Field Place Infant School

Nelson Road, Worthing, West Sussex, BN12 6EN

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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 Good 2 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:

 Leadership and management require improvement. Expectations of teachers and middle leaders are not high or clear enough.  School development planning is weak. It does not identify necessary improvements, or who will lead or check these, precisely enough.  Middle leaders do not have enough impact on school improvement. Their roles and responsibilities are limited.  Governors do not challenge senior leaders sufficiently to ensure that teaching and achievement are good.  While good progress exists in some parts of the school, it is not found consistently in all year groups or subjects.  The standards of pupils’ work have declined and are currently below those expected for their age, particularly in writing.  Teaching is inconsistent in quality. While several teachers have high expectations of pupils’ work and learning, these are not found in all areas of the school.  Teachers’ marking does not always give pupils

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

effective advice about how to improve their work.

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The school has the following strengths:

 Pupils are keen to learn and apply themselves to their work. They treat each other respectfully. The school manages their behaviour well.  The school takes much care to keep pupils safe. Pupils feel safe and well looked after in school.  Early years provision is good. Teaching is consistently effective in this part of the school. Children learn well and make good progress from their starting points.  The school promotes British values and pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well. It develops pupils’ understanding of the importance of tolerance, respect, fairness and the rule of law.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors saw teaching across the school. They observed learning in 17 lessons and pupils’ behaviour in the playground and at lunchtime. Six lessons were observed jointly with senior leaders.  Discussions were held with pupils, two members of the governing body, the headteacher and other members of staff. A discussion was also held with a representative from the local authority.  The inspectors observed many aspects of the school’s work, including support for pupils who need extra help. They heard pupils read and examined pupils’ work in their exercise books and on classroom and corridor wall displays.  The inspectors looked at a number of documents, including plans for what pupils should learn in each subject, plans for the school’s future development, and records of the school’s use of the primary sports funding and pupil premium funding. They also scrutinised the school’s arrangements for keeping pupils

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Information about this inspection

safe, pupils’ attendance records, minutes of governing body meetings, records of how pupils’ learning is monitored and records of how the quality of teaching is checked.  The views of parents and carers were taken into account through discussions with several parents. The inspectors also took note of 21 responses to the online Parent View survey and one message that was received.  Staff views were taken into consideration by looking at questionnaires completed by 33 staff members and through discussions with several members of staff.

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Inspection team

Steven Popper, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is a larger-than-average-sized first school.  The school includes specially resourced provision for pupils who have speech, language and communication needs. Fourteen pupils currently attend the school’s Special Support Centre.  The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium (additional government funding for children known to be eligible for free school meals or in the care of the local authority) is above average.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is higher than in most other schools.  Most pupils are of White British heritage.  Early years children have one part-time Nursery class and three full-time Reception classes provided for them.  The early years leader is a specialist leader of education.  The school is to convert to an infant school from September 2015.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve pupils’ achievement and the quality of teaching to good by:  ensuring that all teachers have consistently high expectations of pupils’ learning and work, particularly in writing  making certain that teachers consistently give pupils effective written advice about how to improve their work.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve leadership and management to good by:  developing the roles and responsibilities of middle leaders so that they have a strong impact on school improvement  ensuring that leaders make clear how much progress they expect pupils to make  strengthening school development planning through precise identification of what needs to improve and how any improvements will be led and checked.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The headteacher, senior leaders and governors want the best for their pupils in principle. However, in practice, their expectations of pupils’ achievement and the quality of teaching are too low. Senior leaders do not ensure that teachers know how much progress their teaching is expected to produce. As a result, teachers do not always perform strongly enough to make sure that pupils achieve well.  Despite the presence of many staff on leadership pay scales, middle leaders’ roles and responsibilities are not well defined or developed. As a result, middle leaders have not been effective in improving the school. For example, they have not ensured that staff are confident with the expectations of the revised National Curriculum. While the headteacher and other senior leaders recognise this issue, they have not taken effective steps to address it.  The school development plan is too imprecise to be effective. It does not make clear exactly what

