Sompting Village Primary School

Sompting Village Primary School White Styles Road, Lancing, BN15 0BU

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 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

 Leaders and managers are strongly committed to ensuring that all groups of pupils achieve as well as they can, and to promoting their well-being.  Leaders have an accurate view of the school’s performance. This has enabled them to improve the quality of teaching and to raise pupils’ achievement.  Governors exercise their responsibilities diligently and effectively. They know how well pupils achieve and understand and support what leaders have done to improve teaching.  Pupils have extremely positive attitudes to learning. Their excellent behaviour contributes very positively to their learning and to the establishment of a harmonious and well-ordered school community.  Pupils feel extremely safe in school and are not concerned about bullying. Parents rate very highly the quality of care which the school provides.  Teaching throughout the school is consistently good. Teachers explain tasks clearly and make

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

sure that pupils know what they are going to learn.  The detailed feedback which teachers give pupils about their work helps them to improve its quality.  Pupils achieve well in a range of subjects, including reading, writing and mathematics, and their rates of progress are accelerating. Teachers and teaching assistants make sure that pupils who need extra help achieve as well as their classmates.  The school’s curriculum enables pupils to make good progress in their academic studies. It also enables them to develop their skills and talents in a variety of areas, including music, drama and sport. This, together with the school’s focus on valuing individuals and celebrating different cultures, makes a strong contribution to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  Staff work closely with parents to ensure that children in the early years develop skills and acquire knowledge which prepare them well for the next

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

stage of their education.  Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the school. All those who completed the Parent View survey agreed they would recommend it to others.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 School leaders have not yet ensured that teaching is of a sufficiently high quality to result in achievement being outstanding.  Teachers do not always include activities in their lessons which are challenging enough to enable pupils to make excellent progress.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed pupils’ learning in 16 lessons, seeing all the classes in the school at least once, as well as some smaller groups. Four of these observations took place together with members of the school’s senior leadership team. The inspectors also attended an assembly and made several short visits to a number of other lessons and school activities, including the breakfast club. They heard pupils read and looked at samples of their work.  The inspectors held meetings with groups of pupils and with the Chair of the Governing Body and five other governors, as well as with members of staff and two representatives from the local authority. Inspectors also held informal discussions with a number of parents.  Inspectors examined a variety of school documents, including records of pupils’ attainment and progress, and records of attendance. They looked at safeguarding procedures, the school’s self-evaluation, and its

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Information about this inspection

processes for setting targets for teachers and monitoring staff’s performance, as well as a range of other school documents.  Inspectors considered 38 responses to the Ofsted online survey, Parent View, as well as the results of the most recent survey of parents’ views carried out by the school and three letters from parents. They also took account of 44 questionnaires completed by members of staff.

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Inspection team

Robin Gaff, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This school is much larger than the average-sized primary school.  Children join the early years provision in the Reception class, where all the children attend full time.  The proportions of pupils who are from minority ethnic backgrounds and of those who speak English as an additional language are well below national averages.  The proportion of the school’s pupils who are supported by the pupil premium is above the national average. This is additional government funding provided for disadvantaged children who are looked after or are known to be eligible for free school meals.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is above average.  An above-average proportion of pupils join the school at other than the normal time.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics by the end of Year 6.

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Information about this school

 The school operates a breakfast club for its own pupils.  An outside organisation runs an after-school club on the school’s premises and there is a pre-school, also managed separately, on the same site as the school. These are both subject to separate inspection arrangements.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Enable pupils to make outstanding progress from their starting points by ensuring that:  teachers always provide pupils with work that is challenging enough to enable them to make rapid and sustained progress  leaders make sure that teachers make the best possible use of the information the school gathers about pupils’ attainment and progress.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher and his senior colleagues, working closely with the governors, have accurately evaluated the school’s performance and acted decisively to bring about necessary improvements. They have successfully shared with all the staff their strong commitment to providing the best possible education for all groups of pupils. School leaders have ensured that the school is a harmonious and well-ordered community, where excellent behaviour is the norm, and where pupils from different backgrounds and varied abilities can achieve well.  School leaders have made good use of extra government funding to improve the achievement and to enhance the personal development of disadvantaged pupils. Leaders have an acute understanding of the potential obstacles to progress faced by disabled pupils and those with special educational needs. This enables them to ensure that they receive appropriate support in order to overcome these barriers. Leaders

