Gaywood Community Primary School

Gaywood Community Primary School Field Lane, King's Lynn, Norfolk PE30 4AY

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Since the previous inspection, the school’s leaders, including governors, have secured significant improvement in the quality of education pupils receive. Hence, standards are rising and pupils make good progress in a wide range of subjects across the school.  Teachers plan their lessons well, setting out clearly for pupils what they expect them to learn.  Pupils respond enthusiastically to the range of activities and work they are given in lessons. They willingly work with one another, demonstrating good inter-personal skills.  Teaching assistants provide good support to targeted pupils as they work. This enables those who find learning difficult to flourish.  Children in the early years get a good start to their education. A wide range of interesting and exciting activities capture their imaginations highly effectively.  Most pupils have settled into their new classes well. They are successfully tackling new work,

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

which is harder as they have moved up a year. However, the changeover to a new key stage or year group for some has not been as smooth. This is particularly the case for pupils moving from Reception to Year 1 and from Year 2 to Year 3.  Pupils are very positive about school and enjoy all it has to offer. They feel safe and happy.  Subjects are taught through themes that are highly stimulating and which provide excellent scope for work across different subjects. In particular, themes such as ‘Moby Dick’ or ‘The Rainforest’ provide pupils with a context to develop a wide range of writing. Standards of writing are high.  Lively displays, linked to the themes, help to create an exceptionally good environment for learning. The displays provide a strong visual impact which stimulates pupils’ imaginations.  Standards of work in mathematics are catching up fast with those in English. A systematic approach to training for teaching staff has

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

improved their confidence in teaching mathematics. Pupils are also increasingly confident in their mathematical skills, but there is more to do.  The most able pupils are well challenged in most lessons. They say, however, that homework does not stretch them. Occasionally work is still too easy for some of the most able.  Governors provide good oversight of the work of the school. They are actively involved in seeking information to ensure that they have an accurate picture of the school’s performance.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise standards further by ensuring that: – all pupils develop their ability to work quickly with numbers – mathematical reasoning skills are well established across the school – pupils develop their skills in drawing appropriate conclusions from science experiments and investigations – the very, very able pupils (those who are the most able of the most able) are given even greater challenge in lessons – the most able pupils are given homework that is challenging enough.  Improve the transition to new classes, especially into Year 1 and 3 by making sure: – that children in Reception are given more opportunities to become familiar with a Year 1 environment before they leave Reception – that Reception teachers work with Year 1 teachers to establish a more gradual transition from the way children are taught in Reception to the way they are taught in Year 1 – there is an even smoother transition to new year groups and key stages, especially

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

for Year 2 pupils moving into Year 3.  Further develop the school’s leadership by ensuring that all subject leaders are confident about driving developments and improvements in their areas.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 The headteacher provides strong leadership and he is very well supported by his senior leadership team. Together they have established a culture where all aspire for high achievement and have the clear ambition to make the school the best that it can be.  A strong vision for teaching subjects through exciting topics or themes has enabled the school to establish a rich learning environment. This inspires pupils to think beyond the school boundaries and experience distant worlds, both real and imagined.  Well-planned themes result in pupils achieving well across a range of subjects. For example, work on the theme of rainforests in Year 4 brought together work in English, mathematics, geography, science, art and design and technology. Pupils produced a ‘book’ each on the rainforest, within which the different subjects were not only clearly evident but also developed to a high standard.  A good, and increasing, range of extra-curricular activities and visits and visitors

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

supplements the main curriculum well. A club to teach pupils how to write computer programs, or code, is in the process of being established. The sports premium funding is being used effectively to enrich the physical education curriculum and extend it via sporting events and activities outside school.  Overall, the curricular provision nurtures the wider personal development of pupils as well as their academic development successfully. Hence, pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain. They are developing a good understanding, for example, of the importance of respect and tolerance for those who are different. The school promotes equality of opportunity well.  The school’s systems and procedures are well established and guide the work of staff effectively. Regular checking of the school’s work ensures that these systems and procedures are, to a large extent, consistently followed.  Training is carefully tailored and individualised for staff so that it is highly effective in

