Emsworth Primary School

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 4234 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Mrs Kate Fripp Emsworth Primary School Victoria Road Emsworth Hampshire PO10 7LX

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Short inspection of Emsworth Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 14 June 2017, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in February 2013.

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Short inspection of Emsworth Primary School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Since joining Emsworth Primary School, you have demonstrated a steely determination and a transparent ambition to ensure that the school is the very best that it can be. You have created a new leadership structure and built a whole-school team all of which share your drive and enthusiasm.

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Short inspection of Emsworth Primary School

You have accurately identified the key areas for further improvement and acted decisively, taking effective action as required. The leadership team is relentless in its pursuit of further improvements. As a result, clear systems and high expectations for pupils’ achievement permeate the school. You have been unafraid to tackle challenges, and hold staff firmly to account for the progress that their pupils make.

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Short inspection of Emsworth Primary School

You have successfully addressed the two areas for improvement identified at the last inspection. Your actions to improve the quality of teaching have increased the expectations teachers have of their pupils. You recognise that pupils, including disadvantaged and lower-ability pupils, achieve even higher standards if teaching, learning and assessment continue to improve.

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Short inspection of Emsworth Primary School

You have secured effective new leadership to oversee the improvements in English. Rich, fun texts are shared with pupils, who really enjoy these and want to learn more about them. This use of high-quality reading texts helps pupils to develop a wide vocabulary and inspires them to want to write well for themselves. Pupils are rightly proud of the many examples of their writing displayed and celebrated around the school. New leaders have also led improvements in the quality of teaching and learning in mathematics. Teachers show strong subject knowledge as they confidently show pupils different ways of solving mathematical problems. Pupils are supported well to have a go themselves and they are confident to do so. You recognise that pupils need to improve the fluency of their basic mathematical skills to enable them to make even more progress.

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Short inspection of Emsworth Primary School

Leaders were also challenged during the previous inspection to ensure consistency in assessment and target-setting procedures across the school. You have implemented a robust assessment and tracking system which allows you to see how well every pupil is progressing. Governors use this information well to inform their pertinent questions to leaders about what more pupils can achieve. You engage with other local schools effectively to support the accuracy of teachers’ assessments of pupils’ progress.

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Short inspection of Emsworth Primary School

Around the school and in classrooms, pupils behave well, care about each other and feel safe. All pupils are engaged and interested in their learning. They are polite and friendly, and enjoy talking about their learning. Pupils are rightly proud of their school and their learning. Almost all parents or carers who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, reported that their child is happy in school and that they would recommend the school to others. A typical comment from parents was, ‘My daughter has thrived here. I have no hesitation recommending it to other parents.’

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Short inspection of Emsworth Primary School

You and your staff are determined and diligent in keeping children safe. The leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and records are detailed and of high quality.

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Short inspection of Emsworth Primary School

You ensure that there is a strong culture of safeguarding because you train staff well and teach pupils effectively about various types of risks, harm and hazards. For example, children know how to stay safe online and the kind of personal information they must never share or divulge.

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Short inspection of Emsworth Primary School

Staff know how to record and pass on any concerns to the school’s designated safeguarding leaders. You and other leaders take prompt and effective action to keep children safe, including in working with external agencies and organisations. You are proactive in taking the lead and will challenge other professional partners if you feel this is in the best interests of the children, for example in ensuring that children do not become ‘missing in education’.

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Inspection findings

 During this inspection, I focused particularly on the following aspects of the school: the effectiveness of the school’s work to keep pupils safe; how well current pupils achieve and make progress, particularly in key stage 1 and in mathematics across the school; how leaders ensure that outcomes for disadvantaged pupils are improving, particularly in key stage 2, and the effectiveness of governance.  You have worked effectively to raise levels of attendance for all pupils and have introduced a new process to support families to achieve this. As a result, absence levels are falling for all groups of pupils.  Helpfully, you consulted with parents, staff, governors and pupils to develop a new behaviour system. Pupils now feel that this system is fair and consistently applied. As a result, the number of recorded behaviour incidents has dropped dramatically since the start of the academic year.  Leaders are very clear about the measures needed to raise standards in

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Inspection findings

mathematics. The current focus on developing pupils’ problem-solving skills is appropriate. Pupils display confidence in tackling challenging problems and have developed resilience and perseverance. Leaders have rightly identified the need to strengthen fluency in basic mathematical skills, so that all pupils make accelerated progress.  Leaders are also very clear about the measures needed to continue to raise standards in reading and writing. The current focus on developing and embedding skills is appropriate. Children get off to a strong start in the early years, which ensures that they are set up well for starting key stage 1. Observations and assessment information show how the rich learning environment in the early years ensures that children develop an enthusiasm for learning and make strong progress from their starting points. The number of pupils reaching the expected standard in the phonics (letters and the sounds

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Inspection findings

they represent) screening check at the end of Year 1 has risen steadily over the past three years and has been consistently above the national average. The introduction of high-quality reading texts has resulted in good progress in reading and writing for all pupils, including those in key stage 1. These texts excite the pupils and encourage them to read and write. Pupils talk enthusiastically about their writing and are proud of their achievements.  The leadership team is passionate and exact in providing tailored support for individual pupils, particularly those supported by additional funding. As a result, disadvantaged pupils across the school are making good progress, particularly those who have no additional barriers to their learning. Leaders acknowledge that work needs to continue to ensure that all of these pupils, and others with lower starting points, reach even higher standards.  Governors share your ambitions for the school and effectively support and

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Inspection findings

challenge the leadership team to achieve even more. They are aware of the need to ensure that the school’s website continues to meet statutory requirements.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and governors should ensure that:

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Next steps for the school

 pupils develop and apply their basic mathematical skills more fluently to achieve the highest standards in mathematics that they are capable of  the quality of teaching continues to improve so that all pupils, including lower- attaining pupils and those with additional barriers to their learning, make consistently strong progress from their different starting points.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Hampshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

During the inspection, I met with you and your senior leadership team. I met with the subject leaders for mathematics and English, the school’s special educational needs coordinator and governors, including the vice-chair of the governing body. I also met with the local authority adviser who works with the school. I spoke with pupils during lessons and around the school, and met with a group of pupils. I listened to the views of parents at the start of the day. I took account of the information contained within the 84 responses to the online questionnaires for parents and staff. There were no responses to the pupils’ questionnaire.

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Information about the inspection

Together, we visited all classrooms to observe pupils’ learning and looked at their work in books. I reviewed information about pupils’ progress, attainment and attendance. I scrutinised the school’s self-evaluation document, action plans and other policies. I looked at safeguarding, including evaluating the impact of the school’s procedures and policies to keep children safe, recruitment checks and record-keeping.

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