell pupils what they need to do next in order to improve. Too few checks are made to ensure pupils act on the advice given to them.  Some subject leaders are very new to their posts. Roles and expectations are not clear. They have not had time to have a positive effect on improving

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because:

achievement or teaching in their subjects.

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The school has the following strengths:

 The teaching of phonics (the sounds that letters make) in the early years and Key Stage 1 is good.  Children in the Reception classes make good progress. As a result of good teaching they achieve well.  Pupils know how to keep safe because the school takes great care to ensure pupils are safe.  The school supports pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well. Pupils have a particularly good understanding of the cultures and beliefs of others in a range of countries.  The new headteacher, along with his deputy, have taken decisive action to tackle weaknesses. Teaching shows clear, early signs of success. However the full impact of actions taken has yet to be seen.  Governance has been strengthened. Governors challenge and support the school to improve teaching and raise pupils’ achievement. They have a good understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for development.  The gap between disadvantaged and other pupils,

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The school has the following strengths:

both in the school and nationally, is closing year on year. Inspection report: Pevensey and Westham Church of England Primary School, 24–25 February 2015 2 of 10

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed lessons in all classes. Four were joint observations with the headteacher or deputy headteacher. Inspectors also observed group work and listened to pupils read. They observed pupils at play and at lunchtime.  Inspectors carried out a scrutiny of pupils’ work in writing, mathematics and topic work.  Discussions were held with the senior leaders, members of staff, members of the governing body and a representative of the local authority.  Pupils’ views were gathered through a discussion with a representative group. Some parents and carers were interviewed as they brought their children in to school.  A wide range of documents was considered, including: information about pupils’ progress; documentation relating to safeguarding arrangements; policies; a record of lesson observations made by senior leaders; and work in pupils’ books. The school development plan was also examined.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors considered 76 parental responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View, in carrying out the inspection. Inspectors also checked 41 responses to the staff questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Gavin Jones, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Inspection team

Robert Howell Additional Inspector Inspection report: Pevensey and Westham Church of England Primary School, 24–25 February 2015 3 of 10

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Information about this school

 The school is larger than the average-sized primary school.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is below the national average.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils, those supported through the pupil premium, is below the national average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics by the end of Year 6.  There have been changes in staffing since the previous inspection, including senior staff.  Following a lengthy period of uncertainty at senior leadership level, the acting headteacher, who took on the role in 2013, will officially become headteacher at Easter 2015.  The Reception classes provide full-time education in two parallel classes. Throughout the school pupils are taught in year groups.  The governing body oversees the provision of breakfast and after-school clubs.

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Information about this school

 The school is a member of a local group of schools. This alliance is used for schools to give each other mutual support.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching so that all pupils make good progress and attain well by ensuring that:  teachers make better use of assessments to plan work that is neither too hard nor too easy  teachers have higher expectations of what most able pupils can achieve  teachers receive high-quality training and support in order to secure rapid improvement  marking is followed up so that teachers are sure pupils have acted on their advice  learning is always interesting so that pupils are always attentive, involved and behave well.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Strengthen the effectiveness of leaders, especially middle leaders, to drive forward improvements in teaching and achievement by:  providing high-quality professional development to clarify roles and raise expectations  developing their role in improving the quality of teaching and learning  ensuring that pupils practise their numeracy skills in other subjects. Inspection report: Pevensey and Westham Church of England Primary School, 24–25 February 2015 4 of 10

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The leadership and management require improvement

 Leadership and management require improvement because pupils’ progress has been too slow. Standards are not high enough because teaching over time has not been consistently good enough.  The new headteacher and his deputy have a good understanding of what needs to be done to make the school a good school. They have taken determined action to tackle weaknesses showing strong capacity to improve the school. The full impact of this work has yet to be seen.  Some subject leaders are very new to their posts. They visit classes, check the quality of work and pupils’ progress. However, they have not developed their roles further in order to have a more positive impact in their subjects.  Regular pupil progress meetings ensure all teachers are held accountable for the progress of their pupils and ensure that all pupils have equal opportunities for success.  Regular checks on teaching and learning lead to a clear picture of areas for development for individual

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The leadership and management require improvement

teachers. The school has created a teaching and learning team who are focused on providing support for teachers whose practice needs improvement. However, as this is comparatively new, it has had limited time to have had an impact.  Good systems are now in place to check attendance and take action where particular groups or individuals exhibit poor patterns of attendance.  The school makes good use of its pupil premium funding. The money has ensured improvements for this group of pupils. It has provided additional teachers, extra work, and specialist literacy and numeracy support. It has funded support for social development to enable this group of pupils to join in all school activities. Results are positive and gaps between this group and other pupils have closed considerably over the very recent past.  Funding to support sport in schools has also been used well. Specialist coaches teaching alongside class

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The leadership and management require improvement

teachers have helped improve their skills. New sports have been introduced, competitive sport flourishes and pupils are able to see the links between sport and a healthy lifestyle.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good and exemplified by their attitudes to each other, their understanding of values and their participation in multicultural activities. The school has strong links with schools in India, Germany and the United States and has an International School Award. These links have had a positive impact in helping pupils to understand a range of cultures and beliefs. The school ensures that relationships in the school, between pupils and adults and between pupils themselves, are positive.  Any form of discrimination is tackled quickly, but it is extremely rare. Most classes have space set aside for reflection, the creation of prayers and opportunities to celebrate religious festivals throughout the year.

