Waterfield Primary School

Waterfield Primary School Waterfield Gardens, Bewbush, Crawley, West Sussex RH11 8RA

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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

 The school is welcoming and inclusive. Pupils are friendly, hard-working and well-behaved.  The headteacher, governors and senior leaders have successfully steered the school through a period of rapid change since the previous inspection.  Leaders have secured substantial improvements in the quality of teaching, assessment and in pupils’ outcomes.  Standards in reading, writing and mathematics are much higher than at the time of the previous inspection.  Pupils’ progress continues to accelerate in all year groups and in a range of subjects, as improvements in teaching become increasingly established.  Improvements in phonics teaching mean that pupils are better equipped with early reading skills than previously by the end of Year 2.  Children learn well during the early years. They are happy, settled and safe.  Governors make a valuable contribution to the school’s development. They provide good levels of challenge for senior leaders and

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

effectively hold them to account for pupils’ learning.  The teaching of writing is less effective than the teaching of reading and mathematics. Teachers do not always take sufficient account of pupils’ starting points to plan learning. As a result, some pupils do not achieve as well as they should in writing, particularly boys and disadvantaged pupils.  Writing activities in the early years outdoor areas are not of the same good quality as those in the classrooms and so do not contribute sufficiently to the development of children’s writing skills.  Some pupils, including some disadvantaged pupils, do not attend regularly enough to achieve their full potential.  Some middle leaders do not play an effective enough part in the school’s development.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Accelerate pupils’ progress in writing, particularly boys’ and disadvantaged pupils’ progress, by making sure that: – the teaching of writing consistently builds on pupils’ starting points – writing activities in the early years outdoor area are as engaging and purposeful as those in the classrooms.  Make sure that all groups of pupils attend regularly, including disadvantaged pupils.  Strengthen middle leaders’ roles so that all make a valuable contribution to improving teaching, learning and assessment in their subjects.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 The headteacher, senior leaders and governors have sustained pupils’ good behaviour and positive attitudes to learning during a period of considerable change in the school. The school is a well-ordered, cheerful and safe community.  Leaders have strengthened teamwork and communication among staff and governors since the previous inspection. There is a shared understanding among staff and governors about the effectiveness of the school’s work and about where further improvements are needed. One senior leader commented, ‘We know where we’re going and how we’re going to get there.’  Leaders have established robust procedures for checking the quality of teaching and for supporting developments in teachers’ practice. For example, leaders regularly consider information about pupils’ progress and look at pupils’ workbooks. They use these activities to give teachers precise feedback about what is working well and about

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

future development points. Staff morale is good.  Senior leaders and governors have developed an atmosphere of high aspirations for pupils’ learning and a shared determination to ensure that all pupils achieve well, regardless of background or ability. Leaders make sure that special educational needs funding is used to provide extra help for those pupils who find learning more difficult.  Leaders use pupil premium funding well to ensure that disadvantaged pupils, including the most able, make better progress in reading and mathematics. However, leaders know that more needs to be done to repeat this success in writing.  Leaders have responded quickly and successfully to improve low reading standards at the end of Year 2 in 2016, putting in extra support for those pupils affected so that they make up for lost time.  The curriculum gives pupils a broad range of knowledge, skills and perspectives. Clubs

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

and visits are used well to bring learning to life and to widen pupils’ experiences.  The school promotes British values effectively throughout the curriculum. For example, pupils in Years 5 and 6 learn about democracy when participating in debating competitions, and the school council works hard to raise money to support a variety of charities.  The school regularly provides opportunities to develop pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural awareness and understanding. Pupils learn about world religions and develop respect for different faiths. They regularly reflect and respond thoughtfully to stories and questions during assemblies.  Pupils thoroughly enjoy singing and participate fully in opportunities to sing. For example, during the inspection key stage 2 pupils sang enthusiastically and confidently during a Christmas singing practice.  Leaders’ effective use of primary school physical education and sports premium has

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

made exercise more appealing to a wider range of pupils. Pupils participate in a range of clubs, such as cross country and tag rugby, proudly representing their school in competitions. Training for teachers has improved the quality of physical education teaching in all year groups.  The local authority has given the school useful support which has helped to sustain focus on priorities for development since the previous inspection. For example, middle leaders and teachers have benefited from training which has helped them to develop their roles and practice.  Middle leaders play a more significant role in the school’s development than at the time of the previous inspection. For example, strong subject leadership has secured substantial improvements in the quality of teaching, learning and assessment in mathematics. However, there are some variations in the middle leaders’ effectiveness in the school’s development. For example, not all have a sharp enough view about

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

how well pupils are learning across the school.

