Glebe Primary School

Glebe Primary School Creswick Avenue, Rayleigh, Essex SS6 9HG

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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 improving rapidly as a result of the headteacher’s highly effective leadership. The school is now good for the first time in more than 10 years.  The newly formed senior leadership team is increasingly effective in supporting the headteacher. Senior leaders share her vision and commitment.  Pupils are prepared very well for life in modern British society. They have excellent attitudes to equality and understand values such as democracy very well.  Governors understand their roles and are increasingly effective in carrying them out. Governors recognise the need to balance supporting the school with holding leaders to account. They do so very well.  The quality of teaching is good and improving. Teachers make work interesting for pupils and ensure that they are offered a suitable level of challenge. As a result, pupils make good progress in English, mathematics and a wide range of other subjects.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Pupils are polite and respectful. They follow the rules and behave very well. When pupils have specific behavioural issues, these are managed well by staff.  Pupils feel safe at school. They said that there is very little bullying and that staff sort out problems quickly when they arise.  Parents are very positive about the school. They rightly feel that their children are safe and happy at Glebe Primary.  The early years provision provides children with a good start to their educational lives. Adults’ use of questioning, however, is not fully effective in developing children’s communication and language skills.  Spending of the pupil premium grant is not highly effective. As a result, disadvantaged pupils do not make the very rapid progress needed for them to catch up with their peers.  Leadership of subject areas is underdeveloped and does not yet have a clear impact on school improvement.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Develop the leadership of subject areas so that leaders have a direct impact on raising standards in their subjects, by ensuring that they: – understand fully their roles and responsibilities – focus on outcomes for pupils – can identify the most important priorities for development – monitor the impact of their actions.  Ensure that the pupil premium grant is spent highly effectively, so that more disadvantaged pupils make the progress needed for them to match the attainment of their peers.  Develop the use of questioning in early years so that children’s communication and language skills develop more rapidly, by ensuring that: – adults know when to intervene and when to stand back – adults ask questions that encourage broader and more expansive responses.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 The headteacher has had a significant impact on the success of the school since she took up her post in September 2016. She very quickly developed a thorough understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. Her energy, enthusiasm and clarity of vision have been key factors in this school being judged to be good for the first time in more than 10 years.  The headteacher has chosen her battles well. She has made improving the quality of teaching her top priority, and the improvements in this area are very clear. The headteacher has ensured that the quality of teaching is monitored closely and that a robust performance management system is now in place.  The school’s senior leadership team is increasingly effective, despite being under capacity since the beginning of the year. Senior leaders support the headteacher well and share her vision for the school’s continued improvement. Leaders are keen to

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

develop their roles and are beginning to have a clear impact on school improvement.  Parents are very happy with the school. Almost all the parents who responded to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire, said that they would recommend the school to others. Many parents chose to leave additional comments in support of the school, such as, ‘Glebe is a fantastic school’, and ‘I can’t praise the school enough’. Another parent wrote, ‘My children enjoy attending school and the progress is evident in their work and attitude to school life.’ Parents were similarly positive when speaking with inspectors before school.  The enhanced provision for pupils who have hearing impairments is led well. Leaders know the strengths of the provision and what could still be improved. The progress that pupils make is monitored carefully and additional funding is spent well.  Pupils are prepared very well for life in modern British society, particularly through the

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

weekly ‘British values’ assembly. Pupils know about and understand values such as tolerance, respect and democracy. They use what they learn about in assembly in their everyday lives. For example, they know about the importance of following rules, and this is reflected in the way in which pupils behave around the school.  The local authority has supported the school very well. Advisers were quick to identify weaknesses in a number of areas, particularly the quality of teaching. Good-quality support to leaders and governors has been provided throughout the year, and this has had a clear impact on increasing the overall effectiveness of this improving school.  The primary physical education and sports grant is spent effectively. Leaders ensure that spending is targeted carefully and they monitor the impact of spending closely. Some of the grant has been used to partially fund the appointment of a sports

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

apprentice. The grant has also been used to increase the range and number of sports clubs that are available to pupils. The school was recently assessed and recognised to be a ‘healthy’ school.  Provision for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is led and managed well. The headteacher, supported by an interim coordinator and a learning mentor, has ensured that additional funding for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is spent effectively. The progress that pupils make is monitored closely and robust records are kept. Parents are involved appropriately in their children’s education.  The school’s curriculum is suitably broad and balanced. Pupils enjoy the range of topics that they study, such as the Tudors and Sikhism, and the subjects that they learn about. Leaders were successful in their bid for additional funding to start to improve the quality of the curriculum. This was highly successful and has had a clear impact on

