Shoreham Beach Primary School

School report Shoreham Beach Primary School

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Overall effectiveness

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

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Pupils achieve well in reading, writing and mathematics across the school. Occasionally, achievement in reading is outstanding.  Effective, well-planned teaching enables pupils to learn well. Teachers provide interesting lessons that engage pupils well and enable them to make good progress.  Good early years provision ensures children get off to a positive start. Excellent relationships and well-planned learning experiences engage the children and enable them to make good progress.  Thorough monitoring of pupils’ progress enables the school to identify quickly any pupils not doing well enough and put the support in place to help them catch up.  The school makes excellent use of the primary sport funding. It is a flagship support school for sport. In recognition of its sporting achievement, it was recently awarded Sports School of the Year for Sussex. Pupils take part in a range of competitive sports, including swimming and inter-schools

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

competitions.  Pupils behave well in lessons and around the school. They feel safe in school and know that adults will help them if they need it.  Strong determined leadership by the headteacher, with effective support from the assistant headteachers, has ensured the school has improved well since its previous inspection.  All leaders and governors have worked successfully to bring about improvements in teaching, pupils’ achievement and behaviour. They have created a good staff team who works well together to promote pupils’ learning within a supportive, yet challenging, learning environment.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Occasionally, feedback to pupils does not tell them what they need to do to improve precisely enough or set clear next steps to enable them to do so.  Teachers do not always use what they know about pupils’ prior learning to set specific work that challenges pupils fully.  Sometimes, policies for safeguarding are not reviewed regularly enough to ensure that they are fully up to date.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed learning in 20 lessons or part lessons, of which several were jointly observed with senior staff.  Meetings were held with two groups of pupils, the Chair of the Governing Body and three other governors, the headteacher and other senior staff. A telephone conversation was held with a local authority officer.  The inspectors took account of the 100 responses to the online Parent View survey. They also spoke to several parents when they brought their children to school. The inspectors considered responses to the 21 staff questionnaires.  The inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a number of documents including the school’s own information on pupils’ current progress, planning and checks on the quality of teaching and, assessment records. They considered information relating to the new curriculum, the school’s self- evaluation, records relating to behaviour and attendance, the sport premium action plan and documents

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Information about this inspection

relating to safeguarding.  The inspectors listened to pupils read in Reception, Year 2 and Year 6.

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Inspection team

Janet Sinclair, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Shoreham Beach is an average-sized primary school.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is below average.  The majority of pupils attending the school are of White British heritage.  In most year groups, the numbers of disadvantaged pupils supported by the pupil premium are too small to make comparison to national figures. The pupil premium is additional government funding for children who are looked after and pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals.  Children attend the early years class full time.  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.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching and learning further by ensuring that:  feedback to pupils more precisely tells them what they need to do to improve their work and sets clear next steps that will enable them to do so  teachers use their assessments of pupils’ prior learning to more precisely plan work to meet their needs and ensure they make outstanding progress.  Ensure that senior staff and governors are more thorough in ensuring that all safeguarding policies are kept up to date and fully and properly reviewed.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school has improved well since its previous inspection. Leaders have created a positive, caring climate for learning. Teaching, pupils’ achievement and behaviour are all good. Staff work together well as a team, with the common aim of providing a good quality education for all pupils. This shows the school has capacity for further improvement.  Middle leaders fulfil their roles well. They have ensured clear planning is in place for the new curriculum, regularly check the progress pupils make and have clear action plans in place to sustain the upward trajectory of improvement.  Leaders have an accurate view of the school’s effectiveness. They have prepared a detailed school improvement plan with clear targets, which are regularly reviewed. This enables the school to have a clear view of its successes and areas for further improvement.  Effective monitoring of teaching and learning that includes learning walks, book scrutinies and detailed

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The leadership and management are good

observations, ensures a good level of consistency in its quality.  School leaders have set clear and robust targets for staff performance that are linked to their pay. Teachers know the expectations set for the achievement of pupils in their class and the extent to which their own contribution to school improvement is expected. They have access to all the information on their performance, so that they are clear about whether they have met the criteria or have areas to improve. Staff spoken to were very positive about the impact of this process on their performance.  The school tracks pupils’ progress thoroughly and makes sure that those not doing well enough are given the help they need to catch up. This ensures equality of opportunity and helps to tackle discrimination. Additionally, it helps to foster good relationships, as all pupils feel well supported.  The school supports its small number of disadvantaged pupils well. They get additional academic and

