Oliver's Battery Primary and Nursery School

Oliver’s Battery Primary School Austen Avenue, Oliver’s Battery, Winchester SO22 4HP

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Overall effectiveness Good

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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This is a good school

 The exceptionally determined and dedicated headteacher, supported by senior leaders, governors and the local authority, has ensured that the school has made substantial improvement since the previous inspection.  The committed and strong governing body challenge and support leaders effectively. They know what the school needs to do to improve. As a result, the school is moving from strength to strength.  Early years provision is outstanding due to uncompromising leadership and expert teaching. Children make good progress due to an exciting and inspirational curriculum and a stimulating environment.  Pupils behave well and are polite and courteous. They are eager to take on responsibilities and they show a high degree of confidence.  Leaders’ monitoring has resulted in improvements in teaching, which is now good. Consequently, many pupils are making accelerated progress and outcomes are good.  Phonics teaching is strong and, as a result, the

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This is a good school

percentage of Year 1 pupils reaching the expected standard in the national phonics screening check (phonics is letters and the sounds that they make) is now close to the national average.  Learning and support assistants provide effective support for those pupils with special educational needs, who consequently make good progress in lessons.  Pupils’ well-being is paramount. They feel safe, well cared for and respected. This has led to strong relationships between all members of the school community.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Attendance is not yet in line with national expectations, although it is improving. The school has many strategies in place to support pupils and families with attendance. These are beginning to have an impact.  Some subject leaders do not have a fully comprehensive understanding of standards in their subject across the school.  The most-able pupils do not always achieve as well as they could, especially in mathematics.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve attendance so that it is at least in line with the national average by:

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

– ensuring that parents are made aware of the implications of poor attendance – reviewing strategies that are already in place so that they continue to have good impact.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Accelerate pupils’ achievement further, especially in mathematics, by:

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

– ensuring that teachers consistently provide challenging tasks, particularly for the most able – improving teachers’ questioning in mathematics so it enables pupils to apply their knowledge and develop their reasoning skills.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Develop subject leaders’ understanding of pupils’ achievement so that:

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

– they have a clear understanding of achievement in their subject area across the whole school – they have the relevant information to enable them to compare outcomes of different groups of pupils.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 The inspirational and committed headteacher has led the school ably through a period of improvement following a somewhat turbulent and unstable time. She is fully aware of the priorities of the school and is addressing them with skill and determination. She has a strong vision which she communicates clearly to the whole school community. Her drive and passion have ensured that pupils’ outcomes are improving.  Senior leaders have set challenging targets for improvement and are taking the right actions to achieve them. Leaders regularly discuss their actions and the impact they are having with the headteacher. Senior leaders have a clear understanding of appropriate strategies to raise standards and are well placed to continue making improvements.  Teachers have received useful and effective training to take on senior and middle leadership roles. Along with the focused support of the headteacher, this has led to rapid improvements in teaching and learning.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 Leaders monitor the progress and attainment of all pupils individually, and consequently they are able to provide appropriate support. As a result, the achievement of disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and disability is improving. However, some subject leaders do not have enough of an overview of pupils’ achievement in their subject across the school. At times this means that leaders’ actions are not as effective as they could be.  Mutual respect and consideration for all members of staff have resulted in high morale. Staff are extremely motivated to develop their skills so that pupils can make rapid progress.  The school has benefited greatly from the high level of support given by the local authority. A good range of effective training and mentoring has been provided to improve teaching, governance and leadership. The headteacher and governors have greatly appreciated this support and the vast majority of parents

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

who responded to Parent View (Ofsted’s online questionnaire for parents) agreed that the school is well led and managed.  Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is embedded in all that the school does and underpins the curriculum. In lessons and in the playground, pupils relate very well to each other and respect each other’s opinion, showing good social skills and moral understanding. During assembly, pupils are given time to reflect, which enhances their spiritual development. Pupils’ different faiths and cultures are discussed in religious education as well as in assembly, where festivals such as Diwali and Chinese New Year are celebrated. Pupils also have the opportunity to learn about other different cultures and traditions. For example, pupils in Year 2 greatly enjoy their samba drumming sessions, while Year 4 pupils recently studied the Shang dynasty of ancient China.  British values are woven throughout the curriculum and have a strong impact on the school’s ethos.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

