Wyburns Primary School

Wyburns Primary School Nevern Road, Rayleigh, Essex SS6 7PE

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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

 Under the excellent leadership of the headteacher, the school has improved rapidly, especially over the last 18 months. Standards of work have been rising and pupils are achieving well.  The headteacher and her senior leadership team have set a very positive tone and this supports a culture of high achievement and aspiration.  Pupils are making good progress because they are well taught. They make strong progress in mathematics, particularly developing good skills in working with numbers and solving problems.  Children in the early years get a good start to their education during their Reception Year. This helps them to become ready for Year 1.  School leaders have done a good job supporting new staff and helping those new to leadership roles to steer important developments in their areas of responsibility.  Pupils are well behaved, polite and respectful towards others. They get on very well with one

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This is a good school

another, both in lessons and around the school.  In lessons, pupils try their best and do not give up easily when the work is hard. They enjoy school. Hence, attendance is above average.  Those with special educational needs and disadvantaged pupils achieve particularly well.  A broad curriculum enables pupils to enjoy a wide variety of learning activities and experiences.  Pupils enjoy taking on responsibilities such as being an ‘eco-warrior’ or helping younger children at playtime.  Parents’ very positive views about the school are summed up by one: ‘The staff genuinely care for the children. There is a great atmosphere. My children are thriving here. I couldn’t be happier.’

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Pupils’ writing in subjects across the curriculum is not as good as it is in English. Nor do they practise writing that helps them to reason or explain more complex ideas in other subjects.  Pupils do not routinely use their knowledge of letter sounds to help them to spell when writing.  Governors’ skills in challenging the school and holding leaders fully to account for how well the school is doing are not as sharply developed as they might be.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching and raise achievement further by:

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

ensuring pupils practise more extended writing where they have to reason out their ideas and explain them more fully when writing in subjects across the curriculum developing pupils’ skills in using their knowledge of letter sounds to help them to write well and spell correctly.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the effectiveness of governance so that the governing body:

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

confidently challenge school leaders and follows lines of enquiry through in more detail with their questioning ensure that the school evaluates more effectively the link between the spending of additional government funds for disadvantaged pupils and primary sports and the impact of these funds.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 Through her strong leadership, the headteacher has established a warm and welcoming atmosphere within which staff and pupils want to do their best. Common aims and goals are well understood by staff and pupils, and provide a clear direction for improvement.  Staff and pupils are upbeat about the school. Their enthusiasm and energy is indicative of the good morale within the school. Pupils say that the headteacher has brought ‘colour and light’ to the school and made it a much brighter and better place.  Together with her senior leaders, the headteacher steers developments confidently and competently to fruition. Consequently, the school has made considerable strides in improving provision and outcomes since its last inspection. As one parent noted: ‘The school has continued to grow under the leadership of the headteacher and the deputy and the culture has developed into one of respect and achievement.’

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 A key to the school’s success has been the exceptional support for staff development. Training is carefully tailored to meet the needs of staff as well as the needs of the school and pupils. Accurate self-evaluation and analyses of teacher and pupil performance are used to inform senior leaders about training needs.  Coaching (one-to-one support and training) and peer-coaching (coaching one another) have been used very effectively to help middle leaders, such as subject leaders, to develop their leadership skills. Consequently, these members of staff, many of whom took up their roles this year, are already making a positive difference in their areas of responsibility.  The school follows the ‘Rights Respecting Schools’ programme. This instils a strong sense of right and wrong among pupils. It also provides a good backdrop for the school’s drive for equal rights and opportunities for all and is encapsulated in the school’s vision statement: ‘Every child has brilliance inside

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

them. Our role is to dig it out and give it to the world.’ Within this context, the whole school community works towards enabling all to achieve their best irrespective of background. In addition, there is an implicit understanding that discrimination in any form will not be tolerated.  The school has established a rigorous framework for assessing pupils’ work. It has been part of a local working group which has supported the development of this system and helped to evaluate and refine it further. The assessment information is used well to check how well individual pupils and different groups of pupils are achieving. The robust monitoring of pupils’ progress alerts staff very quickly when anyone begins to fall behind and enables swift action to help all pupils to keep up with their learning.  Pupil premium funding is used effectively to support disadvantaged pupils in a variety of ways. Additional