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The leadership and management are good

pastoral support where needed; this helps them to achieve well.  The school makes excellent use of the primary sport premium. It recently received a silver award for competitive sport due to the effectiveness of its provision. The physical education leader has worked extremely hard and successfully to bring sporting excellence to the school, including training for all staff that will enable provision to be sustained over time.  The school’s curriculum provides effectively for English and mathematics. Staff make good use of well- planned learning experiences to cover all other subjects. Visits, visitors and after-school clubs, particularly sports clubs, enhance the curriculum well. There is a successful focus on music that includes pupils learning a musical instrument in Key Stage 2. Additionally, there is a Samba band and pupils are very proud of the fact that their band led the procession for a local summer event.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school makes sure that pupils are prepared well for life in modern Britain through the many responsibilities they take on, such as being eco-warriors, sports leaders, little leaders and junior governors.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted well. The school’s values, such as honesty and respect, pervade every part of the school and reinforce British values. Additionally, they provide a strong guard against intolerance and radicalisation or disrespect. The school provides many opportunities for pupils to think about moral issues and develop creatively. They learn about other cultures, both through assemblies and through the work they do in class.  Policies and procedures to ensure the safety of pupils meet statutory requirements and are fully in place, so that pupils’ safety is assured. However, on occasion, policy monitoring and reviews are not carried out

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The leadership and management are good

regularly enough to ensure they are kept fully up to date.  The local authority provides effective support and challenge that have helped the school to improve well.  The school has good links with parents who say they are pleased with the care their children receive, the information they get, and their involvement in their children’s learning. Those spoken to praised the school’s leadership for its rapid response to any concerns they raised.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  Governors fulfil their statutory duties well. They have a review schedule for all policies. However, on occasion, this is not timely enough with regard to safeguarding. The governors know how effective teaching is because the headteacher keeps them informed. They also receive reports from the local authority officer and they come into school to check for themselves. All governors have a clear view of pupils’ performance and know that it has improved well. A governors’ committee regularly reviews the headteacher’s performance. Governors know that there is a similar process in place for all staff and are fully aware of the sanctions that apply for any underperformance. The pay committee signs off all payments linked to pay reviews.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Behaviour is consistently good in lessons and around the school. Pupils are polite, well mannered and keen to learn.  The school has clear expectations for pupils’ behaviour that are consistently reinforced. Pupils are positive about behaviour. They say that it is good, with only very occasional boisterous behaviour at playtimes that staff deal with quickly, should it occur.  Pupils know the sanctions that apply, such as missing some of their break time, if they misbehave.  Pupils have positive attitudes to their learning, come to lessons ready to learn and enjoy working together on tasks.  Pupils willingly take on responsibilities, such as being class councillors, sports leaders and young leaders or junior governors who help other pupils in the school.  Pupils know what bullying is. They have had talks on cyber bullying and all types of name-calling. They say

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Behaviour

that bullying is very rare, but dealt with swiftly by staff if it happens. Posters around the school remind pupils to keep the school free from bullying.  Attendance is above average. Pupils enjoy school and are keen to attend.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good.  Pupils feel safe in school and are confident that all adults in school will give them help and support if they need it.  Pupils learn about road, fire and water safety through the talks they have from professionals. These are also covered in their personal, social and health education lessons. They know the importance of the regular fire drills that ensure their safety.  Pupils are taught about e-safety and understand the importance of keeping personal information and passwords safe.  The school takes good care of its vulnerable pupils. It ensures they get effective support and guidance, including through the use of external agencies and the school’s own well-trained support staff. This helps these pupils to learn effectively.  Parents are very positive about their children’s good behaviour and the school’s efforts to keep their children safe.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Good teaching enables pupils to learn well.  Teachers plan and organise interesting and engaging lessons for pupils that motivate them to learn well.  Staff question pupils effectively using good subject knowledge well to help pupils improve their skills and ideas. This was demonstrated in lessons in both key stages, where effective and probing questioning deepened pupils’ understanding and extended their mathematical language well.  Teaching assistants make a good contribution to pupils’ learning, particularly those who are disabled or have special educational needs. Their very caring and supportive approaches help pupils to learn well.  Teachers make good use of regular reading sessions and daily silent-reading time to develop pupils’ skills and foster a love of reading. This is particularly effective with older pupils who benefit from an excellent culture for reading.  Regular opportunities for writing at length within a carefully managed setting enable pupils to be