Teachers take full advantage of the opportunities to consider and practise fundamental British values. For example, pupils gain a clear appreciation of the rule of law through the Oliver’s Battery School Charter, which is referred to constantly. The school instils values such as democracy, tolerance and respect for all members of the school community. As a consequence, pupils’ behaviour is good and they are being well prepared for life in modern Britain.  Pupils are provided with a broad and balanced curriculum, with an appropriate emphasis on numeracy and literacy. Pupils state that they like the topics taught, and show interest and engagement, enjoying opportunities to share learning with their parents. For example, groups of Year 6 pupils were preparing to present a performance of a play they had written to their parents, based on their knowledge and understanding of life in Tudor England. Pupils benefit from many enrichment activities and visits, such as

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

the Year 3 visit to Butser Ancient Farm, which enhanced their work on the Stone Age.  There is a wide range of extra-curricular activities, including dance, coding and craft clubs, which allow pupils to extend their knowledge and improve their skills. These clubs are well attended and enjoyed by pupils of all ages.  Pupil premium funding is used effectively to ensure that disadvantaged children make accelerated progress. The impact of spending is monitored closely by the newly appointed pupil premium champion. Funding is used to deliver a range of targeted activities such as drama therapy, play therapy and one-to- one support in reading, literacy and mathematics. This provision makes a good contribution to pupils’ social development.  Funding to increase pupils’ participation in physical education is used thoughtfully. Specialist teachers have been brought in to support training of both pupils and staff, and resources have been improved. As

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

a result, pupils enjoy high-quality teaching and a wide range of sporting activities.  Leaders promote equality of opportunity and diversity, and deal with any prejudicial behaviours quickly and effectively. This has resulted in a strong school ethos where everyone feels welcome.  The governance of the school – Governors are positive and committed. They are fully supportive of the headteacher in her drive for improvement. Governors appreciate the detailed information they receive from the headteacher to inform their understanding of what is happening in the school. They have a clear knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of the school. – Governors take their roles seriously by undertaking appropriate monitoring, and challenging leaders’ work. They visit the school to speak to staff regularly, look at pupils’ work and observe teaching and learning. Through this and attendance at training, they are able to challenge and support the school

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

effectively. – Governors have a good understanding of pupil premium funding and sports funding and they closely monitor the impact they have on pupils’ learning.  The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Pupils’ welfare is given high priority in the school and pupils are well cared for. The school has appropriate systems in place to ensure safeguarding concerns are systematically logged and dealt with. School leaders have good links with external agencies and use these well when issues arise. Staff are appropriately trained in safeguarding procedures, as are governors. All staff and visitors to the school are checked properly. Pupils state that they feel safe at school and parents agree.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 The quality of teaching is now invariably good across the school, leading to good rates of progress in reading, writing and mathematics, with some groups of children making accelerated progress.  Leaders’ evaluations of teaching and learning are secure and feedback to teachers ensures that they are clear about how to develop their own skills, resulting in improvement in pupils’ learning.  The school works hard to ensure that pupils are ready for the next stage of their education. Visits to pre- schools and nurseries lead to children settling quickly into the Reception classes. The excellent links with Kings School, the local secondary school, result in a smooth transition for pupils in Year 6.  Pupils undertake a wide range of interesting activities to enhance and deepen their learning. However, not all pupils are sufficiently challenged to do their very best. Pupils, particularly the most able, state that

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

they are not always given work which stretches them enough and this prevents them from making really rapid progress. This is especially evident in mathematics, where teachers’ questioning does not always encourage pupils to apply their knowledge or develop their reasoning skills. More challenging tasks are often given to pupils only after they have completed simple ones.  Teachers know pupils very well. Pupils with special educational needs or disability are supported effectively by highly skilled learning support assistants. Teachers use assessments in lessons to check pupils’ understanding, although pupils’ misconceptions are not always addressed promptly enough.  Pupils read well and enjoy reading both in and out of school. They make good use of the new, well- stocked school library which contains a wide range of good-quality texts. Lessons provide many opportunities to read, and very effective teaching of phonics enables pupils to work out unfamiliar words.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