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The leadership and management requires improvement

improvements are needed, or which personnel are expected to lead or evaluate these improvements.  The school curriculum is effective in that it develops pupils’ learning in a wide range of subjects and their understanding of different religions and cultures. The curriculum caters well for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and promotes positive behaviour and attitudes. For example, pupils recently engaged in a Great British Fortnight which explored British identity, customs and values, including tolerance, democracy, fair play and the rule of law. Pupils are involved in voting events, such as voting to choose the names of their classes. Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain through such work. The school’s strong and consistent focus on British values successfully promotes equality of opportunity and guards against discrimination.  The school makes good use of sports premium funding. It has used outside experts to develop teachers’

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The leadership and management requires improvement

skills in teaching physical education. The school has also increased pupils’ participation in inter-school competitive sports events.  The school also uses other additional funding well to support disadvantaged pupils. These pupils are currently producing work of a higher standard than other pupils as a result of additional tuition. The school’s work with families has strongly improved this group of pupils’ attendance since 2014.  The Special Support Centre is led effectively. Leaders ensure that individual pupils’ needs are carefully identified and catered for. Consequently these pupils make good progress.  The school’s arrangements for safeguarding pupils meet statutory requirements. Leaders carefully monitor the well-being of pupils and the impact of actions to keep them protected. Staff are well prepared to support and protect pupils as a result.  The local authority has given the school light-touch support since it was judged to be good at the time of

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The leadership and management requires improvement

the previous inspection. Its support has made the school more prepared for its forthcoming transition into an infant school in September 2015.  The school has fostered good working relationships with parents, as seen through parents’ high attendance to workshops and other events. A very large majority of parents who expressed an opinion would recommend the school to others.  The governance of the school:  Governance requires improvement. Governors do not monitor the effectiveness of teaching, the quality of pupils’ achievement or the strength of the school’s performance robustly enough. They do not challenge senior leaders sufficiently about the information and assurances that they are given about these. Governors check that pupil premium and sports premium funding are spent effectively. However, they do not make certain that pay awards are justified by teachers’ and leaders’ performance and impact on the school. Governors hear about the support given to staff, but do not explore the impact of

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The leadership and management requires improvement

subsequent performance on pupils’ progress strongly enough. However, governors are diligent in checking that the school’s safeguarding arrangements are effective and meet statutory requirements.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  Pupils enjoy learning and concentrate well during lessons. Their positive attitudes to learning contribute to their progress. However, the extent of pupils’ progress varies because of inconsistencies in teachers’ expectations. For example, some teachers do not encourage pupils to demonstrate as much care about the presentation of their work as others.  The school manages pupils’ behaviour well, including that of particular pupils with behavioural needs. Pupils treat each other well and work and play together in a friendly and respectful manner. They respect and follow school rules.  School records show few incidents of poor behaviour over time. They also show that school responses to any incidents of poor behaviour have improved the behaviour of the individual pupils involved.  Pupils who spoke to the inspectors said that behaviour in the school was good, with some saying it was

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Behaviour

outstanding. They demonstrated a good understanding of different types of bullying and strategies they could use to avoid any poor behaviour.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good.  Staff check possible risks to pupils carefully and teach pupils how to keep safe and avoid danger.  The school teaches e-safety well. Pupils who spoke to the inspectors were clear about how to use the internet safely and what to do if they experienced any problems at home or at school.  School leaders have successfully improved attendance, which is more or less in line with national averages. Effective monitoring of attendance and work with families have removed persistent absenteeism from the school this year.  Parents who spoke to the inspectors were positive about behaviour and safety in the school. The vast majority of parents who offered an opinion thought their children were safe, happy and well looked after in the school.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The quality of teaching varies in different parts of the school. Sometimes teachers’ expectations are too low to enable pupils to make good progress. There are times when pupils of all abilities, including the most able, are not challenged enough.  The school’s teaching of reading varies in its effectiveness. Teachers engage pupils with a wide range of different types of texts and develop their love of reading well. However, sometimes pupils work on texts which they find too easy. Pupils’ results in reading and phonics (linking letters to the sounds they make) have declined this year.  Mathematics teaching, which has been strong in the past, has become less effective this year. This is because leaders have not enabled staff to become confident about the requirements of this subject in the revised National Curriculum. Sometimes teachers give the most able pupils more work to complete rather than work of a greater challenge.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Writing is the subject that is taught least effectively. This is because some teachers do not demand enough of pupils. Some teachers allow pupils to present untidy work. Pupils are encouraged to write for a range of purposes, but they do not always develop skills in writing extended pieces of work. As a result, pupils’ progress in writing is weaker than in other subjects.  Teachers’ marking is inconsistent. Some teachers give pupils clear and effective written advice about how to improve their work in line with the school’s own policy, but this is not always the case across the school.  Teaching assistants are often used effectively to support individual pupils with particular needs. They give pupils clear explanations that help them learn. However, teaching assistants’ effectiveness is limited when teachers plan work that does not expect enough of pupils.  Teaching in the Special Support Centre is good. Staff create a calm learning environment. They develop