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The quality of teaching is good

disciplined and focused in their writing. Consequently, their writing development is good, as is their obvious engagement in their work. Topic work on the Great Fire of London stimulated pupils in Key Stage 1 to write extensively.  Good teaching of calculation skills using an effective range of resources enables pupils to develop key mathematical skills. The regular ‘living mathematics’ weeks provide opportunities for practical investigations and problem solving related to real-life experiences.  The most-able pupils are taught well. The school’s approach to planning ensures their needs are fully considered. Older pupils have good opportunities to extend themselves through their ‘mega explorer’ topic work where they select their own level of challenge. The most-able pupils in Years 5 and 6 receive effective specialist teaching in mathematics that accelerates their learning.  Effective phonics (the names and sounds that letters make) teaching using a systematic, active approach

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The quality of teaching is good

enables pupils to learn well. Consequently, they use these skills to good advantage in their reading and writing.  Homework, particularly regular reading and spelling, is used well to support pupils’ learning in school.  Feedback to pupils on their work varies. It is sometimes good. However, on occasion, it lacks precision in telling pupils what they need to do to improve their work and in setting clear next steps that will enable them to do so.  Teachers typically plan work to meet pupils’ differing needs. However, they do not always use their knowledge of pupils’ prior learning well enough to ensure the work they provide will push their pupils’ learning on quickly.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils achieve well in reading, writing and mathematics at both key stages, given their starting points. They occasionally make outstanding progress in their reading.  The attainment of pupils currently in Year 6 is broadly at national levels. Their progress over time is good, which marks a good improvement in their progress since the previous inspection.  Pupils currently in Year 2 achieve well. There has been a marked improvement in the achievement of the most-able pupils in reading and mathematics.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs achieve well against the targets set for them. This is due to their needs being carefully assessed and specific support given to meet these needs accurately.  The most-able pupils achieve well across the school. The specialist support they get for their mathematics in Year 6 is enabling some of them to achieve at Level 6 (the typical level of a 14-year-old).

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The achievement of pupils is good

 There are very few disadvantaged pupils in the school, with a small number in Year 6 in 2014. The school provides well for them to ensure their specific needs are met. This enables them to do well and make similar progress to other pupils in the school.  Pupils achieve well in reading. They read widely and often, both in school and through their reading homework. Older pupils demonstrate a mature understanding of literature and confidently compare the work of different authors. The school works effectively with parents whom they train as ‘reading experts’ to support pupils’ learning in school.  Achievement in writing is good due to a clear and unrelenting focus on its development and pupils’ engagement.  Mathematics has been the weakest subject. Much has been done to improve it, such as regular checks on pupils’ progress, specialist teaching in Years 5 and 6 and training for the subject leader. Consequently,

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The achievement of pupils is good

progress has improved and is mostly good across the school.  Pupils achieved above the national level in the Year 1 phonic screening check in 2014 due to effective teaching. They are set to do well again this year.

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The early years provision is good

 Children achieve well across all aspects of their learning, so that most achieve a good level of development by the end of Reception. This makes sure that they are well prepared for their start in Year 1.  Effective, well-planned teaching within a well-organised learning environment enables children to learn well. Staff provide good opportunities for reading, writing and numeracy, as well as opportunities for exploration and investigation that all help to promote effective learning.  Well-briefed teaching assistants provide effective encouragement and support for the children.  Children get off to a good start with their phonic work due to engaging, active learning that focuses well on developing key skills. Children confidently use these skills in their reading and writing, not only when directed by the teacher but in their self-chosen tasks.  Staff plan children’s learning carefully so that all adults are clear about what the children are expected to

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The early years provision is good

learn. Regular assessments recorded in children’s learning journals provide an excellent record of their learning.  Children’s behaviour is excellent. Children work very well together, share resources, are friendly and helpful towards each other and enjoy all that is on offer.  Very occasionally, staff do not interact precisely enough with the children to push their learning on effectively.  There are good relationships with parents, who are very involved in their children’s learning through, for example, their child’s home learning journals, regular workshops and coming into school at the start of the school day.  Staff keep the children safe. The children know how to stay safe and behave in a safe, sensible manner at all times.  Effective leadership of the early years enables good achievement within a caring, supportive and stimulating learning environment. The leader has created a good staff team who works well together to

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The early years provision is good

meet the needs of the children successfully.

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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 125885 Local authority West Sussex Inspection number 451252

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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 205 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Sam Payton Headteacher Bob Woodman Date of previous school inspection 9−10 July 2013 Telephone number 01273462688 Fax number 01273440258 Email address head@shorehambeach.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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