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

improving the length and quality of pupils’ writing, particularly of boys’ writing.  The pupil premium grant is now spent effectively. Since September 2016, leaders have ensured that the funding is targeted closely at improving outcomes for disadvantaged pupils. For example, the school has employed a ‘pupil premium champion’ to work with pupils in Year 6. This has had a clear impact on improving progress for this group. Although the pupil premium grant is now spent effectively, its use is not yet sufficiently sharply focused to ensure that disadvantaged pupils make very rapid progress.  Leadership of different subject areas is underdeveloped. Leaders are keen and willing. They show some understanding of their roles and the strengths and weaknesses of their areas of responsibility. However, leaders do not have a clear enough understanding of the school’s priorities and their role in addressing them. As a result,

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

subject leaders do not have a clear impact on school improvement.

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Governance of the school

 The governing body is made up of governors with a wide range of experiences and professional backgrounds. This provides the governing body with the knowledge and skills necessary to carry out its roles and responsibilities effectively.  Governors are highly committed to the school and to ensuring its continued improvement. They accepted the local authority’s suggestion of the introduction of an improvement board enthusiastically. The improvement board and the effective modelling of good governance techniques by the local authority have been beneficial. Governors are now better placed to ask the right questions of senior leaders in order to hold them fully to account.  Governors understand their roles very well. They know that their job is to support the school’s leaders as well as to challenge them. Governors ensure that they balance these two demands very well.  Governors have a realistic and accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and

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Governance of the school

weaknesses. They have focused well on the school’s key priorities, particularly on improving the quality of teaching, and this has helped to secure rapid improvements.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  The school’s single central record of pre-employment checks meets statutory requirements. All required checks are carried out to ensure that only suitable people are employed to work with children.  The designated safeguarding lead is well trained and has a good understanding of the role. Records of child protection concerns are detailed and appropriate. The records show clearly that appropriate and timely action is taken, as necessary, in response to the concerns raised.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 The quality of teaching has improved and is now good. Relationships between staff and pupils are particularly strong. As a result, pupils feel safe and confident in their classes. This encourages them to have good attitudes to learning and helps them to make good progress.  Teachers plan work well to meet the needs of individual pupils. Leaders introduced ‘the chilli challenge’ at the beginning of the academic year. Teachers plan work for pupils at three levels of difficulty and pupils select the strength of ‘chilli’ that is right for them. The system is used consistently throughout the school. Pupils are challenged much more appropriately as a result.  Teachers structure lessons well. They understand how pupils learn and how to ‘scaffold’ learning so that pupils are given sufficient support, and skills are taught in an appropriate order. Routines are well established in lessons and this enables pupils to

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

move quickly between tasks and learning time to be used efficiently.  Teachers and teaching assistants work very well together. They ensure that the needs of all learners are met, particularly those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. For example, skilled signers ensure that pupils who have hearing impairments are able to access fully the lessons that they attend in their mainstream classes.  Classrooms are bright and attractive throughout the school. Staff ensure that classrooms provide welcoming and supportive learning environments. For example, ‘working walls’ are full of useful prompts and reminders that pupils use to help them to work independently and successfully.  Phonics is taught effectively. Teachers have good subject knowledge and structure lessons well. Pupils are encouraged to use their phonics knowledge when they are writing. This helps them to spell correctly or to make a phonetically plausible attempt