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

pupils’ speaking and listening skills well through careful dialogue and effective responses to their needs.  Some teachers use questioning highly effectively to develop pupils’ learning.

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The achievement of pupils

 Pupils do not make equally good progress in all year groups or subjects. Sometimes their progress is too slow. Because of this, pupils’ standards have declined over the last two years overall.  The school’s results in the Year 1 national phonics check have also declined. These are now below national averages.  In 2014, pupils’ results at expected levels at the end of Key Stage 1 were average in reading and writing and above average in mathematics. However, current pupils’ work at the end of Key Stage 1 is below the level expected for their age. This is due to the inconsistency of teachers’ expectations and a lack of confidence in the requirements of the revised National Curriculum.  The most able pupils’ results at the higher levels at the end of Key Stage 1 were above average in writing and mathematics in 2014. Their results in reading were slightly below average. However, the most able pupils currently in the school are producing work that is of a lower standard than expected, especially in

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The achievement of pupils

writing. This group of pupils sometimes make good progress, but not consistently across the school. Their progress in writing is slower than in reading and mathematics.  The gap between disadvantaged pupils and other pupils nationally widened in 2014 but narrowed again this year. Disadvantaged pupils tend to make slower progress than other pupils nationally. However, this group of pupils are producing a higher standard of work in all subjects at the end of Key Stage 1 than other pupils in the school. Their attainment compared to other pupils nationally is improving.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs sometimes make good progress, but this is not consistent across the school. Their progress in writing and mathematics is sometimes too slow. This is because teachers’ expectations are not consistently high enough.  Case studies of pupils who attend the school’s Special Support Centre show that these pupils tend to make

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The achievement of pupils

good progress. This is because the school carefully identifies their needs and plans effective provision to develop their language skills.  A large majority of parents who offered an opinion thought that their children made good progress.

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The early years provision

 Children’s achievement is good. They enter the school with skills at levels well below those typical for their age and make good progress across all areas of learning. They end their time in Reception used to learning and well prepared for further education in Year 1. However, the proportion of children leaving Reception with a good level of development is lower than average.  Early years teaching is consistently good across all three Reception classes and the Nursery. The indoor and outdoor classrooms are resourced well and used to promote children’s learning and exploration highly effectively. Staff identify children’s needs and interests carefully and use these to capture children’s curiosity and develop their skills.  Behaviour and safety are good in the early years. Children are encouraged and enabled to develop positive attitudes to learning and explore activities with concentration and depth. Children share and play

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The early years provision

together happily. Staff ensure the children are safe, including at the beginning and end of the day, and teach them to use resources carefully. Children’s behaviour shows that they are confident and at ease while at school.  Early years leadership and management are good. The early years leader ensures that all early years staff use their assessment of children’s development to plan effective provision. She also makes sure that expectations of children’s learning and behaviour are equally high across the early years classrooms. Her strong leadership has improved the proportion of children attaining a good level of development when leaving Reception. The early years leader is also a specialist leader of education for the local authority. She supports the development of good practice in other early years settings in this role.

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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 125864 Local authority West Sussex Inspection number 449674

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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 3−8 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 406 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Chris Payne Headteacher Linda Bateman Date of previous school inspection 11–12 May 2010 Telephone number 01903 700234 Fax number 01903 249207 Email address office@fieldplace.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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