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Governance of the school

 The governing body continues to provide effective support for school leaders. Appointments to the governing body since the previous inspection have increased its range of expertise and strengthened its role in holding the school to account for pupils’ learning.  Governors, leaders and members of staff work much more closely and productively together to secure improvements in the school’s work than at the time of the previous inspection.  Governors have a clear view of the school’s strengths and development needs. For example, they are knowledgeable about how well different groups are learning. They know that pupils need to make better progress in writing and are acutely aware of the need to sustain improvements in pupils’ outcomes.  All governors have completed safeguarding training. They regularly check that safeguarding procedures in school are effective. For example, the governor with responsibility for safeguarding makes unannounced checks of the single central

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Governance of the school

register to ensure that recruitment checks are complete and meets with pupils to find out their views about how safe they feel. As a result, governors are confident that pupils are clear about what to do if they have a concern.  Governors have regularly tested safeguarding procedures during the current building project to ensure that pupils are not at risk.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. All staff have completed training this term to update their knowledge of safeguarding procedures.  All members of staff and governors understand their responsibilities for ensuring pupils’ safety. For example, during the inspection both teaching and non-teaching staff were very clear about what to do if they have a safeguarding concern. This confident, team approach to safeguarding contributes very well to pupils’ security and well-being.  The local authority has completed appropriate safeguarding checks on external contractors to ensure that pupils are safe during the current building project with rigorous protocols for contractors’ employees on site.  Leaders have developed effective links with parents and agencies to support pupils’ safety. For example, leaders liaise with secondary schools during the summer term to support vulnerable pupils in the move from key stage 2 to key stage 3.

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Safeguarding

 Leaders, office staff and the site manager ensure that the school is a secure, well- ordered community so that pupils can play and learn safely. Well-maintained external fencing and robust procedures for visitors help pupils to feel safe.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 Numerous staff changes since the previous inspection have made it difficult for leaders to secure consistently effective teaching. However, the school is now benefiting from a more settled period, with a well-established and effective teaching team in place.  Reading skills are taught much more effectively than at the time of the previous inspection. Improvements include better phonics teaching, more opportunities for pupils of all abilities to read to an adult in school and stronger communication with parents about their children’s reading. As a result, pupils’ literacy skills have improved considerably, including for disadvantaged pupils and the most able.  The school provides a range of good-quality reading materials, including more demanding texts to challenge the most able readers. Teachers make sure that pupils who read less frequently at home read regularly to an adult in school, so that all

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

groups of pupils make equally good progress.  Mathematics teaching has improved substantially during the past two years. Teachers have high expectations of pupils’ potential to achieve well in mathematics. Confident mathematics teaching gives pupils regular opportunities to use and apply mathematical knowledge to increasingly complex tasks. Increasingly demanding and stimulating work challenges all pupils to do their best, including the most able.  Teaching assistants confidently support pupils’ learning, including pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. For example, during the inspection teaching assistants worked alongside pupils in Year 2, successfully helping them to use resources to solve missing number problems.  Effective support for pupils who speak English as an additional language ensures their learning is not hampered by unfamiliarity with English.  The teaching of writing, while better than at the time of the previous inspection, is not