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

support provided on a one-to-one basis helps any who are behind to catch up. Class teachers are very aware of the needs of disadvantaged pupils, through training, and focus well on providing quality teaching in the classroom which benefits this group. Funding is also used to ensure that disadvantaged pupils participate fully in the wider enrichment and extra-curricular activities provided by the school.  The new national curriculum is being implemented effectively. Pupils have access to a wide range of subjects and learning experiences, including in the early years. The use of lively themes helps to link different subjects together. Extensive enrichment activities, visits and visitors, and themed weeks provide additional stimulus for learning and personal development.  The primary sports funding has been used well to provide a wide range of sporting activities for pupils as well as promoting healthy lifestyles. Teachers’ knowledge and skills in physical education have improved

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

as a result and pupils have a good understanding of how to keep fit and healthy.  Overall, the curriculum effectively promotes a well-rounded education within which pupils learn about key values such as respect, tolerance and democracy.  The school benefits from good local partnerships with other schools and the local authority. This includes partnerships for primary sports. The school liaises effectively with other professionals and agencies in the interests of pupils and their families as required.  Parents are fulsome in their praise of the school and how well it has supported their children’s education.  The governance of the school Governors are developing their roles well following a re-constitution of the governing body and a review of governance in September 2015. Many governors are relatively new to their roles but are learning quickly about the school and its work. This is helped by the comprehensive links between

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

governors and the school, whereby each governor is attached to an area of the school’s work or a subject area. Governors visit regularly to meet with staff leading the area to which they are linked. Hence, governors are well informed about the school’s work. While governors are asking challenging questions, this is an area where their role is still developing. In particular, governors do not always follow through a line of questioning persistently enough to ensure they have a deep understanding of the impact of the school’s work. For example, governors know that the pupil premium funding is effective because they have looked at the results achieved by pupils benefiting from this funding at the end of key stage 1 and key stage 2 last year. However, they have not followed this through to ensure that pupils currently in the school who are receiving additional support are also achieving well, or which aspects of the spending are having the most impact.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

Governors manage the school’s finances well and are rigorous in their overview of the performance management of the headteacher and staff. In addition, governors have been assiduous in identifying their own development needs and are undertaking a wide range of training to help them to carry out their roles effectively.  The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Pupils are well cared for and looked after. The school maintains its records rigorously and follows through any concerns robustly. Staff are well trained and know how to deal with issues that might arise. Any adult in the school is thoroughly checked to ensure that they are fit to work with children. Leaders work well with parents and other adults, including those from other professions and agencies, to keep pupils safe.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 Teachers take good account of where their pupils are in their learning when planning lessons. Hence, work is usually set at the right level for most pupils. The most-able pupils are usually challenged and extended well by the work they are given.  Support staff are used effectively to help those who might find the work more difficult or have specific needs, such as speaking English as an additional language or special educational needs.  Good, well-established relationships between teachers and pupils help to motivate pupils and secure good cooperation with adults.  Teachers’ subject knowledge is particularly good in mathematics and used very effectively to help pupils develop systematic skills in solving mathematical problems. Regular practice helps pupils to develop their speed and fluency with number work.  Teachers enable pupils to use technical or subject-specific language well. For example, in a Year 4 English

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

lesson, pupils working on prepositional language were able to explain what this was and to use terms such as ‘preposition’ correctly.  The teaching of phonics (letters and the sounds that they make) is good and helps pupils to develop their early skills in reading. However, pupils are not as good at using their phonics knowledge to help them with their writing by, for example, helping them to spell correctly while writing.  In English lessons, pupils are encouraged to practise their writing skills and to produce extended pieces of writing. This is less evident in other subjects so that their writing is not always of the same standard in subjects such as history, geography and science as it is in English. This is also the case for the most-able pupils.  Practical activities, and the use of practical equipment, help pupils to better understand underlying ideas in mathematics and science. While in mathematics teachers question and probe pupils very effectively to

