St Mary's, Prittlewell, CofE Primary School

St Mary’s, Prittlewell, CofE Primary School Boston Avenue, Southend-on-Sea SS2 6JH

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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

 This is a good and rapidly improving school. The focus and tenacity of the new headteacher, ably supported by his senior leadership team, have driven improvements in teaching and learning across the school.  Almost all teaching is good. Staff have responded well to leaders’ higher expectations and sharply focused training programmes.  The rate of progress pupils are making is accelerating in all subjects.  Children in the early years make good progress from their starting points and are well prepared for Year 1.  Assessment is accurate and is helping teachers to plan the next steps in learning. Pupils respond very well to the constructive verbal and written feedback they receive and this helps them improve their work.  Subject leaders have an accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and what needs to be improved.  Pupils’ interests are sparked through a range of interesting activities that draw upon their

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This is a good school

developing key skills. As a result, pupils enjoy lessons and are keen to learn more.  The school’s core values underpin all aspects of school life and make a strong contribution to pupils’ learning, attitudes and personal development. Pupils feel safe, trust the adults around them and work well with each other. Behaviour in lessons and around the school is good.  The governing body has a good overview of the school’s strengths and weaknesses, having challenged and supported leaders well on the school’s journey of improvement.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 The quality of teaching over time across the school has not resulted in pupils achieving outstanding progress and attainment.  The most-able pupils do not always receive work that challenges them sufficiently throughout lessons.  Teachers’ marking and feedback to pupils in subjects other than mathematics and English is not as effective as in these subjects.  In the early years setting, adults do not always ensure that learning is as good as it can be when children choose their own activities.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Leaders should improve the quality of teaching across the school to achieve outstanding outcomes by ensuring that all:

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

teachers provide activities for the most-able pupils that fully challenge them from the start of lessons teachers consistently give pupils the same high-quality feedback on how to improve their work in all subjects as they do in English and mathematics adults in the early years have the skills to know when to intervene appropriately during children’s self- initiated activities so that their learning is maximised.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 The headteacher, appointed in January 2015, has provided a clear sense of urgency and coherence to the development of the school. He has quickly tackled weaknesses in teaching through a well-judged balance of support and challenge. He has extended and strengthened both senior and subject leadership roles to ensure consistent and sustainable strategies and approaches across both school sites. Consequently leaders and staff are moving in the same upward direction with regard to school improvement.  Effective accountability systems are in place which clearly target improving pupils’ outcomes. There are frequent checks on the quality of teaching and learning. These include visits to lessons, meetings with individual teachers about their lessons, scrutiny of work in books and discussion with pupils about their learning.  Teachers feel well supported. Good-quality training focuses on getting the basics right in the classroom.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

Training to help teachers strengthen their practice in questioning and providing feedback is having a good impact on pupils’ progress. Staff also benefit from visits to other schools and working with staff in their own school to share best practice.  The pupil premium funding is spent to good effect. The headteacher and governors carefully check the progress of pupils entitled to support through the pupil premium funding.  The promotion and celebration of British values is an everyday part of the school’s work and permeates the rich curriculum. This contributes well to pupils’ learning and the development of their spiritual, moral, social and cultural awareness.  Pupils learn about other cultures and countries in history, geography and religious education lessons. Enrichment weeks which include visits, visitors and special events are woven into the tapestry of experiences to add excitement and colour to pupils’ learning. Examples include Chinese week, science

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

week and, recently, Commonwealth week.  A range of after-school clubs and music further enrich the curriculum. These include clubs for French, chess, recorders, needlework, choir, gymnastics, drama, and a wide range of sports. Pupils also have opportunities to take part in drama and musical productions.  Funding for physical education (PE) and sport is used effectively to support training of staff as well as opportunities for pupils to take part in clubs and competitions. Pupils benefit from high-quality PE sessions delivered by school sports coaches, external sports coaches and their class teachers. There is a large range of sports clubs that pupils enjoy attending and pupils also participate at county level, for example in cross-country, athletics and football. Sports funding has also been used to purchase sports equipment, which pupils enjoy using at break and lunchtimes.  Parents value the care provided by staff, particularly for pupils who have additional health or emotional