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

as well developed as the teaching of reading and mathematics. Teaching does not always build strongly enough on pupils’ starting points, particularly in the case of boys and disadvantaged pupils. Leaders and governors have identified improving the teaching of writing as the next step in the school’s development.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good. Pupils are proud of their school. They are keen to do their best and understandably pleased with themselves when they do well.  Pupils are friendly and polite. For example, during the inspection many pupils happily introduced themselves with a smile, shaking hands with inspectors and welcoming them to their school. One pupil said, ‘Everyone in school is very nice’, while another commented, ‘We are all different ages, colours and sizes but we all get on well together.’  Most parents who completed the online questionnaire feel that pupils are well looked after, happy and safe in school.  Pupils say that adults in school make sure they are safe and sound. For example, they know that the school gates are locked to keep them safe and understand why playing near the local pond can be dangerous. Pupils feel safe during the current building work

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Personal development and welfare

because they know the construction site is securely fenced.  Pupils say that events such as anti-bullying week help them to spot any signs of bullying, including cyber bullying. However, pupils say that bullying is rare and not something which causes them a concern. Records indicate that leaders quickly resolve the very small number of incidents which occur.  Pupils have a much better understanding of their own responsibility for improving aspects of their learning than at the time of the previous inspection. For example, most are attentive in lessons and concentrate very well on their work. They listen carefully to their teachers’ advice about what they can do to develop their work and do their best to improve. One pupil explained, ‘It’s okay if you get something wrong because you learn something new and then get it right next time.’ Some pupils, however, do not share the same positive attitudes to learning. They lose concentration

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Personal development and welfare

during lessons and their learning slows.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  Pupils play sensibly and considerately during playtimes. They enjoy using a selection of play equipment during the lunchtime break, sharing resources and including each other in their games.  Lunchtimes in the dining hall are calm, orderly and relaxed occasions. Pupils enjoy eating lunch together and chatting with each other.  Pupils told inspectors that behaviour is normally good and most parents who completed the online questionnaire agree. Records of pupils’ behaviour over time support this view. There have been no exclusions since the previous inspection.  The breakfast club provides a positive start to the school day for those pupils who attend. Pupils of different ages play and get on well together and enjoy eating breakfast with their friends.  Some pupils do not attend school regularly enough to achieve well. In 2016, pupils’ attendance was below the national average and the proportion of pupils who were

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Behaviour

persistently absent was too high. While current information about pupils’ attendance indicates a clear improvement, including for disadvantaged pupils, leaders recognise that they need to do more to ensure all pupils attend as regularly as possible.

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Outcomes for pupils Good

 Pupils in all year groups make better progress in reading, writing and mathematics than at the time of the previous inspection. Teachers’ assessments of pupils’ learning and the work in pupils’ books indicate rapid improvements in the quality of pupils’ learning.  Historical weaknesses in teaching and numerous staffing changes have left some pupils with gaps in their learning. In the past, this factor has hampered their progress considerably. However, substantial improvements in teaching since the previous inspection mean that pupils are making much faster progress and rapidly catching up in all year groups, including disadvantaged pupils and the most able.  In 2016, pupils’ attainment at the end of key stage 1 was particularly affected by very high staff turnover and underachievement at the end of Year 2. However, effective teaching across the school is providing the missing pieces in pupils’ knowledge and

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Outcomes for pupils Good

understanding and is accelerating their progress.  Standards in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of key stage 2 were much closer to the national average in 2016, so pupils were well prepared for the next stage in their learning.  Pupils’ progress in mathematics has improved dramatically, particularly for the most able pupils. Disadvantaged pupils make the same good progress in mathematics as other pupils nationally.  Pupils are well prepared with early reading skills by the end of Year 1. The results of the Year 1 phonics check have improved in the past two years and were close to the national average in 2016. The proportion of disadvantaged pupils achieving the expected levels has increased substantially since the previous inspection. Most pupils who did not achieve expected levels by the end of Year 1 caught up by the end of Year 2, so they are well placed to achieve well in reading during key stage 2.

