New Road Primary School

Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Requires improvement 3 This inspection: Requires improvement 3 Leadership and management Require improvement 3 Behaviour and safety of pupils Require improvement 3 Quality of teaching Requires improvement 3 Achievement of pupils Requires improvement 3 Early years provision Requires improvement 3

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a school that requires improvement.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Leaders and governors have not ensured enough improvement in pupils’ achievement since the previous inspection.  The support and guidance that leaders have given to teachers have not ensured that the quality of teaching is consistently good across the school.  Senior leaders have not shared widely enough the responsibility for holding teachers to account.  Pupils’ achievement requires improvement because it is not consistently strong in all year groups, especially in writing and mathematics.  Early years provision requires improvement. Adults do not always move on children’s learning quickly. They do not make sufficient use of the outdoor area to support learning.  In Key Stage 2, there is too little good teaching. Teachers do not always expect enough of pupils and sometimes provide work that is too hard or too easy for some pupils.  In the early years and Key Stage 2, some pupils become distracted and do not concentrate if they

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

find the work uninteresting. They do not always take care to do their best work all of the time.

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The school has the following strengths

 The headteacher, other leaders and governors have a good understanding of the main priorities and are tackling them diligently.  Leaders work has been most successful in securing improvement in Key Stage 1, where attainment is rising quickly and teaching is now good. Consequently, pupils are motivated and behave well.  Pupils make good progress in reading across the school because skills are taught well.  Pupils feel safe because the school has thorough procedures to ensure that this is the case.  Pupils are polite and helpful and enjoy school. They are especially positive about the way that clubs and visits help to enrich learning.  Leaders welcome pupils from a diverse range of backgrounds, working closely with outside agencies to care for them well.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed pupils’ learning in 18 lessons, five of which were observed jointly with the headteacher. In addition, the inspectors made other short visits to lessons.  Discussions were held with pupils, staff, a representative from the local authority and members of the governing body.  The inspectors took account of the views of 10 parents who responded to the online questionnaire, Parent View. Inspectors also analysed the school’s own surveys of parental views and talked to parents at the end of the school day.  The inspectors observed the school’s work, heard pupils read and looked at a number of documents, including the school’s own information about pupils’ learning and progress, planning and monitoring documents, the school development plan, records relating to behaviour and attendance, safeguarding information and health and safety documentation.  The inspectors analysed 52 questionnaire responses from staff.

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Inspection team

Mike Capper, Lead inspector Additional inspector

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Information about this school

 This school is larger than the average-sized primary school.  A small majority of pupils are White British, but the school takes pupils from many different ethnic groups. Around one in ten pupils have Eastern European backgrounds. An above-average proportion of pupils speak English as an additional language.  Children in the early years are taught full time in one of two Reception classes and part time in the Nursery Unit.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is slightly above the national average.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported though the pupil premium is higher than the national average. The pupil premium is additional government funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and for children who are looked after.  A higher-than-normal number of pupils join or leave the school during each year.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for

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Information about this school

pupils’ attainment and progress.  There is a breakfast club that is managed by the governing body.  The school has a new governing body that took up its role in January 2015.  The headteacher is retiring at the end of term and her successor takes up post in September 2015.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve early years provision by ensuring that:  adults move children’s learning on more quickly when they have finished a task so that they are fully challenged  teachers use the outdoor area more effectively to support learning in the different parts of the curriculum  Leaders understand and use data on children’s performance to drive improvements in teaching and all aspects of children’s learning.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement in Key Stage 2 by ensuring that:  teachers always have high expectations of pupils’ work  the work given to pupils meets their learning needs appropriately and is not too hard or too easy.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve pupils’ attitudes towards learning by ensuring that:  teachers consistently fully motivate and engage pupils  pupils understand the importance of doing their best, concentrating well and presenting their work neatly and with pride.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve leadership and management by ensuring that:  teachers are given high levels of challenge, support and training to secure more rapid improvement in the quality of teaching in the early years and Key Stage 2  subject and other leaders play a fuller part in in holding teachers to account for pupils’ progress so that responsibility for securing improvement is shared more widely and becomes more effective.