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

helping all to develop their professional practice. Training, including coaching and mentoring, alongside continuous monitoring and good-quality feedback has been instrumental in improving the quality of teaching since the last inspection.  The roles of subject and other middle leaders are improving well. Subject leaders for English, mathematics and early years are very effective in raising standards of achievement. While there is more work to do in mathematics, standards are now much better than at the time of the last inspection.  Other subject leaders are still developing their roles and not yet driving their subjects as independently of senior leader support as is the case in English and mathematics.  Analysis of information about how well pupils are doing is rigorous and leaders use the information well to target pupils who are falling behind or at the risk of underachieving. Leaders also check school information to see how different groups

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

are performing in relation to standards of work, behaviour and attendance.  Governors and senior leaders evaluate the spending of funding such as pupil premium and special educational needs to ensure that it has the right impact and that it is spent on the right pupils. For example, some of the pupil premium funding is used for a nurture group in Key Stage 1 to help disadvantaged pupils to develop confidence and social skills.  The local authority has supported the school well and continues to provide external support and challenge. The school, in turn, welcomes working with both the local authority and other schools. Leaders readily take on board any learning and development from their work with others in order to continually improve the quality of education the school provides.

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Governance of the school

 The chair of governors leads the governing body very effectively. Supported by senior leaders, he has acted on the findings of the governing body review after the previous inspection to establish an effective board.  Members of the governing body are well informed about the work of the school because they visit regularly. They speak to staff and pupils to check how well policies they have agreed are being implemented.  The governing body has a clear understanding of the quality of teaching and is meticulous in checking that pay increases are deserved before agreeing to them.  Governors ask middle leaders to come to meetings to explain their work and how effectively they are raising standards. Members actively challenge middle and senior leaders about the performance of the school.  In addition, governors focus well on the future development of the school. They provide a clear strategic steer for its long-term success.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  Senior leaders and governors are clear about the importance of keeping children safe and carry out their responsibilities effectively in regard to this. Hence, they have created a climate within which pupils feel safe. All staff and most parents responding to the Ofsted surveys agree.  This is a highly inclusive school where staff watch over pupils with great care, especially those over whom they have concerns.  Strong relationships with parents mean that members of the safeguarding team can respond swiftly to engage with parents to keep children safe should the need arise.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 Good teaching across the school contributes to the good learning and progress made by pupils.  Teachers plan lessons collaboratively in their year groups and this means that pupils across a year group benefit from a consistently delivered curriculum.  In lessons, it is clear to pupils what they are being asked to learn. The most able pupils are given a higher level of challenge from the outset, which usually enables them to extend their thinking and ideas in greater depth. Some middle-attaining pupils are encouraged, if ready, to try the more challenging work as well. Consequently, an increasing number of pupils are making more than expected progress as they move through the school. However, the most able of the most able (the very, very able pupils) find that work is sometimes too easy.  Pupils’ work is well presented and they respond well to teachers’ feedback to help them to improve their work. The school’s marking and assessment policy is generally

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

well implemented.  Teachers manage the work of teaching assistants well so that pupils, especially lower- attaining pupils, benefit from the additional support which they provide.  Good resources enable teachers to supplement their teaching with visual and practical examples which often help to clarify more complicated ideas for pupils. In mathematics particularly, practical equipment is being used increasingly effectively to help pupils solve mathematical problems.  The school has an effective programme for teaching phonics across early years and key stage 1. Consequently, children and pupils develop strategies to help them read effectively and to spell.  All teachers have been trained so that even when pupils move into key stage 2, teachers are able to help them to use phonics to work out how to spell or read new or more complicated words.  In lessons, teachers question pupils well to check their understanding and help them

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

to develop deeper knowledge about the topics they are studying.  The transition to new year groups has not been entirely smooth across the school. In Years 1 and 3 particularly, pupils and teachers are still adjusting to one another. This is slowing down some of the learning.  In Year 1, pupils are still getting used to a different way of working. This is not because they are not ready for more difficult work or the key stage 1 curriculum, but because the transition from Reception to Year 1 has not been seamless enough.  In Year 3, some of the Year 2 work in mathematics has not been retained securely enough for pupils to continue to be entirely confident to progress more quickly, especially some of the most able.  While most pupils receive appropriate homework, the most able feel that this is too easy for them. They would like teachers to do the same for homework as they do in lessons and given them work which challenges them more. A minority of parents also