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

needs. Most parents speak very positively about improvements to the quality of the provision and the impact of the new headteacher. However, a small minority say they would not recommend the school to other parents.  The governance of the school The governing body supports the school well. Governors ask challenging questions and are well aware of strengths and remaining areas of weakness. A new format has recently been introduced whereby governors spend a day in school looking at all aspects of school life. This is working well. Governors understand assessment data and how this informs the school’s priorities for further improvement. Governors receive high-quality information from senior and middle leaders, which keeps them up to date with the progress that current year groups are making. Governors keep a close eye on performance management arrangements, ensuring that there is a close link between teachers’ pay and the quality of teaching.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Robust systems, which promote a culture of safety, are embedded within both school sites. Senior leaders ensure that staff are kept up to date and are clear about what to do if they believe a pupil may be at risk. The school works well with other agencies and with parents to ensure that pupils are supported and safe.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 Pupils’ learning in lessons observed during the inspection, their work in books, historical performance information and the school’s own records of pupils’ progress and attainment provide evidence that teaching is good. This is enabling pupils to make sustained good progress in all subjects and year groups.  Teachers deliver interesting lessons that engage pupils well and which also promote the school’s core values, in particular perseverance. Their good subject knowledge is evident in the quality of their explanations and pupils’ responses to questions. Discussion is used frequently and to generate opportunities for thinking and developing ideas. This process consolidates understanding effectively.  Teachers use a range of questioning well and assess pupils’ learning accurately to identify any gaps in understanding so that they and the teaching assistants can plan next steps in teaching more effectively.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

They use time well and have high expectations of pupils’ learning and presentation.  There are plentiful opportunities for pupils to use writing for different purposes across the curriculum, through the interesting topics that teachers plan. For example pupils in Year 1 were engaged in writing a postcard from Africa. Pupils’ writing within their work on religious education is of particularly high quality.  Reading is promoted well through opportunities within the curriculum and also through consistently good teaching of letters and the sounds that they make (phonics) in the early years and in key stage 1. Teaching assistants have received training to improve their subject knowledge in key skill areas and this has helped them to support pupils more effectively.  Mathematics teaching includes good opportunities for solving problems using mathematics skills and learning multiplication tables methodically. For example, pupils in Year 5 were challenged to apply their

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

mathematical skills to find the weight of a parcel, given various pieces of information.  The school’s feedback and marking policy for English and mathematics is consistently used across the school and teachers give comments that help pupils to improve in these subjects. Pupils understand these approaches and their responses to marking assist the development of their learning. However, the feedback that they receive for their work on other subjects does not give them the same precise information on how to improve their skills.  Teachers usually provide work that challenges pupils at the right level. Occasionally, they do not check or adapt work early enough during lessons to ensure that the most-able pupils are making sufficient progress in deepening their knowledge and understanding from the start of the lesson. This holds the most-able pupils back in their learning and prevents them from always reaching the highest standards in

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  Pupils say that they feel safe and secure and that there are no areas in the school that they would avoid. They have a good understanding of the types of bullying that may take place. They reported that bullying is not tolerated and that it rarely occurs in school. The school’s records reflect pupils’ views that incidents of bullying are very rare.  Pupils have a good understanding of safety and remember the lessons and assemblies they have had about e-safety when using the computer at home or at school. They are aware of what elements contribute to a healthy lifestyle, such as diet and the need to exercise regularly.  The development of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is a strength of the school. Opportunities to develop tolerance and consideration for the needs of others are embedded in the

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Personal development and welfare

curriculum. Collective worship encourages pupils to reflect upon positive characteristics such as perseverance. This was observed in an assembly themed around the Invictus Games.  Pupils are polite and self-confident and prepared to put forward their views in a thoughtful and respectful way, showing care for and tolerance of others. This is because they are given opportunities to share their learning and review others’ work in a constructive manner.  The process of election of ‘pupil governors’ helps to develop pupils’ understanding of the democratic process. Pupils raise money for a range of charities and show great awareness that many children in the world are less fortunate than they themselves are.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  Pupils understand the school system for managing behaviour and support it.  They are polite and courteous to each other and to adults. They wear their uniform proudly.  In lessons pupils usually behave well. They work hard and cooperate well in groups and are keen to share their learning with others. Occasionally in some lessons when work is too easy or too hard for pupils the standard of behaviour slips.  Around the school behaviour is also good. During playtimes and lunchtimes pupils are also well behaved and enjoy engaging in a range of games and activities with friends.  Rates of attendance are above those seen nationally, reflecting pupils’ keenness to come to school and their parents’ understanding of the importance of regular attendance and good punctuality.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 Outcomes for pupils are good because their progress from their starting points is good overall.  Children’s outcomes in the early years have shown substantial improvements over the last three years. In 2015 the proportion of pupils achieving a good level of development was well above that found nationally.  The proportion of pupils achieving national expectations in the Year 1 phonics screening check has been consistently above that seen nationally. School tracking predicts that this proportion will increase in 2016.  Standards in key stage 1 have shown a rising trend in all subjects and were significantly above average in 2015. Work in books and school tracking data shows that almost all pupils in Year 2 this year are on track to meet age-related expectations at the end of the year and a high proportion are expected to exceed these, thus maintaining levels of attainment achieved at the end of key stage 1 in 2015 again at the end