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The leadership and management require improvement

 Leadership and management require improvement because senior leaders have not established consistently good teaching and learning across the school. The many changes that the headteacher and governors have made since the previous inspection are improving the school, but they have not yet ensured that pupils’ achievement in Key Stage 2 and the early years is consistently good.  Changes in leadership in Key Stage 2 have slowed improvement and inconsistencies remain. This has made it difficult to establish a culture where pupils can flourish, both academically and socially, equally well across the school.  The leadership and management of teaching have secured good improvement in Key Stage 1, but too little elsewhere in the school. The school uses performance management to set teachers challenging targets for improvement and to ensure that only good teaching is rewarded financially. While leaders have

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The leadership and management require improvement

provided additional individual support where teaching is not yet good, the support, guidance and training they have given have not been fully effective in getting enough good teaching.  Middle leaders, such as those in charge of subjects or early years provision, are working hard to improve pupils’ achievement. This has been most effective in Key Stage 1, where the phase leader communicates especially high expectations. However, appropriate responsibility for providing support and challenge to teachers and for holding them to account by, for example, analysing data, is not shared widely enough across the school.  There is a good understanding of what still needs improving and leaders know that achievement is not yet good enough across the school. The headteacher is working closely with the newly appointed headteacher, who will take up post in September 2015, to prepare for a smooth transition. Together they

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The leadership and management require improvement

have established a clear picture of the main priorities and this is reflected accurately in development planning. Suitable actions are already being taken to secure improvement. For instance, visits from a male author have helped to promote reading amongst boys and are already making them keener to write in Key Stage 2.  Provision for pupils who speak English as an additional language is well led and managed. Leaders check provision regularly and very carefully. As a result, they have a good understanding of what is going well and what still needs improving.  Pupil premium funding is used to offer extra support to those eligible and to widen the range of opportunities available to them by, for example, enabling them to attend a breakfast reading club. As a result, progress is beginning to accelerate for disadvantaged pupils and gaps are closing more quickly than in the past. It has proved especially beneficial in Key Stage 1, where the smaller classes that are funded

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The leadership and management require improvement

by the pupil premium are helping to tackle quickly any potential underachievement.  There is no discrimination in the school and all pupils have an equal opportunity to achieve well.  The curriculum (the topics and subjects taught) is rich and varied. Pupils say learning is interesting. The teaching of reading is well organised and effective. There are lots of activities outside lessons, such as visits and clubs that they particularly enjoy. These provide pupils with many memorable experiences.  The primary physical education and sport premium is used to good effect to provide staff with additional training and to extend opportunities for pupils. They keenly take part in physical activity and understand the importance of adopting healthy lifestyles.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is well supported by activities in and out of lessons. Well-planned assemblies lead pupils to thoughtful discussions and debates about topical and

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The leadership and management require improvement

moral issues. Leaders foster good relations and will not accept any discriminatory behaviour and they ensure that pupils also know how important this is. Consequently, racial harmony is good and pupils get on well together. They are tolerant and respectful and have a good understanding of the rule of law. There are good opportunities to learn about British culture by, for example, studying some of the works of William Shakespeare. An early understanding of democracy is promoted through the school council. Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain.  Leaders have established strong links with other schools. These help to prepare pupils for the next stage of their education and enable staff to benefit from sharing good practice.  The school has a good partnership with parents. Leaders take good account of their views and most parents are positive about the work of the school. They are particularly happy with the way that leaders

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The leadership and management require improvement

provide a secure, safe and happy environment for their children.  The local authority offers regular and valuable support and guidance to the school and is helping it to improve the quality of teaching and the rates of pupils’ progress.  Since the previous inspection, the school has improved arrangements for safeguarding pupils. They comply fully with statutory requirements and are effective. Leaders check them regularly to ensure that they are fit for purpose. For instance, leaders have very thoroughly risk assessed potential dangers during on-going building work to ensure that pupils are kept safe.  The governance of the school:  Governance is beginning to have a positive effect on improving provision. The new governing body has quickly developed its skills in providing challenge and support to school leaders. They have made good use of training in areas such as the analysis of data. This has helped them to establish quickly a clear