As a result, pupils make good progress in reading and know how to improve. For example, a child in Reception stated, ‘Next time I can use a split vowel digraph’, showing outstanding learning. Consequently, achievement is improving and the majority of pupils reach average standards in reading and phonics, with the most-able pupils exceeding expectations.  Most teachers have good subject knowledge in mathematics. Pupils are encouraged to use a range of practical equipment and resources to support their learning. They are given opportunities to develop their calculation skills using appropriate methods, and reasoning is encouraged. As a result, the majority of pupils are making good progress in this subject.  Improvements in writing are evident in the high quality of work seen in displays. For example, a Year 3 display, focused on the Iron Man, illustrated examples of extended writing using a range of punctuation

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good. Pupils feel safe in school because they know that teachers care for them. They have a good awareness and understanding of e- safety, road safety and of how to keep healthy through the detailed personal, social and health education curriculum.  Adults are good role models and, consequently, pupils are well mannered and courteous. Pupils are polite, friendly and respectful. They are proud of their school and their achievements, and look smart, showing care in their appearance.  Pupils enjoy being given responsibilities and carry them out with enthusiasm and energy. They volunteer eagerly to help in the hall at lunchtime, showing good initiative. Pupils in various year groups act as monitors, librarians, ambassadors and student councillors. They are proud of these positions, which support their social development.  Pupils’ emotional well-being is at the heart of the school’s work. There are comprehensive support

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Personal development and welfare

programmes in place to support pupils’ social and emotional development, such as the Ginger Club and those run by the emotional literacy support assistant (ELSA).  The learning environment celebrates the many opportunities children have to develop their spiritual, moral, social and cultural awareness. The school places a high emphasis on this, as seen in assembly themes and work displayed around the school.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. They know the school charter, which explains how they should behave. They follow this well, hence the school’s calm and purposeful ethos.  Pupils apply themselves to their work diligently and there is no low-level disruption. However, a minority of pupils occasionally lose concentration in lessons when work is less interesting or challenging. This is usually noticed by adults, who deal with the situation effectively.  Pupils state that behaviour is good and instances of bullying rare. They are clear that teachers and other adults deal with any poor behaviour, including the use of derogatory language, quickly and effectively. Pupils are becoming more willing to take responsibility for dealing with behaviour. As one Year 5 pupil stated, ‘I will tell someone to stop it if I hear someone saying something nasty, as I know what it feels like.’ The school keeps detailed records of individual incidents and plans for support.

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Behaviour

 Leaders are taking positive and effective action to improve attendance. Robust systems are in place and through the appointment of a home-school worker, together with the focused work of a member of the office staff, attendance is improving and is close to the national average.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 Since the previous inspection, pupils’ progress in reading, writing and mathematics has improved and progress is now in line with national expectations. Attainment is in line with or above national averages in all three subjects at Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. The school’s information about pupils’ performance and current work seen in pupils’ books show that pupils are continuing to make good progress across the school.  Pupils read widely in and out of school. The strong teaching of phonics is leading to further improvement in reading and the percentage of pupils expected to achieve the expected standard in phonics in 2016 is set to rise further.  There have been good improvements seen in all areas in the early years provision and the percentage of pupils achieving a good level of development continues to rise and is now above the national average.  Pupils who have special educational needs or disability are making good progress due to well-targeted

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Outcomes for pupils are good

extra help from well-trained learning support assistants, in small-group sessions or through one-to-one support in the classroom.  Disadvantaged pupils make good progress and, in some cases, accelerated progress, in line with their peers in school. This is because staff have looked at potential barriers to learning for these pupils and tailored provision accordingly.  The progress and attainment of the most-able pupils are variable across the school and across subject areas. This is primarily because of a lack of appropriate challenge. Attainment for the most-able pupils in reading and writing in Key Stage 1 is below the national average, whereas this group of pupils attain well in Key Stage 2 in these subjects. However, they do not achieve as well in mathematics, where the absence of suitable challenge is most evident.  The school’s focus on writing has been successful in raising pupils’ standards. Pupils have good

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Outcomes for pupils are good

opportunities to write in different styles in a variety of subjects and to edit their work. The emphasis on improving pupils’ grammar, punctuation and spelling has resulted in higher standards across the curriculum.