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

get them to explain their reasoning, including in writing, this is less evident in written work in other subjects.  Lessons usually get off to a good start because teachers capture pupils’ interests through imaginative use of pictures, questions they pose or a film clip. The most-able pupils are often given additional challenges or extension to which these pupils rise well.  Teachers assess pupils’ learning well during lessons and this enables them to intervene quickly if any are finding the work too easy or too hard.  Homework is effective in helping to consolidate learning in lessons and the vast majority of parents responding to Ofsted’s online questionnaire are happy with the homework arrangements.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good. Pupils are happy and safe at school. They enjoy coming to school. Consequently, attendance is above average. Written comments from parents are almost wholly positive, with glowing praise for the work the school does in caring for, and educating, their children.  Pupils grow in confidence and develop their ability to stick to tasks well. Even when work is difficult, they try hard and do not give up.  Most pupils develop good social skills and this helps them in their learning as well as enabling them to make friends and form positive relationships. Those in Year 6, while excited about their future secondary education, are sad to be leaving at the end of this year.  In lessons, pupils help one another when working in groups and pairs and make suggestions to help solve problems or develop ideas. In their excitement, though, they do not always listen to one another.

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Personal development and welfare

 Roles such as being on the school council help pupils to learn about key values such as democracy. They also regularly have their voice heard though surveys and discussions with teachers. In addition, pupils have a good understanding of the need to respect others who may be from backgrounds different to their own. For example, a recent visit to a mosque has helped pupils to better understand some of the traditions of Islam.  The school is aware of the need to provide even more examples of cultural and religious diversity given pupils’ largely limited first-hand experiences of these. Leaders are establishing international links, as well as wider links across the UK, to provide pupils with more direct experiences of children whose cultures and beliefs are different.  Pupils are developing a good understanding of how to keep healthy. The work through the sports funding is providing them with a wide range of physical activities including dance, and an enjoyment of physical

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. They understand the need for rules to guide behaviour and the importance of good behaviour in maintaining a positive and safe climate for learning. Pupils understand the school’s rules well.  Issues such as bullying are rare and pupils are confident that staff will deal with any issues on the few occasions when they do arise. Older pupils have been involved in producing an anti-bullying video which is on the school’s website.  Pupils are developing a strong sense of fairness and see the wrongs of being bullied or discriminated against because of the way someone looks, their race or their lifestyle.  The school teaches pupils about how to be safe when using the internet and pupils know what they should and should not do when using social media. Pupils also learn about how to keep themselves safe when using the roads and facing other potential dangers. However, pupils are also taught to assess risks

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Behaviour

so that they can take informed decisions about keeping safe.  Almost all parents agree that the school looks after their children well and pupils confirm that they have a member of staff to go to should they have any concerns.  The breakfast club provides a good, nurturing start to the day for those who attend.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 Pupils make good progress across the school. By the end of key stage 2, their standards of attainment are now above average, with a clear rising trend, especially in mathematics, since the last inspection.  Standards have also been rising across key stage 1 so that pupils are coming into key stage 2 with a good foundation in reading, writing and mathematics.  Pupils’ achievement in mathematics is a strength. This is due to the very effective focus the school has had since the last inspection on improving teaching and pupils’ skills in number work and problem solving.  Pupils develop their reading skills well, starting with their phonics knowledge in the early years and across key stage 1. They use this to help them break up new words. However, pupils do not routinely make use of their phonics knowledge to help them with their spellings when writing.  The school has had a good focus on supporting pupils to develop their skills of inference and deduction

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Outcomes for pupils are good

when reading, i.e. to read between the lines more, and this is helping to accelerate their progress in reading across key stage 2.  Pupils are making increasingly good progress in developing writing skills and in their knowledge and understanding of grammar. However, writing in English books, where pupils also produce factual writing related to other subjects such as history or science, is of a higher standard than it is in books for other subjects. In particular, pupils are not always able to explain more complicated ideas when writing in other subjects, for example drawing clearly explained conclusions from their observations from experiments in science. This includes the most-able pupils.  Nonetheless, pupils are developing a good range of knowledge and understanding, as well as skills, across different subjects. They are developing investigative skills well in mathematics and science. Year 6

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Outcomes for pupils are good

pupils have produced some very good writing about how the heart works in their English books, showing good underlying knowledge about the structure and function of the heart.  Work in art shows progressive development of key skills as pupils move up through the school. Many pupils also learn to play an instrument and are making good progress in this. Pupils are also proud of their achievements in French, where the oldest pupils are writing short pieces in French, and computing.  The most-able pupils are extended and stretched well most of the time. Consequently, they make good progress in reading and writing. However, as is the case for other groups, these pupils do not have enough time to practise their writing in subjects across the curriculum. In mathematics, the most-able pupils are challenged very well. They deepen their understanding of more complicated mathematical ideas, such as algebra, extremely well and attain high standards of work.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 Disadvantaged pupils achieve at least as well as others and often make better progress. As a result, they catch up on any gaps to reach good standards of work in English and mathematics. One-to-one support is particularly effective in helping these pupils to keep up, especially following any absences.  The carefully tailored support for pupils with special educational needs and those with disability ensures that they too make good progress as they move through the school. As a result, they are well prepared for the next stage of education.