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The leadership and management are good

also make sure that pupils who join the school at other than the normal time for transfer are quickly integrated so they can make up any lost ground.  These factors demonstrate the school’s success in promoting equality of opportunity and in combatting potential discrimination.  Leaders check frequently and rigorously on the quality of teaching. They have improved the accuracy with which the school assesses pupils’ progress. This has enabled them to remedy specific weaknesses, for example in the teaching of mathematics, which has improved rapidly, leading to pupils making much faster progress than previously. Leaders have not yet ensured that all teachers use information about pupils’ performance as effectively as they could to plan activities which would enable pupils to make faster progress in lessons.  Senior leaders manage teachers’ performance robustly but sensitively. They have made sure that any pay

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The leadership and management are good

awards are explicitly linked to teachers’ success in improving pupils’ achievement, and that teachers benefit from effective training and coaching to improve their practice. Teachers and teaching assistants, including those new to the school, commented on how much they appreciated the support they had received, not only from senior leaders, but also from the whole staff.  Staff who hold responsibility for managing particular aspects of the school’s work are knowledgeable about and enthusiastic in fulfilling their roles. They work closely together to make sure pupils make smooth transitions from one key stage to another, and to identify and share examples of good practice.  The local authority has kept a close eye on the school’s performance and has provided effective support, for example in helping the school to to improve teaching in mathematics.  Pupils speak enthusiastically about the experiences the school gives them, including the wide range of

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The leadership and management are good

sporting and cultural activities in which they take part. The school has made good use of additional funding to develop sport and physical activity. This is evident from the variety of options now available and from pupils’ increased participation and success in inter-school competitions. Pupils also benefit from many opportunities to take part in musical and drama performances.  Staff have embraced the new National Curriculum, and the impact of this is already evident in pupils’ work and in their improved rates of progress. Pupils have good opportunities to develop their talents and abilities in a range of subjects, including modern foreign languages as well as art and science. They also learn about the different cultures and traditions represented in the United Kingdom and the wider world. The fundamental values of respect and tolerance are strongly reinforced by all members of the school community. This ensures that pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain.

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The leadership and management are good

 The breakfast club, attended by a relatively high proportion of pupils, provides them with a safe and stimulating environment where they make a positive start to the school day.  Parents express highly positive views about all aspects of the school’s work. This includes the information they receive about their children’s progress, and the way staff respond promptly and effectively to any concerns which parents may have.  The governance of the school:  Governors have improved their ability to support as well as to challenge school leaders. They understand how pupils’ academic performance compares with that of other pupils nationally. Governors are fully aware of how the school has used extra funding for the benefit of disadvantaged pupils, and to raise participation and skills in physical activity.  Through their regular visits and the reports they receive from staff, they know what leaders are doing

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The leadership and management are good

to improve the quality of teaching and to tackle any weaker practice. Governors fully support the links leaders have established between pay awards and teachers’ progress towards meeting their targets.  By regularly reviewing the school’s policies and procedures for safeguarding pupils, governors have helped to ensure that its practice is effective. The governing body makes sure that all government requirements, for example with regard to vetting newly appointed staff, are met.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding.  Pupils say that behaviour in lessons and around the school is normally extremely good. Inspectors’ observations and the school’s own records, as well as the views of parents and of staff, confirm this.  In the classroom, pupils cooperate exceptionally well with staff and with one another, responding very promptly to teachers’ instructions. Pupils report that disruptive behaviour, such as talking out of turn, is very rare and is dealt with very effectively by teachers should it occur.  Pupils’ eagerness to learn and the pride they take in their work were apparent in the way they were keen to talk to the inspectors about their learning. It was also evident in pupils’ positive responses to the written comments which staff give them about their work.  Pupils show highly responsible attitudes in the way they respond to the many opportunities they have to take on responsibility. This includes their role in helping pupils new to the school to settle in quickly and in