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Early years provision is outstanding

 The exceptionally strong early years leader has been instrumental in effecting change, with the guidance and support of the headteacher. She has a clear vision and has empowered the staff in her team to develop their skills well. There is high staff morale among the team because leaders value everyone’s involvement in meticulous planning. Performance management is skilfully used to drive up standards of teaching for all early years staff, and the impact of this is seen in children’s improving outcomes.  Since the previous inspection, children have made increasingly strong progress from their starting points. The proportion of children reaching a good level of development by the end of the Reception class has increased year on year. In 2015, the proportion of children reaching the expected standard for their age was above the national average, a rise of 25 percentage points since 2014, showing the exceptional

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Early years provision is outstanding

improvements that have been made. Consequently, children were well placed to start work in Year 1. The school’s records show that the percentage of children expected to achieve a good level of development in 2016 will be even higher than 2015.  The accuracy of assessments, based on high-quality observations undertaken by all staff in early years, has been confirmed through attendance at moderation meetings and through working closely with the headteacher. The early years leader is clear about how well children achieve and is taking the right action to ensure further progress for all children.  Children in Reception are enthused by the rich and varied curriculum which has been developed around their interests. For example, when children became curious about cars, a topic on transport was devised. This allowed children to develop their interests and consequently one child made a large hobby horse which has pride of place in the classroom and is well used by all children. Children have a love for

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Early years provision is outstanding

learning and develop high levels of independence. The stimulating environment contributes greatly to this. Children show a real sense of occasion. This was evident when they asked for a drum roll before starting a puppet show of ‘Red Riding Hood’. Excellent use is made of both indoor and outdoor areas, which are both stimulating and well resourced. Adults model language and behaviours very well and support and guide children appropriately, building on prior learning.  Teaching and learning in the early years are outstanding. Staff demonstrate exceptional questioning skills. They constantly challenge children to improve their work through the use of specific language designed to move learning forward. For example, an adult challenged a group of children to make improvements to their models through the use of comparative language, asking children to make their models bigger or heavier, for example. The concept of estimation was introduced when children had designed and made a

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Early years provision is outstanding

channel for their boats. They were prompted by the adult working with them to guess how many jugs of water it would take before their boats would move. Children responded thoughtfully and were eager to see whose guess was right, focusing well on this task for a sustained period of time.  Relationships are excellent. Children are highly motivated and eager to show adults what they are learning. Adults support and guide children effectively. Children take turns, cooperate and show respect for one another. Strong partnerships exist between parents and staff. Parents are welcomed into the class and they have a high level of trust in the staff, rightly knowing that their children will be cared for and kept safe.

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School details

Unique reference number 116046 Local authority Hampshire Inspection number 10002382

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School details

This inspection 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 163 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Nicki Duffield Headteacher Fey Wood Telephone number 01962 869496 Website www.oliversbatteryprimary.com Email address admin@oliversb.com Date of previous inspection 15–16 October 2013

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Information about this school

 This is an average-sized primary school.  Most of the pupils are White British. Other pupils come from a range of different ethnic backgrounds.  The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs or disability supported through school action is below average. The proportion supported through a statement of special needs is below average.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported through the pupil premium is lower than average. The pupil premium is extra government funding to help the education of pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals and those who are looked after by the local authority.  The headteacher took up her post in January 2015, as did the deputy headteacher.  There have been a large number of staff changes since the last inspection.  The school meets the government floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed teaching and learning in 15 lessons. Some of these were seen jointly with the headteacher.  In addition, inspectors heard children read, and made several short visits to classrooms to check the quality of provision.  Discussions were held with the headteacher, staff, a representative from the local authority, governors, parents and pupils.  The inspectors examined school policies, information about pupils’ attainment and progress, teachers’ plans, pupils’ work, the school website and the school’s development planning. They also viewed documents relating to safeguarding and records of behaviour and attendance. The minutes of governing body meetings and the headteacher’s reports to governors were examined.  The inspectors took account of the 47 responses to the online survey for parents (Parent View) and correspondence from parents.  The inspection team also took account of the 53 responses to the online survey for pupils and the 23

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Information about this inspection

responses to the online survey for staff.

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Inspection team

Barbara Chevis, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector Susan Cox Ofsted Inspector guidance 'Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted . 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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Inspection team

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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Inspection team

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.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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Inspection team

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, further education and skills, 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. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may re-use this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Inspection team

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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Inspection team

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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