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The leadership and management require improvement

and accurate picture of how well the school is performing in comparison with others. In meetings, they ask challenging questions, focusing rightly on what the school is doing to iron out the remaining inconsistencies in provision and pupils’ learning.  Governors hold leaders to account for spending. For instance, they check the impact of additional funding, such as the pupil premium and primary sports funding and ensure that it has a positive effect on pupils’ learning.  Governors have an accurate picture of the quality of teaching and where it is stronger or weaker. They know how leaders are tackling underperformance. They check that pay awards are merited through improved performance.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.  While parents and pupils feel that behaviour is typically good, not all staff agree. Inspectors found that in Key Stage 2, pupils’ attitudes towards their learning are not always positive and this sometimes slows their learning.  In Key Stage 2, pupils do not always work hard enough or concentrate in lessons. Their work is sometimes untidy and not all pupils take enough care with their possessions. Some older pupils are inattentive and fidgety when teaching does not engage them fully.  In contrast, in Key Stage 1, pupils’ behaviour is consistently good or better. They are well motivated and work hard. They want to do their best because they enjoy their work and are keen to succeed.  Across the school, pupils conduct themselves well outside the classroom. They are polite, courteous and friendly. They enjoy school and happily talk about their work to visitors. They keenly take responsibility by,

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Behaviour

for example, being school councillors, peer mediators or members of the sport crew. They carry out these roles very sensibly and contribute well to the happy and calm atmosphere in school.  School records show that incidents of poor behaviour are rare and reducing because they are tackled well. The small number of pupils with social, emotional and mental health difficulties are managed well. Additional adults, such as a behaviour mentor, provide good quality support to help pupils improve their behaviour.  Rates of attendance are broadly average. School staff work closely and successfully with outside agencies to help parents understand the importance of good attendance. The well-managed breakfast club is enjoyed by pupils and has helped to improve punctuality and attendance.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Safeguarding arrangements are well organised and secure.  Parents are confident that the school keeps their children safe. Pupils agree that they feel safe at all times in the school day. They say that staff are kind and caring and ‘will always listen if we have a problem’.  Pupils have a very good understanding of the different forms of bullying, including cyber-bullying and they know how to stay safe when using social media. They know how to keep themselves safe when using the internet.  Pupils are very clear about how to stay safe outside school. For example, they know about the potential dangers of the nearby railway line and can explain clearly what they would do if they were approached by a stranger.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The teaching of literacy and mathematics requires improvement overall. While reading is taught well, the teaching of writing and mathematics is not consistently strong across the school.  In Key Stage 2, while there is some good teaching, this is not always the case, especially when writing or mathematics is being taught. Teachers do not always expect enough of pupils. There are occasions when teaching does not help pupils to learn quickly enough. This happens most often when the work given to pupils is too easy for the most able or too hard for the least able, the disabled and those who have special educational needs.  Teaching in Key Stage 2 does not always engage pupils fully. Consequently, some pupils lack motivation and do not produce their best work. A few teachers too readily accept work from pupils that is not their best. They do not all do enough to instil in pupils a pride in what they are doing.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 In Key Stage 1, work is purposeful and engaging because, for instance, it is often linked to visits or other topics that are being studied. This was seen to good effect in Year 2, where a visit to Rochester Castle was used to help pupils improve their knowledge of division by ‘building’ castle towers.  In Key Stage 1, there is good challenge for all pupils, including the most able. Teachers deploy teaching assistants particularly effectively to support the learning of pupils, especially the disabled or those who have special educational needs. This helps them to make good progress.  There are some strengths to teaching across the school. Teachers get on well with pupils and ensure that they enjoy school. They expect pupils to behave well when moving around school but do not ensure that they always work hard enough.  The teaching of reading is good across the school. This results in pupils making good progress. New

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

technology is used well to introduce new concepts, especially in phonics in Key Stage 1, where skills improve quickly. Teachers regularly assess pupils’ progress in reading by, for example, hearing them read regularly. They provide good support when working with small groups to help them improve their reading skills. Parents support this well by hearing their children read at home.  Support for pupils who speak English as an additional language ensures that they quickly improve their speaking skills. Newly arrived pupils are immediately assessed and a tailored programme of support is put in place in light of this so that needs can be met closely and quickly.