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The leadership and management require improvement

Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain. British values are promoted effectively through the school’s curriculum and especially in its work on personal and social development.  The curriculum has been devised to capture pupils’ interest. For example, pupils enjoy opportunities to learn Spanish and Mandarin. After-school activities in a range of subjects and sports are popular. However, where teaching does not engage pupils’ enthusiasm, they become disinterested.  The school is working well to develop links with other local schools. Through partnership work, staff have worked with teachers in other schools, for example to check the grading of pupils’ work and share training activities. There has not yet been enough time for this to have had an impact on achievement or the quality of subject leadership.  Links with parents and carers was an area for improvement at the previous inspection. Weekly newsletters

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The leadership and management require improvement

now keep parents and carers well informed. They also receive three written progress reports each year. Additional information given by the school about a range of subjects in evening meetings also helps parents and carers to support their children at home. In the online survey, over 90% of them were happy with this improvement.  The local authority has provided valuable support for the school. It provided support for the new headteacher and helped him make improvements quickly. The need for this support has reduced over time because weaknesses are being effectively tackled.  Safeguarding is effective and meets statutory requirements. Staff and governors receive regular training so that they are kept up to date. Policies are checked and updated by governors and the headteacher regularly. Records show that policies and procedures are followed carefully in order to ensure pupils’ safety.  The governance of the school:

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The leadership and management require improvement

 The governing body carries out its duties effectively. As a result of effective training, it assesses its own Inspection report: Pevensey and Westham Church of England Primary School, 24–25 February 2015 5 of 10

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The leadership and management require improvement

skills and abilities regularly. Governors have a good understanding of test results and know where the strengths and areas for development of teaching lie. Through their understanding of data they are able to support the drive for improvement set out by the headteacher.  Some governors come into school regularly, meet with a range of teachers and visit classes. They are keen to develop these links further to understand the wider picture of the school’s work.  They know the purpose of the performance targets for staff and the importance of these being met for any possible salary increases.  The governing body can explain the programme and success of the pupil premium funding and ensures that funding is spent wisely in all of the school’s activities. This is also the case for the way the school uses sports funding.  Governors oversee the breakfast and after-school clubs, which provide a wide selection of pupils with a

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The leadership and management require improvement

good start to each day and a fun-filled and safe end to their school day.  The governing body oversees safeguarding so that it meets the statutory requirements effectively.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils requires improvement. Behaviour in lessons varies depending on the quality of teaching and pupils’ engagement in their learning. Parents and carers who responded to the online survey have a more positive view of pupils’ behaviour than the inspection found. Generally, pupils’ attitudes are positive. However this is not always the case, particularly when pupils lose interest in what they are doing.  Around the school pupils are courteous and polite.  Pupils understand how they should behave and how their good behaviour will be rewarded. Until recently, fixed-term exclusions had not been sufficiently effective in curbing difficult behaviour. The school now has much better provision for supporting these pupils.  Attendance is broadly average. The school has already identified where some groups of pupils have attendance issues and has put in effective strategies for improvement.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good.  The school works effectively to ensure that pupils know of the wide range of risks that might face them both in and out of school. It also ensures that pupils know what to do to keep themselves safe.  A wide range of pupils receive practical help and advice to help them ride their bicycles safely.  Workshops with the local emergency services ensure pupils know how to report any incidents and keep themselves safe outside school.  Keeping safe is an integral part of the curriculum at the school. The work on e-safety is of high quality and regularly updated. Pupils learn about different types of bullying, including cyber bullying, and what to do should any problems occur. Pupils say that bullying is very rare and that if it does happen adults are quick to sort out any issues. School records show this is the case.  Advice and guidance on how to cross the road and how to avoid danger in relation to the railway line,

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Safety

which is very close by, help pupils to keep safe as they come to and depart from school.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching requires improvement because it is not good enough to ensure that pupils make good progress in literacy, reading and mathematics. Information about pupils’ standards is not always used effectively to set tasks at the right level of difficulty for pupils’ learning needs. Too often, work is too hard or too easy. This limits pupils’ progress.  Expectations of what pupils could achieve are not always high enough. Marking is not always as good as it should be. Too regularly, teachers’ feedback suggests how pupils might improve their work, but teachers do not check to see that it has been followed.  Teachers help pupils to develop their reading and writing by ensuring they practise reading and writing skills regularly. However teachers are not as effective at including opportunities for pupils to develop their numeracy skills in the same way.  Inspection evidence, including the school’s own records, points to very recent improvements in the quality