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Early years provision is good

 The early years provision is well led and managed. An effective programme of work is in place which ensures that children develop their skills and knowledge well across all areas of learning.  Children begin Reception with skills and knowledge that are sometimes a little lower than is typical for their ages, especially in areas such as early reading and writing. The skills they have when they join vary from year to year.  Pupils currently in Reception started with sound personal and social skills and readiness for school and skills in literacy and numeracy that were close to those typical for this age group. They are making good progress from these starting points and developing early reading and writing skills well.  Physical skills are also developing well through the range of activities that help children to manipulate large toys, such as bikes and trikes, but also smaller objects such as tweezers.

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Early years provision is good

 The outdoor area is well used and promotes good opportunities for role play and investigating the outdoors, such as walking through a forest or designing a physical training circuit. Writing activities are being built in increasingly well to other practical work to enable children to develop enjoyment by writing about things that have excited them. One child, for example, asked for labels to help him label different activities in his training circuit.  Children enjoy their time in Reception and chat happily to one another and visitors as they work.  Adults interact with children well and ask useful questions to help them develop their ideas. The school is aware that sometimes adults need to take a step back to let children explore more for themselves. Nonetheless, teaching is good with interesting activities and a stimulating environment which children find exciting.  Children’s work is very well recorded in their learning journeys. Their photographs, drawings and written

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Early years provision is good

work are well annotated by adults to show how well they are learning and to capture new learning.  Disadvantaged pupils are well supported through the use of pupil premium funds, both through well- targeted activities and support in lessons and additional support such as speech and language.  Children are well looked after and the learning environment is safe. The school’s safeguarding policies and procedures are well implemented in the early years.

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School details

Unique reference number 115302 Local authority Essex Inspection number 10001923

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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 Foundation Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 225 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Rizwana Awan Headteacher Kath Sansom Telephone number 01268 770 914 Website www.wyburns.org Email address admin@wyburns.org Date of previous inspection 11 December 2013

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Information about this school

 Wyburns Primary School is broadly similar in size to most primary schools and the number on roll has been increasing since the last inspection.  The vast majority of pupils are of White British heritage. Relatively few pupils are from minority ethnic backgrounds, and very few speak English as an additional language.  The proportion of pupils who require special educational needs support is smaller than the national average. The proportion who have a statement or education, health and care plan is broadly average.  The proportion of pupils who are supported by pupil premium funding (additional government funds to support those who are eligible for free school meals or in the care of the local authority) is below average at around 12% of the number on roll.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.

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Information about this school

 A significant number of staff, especially teachers, joined the school after the last inspection and have been at the school for two years or less.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors visited classes across the school, observing teaching and learning in each classroom at least once. A number of these visits were carried out jointly with the headteacher and the deputy headteacher.  Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher, other members of the senior leadership team, subject leaders, and the chair of the governing body and four other governors.  The lead inspector conducted a telephone discussion with a representative from the local authority.  Members of the inspection team spoke informally to pupils in lessons and around the school as well as holding more formal discussions with two representative groups of pupils from years 2 to 6.  Inspectors listened to pupils from across the school reading to check how well they were developing their reading skills.  In carrying out the inspection, the inspection team took account of 55 responses to the Ofsted online

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Information about this inspection

questionnaire (Parent View). A member of the team also spoke with parents as they dropped off their children at school.  The inspection team took account of the responses to an Ofsted questionnaire completed by 19 staff and 25 pupils.  Members of the team observed the work of the school. They looked at the school’s improvement plan, a range of policies and procedures, documents relating to the work of the governing body and the arrangements for ensuring that pupils are safeguarded. Documentation reviewed included records of data relating to pupils’ attainment and progress, behaviour and attendance. The school’s website was examined as well.

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Inspection team

Gulshanbir Kayembe, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector Sally Nutman 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 reuse 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

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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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