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

indicated that they were not happy with the homework that their child receives.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  Pupils enjoy school and are happy to be here. In lessons, most listen well, concentrate and work hard. Even when the work is difficult, most pupils persist with it and do not give up easily. However, some, especially younger pupils, sometimes lose focus and go off task if the work is not interesting enough.  Through the curriculum and assemblies, pupils learn about key ideas such as ‘friendship’. They develop a good sense of right and wrong and are actively involved in decision-making through the school council. In addition, elections to elect pupil advocates enable pupils across the school to actively learn about democracy.  Pupils are developing good social skills and their ability to reflect on big issues. In lessons, they work happily with others, for example, sharing ideas in pairs when asked to by teachers.  Good relationships are a feature of the school. Pupils get on with one another well.

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Personal development and welfare

They appreciate that others, pupils and adults, come from backgrounds different to their own and have different ideas and ways of life to their own.  The curriculum provides good opportunities for pupils to learn about how to keep themselves safe and how to assess risks.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. They are polite and friendly. Pupils behave well around the school and are helpful to others, including adults.  Pupils know the school rules and understand the system of rewards and sanctions in place. They agree that teachers challenge any discordant behaviour or bad language, including language that may be discriminatory.  While some pupils identify that bullying or name-calling may occasionally occur, there is a general consensus that the school is a safe place to be and that staff deal effectively with any bad behaviour.  Supervision is good and adults are proactive in resolving any differences that arise.  Improvements in behaviour are evident in the rapidly reducing exclusions, which were high a couple of years ago but are relatively rare now. Behaviour incidents logged in the school’s records have also been rapidly reducing.  The norm now is for pupils to behave well and to be considerate of one another.

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Behaviour

 Attendance is in line with national averages, with relatively low persistent absence. Most pupils arrive punctually to school and the school is tackling the few who are persistently late or absent.

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Outcomes for pupils Good

 Pupils make good progress and standards of work have been improving since the previous inspection. Books and information about pupils currently in the school show that a good number are working at the expected standard and an increasing number are working at, or moving towards, the higher standard.  In 2016, results of assessments at the end of Year 2 were good, and particularly good in reading and writing.  At the end of Year 6, results in national tests and assessments were broadly in line with national averages. Pupils performed well in writing where standards of work were good. While mathematics results were lower than in writing and reading, a small but significant number of pupils missed meeting the expected standard and the higher standard by a very small margin.  The school has focused well on English, grammar and spelling, and results in tests were in line with national averages by the end of Year 6 in 2016. This is a good

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Outcomes for pupils Good

improvement from below-average results in previous years.  Writing remains a strength and pupils produce well-structured written work drawing on interesting and varied vocabulary. Their writing is particularly vibrant when they pull their learning together at the end of a theme into a publication or topic book.  The work of pupils currently within the school shows further improvements in mathematics. However, some pupils have not fully consolidated their ability to work quickly with numbers, and this gets in the way of problem-solving. The small number missing the expected and higher standards in Year 6 tests in 2016 reflects this, in part at least.  While pupils’ mathematical reasoning skills are not strongly enough established, standards are rising rapidly due to the significant improvements in teaching and learning in mathematics over the last year to 18 months. The school recognises that some of the work needs to be consolidated now.

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Outcomes for pupils Good

 Standards of reading across the school are good. Pupils in Year 1 build well on the phonics knowledge they develop in the early years and the most able are reading very confidently by the start of Year 1. Low-attainers make steady progress to become reasonably competent readers by the end of Year 2.  Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are making good progress in their learning compared to their starting points. Consequently, they are achieving creditable standards of work.  Those who speak English as an additional language make good strides in learning English because they are supported well in lessons.  The most able pupils produce work of a high standard and this is particularly evident in the quality of writing they produce. An increasing number of pupils are working in greater depth in mathematics as a result of the challenges provided in lessons and the good use of practical equipment to make the mathematical ideas easier to grasp. The