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

at words that they do not know how to spell. For example, one Year 1 pupil wrote ‘venchaballs’, making a good attempt at ‘vegetables’.  Teachers look for opportunities for pupils to write in a wide range of subjects. Pupils’ exercise books show writing about, for example, science, history and religious education. The school has found that this approach has given pupils a clearer purpose for writing, and standards are improving as a result.  The enhanced provision for pupils who have hearing impairments is very effective in meeting pupils’ needs. Staff know their pupils very well and have a clear understanding of both their academic and personal needs. Teachers and teaching assistants are appropriately skilled in a range of areas, for example, in the use of sign language. Pupils thrive in the enhanced provision through a careful balance of support in mainstream classes and separate, intensive work with staff.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 Assessment is used well and has a clear impact on improving the progress that pupils make. For example, teachers apply the school’s marking and feedback policy consistently, and this is often seen to have a positive impact on the progress that pupils make. Pupils are given additional help in the ‘learning lounge’, when staff spot that a pupil has not understood something in a lesson. Teachers use questioning well to check whether pupils have understood and to encourage them to think more deeply.  Provision for disadvantaged pupils is not fully effective. Since the start of this academic year, pupil premium funding has been spent in a more targeted way, and this is beginning to have an impact on the progress that pupils make. However, it is not yet sufficiently well targeted to ensure that disadvantaged pupils make the rapid progress necessary to diminish the difference between their attainment and that of other pupils.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  Pupils at Glebe Primary are polite, well mannered and helpful. They are welcoming to visitors and confident to talk about their work and their school. For example, the school council’s officers spoke with great clarity and maturity about their work when meeting with the lead inspector.  Pupils are very happy at the school. They love their teachers and enjoy the work that they do. Many pupils said that teachers make learning fun, and one pupil commented that teachers ‘trick you into learning’.  Pupils told the lead inspector that the new headteacher is making the school a much better place. Older pupils said that they have had four headteachers during their time at the school. One pupil said of the current headteacher that, although he had liked all the others, ‘she’s the best’. Other pupils said that the headteacher knows everyone by

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Personal development and welfare

name and that she ‘sees things from the pupil’s point of view’.  Pupils feel well supported in their learning. They enjoy their sessions in the ‘learning lounge’, where they receive extra help if they have not understood something in a lesson. Pupils are very positive about the ‘chilli challenge’ and the way that it makes them think more deeply.  Pupils have excellent attitudes to equality. They are taught, and reminded frequently, that it is wrong to judge people on any of the characteristics protected by law. Pupils’ understanding of this is clearly evident. In a meeting with the lead inspector, one pupil summarised the views of all by saying, ‘I don’t care about the colour of skin. We’re all people.’  Pupils said that there is little bullying and the school’s records confirm this. Pupils know that they should tell an adult if they are ever worried about anything. They have great faith that problems will be sorted out quickly if they tell a member of staff.

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Personal development and welfare

 Pupils are taught to keep themselves safe in a range of ways and situations. For example, older pupils are given the opportunity to learn about safe cycling, and all pupils take part in regular fire drills. Pupils are given frequent reminders about e-safety and how to stay safe when using the internet.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Staff have high expectations of how pupils should behave and this is evident throughout the school. When pupils have specific difficulties with behaviour, this is managed well by staff.  Pupils take pride in their school. The site is kept clean, tidy and free from litter. Pupils tidy up after themselves, even in the early years classrooms. On the whole, pupils try hard to present their work neatly and take care with their handwriting.  Pupils attend school regularly and on time. Current levels of attendance are similar to the national average. Absence is monitored closely, and prompt action is taken when attendance falls below acceptable levels. In some cases, pupils’ attendance has improved dramatically as a result of the actions taken by the school.  Persistent absence remains an issue for a small number of pupils. Leaders are well aware of who these pupils are and are taking appropriate action to improve their

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Behaviour

attendance. No groups of pupils are disadvantaged by low attendance.

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Outcomes for pupils Good

 The school’s assessment information shows that current pupils are making good progress in reading, writing and mathematics in almost all year groups. The work in pupils’ exercise books confirms this and shows that pupils also make good progress across a wide range of other subjects, such as history and science.  Results of the key stage 2 national tests, in 2016, show that pupils’ progress was similar to the national average in reading and writing, and well above average in mathematics. Pupils’ attainment in mathematics was also well above average.  Pupils make good progress in phonics. Results of the Year 1 phonics screening check show a rising trend over the last three years. The proportion of pupils who reached the expected level in the check was well above the national average in 2016.  Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make good progress from their individual starting points. In most year groups, pupils make similar progress to

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Outcomes for pupils Good

other pupils. In Year 6, pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make better progress than their peers.  Pupils that attend the enhanced provision also make good progress from their individual starting points. Many pupils are competent signers and some pupils take the British sign language level 1 qualification by the time they leave the school.  Published data shows that the most able pupils make similar progress to others nationally. Pupils are now routinely offered more challenge in lessons, and this is helping them to make better progress.  Results of the 2016 national tests show that boys’ progress was weak in reading and writing. Scrutiny of the school’s assessment information shows that this is not the case for current pupils. There is no clear pattern in terms of gender and, overall, boys make similar progress to girls.  Disadvantaged pupils, including the most able disadvantaged pupils, make similar

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Outcomes for pupils Good

progress to others. However, as a result of disadvantaged pupils’ lower starting points, their attainment remains below the national average in reading, writing and mathematics. The pupil premium grant is not used in a highly effective way, and disadvantaged pupils are not yet making the very rapid progress necessary to ensure that their attainment catches up with that of their peers.