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Behaviour

the organisation of playground activities. Pupils also help to ensure that there is no litter to be seen around the school and that classrooms are kept tidy.  The school’s records and discussions with staff confirm the excellent improvement staff have secured in the behaviour of the small number of pupils who have found it hard to conform to its expectations. Leaders have also been effective in discouraging unjustified absence from school and in improving attendance.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is outstanding.  Pupils report that they feel completely safe in school. They show that they know how to keep themselves and others safe when, for instance, they use the internet.  Pupils have no concerns about bullying and their secure understanding of the different forms it can take helps them to play an active part in preventing it from occurring.  Older pupils look out for younger ones, helping to make sure, for example, that they play safely outdoors at break and during lunch times.  Leaders take great care to ensure that the school premises are secure and that facilities and equipment are maintained properly. They are highly vigilant in identifying and dealing with any potential risks. Adults maintain a visible but discreet presence in the playground.  Parents who responded to the Parent View and the school’s own survey, as well as those who spoke to

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Safety

the inspectors, expressed no reservations whatsoever about their children’s safety. Members of staff were also uniformly positive about procedures to ensure pupils’ welfare. Parents were also unanimous in expressing their high regard for the quality of care which staff provide for their children.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers establish cordial and productive working relations with pupils. This, together with teachers’ clear and accurate explanations of topics and activities, helps to ensure that lessons proceed smoothly and at a good pace.  Teachers’ secure subject knowledge enables them to give pupils clear explanations of activities and what they will learn from them. Teachers check carefully on pupils’ learning and progress during the course of lessons. This enables them to identify any misunderstandings and to use examples of pupils’ good work from which others can benefit.  Teachers usually provide pupils with tasks which are matched closely to their different levels of ability and their interests. They deploy teaching assistants effectively to work with individual pupils and small groups, to make sure, for example, that disabled pupils and those with special educational needs can participate fully in activities. Teachers do not always use information about pupils’ attainment and progress as well as

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The quality of teaching is good

they could to ensure that activities are challenging and stimulating enough to enable them to learn quickly and in depth.  Teachers’ marking of pupils’ written work is regular and thorough. Detailed comments about what pupils have done well help to reinforce their learning. Teachers’ constructive advice about how they can improve their work enables pupils to know what to do to make it even better.  Teachers make sure that pupils gain a good grasp of phonics (the links between sounds and letters) and that they apply this successfully in learning to read accurately. They also help pupils to choose books which inspire in them a love of reading. The emphasis teachers place on correct spelling and use of punctuation, and on using a range of vocabulary and expressions, helps pupils to learn to write well for a range of purposes.  The teaching of mathematics is effective, throughout the school, in ensuring that pupils gain a thorough

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The quality of teaching is good

understanding of mathematical processes, and apply them in solving increasingly complex problems.  All the parents who responded to the Parent View survey agreed or strongly agreed that their children are well taught and that they make good progress.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The work of pupils currently in the school and the school’s own accurate assessments of the standards they are reaching indicate that they make good progress over time from their different starting points, which, for many, are low. This includes pupils from a range of different backgrounds, as well as the relatively high proportion who join the school during the course of their primary education.  Leaders’ accurate identification of the causes of some underachievement in recent years, and their success in addressing them, has led to pupils making much faster progress in both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. By the end of Year 6, a high poprotion of pupils are now reaching above-average standards in reading, writing and mathematics.  Pupils develop a variety of skills and attributes, including self-confidence and the ability to communicate effectively. This, together with their achievement in a range of subjects, including reading, writing,