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requires improvement

 Pupils’ achievement requires improvement because progress is not consistently strong across the school. While attainment is rising, especially by the end of Year 2, it remains below average by the end of Year 6. Pupils make slower progress in writing and mathematics than in reading.  Progress in writing and mathematics is not good across the school. It is slower in Key Stage 2 than in Key Stage 1. In Key Stage 2, the most able do not make consistently good progress because the work they are given is sometimes too easy for them.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make similarly uneven progress to their peers, from their different starting points. The extra help they are given outside lessons is generally tailored well to their individual needs and helps them to make generally good progress in both Key Stages 1 and 2. At other times in Key Stage 2, there are occasions when work in writing and mathematics is too

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requires improvement

difficult for them.  The achievement of pupils who speak English as an additional language, including those with Eastern European backgrounds, requires improvement because they are not taught consistently well in Key Stage 2. However, they make good progress in learning spoken English, even if they have been in school for only a short time.  The gap between the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and that of others varies significantly from year to year, according to the number who are also disabled or who have special educational needs. In national tests at the end of Year 6 in 2014, disadvantaged pupils were about five terms behind their classmates and all pupils nationally in reading and writing and six terms behind in mathematics. The gap is much smaller in the current year because recent improvements in provision are helping to close it more quickly than in the past. In the current Year 2, the gap is minimal, with pupils benefitting enormously from the

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requires improvement

small class sizes that have been mainly funded by the pupil premium. This improved picture is beginning to filter though to Key Stage 2 and the gap is closing, but it is too soon to see the impact on results in national tests at the end of Year 6.  While pupils’ progress in writing and mathematics is uneven, pupils achieve well in reading across the school. Reading skills are taught well and most pupils make rapid progress. By Year 6, pupils have positive attitudes towards reading and read confidently and widely.  In Key Stage 1, pupils’ achievement has improved since the previous inspection and is now good. All groups, including the most able, make good progress. Consequently, pupils’ attainment has risen for the last two years. In the current Year 2, most pupils have reached at least the expected level for their age in reading, writing and mathematics and more have reached the higher levels than ever before.

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requires improvement

 Pupils’ knowledge of phonics (the sounds that letters represent) improves quickly in Key Stage 1. While the proportion of pupils in Year 1 reaching the nationally expected levels in the phonics screening was slightly below average, this represented good progress from their starting points.

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requires improvement

 The quality of teaching and children’s achievement in the early years require improvement. Leadership has not yet established consistently good teaching to secure good progress for children and to ensure that they are all prepared well enough for life in Year 1.  In 2014, by the end of Reception year, the proportion of children at a good level of development was below the national average. While there is an improved picture in the current year, progress is inconsistent in the Nursery and Reception classes.  Although there is some good teaching in both the Nursery and Reception classes, there is too much inconsistency. Adults do not always intervene quickly enough to move children’s learning on when they have finished a task. As a result, there is not always enough challenge for children, including the most able. Children do not always persevere with what they are doing and sometimes lack concentration.

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requires improvement

Consequently, their behaviour requires improvement.  There is a large outdoor area, but it is not used effectively enough to help children to develop their skills across the curriculum. There is a heavy focus on promoting children’s physical development outside and this is effective, but, too often, outdoor work lacks purpose and adults end up managing behaviour rather than teaching.  Teaching is most effective at the start of sessions. At these times, teachers very clearly explain the purpose of the work so that children understand what they are learning. Adults make good use of visual resources to show children what they want them to do and then use questioning well to move learning on.  Children who speak English as an additional language are well supported and make good progress. Adults give them plentiful opportunity to talk about what they are doing and by checking that they understand new words.

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requires improvement

 Adults look after the children well and ensure that they are kept safe. Children confirm that the ‘grown- ups are kind’. Activities, such as work in the woodland trail, help children develop a knowledge of the world around them and effectively support their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  Early years leaders have a clear understanding of the strengths and areas for development. They know the needs of individual children well and use this to adjust provision. However, they do not have sufficient overview of school data on children’s progress so that they can play a full part in driving improvement in the quality of teaching and the pupils’ achievement.

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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 118320 Local authority Medway Inspection number 462393

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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 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 342 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mike Campbell Headteacher Elizabeth Caldwell Date of previous school inspection 19–20 June 2013 Telephone number 01634 843084 Fax number 01634 408208 Email address office@newroad.medway.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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