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Early years provision Good

 The school’s early years provision has improved rapidly since September 2016. The headteacher has a very clear understanding of the strengths and weaknesses in the early years. She has taken prompt action to ensure that the provision now meets the needs of very young children.  Children make good progress in the early years. Many children join the school with skills and abilities that are below those typical of their age. By the time they leave the Reception year, the proportion who reach a good level of development is similar to the national average.  Children are offered a good range of suitable activities across all the areas of learning in the early years curriculum. There is a balance between activities that children choose for themselves and others that are led by adults.  Children are encouraged to become independent learners. Equipment is clearly labelled and easily accessible. Children are able to help themselves to the things that they need

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Early years provision Good

because they know where things are kept. For example, a group of children who were answering simple sums independently helped themselves to sets of small animals to help them count out the numbers and solve the problem.  Good transition arrangements mean that children settle quickly when they join early years, whether they start in Nursery or Reception. For example, children are given the opportunity to spend time in their classrooms before they start school. Meetings are held with parents to ensure that they are fully informed about the school’s approaches and routines.  Similarly, strong arrangements are in place to prepare children for the move from Reception to Year 1. The good progress that children make means that they are academically ready for the increasing demands of Year 1. A range of other activities, such as spending time with older pupils on the main playground, mean that children are also emotionally ready for the change.

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Early years provision Good

 Children behave very well in the early years. They learn the rules very quickly because they are applied consistently. Children persevere with the activities that they are given and do not flit aimlessly from place to place.  Children are well supervised in the early years, both indoors and outdoors, and this helps them to stay safe. Staff follow the same effective safeguarding procedures as the rest of the school. Arrangements for paediatric first aid meet statutory requirements.  Many children enter the early years with underdeveloped communication and language skills. Staff are aware that this is an area of particular need and encourage the development of children’s speaking and listening skills through, for example, playing games and reading with them.  Adults’ use of questioning is not fully developed and does not have maximum impact on improving children’s communication and language skills. Staff do not always

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Early years provision Good

recognise when to ‘step in’ and when to ‘step back’ when children are playing or engaged in an activity. At times, staff do not ask the right questions to encourage children to give an expansive answer rather than a restricted one.

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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 admin@glebeprimary.essex.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 31 January–1 February 2013

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Information about this school

 The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.  The school meet current floor standards. These are the minimum standards, set by the government, for pupils’ attainment and progress.  In September 2014, the school extended its upper age limit from seven to 11 years. The infant school amalgamated with the junior school, on the same site, to form a single primary school.  There have been several changes of headteacher since the previous inspection, and a period during which an interim executive headteacher was in post. The current substantive headteacher took up her post in September 2016.  The governing body has been reconstituted since the previous inspection. The current chair and vice chair of the governing body were appointed in June 2016.  The school has enhanced provision for pupils who have hearing impairments. The provision has 24 places in total and caters for pupils throughout the primary phase.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors gathered a range of evidence to judge the quality of teaching and learning over time. Inspectors observed parts of 29 lessons, some jointly with the headteacher or assistant headteacher.  Inspectors looked closely at the work in pupils’ exercise books. They listened to pupils read and talked to them about their work.  Inspectors looked at a range of the school’s documents including assessment information.  Inspectors checked the school’s single central record of pre-employment checks and other documentation concerned with the safer recruitment of staff and volunteers.  Meetings were held with the headteacher and other leaders, governors, two groups of pupils, and a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors spoke with pupils throughout the day and with parents as they brought their children to school.  Inspectors took into account 89 responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online

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Information about this inspection

questionnaire, and 81 additional comments.

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Inspection team

Wendy Varney, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Sue Cox Ofsted Inspector guidance ‘Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

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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