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Outcomes for pupils are good

of this academic year.  Outcomes at the end of key stage 2 in 2015 were broadly in line with those seen nationally in reading, writing and mathematics and for English, grammar, punctuation and spelling. The proportion of pupils making expected progress in all subjects was in line with that seen nationally. The proportion of pupils making better than expected progress was in line with that seen nationally for reading, above for writing and well above for mathematics. Current assessments and work in books indicate that these standards will be maintained and the proportions of pupils who are on track to meet or exceed national expectations will be similar at the end of this academic year. This will again represent good progress from pupils’ starting points at the end of key stage 1.  Disadvantaged pupils make at least as much progress as others and reach similar standards as a result of effective teaching which meets their needs.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 Pupils who have special educational needs or disability make good progress. Thorough records are kept of their progress and any interventions they follow are meticulously tracked to ensure they are effective.

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Early years provision is good

 Children start school with skills and abilities that are generally at or above those typically seen for their age.  The proportion of children reaching a good level of development at the end of the Reception Year has increased year-on-year since 2013, when it was below average. It was well above average in 2015 and school information indicates that this will be improved still further in 2016. This means that children are getting off to a good start in the early years and are being well prepared for Year 1.  Children in the early years setting benefit from spacious accommodation, which has been purposefully adapted to create a specialist setting for them on a separate site to the main school. Next year this will also accommodate them as Year 1 pupils, together with the new intake of Reception pupils. The setting is well resourced and provides well for all areas of learning both indoors and outside.

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Early years provision is good

 Children’s behaviour in the early years is good. They show very good manners to each other at all times, learn the essential skills of sharing and taking turns, and enjoy taking responsibility for tidying up. The teaching of phonics is done in an engaging and structured way that helps children to use their reading and writing skills in different activities.  Teaching is good. Children’s learning needs are well met through an effective balance of teacher-led activities and opportunities for children to explore and learn by themselves. Activities are well matched to the children’s needs, and staff use questioning effectively to reinforce and develop children’s learning. However, when children are tackling activities on their own, adults do not always take opportunities to extend their learning through modelling activities, extending vocabulary or by encouraging children to work together and talk about their ideas.

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Early years provision is good

 The early years is well led. The deputy headteacher in charge of early years has taken effective action to ensure that the new setting provides consistently good opportunities for children to learn in all Reception classes. Teachers know the children very well and with the help of teaching assistants they assess children accurately and frequently so that learning can progress swiftly. This enables children to make good progress across all areas of learning.  Children feel safe and secure. They are well supervised in a safe, secure building and outside learning area. Safeguarding is effective and welfare requirements are met.

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School details

Unique reference number 115145 Local authority Southend-on-Sea Inspection number 10011775 This inspection was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary School category Voluntary aided Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 520 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mrs A Gellet Headteacher Mr Nick Booth Telephone number 01702 354 012 Website www.st-marysprittlewell.com Email address office@st-marysprittlewell.southend.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 16–17 January 2014

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Information about this school

 The school is much larger than the average-sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is slightly above the national average.  An average proportion of pupils have special educational needs or disability.  The proportion of pupils that are supported by the pupil premium, which at this school provides additional funding to support pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, is in line with that seen nationally.  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.  The school offers breakfast and after-school provision, providing care from 8am to 6pm.  The number of pupils on roll is increasing rapidly. There are four Reception classes in the early years, which children attend on a full-time basis in a separate building which has recently been refurbished to

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Information about this school

provide dedicated early years provision.  There have been a number of new appointments to teaching posts since the last inspection. A new headteacher joined the school in January 2015.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 30 lessons or part lessons, 19 of which were jointly observed with members of the senior leadership team.  They looked at a wide range of pupils’ work in books and in displays around the school. Inspectors also observed at playtime, lunchtime and during assemblies.  Discussions were held with school staff and three governors. The lead inspector had a telephone conversation with a representative from the local authority.  The inspectors talked to pupils about the school’s work, listened to some pupils read and talked to them about books that they enjoy.  Inspectors observed various aspects of the school’s work and considered a range of policies and documents. These included information about pupils’ attainment and progress, planning and monitoring documentation, the school improvement plan and self-evaluation summary, safeguarding policies, and behaviour and attendance records.

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Information about this inspection

 Account was taken of 73 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View. Inspectors also spoke to parents as they were delivering their children to school.

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Inspection team

Joan Beale, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector Joseph Figg Ofsted Inspector Christine Mayle 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

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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