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

of teaching. This is a direct result of monitoring and advice given by senior leaders. This is resulting in Inspection report: Pevensey and Westham Church of England Primary School, 24–25 February 2015 6 of 10

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

pupils beginning to make better progress. However, checks on pupils’ progress and inspection evidence confirm that the impact of teaching on pupils’ learning in Key Stage 1 is better than in Key Stage 2.  Teaching assistants are generally deployed well. They make a good contribution to the progress pupils make, especially those who find aspects of learning difficult. Relationships between adults and pupils in all classes are generally positive.

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requires improvement

 Achievement requires improvement because progress in reading, writing and mathematics between Year 3 and Year 6 has not been fast enough.  Pupils make better progress in Key Stage 1 than in Key Stage 2. Teachers build on the good levels of achievement in the early years. Provisional results in the Year 1 phonics screening check (the sounds letters make) suggest pupils did better than the national average for the second year running.  In Year 2, pupils are currently working at standards above those expected for their age in reading, writing and mathematics. This shows the impact of recent improvements in teaching in Key Stage 1. In Key Stage 2, improvements have not been secured as quickly.  In the 2014 national assessments, standards rose and pupils in Year 6 reached average levels of attainment at the end of Key Stage 2. Pupils attained particularly highly in writing although fewer pupils reached the highest standards in reading and mathematics compared with national proportions.

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requires improvement

 The school is beginning to address weaknesses in pupils’ progress and there are signs of improvement. Checks on progress and work seen both in class and in pupils’ books show that currently pupils are on track to exceed previous standards of attainment.  Disadvantaged pupils receive specific and timely help in order to secure key literacy and numeracy skills. From their different starting points, these pupils are closing the gaps between themselves and other pupils in their classes and compared with other pupils nationally. By the end of Year 6, their attainment in reading, writing and mathematics is now only half a term behind other pupils in the school and a term behind other pupils nationally in mathematics and reading. In writing, the gap has closed completely.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs in Key Stage 1 make accelerated progress from their starting points. They often make better progress than pupils nationally because their needs are

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requires improvement

identified precisely and teaching assistants support them effectively. At Key Stage 2, progress is a little slower but is showing better progress than in previous years.  The most able pupils have opportunities to extend their learning with activities that challenge them. However, progress over time for the most able pupils requires improvement. This is because expectations have not been high enough. Some work is still too easy and pupils are not always given demanding work to do. The school is aware of this and has good plans for improvement.

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is good

 Children make good progress and achieve well in Reception as a result of good teaching over time.  Children join the school with knowledge and skills that are typical for their age. Reading and writing skills are not always as well developed but, due to good teaching, children make good progress in all areas of learning. Physical development is particularly well promoted. Children were observed running, jumping and riding bicycles with great confidence. They use pencils and paint with careful control.  Phonics are taught well and children enjoy making the sounds, doing the actions and relish constant repetition. All of this helps them to pronounce and spell words accurately and develop good reading skills.  By the end of Reception, a higher percentage of children than is found nationally achieve a good level of development and are well prepared to start the Year 1 curriculum.  Children are well cared for, with staff ensuring their safety and behaviour are good. This has a positive

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is good

impact on children’s learning. Members of staff check progress regularly to ensure that all children are working as well as they should. This information is used effectively to plan what children should do next. It is also regularly shared with parents and carers.  Parents and carers have good opportunities to contribute to their children’s learning by, for example, sending in evidence of work, carried out at home, via their computers, directly into the school’s assessment program. At the same time they often share learning time in class with their children and attend helpful advice evenings.  The early years provision is lead and managed well. The leader has an accurate view of how well children achieve and what needs to be done to improve provision further. Staff plan a wide range of activities for Inspection report: Pevensey and Westham Church of England Primary School, 24–25 February 2015 7 of 10

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is good

children to enjoy in their class areas. Sometimes activities in the outdoor area do not build quickly enough on what children know and can do. Inspection report: Pevensey and Westham Church of England Primary School, 24–25 February 2015 8 of 10

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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. Inspection report: Pevensey and Westham Church of England Primary School, 24–25 February 2015 9 of 10

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School details

Unique reference number 114519 Local authority East Sussex Inspection number 443886

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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 5–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 416 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Julie Smith Headteacher Richard Thomas Date of previous school inspection 22–23 June 2011 Telephone number 01323 762269 Fax number 01323 765170 Email address admin@pevensyschool.org.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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