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The achievement of pupils is good

mathematics and science, ensures that they are well prepared for secondary education.  The school’s own accurate records of pupils’ attainment, and the quality of work seen during the inspection, confirm that the most-able pupils achieve well. The high levels of attainment that these pupils are reaching demonstrate their good progress.  Teachers and teaching assistants, with the help of outside professionals, enable disabled pupils and those with special educational needs to learn well. They do this by providing these pupils with intensive support and, when appropriate, specially adapted tasks and resources which are well suited to their needs and different abilities.  Disadvantaged pupils benefit significantly from the extra help they receive in and outside the classroom. This has ensured that they are now making good and in some cases outstanding progress, and are achieving well.  In mathematics, reading and writing in the 2014 national tests, the attainment of disadvantaged pupils

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The achievement of pupils is good

was just over two terms behind that of other pupils in the school but was more than a year behind that of other pupils nationally. In 2013, the equivalent group’s attainment had also been two terms behind other pupils in the school, but had been about a year and a half behind that of other pupils nationally. The attainment of disadvantaged pupils in Year 6 shows that this upward trend is being maintained. It also shows that these pupils are making faster progress than their predecessors, demonstrating that the school is succeeding in narrowing gaps between their achievement and that of other pupils nationally.  All pupils benefit from good opportunities to develop their creative and artistic talents. This is apparent from, for example, the quality of pupils’ art work on display around the school, as well as from their enthusiastic participation in rehearsals for the school musical.

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The early years provision is good

 Children join the Reception class with levels of knowledge and skills which are, for many of them, significantly below those which are typical for their age. They settle quickly into school and make good progress in their learning and development. This ensures that, by the end of the year, they are well prepared to start Key Stage 1.  Early years leaders have a secure knowledge and understanding of the needs of this particular age group. As a result, they have been able to provide children with a stimulating environment in which to learn.  Staff liaise closely with parents and with other early years providers, including the on-site pre-school, to make sure that they are fully aware of children’s abilities and interests before they start school. This helps them to plan activities, both indoors and outdoors, which correspond to children’s needs and enable them to achieve well.  Leaders are keen to develop the provision still further, and have developed well-thought-out plans to bring

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The early years provision is good

this about.  Teachers and teaching assistants expect a great deal of children in terms of behaviour. Adults have established routines which ensure that children live up these expectations. In the way they speak to and cooperate with one another, they set children a very good example of how to behave. This results in children understanding how important it is to behave well, and to them treating one another, as well as adults, with respect and courtesy.  Staff make sure that children are kept safe and know how to keep themselves safe. For example, children showed that they completely understood that the tools they were using to build the Three Little Pigs’ house of bricks required careful handling.  Children benefit from consistently good teaching. Adults explain tasks clearly to children and use questioning well to make sure they have understood what to do. They check carefully on children’s progress, and use this assessment to plan further activities which enable children to build on what they

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The early years provision is good

have already learned.  The school’s reliable records of children’s attainment and progress show that their achievement, including their personal and social development and their reading, writing, and mathematical skills, is rising. By the end of the Reception year, an increasing proportion of children are raching good levels of development. Children make good progress in, for example, learning to recognise and to reproduce accurately letters and sounds, and to measure and count.  Disadvantaged children and others who may face barriers to their learning and development, including disabled children and those with special education needs, benefit from effective support. This helps them to catch up with others.  Parents who spoke to the inspectors confirmed that they are very pleased with the way in which staff keep them well informed about their children’s development. They also emphasised how much their

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The early years provision is good

children enjoy coming to school.  The early years provision is not outstanding because children are not yet making consistently rapid progress from their starting points. Leaders recognise that this is because staff do not always provide children with activities which are stimulating enough to enable them to learn in depth and at a rapid pace.

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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 134896 Local authority West Sussex Inspection number 456225

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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 422 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Colin Frampton Headteacher Richard Cave Date of previous school inspection 29 February–1 March 2012 Telephone number 01903 204627 Fax number 01903 824882 Email address office@somptingvillage.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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