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Outcomes for pupils Good

very, very able pupils sometimes find work a little easy.  The work of disadvantaged pupils shows that many are now working at a good standard. The most able disadvantaged pupils are performing well as a result of the good teaching they receive in lessons. Past results of national assessments and tests show that the differences between disadvantaged pupils at the school and others nationally have been narrowing, especially in reading and writing. Information about pupils currently in the school indicates that while some differences remain, in the main the performance of disadvantaged pupils is rapidly catching up with that of others.  The cross-curricular themes support work in other subjects well. Pupils are working successfully across a wide range of subjects: they are developing a good sense of chronology in history, learning to code in computing and to use the media suite to make their own films, enjoying sports and their physical education lessons and are

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Outcomes for pupils Good

learning to play instruments such as the ukulele in music.  In science, pupils are making good progress in developing their knowledge and understanding of scientific processes. They are also developing good skills in planning experimental investigations and collecting accurate results. However, they are not drawing conclusions from investigative work effectively enough.  Art work around the school, on display and when pupils create their theme books is vibrant and imaginative. Design and technology work is also of good quality.

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Early years provision Good

 Children make good progress from starting points that are slightly below age-related expectations. Children begin with very positive attitudes and a keenness to learn but do not necessarily have early reading and writing skills at a level expected for their ages.  Leaders have worked effectively to improve the standards of teaching and learning and outcomes rapidly since the previous inspection. Children now make strong progress and the large majority reach a good level of development by the end of Reception. Results at the end of Reception for 2015 and 2016 compare favourably with national averages for 2015. The wide differences seen in 2014 in the achievement of boys and girls and between disadvantaged children and others are no longer evident.  Provision is well developed with a strong outdoor area that provides an interesting and stimulating range of activities for children. Adults support children well through

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Early years provision Good

good questioning and by role playing alongside children.  Children’s interests are followed up well by adults, and children are encouraged to lead their own learning. Activities are tailored very effectively to the needs of the most able, who are challenged to think more deeply and solve more complex problems.  Children’s records and work show that their writing develops well over their time in Reception and they become more confident with work in number. Writing and numeracy work is well developed through practical activities which enable children to apply their skills in new and varied situations, for example measuring, sizing up and cutting pieces of wood while making a wooden frame.  Children are happy and safe in the early years. They get on very well with one another and become totally absorbed in the activities they are working on. Children sustain high levels of concentration and readily discuss what they are doing with one

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Early years provision Good

another and adults. They use their imaginations well, helped by the good quality and range of activities and a themed curriculum.  Adults encourage children to be independent and to work things out for themselves. Occasionally, they could push children’s learning further by making additional suggestions or presenting them with a further problem to solve.  The Reception staff establish very good relationships with parents and with pre-school and nursery providers. The transition from pre-school or nursery to Reception is well managed, so children settle into school very quickly and effectively. The transition from Reception to Year 1 is not as smooth, despite children being very ready, in terms of the skills, knowledge and understanding they have acquired, for the next stage of education.  Leaders ensure that children in Reception are well cared for and looked after and that they are safe.

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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

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Email address head@gaywood.norfolk.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 10–11 July 2014

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Information about this school

 Gaywood Community Primary School is larger than most schools. There are more boys than girls on roll.  The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is broadly in line with schools nationally.  While most pupils are White British, the proportion are from minority ethnic backgrounds is similar to most schools. Close to a tenth of pupils speak English as an additional language, some of whom are at the early stages.  The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities who are statemented or have an education, care and health plan is above average. The proportion on support is below average.  The school does not fully meet requirements on the publication of information about the pupil premium funding, the sports premium funding and special educational needs report on its website.  The school meets the government’s floor standards for 2015. These are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics

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Information about this inspection

 The inspection team sampled teaching in all classes. Many of these observations were conducted jointly with members of the senior leadership team.  Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher, other members of the senior leadership team, subject leaders and other middle leaders. They also met with a group of governors and a local authority officer.  Members of the inspection team spoke informally to pupils in lessons and around the school as well as holding discussions that were more formal with three groups of pupils.  Inspectors listened to a group of pupils 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 questionnaire (Parent View). Members 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

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Information about this inspection

completed by 16 staff and 19 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 assessment information relating to pupils’ attainment and progress, behaviour and attendance. The school’s website was also examined.

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Inspection team

Gulshan Kayembe, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Rod Warsap 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

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. www.gov.uk/pupil-premium-information-for-schools-and- alternative-provision-settings .

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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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Inspection team

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

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