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Outcomes for pupils Good

 Pupils of all abilities and backgrounds, including disadvantaged pupils and the least able, read regularly. They talk confidently about their reading and use a range of strategies to read successfully, including phonics. The most able readers read fluently and accurately. They talk articulately about why they like different authors and types of book.  Teachers and leaders now have much higher aspirations for all pupils and set increasingly challenging targets as standards rise. The most able pupils’ progress, including those who are disadvantaged, has steadily increased during the past two years. Most now make good progress and some are doing exceptionally well. For example, inspectors saw high-quality writing and mathematics work produced by some of the most able pupils in Year 6.  Pupils from minority ethnic groups and those who speak English as an additional language settle quickly into school. Well-established routines, clear expectations and

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Outcomes for pupils Good

pupils’ rapidly increasing familiarity with the English language ensure that they make friends and learn well.  More sharply focused support for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities means this group makes much better progress than at the time of the previous inspection. Some have made significant progress in a relatively short space of time. For example, in the past term several pupils have made a year’s progress in reading with an equally positive picture of pupils’ learning in mathematics.  Pupils regularly use and apply literacy and numeracy skills in a broad range of subjects. For example, they learn how to use tables and diagrams to illustrate aspects of geography and to record and write about scientific investigations. In 2016, above- average proportions of pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, attained expected levels in science.  Pupils make slower progress in writing than they do in reading and mathematics. Boys

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Outcomes for pupils Good

and disadvantaged pupils, in particular, do less well than they should.

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Early years provision Good

 The early years leader has secured rapid improvements in teaching in the past year. She has used training to update teachers’ and teaching assistants’ understanding about how they can support children’s development more effectively. As a result, teaching builds more securely on children’s individual starting points and they make better progress. These improvements have ensured that the early years provision continues to be good.  Children’s knowledge and understanding when they start school are generally lower than typical for their age, particularly in communication and language skills. The proportion of children achieving a good level of development in 2016 was higher than at the time of the previous inspection and closer to the national average.  The number of disadvantaged children in the early years varies each year and in some years there are very few. This leads to variations in nationally published information

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Early years provision Good

about disadvantaged children’s achievement at the end of Reception. Assessments indicate that most make good progress from their starting points which, for some, are much lower than typical when they start school.  Adults are caring and supportive. They make sure children are safe and comfortable. Clear routines and procedures and good communication with parents help children to understand expectations and to feel secure. Children’s good behaviour and their desire to learn contribute well to the positive, friendly atmosphere.  Leaders have increased opportunities for children to make choices about tasks and activities since the previous inspection. As a result, children enjoy learning and quickly grow in confidence. Teaching equips children with key social and academic skills so that they are well prepared for learning in Year 1.  Confident phonics teaching ensures that children are better prepared for the step up

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Early years provision Good

to the next stage in their reading development in Year 1. However, while children make good progress in developing early reading skills, some do less well in writing, particularly boys and disadvantaged children.  Leaders have improved the use of the outdoor area over the past year to ensure a stronger focus on learning through play. However, writing activities in the outdoor area are not of the same good quality as those in the classrooms and do not promote writing skills sufficiently well for all groups of children.

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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@waterfield.w-sussex.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 6–7 November 2014

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Information about this school

 The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.  The school is larger than the average primary school.  The proportion of pupils supported by pupil premium funding is higher than that found in most schools.  The proportions of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are in line with the national averages.  The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds is above the national average, as is the proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language.  The school provides part-time early years provision in the Nursery class and full-time early years provision in the two Reception classes.  The school runs a breakfast club on-site which was visited during this inspection.  About half of the teachers have joined the school since the previous inspection. The current early years leader was appointed in September 2015.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspection team observed learning in 26 lessons or part lessons, including 12 observed jointly with the headteacher or assistant headteacher.  Inspectors held discussions with the headteacher, senior leaders, a local authority representative, teachers, members of staff, parents and pupils. A meeting also took place with the chair of the governing body and two other governors.  The inspection team took account of the 21 responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire, and a message emailed separately to Ofsted. In addition, inspectors considered the views expressed by parents who spoke with them informally during the school day.  Inspectors observed the school’s work and considered a range of documents, including the improvement plan, information about pupils’ progress and attendance, and safeguarding policies.  The inspection team looked at a sample of pupils’ work provided by the school, as well

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Information about this inspection

as looking at pupils’ work in lessons. They also listened to pupils in Year 2 and 6 reading.

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Inspection team

Julie Sackett, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Nicola Cook 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

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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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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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